The Rise of Kunkka in Dota 2
Kunkka, the popular pirate hero in Dota 2, has been making waves in the game this week. After facing some challenges at The International 2023 last month, the tanky offlane initiator has turned the tides and emerged as a powerful force.
According to Dota 2 Pro Tracker, Kunkka’s win rate has jumped to 54.6 percent in high-level ranked games, and 55 percent across all levels, as reported by Dotabuff. This is a significant improvement compared to his 47 percent win rate at TI, where it even dropped to 42 percent at one point.
Kunkka’s Success and What Changed
Kunkka currently boasts the second-highest win rate among offlaners, with only Chaos Knight surpassing him. Even popular offlane choice Bristleback is not performing as well as Kunkka. So, what caused this change in Kunkka’s performance?
It is evident why Kunkka is excelling. He possesses various advantages such as a high health pool, which is particularly useful in a meta dominated by Strength and Universal heroes. He also offers good armor and has multiple abilities to catch, damage, and stun enemies. Additionally, his powerful ultimate can turn the tide of a team fight, while his Aghanim’s Shard ability grants him additional crowd control.
Popular Kunkka Build and Itemization
The current popular way to build Kunkka is relatively standard. Players typically start with two Tangoes, a Quelling Blade, an Iron Branch, Gauntlets of Strength, and a Circlet. As the game progresses, they build a full Bracer and a Magic Wand, depending on the situation in their lane. Brown Boots are upgraded to Phase Boots, and items like Blademail, Aghanim’s Scepter, and Aghanim’s Shard are added to their inventory.
Later on, players may consider getting a Black King Bar, Heart of Tarrasque, Refresher Orb, Scythe of Vyse, Shiva’s Guard, and Octarine Core in certain situations.
The Impact of Kunkka in Team Fights
This build maximizes Kunkka’s effectiveness in team fights, which is a key reason for its popularity. Skilled players who position themselves correctly can exert control over nearly every battle. Although this build is not drastically different from the one used at TI, major tournaments often establish their own metas, and for some reason, Kunkka did not perform well there.
Looking Ahead
It remains to be seen if Kunkka can maintain his impressive win rate after Valve’s post-TI Dota 2 update, which is expected to be released soon.
Kunkka, Dota 2, offlane initiator, win rate, meta, team fights, build, items