Guide for Admiral

 Kunkka, The Admiral

Hero Overview

 

Kunkka has a base strength of 21 and a strength gain of 2.7. 

This is pretty average for a strength hero; maybe just a bit low, but it can be fixed easily.

Kunkka has a base agility of 14 and a agility gain of 1.3.

This is low. That is all i have to say. For a hero like Admiral, its not so good. Fortunately, we have things to make up for it. More on that later.

Kunkka has a base intelligence of 16 and an int gain of 1.5. 

Not bad, but not great. There will be some mana problems early, but later on, when you start focusing on physical damage, it won't matter that much.

Affiliation: Sentinel

Attack Animation: 0.4 / 0.3

Damage: 47 - 57

Casting Animation: 0.4 / 0.51

Armor: 2.6

Base Attack Time: 1.7

Movespeed: 300

Missile Speed: Instant

Attack Range: 128 (melee)

Sight Range: 1800 / 800

Pros/Cons

Pros: 

+ A game-changing hero once mastered

+ Very fun to play

+ Has 1(.5) disables

+ Excellent initiator

+ Excellent lane control via Tidebringer

+ Very good farming potential

+ Can solo or dual lane

+ Can deal a massive amount of AOE damage

+ Does not need a whole lot of farm to be useful

Cons:

- No real escape mechanism

- Slow attack speed

- Requires practice to be effective

- Tricky to use

- Needs a lot items to scale into the late game as a carry

Hero's Skills


 Torrent
This is your main disable, and its very effective for ganking, harassing, escaping or initiating minor battles. It has an AOE of 225, costs 120 mana, has a casting range of 1500, a disabling period of 1.53 seconds and a cooldown of 12 seconds. All of these remain the same at all levels. 
However, the length of slow (1/2/3/4) and damage (120/180/240/300) increases.





Shows the AOE (225) and maximum range (1500) of Torrent




I know that I'm controlling Lion, this is just to show where to aim Torrent.
Here, Lion is running straight with no boots, so he has 280 MS. (This means he moves 280 "range" per second for anyone who doesn't know what MS actually means). Torrents erupt in 2 seconds, which means you should aim the Torrent 280x2=560 units away. Obviously, if you are facing a Chaos Knight with phase boots, you will have to adapt. It takes some practice to hit moving targets with Torrent, and its even harder when you try to hit people who will try to dodge it. Nonetheless, getting a straight Torrent is the first step, and this picture shows where you should aim Torrent for this situation.


Notes
• Damage type: magic
• The initial bubble effect is only visible to allies.
• Units tossed in the air will be paused and still able to be attacked.
• Part of the damage occurs right as the torrent erupts, the rest occurs over time as the units are in the air.
• Don't underestimate the casting range of 1500. It is farther than you think, so don't be afraid to use it even if the enemies seem to be out of your reach.




 Tidebringer
Your signature spell. Every 16/12/8/4 seconds, your sword will glow with water, which means you will gain a stronger attack (+15/30/35/60 dmg) and have a splash attack with AOE of 500(improved in 6.73) on the next attack that you perform. This is the spell that gives Kunkka such good lane control, farming capability, and capability to splash massive amounts of damage in one hit. Excellent for harassing enemies and for getting last hits. Be careful not to push the lane too much with this, unless you are purposely trying to. When you are using this to harass, make sure your hero is facing the enemy when you attack the creep to make sure that Tidebringer hits him. It has a very large AOE, so this shouldn't be too hard.



The stats say 500 AOE, but its not a perfect 500 AOE ring around you. Instead, it is about 500 range in front of you, about 350 range to the sides, and it sometimes will hit units right behind you. Again, its best to get some experience with Kunkka so you get the "feel" of his spells.


Notes
• Cleaved damage is only reduced by armor type, not by armor value.
• Cooldown is not activated on denies, so the damage bonus is maintained.
• If a hero is running away from you and there is a creep in front of you, attacking the creep will possibly splash the damage onto the enemy and maybe kill him/her. This is a slightly more advanced technique, but keep it in mind.


 X Marks The Spot
After you cast this on an enemy, an X will appear where they were when you casted the spell. Then, after 1/2/3/4 seconds, the enemy will return to the "X" location. Another useful spell that is extremely helpful for ganking and even escaping. Synergizes very well with your other spells, but can be tricky to use. For the basic X + Torrent combo, cast your X on the enemy, and then cast torrent right on it. After about 1 second (It will take practice), press "R" to return the enemy to the X. With practice, it is almost a guaranteed torrent.
Has a mana cost of 80/90/100/110 and a very long cooldown of 30 seconds, so only use it when you really need to. Casting range improves per level (500/650/800/950 range). Again, very useful spell for many situations.




This picture shows Kunkka casting X Marks the Spot on a fleeing Centaur (this is just for demonstration, I know its AI, and I know that I can't kill him like this). After you cast X Marks the Spot, you probably want to cast a Torrent right on the red "X", then press "R" for Return about 1.5 seconds after casting your Torrent so the enemy returns right before the Torrent erupts. It sounds complicated, but its very easy after you get the hang of it. This is the common X and Torrent combo, which is extremely useful for hitting your Torrents when chasing heroes.




This picture shows Kunkka casting X Marks the Spot on himself. This might be useful for juking in narrow passageways, like in the first scene of "The Magical Kunkka", a DotA Movie shown below. Note that you can also cast X Marks the Spot on teammates, but rarely will this be of any use. Nonetheless, keep these in mind because it just might come in handy.


Notes
• If target becomes magic immune after this spell has been cast, target will not return to the X after the duration ends.
• It interrupts channeling spells.
• If the enemy is TPing, use it and they will return to where they TP'd away. 
• You can cast X Marks the Spot on teammates and on yourself.


 Return
Simple as that; It immediately returns the target to the X, so you don't have to wait for the full 1/2/3/4 second(s). Very useful for returning them to a torrent that you have placed on the X. Costs 50 mana and has a cooldown of 5 seconds.


Notes
• This ability is automatically gained when X Marks the Spot is learned. 
• Due to Kunkka's fairly long casting animation (0.51 seconds, which could mean the difference between hitting or missing your torrent), Return will take a moment to actually bring the enemy back. 
• Using this spell alone makes Kunkka raise his sword. This is the casting animation for all your spells, so make use of this when chasing enemies. Cast return without using X Marks The Spot, making it look like you casted Torrent. Smart opponents will turn around or walk to the side, attempting to dodge the "Torrent", giving you and your teammates time to catch up


 Ghost Ship
This is a very complicated spell with many effects. Firstly, Kunkka raises his sword and a huge boat comes from behind him. The boat travels forward 1000 range and crashes, stunning all opponents in the 400AOE for 1 second, dealing 300/400/500 damage. All allied heroes, for the next 5/6/7 seconds, have their movespeed increased by 10%. Additionally, all allied heroes will take only 50% of the incoming damage for the 5/6/7 seconds, and will take the other 50% after 5/6/7 seconds. Since a large battle lasts around 6-10 seconds, you and your teammates will be able to tank a lot more in the battle, and take the rest of the damage after. I find this buff part of the skill unnoticed and underestimated, which is why I described it in detail. The cooldown for this spell is 100 seconds, which is short enough for you to use it to gank enemies, or in a 2v2 fight, for example. Use it to initiate battles, as it has a huge casting range, and so the damage reduction will be active during the fight. A game-breaking ultimate when used correctly.




Again, after many screenshots, I find this one best shows how to use Ghost Ship. It will take quite a few seconds, about 3-4, for it to finally hit, so you need good coordination with your teammates, and good timing. I think the picture is quite self-explanatory from here. The ship starts from behind you and moves steadily until it is 1000 range in front of where you clicked. The 'numbness' part starts taking effect immediately after you cast it.


Notes
• Damage type: magic
• Actual AoE of ship's collision is larger than the boat itself.
• The boat has a movement speed of 650.
• Damage dealt after CoCo's rum wears off is non-lethal and can never kill a hero. It leaves the hero with 1 HP. 
• The boat does not crash exactly where you aim it. Instead, it heads that direction for 1000 range, then crashes. It takes practice and prediction to hit a perfect Ghost Ship.


Skill Build
Note: There are lots of skill builds that you could use (some people even suggest getting Torrent + X first for early ganking power, but this is very mana dependent, and Kunkka does not have great int gain early game. Don't do this unless you have a CM or Ezalor on your team, or if you have some other form of mana supply.) 

Dual Lane or Solo Lane

Level 1 - Torrent/Tidebringer
Level 2 - Tidebringer/Torrent
Level 3 - Tidebringer
Level 4 - Torrent
Level 5 - Tidebringer
Level 6 - Ghost Ship
Level 7 - Tidebringer
Level 8 - Torrent
Level 9 - Torrent
Level 10 - X Marks The Spot/Stats
Level 11 - Ghost Ship
Level 12 - X Marks The Spot
Level 13 - X Marks The Spot
Level 14 - X Marks The Spot
Level 15 - Stats/X Marks The Spot
Level 16 - Ghost Ship
Level 17-25 - Stats 



 Item Build
Starting Items at base


Total: 586

[Recommended] This build is more defensive and provides more heal. It provides quite a bit of strength, and is more safe incase you face heavy lane harassment. Feel free to switch the tango + salve around with 2 tangos or 2 salves, but I recommend getting one of each. 



Total: 584

 
Total: 594

[Situational] These two builds provide a solid, aggressive start that provides you with a fair amount of hp. Have your team's chick/crow grab you a salve or two if you are farming well. You will need it because you only have 1 tango/salve for healing, which is next to nothing. If you are farming well, go for the Ring of Health from the side shops asap.


Core Items




This is your core item build, and its pretty damn expensive. Firstly, you should have chosen your boots - Treads or Phase. A bracer helps you survive a bit more, and it gives a bit of mana. The Lothars is vital to your instant AOE splash "theme". Paired with Battlefury, you will do a lot of damage to the enemies. Keep in mind that these items also help you farm the other one, so its really not that hard to get. Obviously, keep a TP scroll for defending or farming the free lane, and a Magic Stick for that (imba!) instant heal. In a really good game, you should be able to farm this in about 30 minutes, but don't hold yourself from helping the team to farm. You are not Phantom Lancer, who is supposed to farm, farm and farm until he gets his Radiance. By the time you're Level 11, you should have a good balance between farming and initiating teamfights/ganking. 


Luxury Items



The main Luxury items you should be aiming for are (in order of importance) BKB, Assault Cuirass, and Buriza. BKB provides you with magic immunity, which is priceless in teamfights. Assault Cuirass greatly increases your EHP and your physical damage output by a ton. Buriza is the real icing on the cake, as a critical'd splash attack is game-breaking when you proc it. Other items like Heart or Satanic are optional; Get them if you feel that its the "right" item to get for your game. 


Rejected Items



This is a very good argument for getting Armlet. However, Kunkka does not have a great amount of HP, making it very risky to use Armlet. Despite the fact that it is quite safe to just turn on Armlet, attack, then turn it off, it is just not worth the money for that little bit of damage for one attack. Unless you buy Lifesteal and some survivability to make up for the 35 hp/second loss, the 2850 gold for Armlet could be used for many more important core items. Lastly, Kunkka will not be the hero getting disabling support from the team. Instead, he is the AOE presence, a glass cannon who should not be using Armlet and absorbing a lot of damage.

For more about my opinion about Armlet, click here




Never, ever, get Quelling Blade on Kunkka. If your eyes are working properly, you should be able to read the "Cannot be held by Admiral". Its not because Admiral already has a sword; No, its because you won't get the extra damage from it since it will dis-function with Tidebringer. Don't ever get this on Kunkka. It doesn't work.




While Maelstorm and Mjollnir seem like a nice sidekick to your splashing, AOE arsenal, Kunkka has horrible attack speed which means he won't proc the lightning much. Also, it provides barely any attack speed and an orb that is barely even useful. For attack speed, get AC, for damage, get another Bfury. Kunkka is also quite fragile, so you don't want people focusing you to get those Static Charges off.




Although SnY provides decent movespeed and survivability, it costs 4500 Gold. Certainly not a good deal, especially for a hero like Kunkka. You already have burst movespeed from Phase Boots, and have better survivability from BKB, and the damage is very little compared to items like Lothars or Battlefury.




Kunkka does not have excellent attack speed, so bashers is a waste. It does not give Kunkka things that he needs, and there are many other things that the money could be used for. Don't get bashers.




Let your team's support hero get the Mekasm. You should be focusing on getting your core items. By the time you get them, the 250HP heal will be unnoticeable.


Replays

Replay #1: GosuGamers DotA | Replay: MYM vs DTS


Replay #2: GosuGamers DotA | Replay: Nv.GiGa.my vs OK


Replay #3: GosuGamers DotA | Replay: MYM vs TeG

Well played Kunkka by MyM|MaNia-, laning with Maelk who plays Vengeful Spirit. Notice how VS plays a very defensive and denying game, letting Kunkka last hit. Because they were laning against Rooftrellen, a very difficult hero to kill early on, they were not as aggressive. They get their first kill at 6:45 through a Stun + Torrent combo. MaNia- farms a LOT this game. He has a creep score of 77/8 13 minutes into the game, which is insanely good. I think MyM was worried about Razor being a real threat and getting out of control, so MaNia- tp'd everywhere and farmed like crazy. He gets a bracer, Phase Boots and Bfury by 16 mins, which is very respectable farm. All in all, a good example of how to play an Kunkka in the laning phase, but the game just turned into a stomp later on.