Abilities, roles and builds with an explanation for every purchase.
HERO GAME PLANWith my first jump, I gather enemies around me and create a damage window for my team.
One after another, Axe cuts down his foes. Marching ahead of his team, he locks his enemies in battle then counters their blows with a deadly spin of his weapon. Slamming his culling blade through a weakened enemy, he is always charging onward.
My recommendation is a starting point. We choose another position together with the team and for its needs.
My resource is the team's space: I hold the lane and build for initiation or team protection.
This is an editorial starting plan based on hero mechanics. It is not presented as a match I have already tested or a popularity ranking.
Here is my initial plan: I do my role's job first, then choose the items the team needs. I adapt the order and expensive purchases to the opponent.
Help maintain close contact and pass through groups of units.
Changes the entry angle and lets me reach a target quickly. Damage taken can prevent its use.
Makes enemy focus fire more costly by returning damage when the opponent is forced to keep attacking.
Provides a window for my actions against eligible magical damage and disables. I check effects that pierce the protection.
Adds armor and pressure in an area, helping limit the enemy’s health restoration.
Vanguard ↗Helps you fight up close early against suitable attacks. Does not solve the problem of heavy magic damage.
Lotus Orb ↗Lets me remove an eligible negative effect and complicates the opponent's targeted focus.
Refresher Orb ↗Lets you repeat your main power window. Before buying, I consider whether I will have enough mana for both casts.
I do not assign one ‘correct’ minute to every purchase. I look at my gold, the next fight and the problem: am I missing mana, target access, control or protection? If an expensive slot will arrive too late, I get a useful answer earlier.
Original Valve icons and descriptions. Cooldowns and mana are shown by level from the data snapshot; talents and upgrades can change the values.
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him while he gains bonus armor during the duration.
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him while he gains bonus armor during the duration.
Berserker's Call applies Battle Hunger to affected units.
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. The enemy is slowed as long as they are facing away from Axe.
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends. The enemy is slowed as long as they are facing away from Axe.
Multiple instances of Battle Hunger can stack on a single target.
After a set number of attacks, Axe will perform a helix counter attack, dealing pure damage to all nearby enemies.
After a set number of attacks, Axe will perform a helix counter attack, dealing pure damage to all nearby enemies.
Counter Helix now applies a stacking debuff to enemies hit by it that causes them to deal less total attack damage to Axe. Counter Helix no longer has a cooldown and its counter advances when Axe attacks.
The hero strikes an enemy’s weak point, dealing pure damage. Killing an enemy hero with this ability resets its cooldown and temporarily grants nearby allies bonus movement speed and armor.
Axe spots a weakness and strikes, dealing pure damage. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset, and all nearby allied units gain bonus movement speed and armor. Axe permanently drenches his blade every time he kills an enemy Hero with Culling Blade, gaining bonus armor for each stack.
These abilities are not necessarily available at the same time. I check the condition beside the name: innate ability, another form or an Aghanim purchase.
When there are no allied heroes within 700, the ability’s owner gains Strength equal to 50% of his armor. After approaching an ally, the bonus gradually decreases over 3 sec.
When there are no allied heroes within 700, the ability’s owner gains Strength equal to 50% of his armor. After approaching an ally, the bonus gradually decreases over 3 sec.
These are fields from the official source. The hero's final values in the client account for attributes and other active mechanics.
Items, slang and real episodes help connect abilities with what happens in a match.
