Tusk Guide


Items

Starting items:

Early game:

Core items:

  • Phase Boots   Item   Changelogs     Phase BootsBL Boots that allow the wearer to travel between the ether. Cost1240 Bought FromCommon Active Phase Bonus +24 Attack damage+45 Movement speed Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe dota2 gives Tusk an assortment of powerful benefits, making it the best boots for him. The increased movement speed allows him to position more easily to cast his spells, and allows him to more easily chase down fleeing enemies in combination with Frozen Sigil. The bonus damage improves Tusk`s ability to last-hit to farm, and increases the damage done with Walrus PUNCH!
  • Drum of Endurance gives Tusk all-around stats that give him more HP, damage, and a larger mana pool to work with. The aura improves his mobility and gives his team a fighting edge when engaging the enemy.
  • Town Portal Scroll is important to carry at all times. Tusk`s strong crowd control and initiation abilities makes him a powerful ally to have when ganking a lone enemy, or starting a teamfight on his own terms.
  • Urn of Shadows gives Tusk many benefits for a cheap price. As a highly mobile ganker, Tusk can easily get charges with which to heal himself and teammates or deal more damage in ganks; as well, Urn charges can instantly put enemy Blink Daggers on cooldown from a distance. The item also provides strength, giving Tusk more HP and base damage, and scaling mana regen to help him to cast spells more easily.

Situational items:

  • Desolator gives Tusk increased bonus damage, and allows him to apply an armor debuff to enemies, particularly when combined with Walrus PUNCH!.
  • Shadow Blade increases Tusk`s physical damage output, and gives him yet another initiation ability. Shadow Walk can be used to deal tremendous physical damage to a gank target with Walrus PUNCH!, or can be cast to escape in a tight situation.
  • Heart of Tarrasque is very expensive but increases Tusk`s HP significantly, allowing him to stay alive for much longer after initiating with Snowball. The increased strength also gives Tusk more base damage, improving the potency of Walrus PUNCH!.
  • Black King Bar ensures Tusk is protected from most disables, allowing him to continue fighting and casting his spells after a successful initiation. The extra strength gives him more HP and damage, while the extra damage gives him more physical damage output.
  • Heaven`s Halberd helps make Tusk a better all-around fighter through its various bonuses. It grants more HP and evasion for increased survivability, more base damage and bonus damage to make his attacks hit harder, a Lesser Maim that can debilitate enemies in fights, and a Disarm that can outright prevent enemies from using their right-clicks.
  • Assault Cuirass is a strong aura and fighting item that, while expensive, can greatly improve Tusk`s damage output. The increased armor makes Tusk much tankier, and the attack speed helps him to deal more damage. The aura can be easily utilized due to Snowball giving Tusk a way to get close to enemies, and its armor debuff can increase the hitting power of Walrus PUNCH!.
  • Medallion of Courage is a very cheap utility item that gives Tusk many strong benefits for its price. The armor helps make Tusk tankier, and the mana regen helps to sustain his expensive but powerful spells. Using the active on an enemy during initiation can increase the amount of damage they take from Walrus PUNCH!.
  • Aghanim`s Scepter unlocks Walrus Kick, greatly increasing Tusk`s impact in fights and ganks. The item also makes Tusk tankier and improves his mana pool to sustain his spell casting.
  • Lotus Orb gives Tusk increased survivability when initiating against powerful enemies. Besides giving him more armor to aid survivability, Echo Shell allows Tusk to use the enemy`s unit-targeted spells against them should they attempt to target him during initiations, and can otherwise give him a larger window to act while the enemy hesitates. The scaling mana regen also helps Tusk to maintain casting his spells.
  • Upgrading Shadow Blade into a Silver Edge can greatly augment Tusk`s initiating power. Besides improving Tusk`s damage output, applying a Break to an important target can disable their passive abilities and cripple their damage output, making them a much smaller threat in an engagement.
  • Blink Dagger is powerful in many situations. As Tusk requires good positioning to use his spells, Blink Dagger can allow him to immediately get within range to cast a disable. In a pinch, it can also be used to jump on top of a beleaguered ally to protect them with Snowball, or as an escape mechanism after casting Snowball to protect himself long enough for it to come off cooldown.
  • Blade Mail is a powerful survivability item that fills in many of Tusk`s deficiencies. The armor makes him tankier, the intelligence shores up his small mana pool, and the damage improves the potency of Walrus PUNCH!. Using the active can discourage enemies from attacking Tusk, and can allow him to use his HP pool offensively against gank targets who try to fight back.
  • Armlet of Mordiggian is a cheap fighting item that gives Tusk an assortment of bonuses. It provides armor and HP regen, aiding Tusk`s survivability, and the active gives him bonus strength and damage, giving him more HP and damage output in an engagement, particularly increasing the damage that Walrus PUNCH! deals.
  • Sange and Yasha is an all-around fighting item that improves Tusk`s ability to engage enemies in teamfights. The improved movement speed allows Tusk to position for his spells and chase down fleeing enemies, and the strength and bonus damage give him better battlefield presence. The Greater Maim also allows him to debilitate enemies` attempts to fight him and his team.
  • Battle Fury is an unorthodox but useful item for a roaming Tusk. While it is generally considered a core farming item, it provides Tusk with many useful benefits. The HP and mana regen allow him to roam more independently, while the cleave can help him to farm more items for himself. The ability to cut trees allows Tusk to position himself for casting his spells from unorthodox locations, or simply path through the jungle more easily, and the increased damage allows him to deal more damage with Walrus PUNCH!.
  • Radiance is expensive to farm, but allows Tusk to fight more effectively against enemies. The area burn allows Tusk to damage all nearby enemies in the midst of initiations, particularly as he can easily get into the middle of their formation with Snowball, and the induced miss chance also gives him survivability against auto-attacks. The bonus damage also allows him to deal tremendous damage with Walrus PUNCH!.
  • Monkey King Bar drastically improves Tusk`s damage output, and allows him to hit enemies through evasion and blind. The raw damage increase makes Walrus PUNCH! much stronger as well.
  • Eye of Skadi gives Tusk attributes across the board, making him much tankier and giving him a bigger mana pool to work with. The Cold Attack modifier also allows him to slow enemies with his attacks, stacking alongside Frozen Sigil to magnify his battlefield presence.
  • Abyssal Blade gives Tusk a chance to bash enemies he attacks while the active can give Tusk even more lockdown on top of his other disables, particularly as it can stun through spell immunity.
  • Tusk`s spells allow him to provide strong utility for his team when not built to take advantage of his ultimate. Several items can help him to this end:
  • Soul Ring is very cheap and can be easily purchased in the early game. It provides mana and HP regen, allowing Tusk to roam more independently, and lets Tusk dip into his HP pool to cast his spells, allowing him to be more active on the map.
  • Arcane Boots increases the size of Tusk`s mana pool and gives him a means with which to replenish it, along with that of his teammates. Being able to easily sustain his own mana pool allows Tusk to stay on the go and use his spells to set up kills for his team.
  • Force Staff is a strong utility item that increases Tusk`s mobility. It provides intelligence, improving his mana pool, and gives him HP regen to keep his health topped up. The active can be used as an initiation booster to help Tusk position himself to cast his spells, as a quick escape, or can be used on allies to re-position them for various purposes. It can also be cast on enemies to dis-position them, or to break an enemy Linken`s Sphere during initiation.
  • Vladmir`s Offering is a useful mid-game utility item that provides Tusk with a strong teamfight aura. It provides Tusk and allies with additional armor and HP regen, improving their survivability, and some mana regen to allow Tusk to maintain his mana pool more easily. The increased damage also provides Tusk`s team with an edge in fights, and helps Tusk to deal more damage with Walrus PUNCH!.

Gameplay

Playstyle
Tusk   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Tusk 23 + 2.6 23 + 2.1 18 + 1.7 Level Base dota2 is a very strong initiator who can set up fights on his team`s terms. His arsenal of crowd control spells can greatly inhibit enemies during fights and ganks, giving allies a powerful edge. Tusk is a ganking specialist as he can hunt fragile heroes throughout the game.

Be that as it may, his skill and aggressive play style can be a double edge against him when it comes to initiating & chasing fleeing enemies as his ice shard can block his teammates from proceed with the chase and he can roll himself into a counter-ganking trap set up by his opponent.

Thus, although his skillset is rather straightforward, player should exercise good judgement before consider initiation.

Pros Cons
  • Quite versatile in role.
  • Powerful disable abilities, especially his ultimate.
  • High Movement Speed without Boots.
  • Specialize in ganking.
  • Quite weak without Desolator or Shadow Blade
  • Even though he is a strength hero, he has low health

Videos

Info

Hero Strategy Counters Play “Many hands make light work.” This article is badly written or needs more information. Please help the community by updating it. Read this formatting guide first.   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Equipment   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e Tusk Equipment (collapse sets)Sets Arctic Hunter Set Barrier Rogue Bobusang s Traveling Necessities Set Brawler dota2 Gear   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     This is a list of cosmetic items that reflects Tusk s design aesthetics. dota2 Responses   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Voice responses Hero responses Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe Bane Sounds   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Dota 2 Sounds Hero Sounds Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe Lore   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Ymir, the Tusk It had been a brawl to remember. There stood Old Abilities   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Walrus PUNCH! (pre 6.83) PlayRR AbilityNo Target AffectsEnemies Tusk prepares his mighty dota2 Changelogs   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Version history 2 Patch history Version history edit] Version Description dota2

Semi-Carry/Gank Specialist

Tusk usually serves as ganker in the team, his goal is to obtain items to boost his ganking and initiation capabilities. Tusk truly shines during early-mid game as most of the heroes are fragile during this period and a successful early game shutdown will allows Tusk to create space for his team`s hard carry. Be that as it may, although he has good potential to semi-carry the team early game, he isn`t a hard carry and you should end the game as soon as possible. As with any of Dota matches, a good early game does not guarantee a win as if your team were slacking due to a good early game and allows your opponent to rise up thus results in a throw.

Ability Builds

Generic Tusk
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Talents

Notes:
  • The armor and attack damage are added as bonus armor and bonus attack damage, and therefore do not benefit illusions.
  • The magic resistance stacks multiplicatively with other sources of magic resistance.
  • Upgrading health increases maximum health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

General

  • Beware that while Tusk is a strength hero with strong disables, his mediocre strength growth means that his @@@#@@@HP(hp.com)###@### pool will not improve drastically with levels, which inhibits his ability to survive initiations. As such, Tusk benefits from building durability items to give himself more HPTechnology company and armor, allowing him to do more in fights.
  • Tusk`s reliance on mana-expensive abilities in order to be effective means that he requires a source of mana replenishment in order to keep him in fights. The low cooldown on all of his abilities except Frozen Sigil means that he can greatly impact fights so long as he has the mana to cast his spells.
  • Keep in mind that Tusk has a near-instant 0.1 second cast animation, allowing him to get his spells off very quickly. Good reflexes are necessary in order to make the most of Tusk`s spells.
  • Beware that while Tusk has a strong arsenal of disables, all of them are very short in duration. As such, while Tusk is a strong initiator, he cannot lock down enemies solely by himself, and requires additional disablers on his team in order to take advantage of the disruption he creates amongst the enemy.
  • Due to his strong array of disables and an ultimate that scales with his damage, Tusk can be played in any number of ways.
    • Because he can be strong with only levels and does not explicitly require gold, Tusk can be a good support who gets his gold and levels by assisting his carries and setting up kills for them. Because of lack of farm priority, a support Tusk should focus on building cheap utility items and extending the size of his mana pool in order to take utmost advantage of his spells.
    • Tusk`s powerful disables allow him to be played as a roamer who can initiate and set up ganks for teammates. A roaming Tusk is much more active on the map and, given the proper circumstances, can get good gold and levels through kills and assists, hampering the enemy`s early game and creating space for his allies to secure an early advantage in a match.
    • Played as a semi-carry solo off-laner, Tusk can get fast early levels and gold, transitioning into becoming an effective ganker early in a game. He can use his gold to purchase items to give him more fighting power, increasing the potency of Walrus PUNCH! and improving his ability to initiate and survive in fights.

Ice Shards

  • Ice Shards is a potent nuking spell that deals damage in its path and then creates a barrier at its destination that persists for 7 seconds.
  • Despite not directly disabling enemies, Ice Shards is considered a very potent disable due to the barrier it creates, which cannot be pathed through except through forced movement Forced Movement is a status effect that changes a unit s position. This movement is completely unrelated to the unit s movement speed and works on them while disabled. Most spells with forced movement prevent the affected dota2 items and abilities. Cast properly, Ice Shards can block an enemy`s escape path and secure a kill.
  • Because of its nuking and disabling potential, Ice Shards should be maxed out first among Tusk`s abilities. Reducing the cooldown on Ice Shards also allows it to be more readily available for gank opportunities and teamfights.
  • Ice Shards has an extremely long cast range, able to be cast from just within any enemy`s visual range. Take advantage of this by casting it through the Fog of War, or to block an enemy`s escape route even when they think that they`re safe.
  • Keep in mind that Ice Shards will form its barrier at the targeted location, so aim and timing are crucial in order to make the most of the barrier. If Ice Shards lands short of its target, it will deal no damage and the barrier will only inhibit pursuers` pathing. If it is targeted too far, then the enemy can simply sidestep the barrier.
  • The best-case scenario is to target Ice Shards so that its destination lines up exactly with where the enemy will be, trapping them within the barrier. This will force them to walk backwards, towards Tusk and his teammates, in order to escape the barrier.
  • Try to use the terrain to your advantage when casting Ice Shards. Remember that trees will not be destroyed by the barrier, and that the projectile can travel over cliffs, so you can completely immobilize enemies by using ledges and trees to close up the gaps in the barrier.
  • Due to its low cooldown, Ice Shards can be used as an imperfect nuke for farming and pushing. The projectile`s long cast range allows it to hit multiple neutral camps or creep waves in a single cast.
  • In a pinch, Ice Shards can be used to hinder pursuers` approach path, forcing them to walk around the barrier. Try to use choke points to your advantage, completely cutting pursuers off.
  • Remember that Ice Shards provides vision around the projectile, and within the barrier for a short duration after forming. This allows the spell to be used to scout high ground or inside treelines, potentially pinning down any waiting enemies in the process.

Snowball

  • Snowball is an initiating and mobility spell that lets Tusk close the distance to enemies, bringing teammates along for the ride and damaging and stunning any enemies it hits along the way.
  • Snowball`s primary use is to help low-mobility allies get within melee range of enemies during initiations. This is particularly useful in the early game when powerful allied initiators have not purchased a Blink Dagger yet, as the initiation assist can help to get off powerful but short-ranged area disables such as Slithereen Crush, Berserker`s Call, Hoof Stomp, Ravage, and so on.
  • Next to Ice Shards, Snowball is a strong candidate for a spell to max out early in the game, due to its nuking and disable potential. The damage it deals early in matches makes it a very potent spell to have handy.
  • In a pinch, Snowball`s gathering and rolling time can be used as shelter against enemy attacks and spells. Because units inside the Snowball are invulnerable, it can be used to grant up to 3 seconds of invulnerability to Tusk and any nearby allies, and then stun nearby enemies upon launch.
  • Be extremely careful about which unit is targeted for Snowball, as highly mobile enemies can simply kite the Snowball back and force Tusk and any allies within to emerge in an extremely disadvantageous position. Try to target slower enemies with no mobility spells or items, or target them from the Fog of War in order to give them as little warning as possible.
  • Tusk is muted and disarmed during Snowball, but is not silenced, meaning that while he cannot use items or attack, he can still cast spells. This means that Tusk can ready a Walrus PUNCH! while rolling towards a target, or block off their retreat with Ice Shards during approach.
  • Unlike most other unit-targeted spells, Snowball is not blocked by Linken`s Sphere, and will target, chase and stun enemies regardless (beware, Lotus Orb will still reflect the spell upon impact). Use this to your advantage to initiate on slippery foes and use a cheap unit-targeted ability or item to break their Linken`s Sphere while they are stunned.

Frozen Sigil

  • Frozen Sigil summons a flying, controllable ward that reduces the movement and attack speed of all enemies within its radius.
  • Frozen Sigil applies a strong slowing debuff to all nearby enemies. The sigil can be moved to apply its aura more precisely during a teamfight or to slow enemies who are either fleeing or pursuing.
  • Due to its poor scaling, Frozen Sigil should generally be maxed out last, be that as it may, an early value point should still be taken to provide vision and a ranged slow. Its slows become potent only later in matches when attack speed starts increasing to meaningful values.
  • Because it is a controllable flying unit, Frozen Sigil should be assigned a command group in order to allow easier positioning of both the sigil and Tusk himself. Both need to be constantly controlled and moved during engagements in order to make the most out of the ability.
  • Due to its flying movement and vision, Frozen Sigil can be used to scout out enemy movement and dodge enemy attempts to destroy it. In particular, the sigil can be used to safely scout inside Roshan`s pit.
  • Beware that Frozen Sigil grants a substantial gold bounty to enemies who successfully destroy it, so take special care not to feed it to the enemy.
  • Unlike other wards, Frozen Sigil can be loaded into Snowball and will emerge at the destination; the load command must be issued from Tusk rather than from the sigil. This can be an effective way to save time, as Frozen Sigil`s long duration means it will likely persist for longer than the engagement requires. Alternatively, Frozen Sigil may be cast en route to the target, as Tusk is not silenced during Snowball.

Walrus PUNCH!

Walrus Kick

  • Walrus Kick, unlocked by purchasing Aghanim`s Scepter, allows Tusk to kick an enemy unit away, stunning and slowing them.
  • Unlike Tusk`s other spells, Walrus Kick has a 0.2 second cast animation, twice his standard cast animation but still faster than the standard 0.3 seconds. Keep this in mind when using the spell, as the windup time can still give enemies a window to act.
  • Forcibly re-positioning the enemy can make a huge difference in teamfights or ganks, as the target will be stunned and then slowed on top of the knockback. Melee carries can be sent far away into their back lines, gank targets can be knocked in the direction of allies, and so on.
  • With a 12 second cooldown, Walrus Kick has a very short downtime, allowing Tusk to use it multiple times in a single engagement. Be that as it may, its high mana cost relative to his mana pool means that repeated casting can render him unable to cast his other spells.
  • Like Walrus PUNCH!, Walrus Kick will stun and slow its target through spell immunity. Be that as it may, unlike the punch, it is treated as a unit-targeted spell, meaning that it can be blocked by Linken`s Sphere or reflected with Lotus Orb.
  • Try to exploit terrain when using Walrus Kick. Kicking an enemy over ledges and cliffs can lock them completely out of fights, as they will be forced to traverse the terrain to return to the battlefield. Be that as it may, be mindful that trees in the travel path are destroyed, so kicked victims can return through the path created.
  • Keep in mind that enemies will be knocked in the direction that Tusk is facing upon targeting them, so positioning is crucial. Initiating on an enemy with Snowball or immobilizing them with your punch can buy enough time for Tusk to re-position for Walrus Kick, particularly if he uses Phase Boots   Item   Changelogs     Phase BootsBL Boots that allow the wearer to travel between the ether. Cost1240 Bought FromCommon Active Phase Bonus +24 Attack damage+45 Movement speed Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe dota2 to move through the target to reach the desired angle.
  • Although being a regular single-target spell (unlike Walrus Punch, which is an active attack modifier) Walrus Kick cannot be stolen with Spell Steal.