Clinkz the Niche King
The viability of Clinkz in the professional scene and high-level pub games has been heavily debated ever since 6.82. The removal of UAM properties on Searing Arrows has opened up a great deal of possibilities, while small incremental buffs have put the hero on the radar for both casual and professional players. It is not until slightly before TI5, however, that we got to see the hero played competitively on a regular basis and now he fills a rather specific niche and can be considered one of the best picks in very specific scenarios.
Meta Statistics
The global average win rate for the hero is definitely not impressive—46.79% doesn’t even qualify the hero for the “situational tier”. At the same time, the win rate of the hero in very high skill games only is at a very respectable 49.85%. Moreover, as the average MMR of a game increases, so does the Clinkz’s win rate and in 4k+ games it is slightly over 50%, making for a surprisingly well-rounded hero. His global average pick rate has followed a very peculiar trend after the Shanghai Major grand finals but has returned to the initial values since. Overall the hero is picked more often in the lowest and the highest brackets, with less attention in the 3-5k mmr range.
Role
Clinkz is a rather versatile core when it comes to laning. Under different circumstances he can be played in any lane. His full potential is generally unlocked in the mid or safe lane, however, since the offlane position is currently better suited for heroes which are not as tempo-dependant.
His global role is not of a typical carry hero—the hero should rarely be afk-farming and is better utilised as a ganker and split-pusher. This the hero a couple of interesting and unique properties:
As a hero with one of the highest solo kill potential in the game, Clinkz can and will pull a great deal of resources from the enemy supports as well as frequently force the enemy team to stay closer together. This generally disrupts both the Gold and XP economy of the enemy, especially if Clinkz manages to get a hold of the tempo early on. Smart global positioning is key—at any time a good Clinkz player should either be split-pushing or finding pick-offs, while getting farm in the process.
This also opens up a lane for your supports to farm and get XP in—greedy supports or supports who can scale extremely well with extra income and levels are probably a better pairing for Clinkz, compared to supports which are limited in their presence in the later stages of the game.
By constantly applying global pressure, Clinkz can ensure a very uniform growth of his team’s net worth and create a great deal of space. This is very important, since the hero is rather ill-suited for direct 5v5 confrontations in the later stages of the game—by then his damage output remains rather high, but the single target nature of it will generally ensure only a 1v1 trade for the enemy squishy hero, considering how squishy Clinkz himself is, even under the effects of 
Death Pact
Skill Build
There is no “most efficient” agreed on build for Clinkz. Most professional players in the Shanghai Major have followed one general rule however. They would get 1-1-1 at level 3 and then would either go on maxing [missing skill: clinkz-searing-arrows-5260] or 
Skeleton Walk, before getting any extra points in [missing skill: clinkz-strafe-5259].
The choice between maxing Searing Arrows or Skeleton Walk comes down to the enemy Clinkz is facing—if he can allow himself to remain relatively safe without the extra MS, going for higher damage is a valid option. Safety remains a priority, however, since the hero, as mentioned previously, is extremely dependent on tempo.
The “new” Build
Ever since the rework of Searing Arrows a new build has emerged, which has greatly solidified Clinkz’s position as a tempo control hero with high split-pushing capabilities. This build allows the hero to become one of the strongest 1v1 heroes in the game as well as take towers extremely fast.
Soul Ring/
Medallion of Courage+
Desolator gives a decent mana sustain and incredible amounts of damage to a purely auto-attacking hero. This build can be often complemented with a 
Ring of Aquila or even 
Drum of Endurance if extra stats are necessary.
Later progression is completely dependant on the line-up Clinkz is facing. More often than not, it will involve a 
Black King Bar which is a staple item for most core heroes. Some of the unorthodox yet effective options include 
Blink Dagger, which provides the hero with immense amounts of extra mobility, and 
Scythe of Vyse, which is a rare pick-up on non-intelligence heroes, but is heavily underrated as a general core item.
Diffusal Blade deserves a special mention, since more often than not it will be one of the best choices. Not only does it provide a decent DPS boost, but it also can serve as a way of escaping 
Dust of Appearance and later on as a way to deal with 
Ghost Scepters. Being prepared in advance for potential disruptions to the plan of solo pick-offs is necessary to maintain good tempo control. It is important to note, however, that using it as a generic slow is ill-advised, due to the limited nature of the Diffusal Blade.
The “old” build
Previously, Clinkz players have been mainly seen rushing 
Orchid Malevolence. The item provided much needed mana regeneration and some mana pool as well as having a good DPS boosting utility active. Even though this build has fallen out of favor lately, it is still situationally good as a way to counter enemy mobile heroes.
While this build provides comparable DPS for a slightly higher price, it does take away a great deal of the split-pushing capabilities of the hero, making macro-plays that more complicated. In general terms, it is not the best idea to get into a game thinking about this build as a priority—there are better cores to deal with the enemy mobile heroes. It is an option if, during the draft the enemy team has decided to double-down on heroes with escapes and the choice is between having the potential for solo kills and having very limited killing capabilities. Otherwise, it is generally better to utilise the “new” build and pick Clinkz accordingly and definitely not as one of the first two-three picks.
Final Thoughts
The amount of versatility in drafting brought by this patch has been a topic for a decent amount of time already. Clinkz is somewhat of an exception to this rule—regardless of the meta, he has been filling this situational niche ever since the buffs in 6.82. As it stands, the hero is in a really good place balance-wise with scenarios where he can be the dominant force he is supposed to be.
What has potentially made the hero slightly more popular lately is the popularity of heroes with “charm” and “summon” abilities as well as the increase in 
Helm of the Dominator purchases. Clinkz can get so much more from creeps with bigger HP pools. As an example, a 1000 HP creep would have its HP increased to 1400 through HotD, resulting in a 32 damage and 320 HP boost when using Death Pact.
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dotabuff articles are quite good. that being said, i am quite good at losing on clinkz
The real question is treads or phase boots.
Nice desolator + skadi :D
Fifth
Some errors in the article:
* Strafe is always picked at lvl.4 since it is never necessary before that.
* Searing arrows lvl2 is 99,99% what u pick at level 3
* That Deso + Skadi ....
* Clinkz can be built towards team fights, getting an AC after Deso / BKB.
* Helm of the dominator is never really an option, U want Deso as your UAM, and if u got orchid instead u cannot afford to not build a Damage item afterwards.
@NEXT, it is really works. We can buy desolator at 15-20 min of game. We have greate DPS, cuz desolator gives -6 armor (it is really cool on this stage of game). Then we can buy bkb and so on.
In late geme all heroes have armor. So, desalator works not so good as in early game. Also, we need HP. When we buy skadi, we get HP + slow for enemy. Desolator just gives us damage, without his orb, but it is not big deal, really.
PGS Meow... you play in normal/high rated games & you believe you know shit about the game?
Rush soul ring & abuse strafe/searing lvl 2 -- so that horse shit about lvl 4 Strafe just because you don't know how to play... same deal with the comments on deso/skadi ; most of you can't even find the time to last hit corrrectly... so leave thinking to people who can.
And no... AC is easily top 5 worst expensive item for Clinkz in the game -- BKB is already gearing for teamfights -- Hex/Daedalus/MKB are basically all better items than AC.
300 games with Cllinkz in shit tier just makes you a shit tier Clinkz ; by no means does it back up your claims... all the opposite in fact.
KawaiiSocks may seriously suck at the game ; but he's smarter than most of you tools so go back to your shed.
ps: HoD Clinkz is actually perfectly viable -- but you think it's to have a UAM... just about confirms your lack of Knowledge. Dominating + Deathpact a creep since it's HP is raised to the max a neutral has : 1400 hp.
Meaning you don't have to jungle hunt for Pact... So say Socks is wrong when you're smart enough to know what he's talking about.
@YotKa heeyyy...) I am still recovering from a 12-loss streak, no need to rub it in)
Nice Article. Speaking of being situational, a clinkz pick is really good when u have extreme vision advantage (kotl, ns, treant,etc), coz i have seen a lot of times when enemies are able to juke within trees and clinkz is rendered useless. Also, never pick this hero if aforementioned heroes are in the enemy team. A nightstalker with aghs and gem, for example, will destroy a clinkz's game.
good to see the frequency of articles has increased with varying topics....keep it up (y)
If you are in low MMR just play Clinkz! :)
@java8 @NEXT this is working too with passive abilities of this items. Deso for towers and skadi for heros. Just telling :P
инбища
I rarely ever do it, but the correct skill build is to take arrows, then hold your skill point at 2, then take arrows again at 3
arrows, no skill, arrows
^Then you just grab what you need when you need it
You shouldn't build HotD on clinkz. However, getting someone else to build it who has the item as a core is a great idea.
The truth is... that, the last games that I've been playing in normal skilled games whoever gets wards on his map loses, cause the support is wasting time walking all the way to go there to ward and not be effective, helping his carry, or teammates on team group fights or even just farming and harrasing for himself. Isn't it funny?
AND... There are a lot of players on normal skill bracket, if not 99.9% of the one's who called themselves supports (Which is, think about it) REALLY LOW number on NSB, that thinks that all they have to do is buy a currier, upgrade it and put this "shitty" wards (that are usefull for only players with no map awareness imo, or ok to secure ROSH). So, you end up losing, because this 'support' is level 14 when you are all 17-18 to 25, or because you're having fights without any possible assistance, control. Which is "BS""
So I'm gonna have to say this (PLease don't throw stones on me Dota Community I know it can be dangerous but it is the truth): "PLEASE, "Supports" STOP PLACING WARDS, THIS IS NOT YOUR MAIN GOAL AS BEING A SUPPORT, YOUR MAIN GOAL IS TO GET YOUR CARRY FARMING, AND ALL POSSIBLE ASSISTANT YOU CAN GIVE HIM, IN FIGHTS, TEAM FIGHTS, AND TEAM TO PUSH LANES, AND WIN".
*note: If f you secure ALL of this, then you can go and place your wards assh***.
what the fuck I've just read?
Well, guys, it's all clear now for us! WARDS ARE BAD! Yeah cuz heroes already have vision about 3k, am I right? I already can see that SB charging at me from their fountain. And that Pudge hiding in the bush too!
Well, why don't you just
1) quit dying at your lane while your support is warding their woods/ganking mid/jerking off?
2) start utilizing vision in order to get kills much easier?
3) place wards by yourself while picking rune/scouting woods?
Why do you need support 18lvl if you can weaken the enemy beforehand and win in 20mins because of that? Why do you even need to enter late-game anyways?
Regarding the topic, one thing cannot be denied — removed UAM from 2nd was the best feature ever iimplemented.
F0r Ev3rY0n3, it's carry players like you that I got dragged down -800 mmr since 6.85 patch.
I always, always, never forget to buy and place wards as a support player.
But for some reason, people like you dont utilize it well to prevent a gank or position for a kill.
Thanks alot. From VHS I'm in NS.
Seventh line down from the the ROLE caption there is a word missing.
This (gives) the hero
no, no, no... never blame the support.
since supports have limited levels and items,
it's understandable, if they often die in big fight (moreover in the latter stage).
quote of the day: if you can supp better, then be support.. cause everyone can be carry
@Troia this is NEVER a question, for multiple reasons. Not only is the attac kspeed from treads worth 10x more on clinkz than a little extra damage, since you will mostly be running invis across the map you wont be able to effectively utilize the speed boost on your phase boots, and an even more important arguement can be made as to the attribute swapping of the treads, most notably with a soul ring. You swap to str, use soul ring to lose less hp then swap to int to make the gained mana even larger (the extra mana added back wont be lost when the ring wears off) this simple tactic makes going to cast your ult give you a huge mana AND hp boost, allowing you to never have to go back to base.
well. Never blame the support (like, all the supports on lower brackets) are the one's that that has all team disables skills to "support" team fights.... And they are never there, they are warding. LOL
@человек-мужик So, SINCE when supports dictates game flow and rhythm? Like, if I'm like farming lane and I die cause you're warding, I was bad-positioned? Since when, supports are the one's that give orders or ideas. A support might just follows and supports and game flow. And not dictate the pace of it.
Supports in lower bracket games are so bad timers. Like, STOP DOING THIS, and just play real game now...
Treads > Phase
Gives you additional attack speed and Phase active is not very useful since you can't use it while invisible.
F0r Ev3rY0n3
Nice troll. People are actually falling for it
One of the worst heroes in the game. Got a 30% winrate on him. Had to do him for the battlepass challenge. Never again.
Nice read, interesting hero IMO. I think this hero goes along with almost the same pace as a slark with a shadowblade in terms of ganking/farming. Which brings me to the question: Why pick Clinkz when you can pick Slark? I feel as if both heroes fit a similar niche, but Slark's kit is so much more forgivable and easier to execute. I feel like there's a lot of pressure to get stuff done on the map as clinkz, whereas on slark you can sit back and farmfarmfarm. This is just my take on him, and I have BARELY played him so my knowledge is very limited.
@Murranji, maybe you're just not good with him? I think he's a solid hero.
and there goes my favorite hero now its gonna get nerfed
Popular ward spots are fine, but never never feel like they're the place you MUST put wards. I use them about 40% of the time. Think, where do we want to see in the next 5 minutes; is it safe to get there and put a ward?
That lose streak is real dude, stay strong
yokta you play on smurf rofl shut up
@[PGS] Meow
That really isn't true. Searing level 1 is the most common as it actually gives you laning capabilities. Getting Skeleton Walk lvl1 is like getting Surge level 1 as DS. Calling in 99.99% is just flat out wrong. Also I would avoid criticising pro player's item builds when you don't even know the context and are in normal skill. I do agree with the HotD though. However sometimes Strafe at 3 is right, it gives far more DPS than a second level in Searing Arrows so is optimal if somebody ganks your lane or you have a kill opportunity. For general laning though Searing is the better choice.
Guys below 4k just read without giving your stupid comments. Because if you are good enough you already have at least 4k after calibrating your noob games .
Sometimes having only one point in Q feels lacklustre. Why not putting up 2 points in Strafe, leaving Invis with 3 points? I know that ms from invis is kind of essential, but you can sacrifice it in order to have 2 additional seconds of increased AS. That's especially good vs tanky heroes + it helps pushing.
Toysoldier built phase boots every game and he played that hero to 6k... Its better damage for the entire early/mid game and helps you chase to get those couple last searing arrows in when you dont have skeleton walk up. It is certainly debatable.
Clinkz is one of my favorite Hero. After 150 games with it, i'll try to give my point of view.
I had a good winrate with him until last 2 patch where i lsot a lot, always with more or less the same build. Orchid first.
1st: Yes this article is right, Orchid became shit. I've always played Orchid first and i can told you that, it is way too expensive for the burst it give, and it is only for one ennemy.
- it does not work against bkb
- it does not work against hero with Eul's scepter, making extremly more difficult to do something with him against lina or Invoker.
An early desolator, (which you can theorically get faster than orchid) permit better early gank to ruin Invok and Lina's economy and permit better early teamfight cause the burst will not be only on One ennemy.
The more the MMR increase, the less you will have opportunities to do gank solo. especially in team mmr. You have less opportunities, and generally less vision than in pub game. Yes you can early gank in jungle. But when you have orchid (between 12 and 25min depending on which item you went first and the farm you have) the jungling phase is generally over for the ennemy. laning phase is also finish for you because you have to gank with your teamates.
That's my point of view for the stuff.
Now, to answer a lot of questions about the spell build, i see that many people get wrong with strafe and other spell. Clinkz have a really shitty mana pool (like a lot of ganker), but his spells are very expensive, strafe (100), arrows (10), shadow (75), pact (100). for a mana pool of 275 if i remember good. After playing it a lot, and doing a lot of tests, here's the best build you can do in terms of constant DPS and harassing.
So here is mine
lvl 1 - shadow walk -> try to get rune, or escape early gank or have a good position to gank rune
lvl 2 - arrow -> you don't need arrow lvl 1, cause it is still 10 mana and clinkz have a shit pool of mana.
lvl 3 - arrow
lvl 4 - Stats -> Oh wait what ? stats ? why not strafe or shadow ? There's 3 reasons.
1st because you DO NOT HAVE enough mana to constantly last hit with arrows AND shadow walk, AND strafe AND use arrows on ennemy to harass or kill. If you loose a lot with Clinkz, it is because you're ruining yourself your early game (Clinkz is one of the best early hero in terms of dps IMO)
2nd i take 2 slippers of agility when game start, giving you better attack to last hit without searing arrows lvl 1, and giving you, with this stats a good pool of agility, strengh and mana. Yes it is not a lot, but it is still waaayyy more effective than spell you can't use because of your shitty mana. (don't forget, 1 point in stats is basically 1 more fire arrow to launch).
3rd you don't need strafe lvl 4. let's just imagine the following you're laning, you use somes arrows (so some mana) to last hit and harass. at this point if you want to get closer to an ennemy to kill him, you need to cloak then strafe -> boom 175 mana, leaving you nothing for arrows or cloaking back to avoid danger.
At this point, 3 fire arrows without strafe do more damage than 6-7 normal arrows with strafe (yes yes) and if you have a good position and tempo and mana management you can cloak, get behind the guy, kill him then cloak again.
lvl 5 arrows
lvl 6 shadow walk
lvl 7 arrows
lvl 8 stats again
lvl 9 ult
lvl 10 strafe
lvl 11 ult
to conclude on this question, just don't get that expensive strafe until you're really sure that your mana allow you to cloak + strafe + full fire arrows your ennemy + cloak again. normal arrows are just a BIG loss of DPS.
and get an acquilla ring after or before your boots.
sorry for my english