Trouble with Timbersaw? Our latest Dota 2 guide goes over five things to remember next time you have to go up against him.

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There are several offlaners that can make a big difference for their team, and Timbersaw is one of them. This Dota 2 hero has been around for some time now, and people usually pick him up when they want to go to the offlane. However, Timbersaw can also be an excellent midder, especially against heroes like Alchemist.

This article won’t be a Timbersaw Dota 2 guide because most people interested in the hero are aware of his specifics. Timbersaw is actually one of the most complex offlaners and a hero that requires a lot of practice.  Fortunately, people who learn how to use him will easily rip through the competition.

Speaking of competition and ripping through something, those who have to go up against Timbersaw need to be aware of a couple of very important things. The tips here will allow everyone to deal with this hero, so let’s go through them.

Try to land a kill before he reaches level 3

One of the first crucial things you have to do when playing against Timbersaw is to try and kill him before he reaches level 3. This sounds complicated, but if you have stuns, you should be able to land a kill fairly easily.

The reason why you should try to land a kill before he reaches level 3 is that his Reactive Armor will be on level 1. This will only grant him 10 stacks, which is usually not enough to tank that much damage. However, once the hero reaches level 3, players will most likely have level 2 reactive armor, which will make him really hard to kill.

Besides the fact that killing Timbersaw is easier said than done, preventing him from getting experience is even more complicated. So, if you think that he will get to level 3 really fast, start playing aggressively early on and try to kill him at least once.

Don’t gank the hero if you can’t burst him down fast

Even though most people manage to get a kill early on and prevent Timbersaw from snowballing out of control, others fail to do so. This means that the hero starts farming a lot, and he quickly reaches level 6. 

Once that happens, most Dota 2 players have 2 options. They either decide to gank him nonstop, or they just leave him and focus on the other lanes. Needless to say, it is better to focus on the first option because Timbersaw is not unkillable, even when he has level 3 reactive armor.

That said, the only way to kill the hero without any of your teammates dying is to have him disabled. The idea is to stun/sleep him and use all of the burst damage you got. Failing to kill him in the first couple of seconds means you won’t be able to do that later on because he can use his Chain to escape. In some cases, he can even start fighting and land a kill, especially if you are close to trees.

Heroes who aren’t good picks against Timbersaw

Timbersaw is one of the best counters picks in the game because the hero has insane damage output. Even though he can work against pretty much everything, he shines the most against STR heroes because of his Whirling Death. When used, this ability deals pure damage and causes the enemy to lose 10% of their main stats. In other words, STR heroes can lose tons of HP, and this ability only has a 6s cooldown.

Aside from Alchemist, Timbersaw is strong against CK and Huskar. As for other heroes, he is really good against heroes with illusions or clones. Phantom Lancer, Naga Siren, Meepo, and Terreorblade are among the first names that come to mind.

If you know that you will go up against Timbersaw and you want to kill him, you can pick things like Ursa or Outworld Destroyer. The latter is incredibly strong and will make Timbersaw’s life a living hell. Ursa is also good, even though people who know how to play with the hero can kite the bear and even land a kill.

Getting the best items against Timber

Despite the fact that he is one of the best offlaners in the game, Timbersaw is not invisible. In fact, the hero can be countered with a lot of items, especially in the late game. That’s why most players who pick this hero focus on the mid-game and want to win as fast as possible.

Starting with Diffusal Blade, this item can be solid against Timbersaw, especially early on. The hero has a lot of mana problems before getting items like Bloodstone, meaning that carries this item can deal with him pretty easily.

Another mid-game item that is really strong against Timbesaw is Silver Edge. Even though this won’t prevent the hero from doing tons of damage, it will remove his passive. In other words, once you attack the hero, you and your team must focus and kill him in the next couple of seconds.

As for the late-game items, pretty much anything with a disable is good against Timbersaw. Things like Abyssal Blade, Scythe of Vyse, Gleipnir, and more.

As mentioned, Timbersaw is one of the top-tier offlaners and a hero that many people get when they want to counter someone. Albeit hard to play, he is capable of carrying his team even from the offlane. This is one of the big reasons why you can often see the hero, even among professional players.

Speaking of professionals, there are many top-tier Timbersaw players out there. One of the first names that come to mind is none other than Ammar, OG’s offlaner. He proved himself as one of the best Timbersaw players in the world.