Dota 2 Axe: Abilities and How to Play the Initiator

Dota 2 Axe is a strength initiator with one of the most direct game plans in the hero pool: force a fight, take the hits, and end it with a guaranteed kill on anyone low enough.

The kit

• Berserker's Call — forces nearby enemies to attack Axe and only Axe for its duration, the initiation that starts most of his fights.
• Battle Hunger — a damage-over-time curse that also slows the target's movement speed if they don't land a kill or die themselves.
• Counter Helix — a passive that triggers a spin dealing damage around him whenever he's attacked, meaning taking hits is part of his damage output rather than a downside.
• Culling Blade — his ultimate, an instant kill on any enemy below a health threshold, with a bonus movement speed reward for the team if it lands.

Playing him

Call in the enemy who's overextended or the one your team needs dead, let Counter Helix chip away at everyone around him, and look for the Culling Blade window rather than saving it — the threshold rewards using it the moment someone is low.

Building him

Blink Dagger to guarantee Call reaches its target, then whatever keeps him alive long enough to spin — armour and health are worth more to Axe than raw damage items.