Hello, my name is Warren! As you all know Axe is one of Dota 2’s most popular heroes. Whether you like the Dota 2 Axe voice lines or the hero’s aggressive playstyle, today I will guide you briefly about my signature hero which I mostly spam after every few games with this specific build which turns out to be an easy win in the rank matches.
Introduction
Axe is played as a Tank, as an initiator but has a small AOE and needs a Blink Dagger to make initiation during team fights. In the crowded area, he becomes a monster that no one can stop because he will deal a lot of damage from the Counter Helix. He is also a powerful nuker, he has Battle Hunger that deals massive damage per second and is very deadly in the early game, and he also has the powerful nuke to instant-kill the enemy that is on a low HP.
Type
Melee, Carry, Disabler, Durable, Initiator
LANE PRESENCE
In this meta, Axe has been played a lot and the following are the statistics of Axe in this patch.
| Period | Presence | Win Rate | KD | GMP | XPM |
| Off Lane | 84.18% | 52.79% | 2.52 | 480 | 637 |
| Jungle | 8.93% | 49.60% | 2.39 | 430 | 524 |
Hero Attributes
| Movement speed | 315 |
| Sight range | 1800/800 |
| Armor | 2.8 |
| Base attack time | 1.7 |
| Damage | 55 – 59 |
| Attack point | 0.4 |
Pros and Cons
| Great at pushing | Weak against ranged heroes |
| Disabler | Weak against high health bar supports. |
| Strong team fight hero | Can not initiate without Blink Dagger |
| Counters melee heroes | Low mana pool |
| Good at initiating fights | Positioning is important |
Item Build & Skill Build
According to the current patch 7.35d, this is the skill build you should make.
Skill Build
- Take Berserker’s Call ability on level 3.
- Berserker’s Call is an ability that forces all units near Axe to attack him when used in a 315 radius while maximizing his armor which allows him to attack enemies.
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- Further, upgrade the skill according to the following sequence (8,9,11)
Tip: When rushing on enemies trying to escape, Berserker’s Call can be useful for holding them in place for Axe’s teammates to catch up. Additionally, it can be useful for interrupting Teleport, which causes them to break the channelling and attack Axe, preventing them from escaping.
- Battle Hunger should be taken on level 1.
- Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. A factor of Axe’s armor increases the damage. The enemy is also slowed as long as they are facing away from Axe.
- Further, you can upgrade the Teleportation according to the following sequence (13,14,16)
- Counter Helix should be taken later on Level 2.
- After a set number of attacks, Axe will perform a helix counterattack, dealing pure damage to all nearby enemies in a 300 radius.
- You can upgrade this ability according to the following sequence (4,5,7)
Note: The combination of Counter Helix with Berserker’s Call is great, as Axe can deal spin damage to enemies he successfully catches. If he catches multiple enemy heroes and creeps, Axe can deal a surprising amount of damage during the ability duration.
- Culling Blade is used to kill enemies with low health points.
- Axe strikes, dealing pure damage. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset, Axe gains bonus armour permanently and all nearby allied units gain bonus movement speed and armour.
- Always level up to this ability whenever it is up on level 6, level 12, level 18
Tip: You can kill the enemy under spell immunity and also surviving abilities like Shallow Grave and Borrowed Time
Note: Always buy Aghanim’s Scepter on Axe which causes Battle Hunger to the affected units when Breserker’s Call is used.
Tip: Get Aghanim’s Shard on Axe, which gives a buff to your Counter Helix that applies a stacking debuff to enemies hit which causes them to deal less total attack damage to Axe, and Counter Helix no longer has a cooldown.
Talent Tree Choices
- Level 10 Select +8 Bersker Call’s Armor.
- Level 15 Select +30 Counter Helix Damage.
- Level 20 Select +1 Bonus Armor per Culling Blade Stack
- Level 25 Select +100 Bersker’s Call AoE
Item Build:
Starting items
- 1x Tango
- 1x Quelling Blade
- 1x Ring of Protection
- 3x Iron Branch
- 1x Observer Ward
Early game items
- Vanguard
- Boots of Speed
- Magic Wand
- Wind Lace
- Infused Raindrops ( if any strong magical speller in the lane )
Mid-game items:
- Blink Dagger
- Blade Mail
- Black King Bar
- Aghanim’s Shard
- Boots of Travel
Late-game items:
- Octarine Core
- Overwhelming Blink
- Heart of Tarrasque
- Refresher Orb
Situational items:
- Pipe of Insight
- Assault Cuirass
- Shiva’s Guard
- Linken’s Sphere
- Aghanim’s Scepter
- Crimson Guard
- Lotus Orb
- Heaven’s Halberd
- Boots of Travel 2
- Khanda
Early gameplay / Mid game / Late game
Early gameplay (0:00 – 12:00)
In the early game phase, you should focus on taking the farm and applying battle hunger to the enemy’s support in the lane to harass him as much as possible. Don’t dive for a kill always look for an opportunity for a kill when the enemy is near the creep wave then you can try to get a kill by using your Breserker’s Call. Communicate with your support to stack some ancient or neutral camps to speed up your farm and get items faster.
Mid gameplay (12:00 – 25:00)
In the mid-game, your main objective is to kill the main cores after farming your Blink Dagger and Blade Mail with Vanguard. Don’t forget to buy smoke and take the team with you while ganking. Keep an eye on the map if your core needs help you should Teleport and save him with your Blink Dagger and use Berserker’s Call to taunt the target which can kill your core. In the fights always wait for the perfect initiation.
Late gameplay (25:00 – 60:00)
In the late game, your team depends on your perfect initiation try to target the highest physical damage core, and do not forget to use Black King Bar before jumping in as you can get disabled by the stuns. Look after the enemies trying to teleport and run away. You can interrupt them with your Berserker’s Call. Bad initiation will lead to an unsuccessful gank. Focus on stacking up your amour by getting kills from your Culling Blade, the more kills the more tank Axe will be. Keep in mind, that Culling Blade can be blocked by Linken’s Sphere even if the enemy is below the kill threshold. Casting Battle Hunger on the target first can break the Linken’s Sphere, allowing Axe to finish the target off.
Counters of Axe
Doom
- Doom prevents Axe from using his skills. At level 25, a branch of the talent tree allows Doom to apply Break, allowing Doom to disable Counter Helix, making Axe effectively useless for a lengthy duration.
Nature’s Prophet
- Nature’s Prophet can counter Axe pretty well in the team fights by using his Sprout ability, which makes Axe less effective in the fights and makes his initiation useless. If Axe Breserker’s Call catches someone, Sprout can be a spell used on Axe to protect your ally.
- You can read Nature’s Prophet guide to see how NP counters Axe.
Necrophos
- Ghost Shroud instant cast time allows Necrophos to turn ethereal before being initiated by Berserker’s Call. If caught this will prevent Counter Helix damage as Necrophos can’t attack in the Berserker’s Call while in the Ghost Shroud form and constantly healing from a Death Pulse keeps Necropho’s health higher.
Timbersaw
- As a tank, it is harder to kill Timbersaw and he counters Axe’s initiation. Timbersaw Aghnim’s Scepter upgrade provides a health barrier shield in which he blocks all types of damage for 8 seconds which is horrible for Axe initiation on him.
Outworld Destroyer
- Astral Imprisonment is an excellent way to defend against an initiating Axe, with this ability Outworld Destroyer can save his allies.
Phoenix
- In a team fight Phoenix can counter as Axe is pretty excellent, as Axe’s slow attack speed makes it difficult for him to destroy the Supernova on his own.
Ursa
- Enrage reduces the damage from Blade Mail and Counter Helix to a minimum, forcing Axe to play around Ursa’s ultimate ability.
Viper
- Poison Attack and Viper Strike slow Axe easily into the team fights and puts his Blink Dagger on cooldown, preventing him from initiating.
- If Axe initiates Nethertoxin can be used to break the Counter Helix.
Pugna
- Pugna can easily counter Axe by using Decrepify on allies or the Axe, preventing any damage from the Counter Helix.
- With Pugna’s Life Drain ability, he can save allies by healing them constantly if Axe initiates.
Life Stealer
- Feast allows Life Stealer to counter Axe easily by wasting his Berserker’s Call as Lifestealer’s attacks deal damage and provide heal for a percentage of his target’s max health.
Wrapping it up
Axe is a hero from which you will learn about the timings of initiation and winning fights, by playing this hero you will understand how to kill a core with high physical damage as this hero is perfect in every patch due to his aggressive playstyle. It’s in meta till his Counter Helix deals pure damage. This guide will help you stomp the game in rank matches. I hope you like this guide.
If you still need help winning games with Axe, you can check our Dota 2 MMR Boosting service where I will guide you on how to win games with this hero.