Thanks to Samboy for this wondeful drawing of Troll







Introduction:
The Troll Warlord is a pure fighter, able to attack from a distance or up close, where he becomes stronger overall and may also bash. He capitalizes on attack speed, being able to strike and move quickly, as well as enhance his allies to sometimes do the same. Jah'rakal can also Blind his opponents, making it difficult for them to land attacks. Additionally, successive attacks landed on a target enable greater focus for Jah'rakal, greatly increasing his attack speed. If he is able to acquire items and momentum soon enough, there aren't many fighters who can best him.






* Affiliation: Sentinel
* Attack Animation: 0.3 / 0.3
* Damage: 38 - 56
* Casting Animation: 0.51 / 0.3
* Armor: 2
* Base Attack Time: 1.7
* Movespeed: 300
* Missile Speed: 1200
* Attack Range: 500
* Sight Range: 1800 / 800

Troll's Stats are not that bad. He has an average STR gain for an AGI hero, good agility and not that bad INT gain.

Pro's And Con's

- Hits hard and fast
- Excellent jungling skills
- Good DPS
- No Mana Problems
- Could still contribute even when silenced
- Very Fun Hero to play

- Item Dependant
- Very Fragile
- Somewhat Low INT gain
- No escape mechanism (Like some other DPS heroes)
- Very Low HP

I just listed some pros and cons of troll. There are more pros on him, but the cons have a very big impact on him and the style of the game

Skills

Berserker Rage

Jah'rakal goes berserk, using his throwing axes as melee weapons. He gains bonus damage, movement speed, attack speed, hit points, armor, and the Bash ability, but can only attack at melee range.

This is why troll is a good hero, he could switch to melee and vice-versa. Without any mana and cooldown.
Bash

Gives a chance that an attack will do bonus damage and stun an opponent for 2 seconds.

A good skill. If your lucky, you'll make your opponent stun-locked.
Blind

A searing light blinds the vision of a target enemy unit, making it miss on some attacks.

Spam It!!! Use it to annoy your enemies.
Fervor

When Jah'rakal engages an opponent, his animalistic nature grants him even greater proficiency in single combat. With each continuous blow on the same target, Jah'rakal gains understanding of the prey's defenses, and guides each strike with greater ease than the last.

This is why people are scared to fight troll alone. It increases your AS. A very convenient skill to have.

Battle Trance AKA Rampage

Jah'rakal unconsciously uses dormant magic to awaken the savagery of every warrior on the battlefield. Greatly increases attack speed for a short duration, and lasts twice the duration on Jah'rakal.

This is what makes Troll A killing machine. He could kill 5 heroes just by himself!!!

Skill Build

1. Berserker Rage
2. Fervor
3. Fervor
4. Berserker Rage
5. Fervor
6. Battle Trance
7. Fervor
8. Berserker Rage
9. Berserker Rage
10. Blind/Stats
11. Battle Trance
12. Blind/Stats
13. Blind/Stats
14. Blind/Stats
15. Blind/Stats
16. Battle Trance
17-25. Blind/Stats

First of all, max out Berserker Rage and Fervor. MaxBattle Trance if you can. Then Blind OR Stats after.

Item Build

Starting Items

A.The Normal Build



Get these if your going for the wraith band build. Get 1 or 2 slippers and tangos and salves. This build gives enough regen and some armor and damage.

B.The Fast Build



I do not recommend this build. But, if you will trilane it is possible to go for this build. The Fast Build gives some MS but lack of regen items.

C. The Jungle Build




If you're lane partner could solo, I suggest to jungle than laning. Get a stout shield for damage block, a QB to increase damage and tree eaters, a jungler's best friend. I recommend using melee range to benefit QB while jungling

Core Items


OR




First of all, get a HotD. It gives troll lifesteal, which is very important for troll. A PMS or a Wraith Band if you only bought 1 slipper. Treads which is very self-explanatory and the best boots of choice. A BKB for more survivability and last but not the least, a Lothar's Edge for your escape mechanism.

Luxury Items


The first core item for troll. It gives evasion and A big AGI boost for more IAS.


Get it if the game is long and you wanna see those 4-digit crits coming. Synergizes very well with Battle Trance and Bash.


If you don't want your orb to be lifesteal, get a skadi. But I'm sure, you won't be able to farm that much gold and besides there are better items to go for first.


Upgrade your HotD to a Satanic if the game is super long and you think that you don't survive that long in battle.


Get it for more HP and HP regen.

Optional Items

Many Casters on the other team and fed up with those AOE spells?



Want A passive Battle Trance?



Ursa on the other team?




Want to be a caster?




Rejected Items



A big NO-NO for a carry like you. Just get a PMS instead



YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!!



I think getting a LOTHARS ON RIKI SOUNDS LIKE A BETTER IDEA FOR ME



There are better orbs than S&Y.




Our Final Items








Solo Roshan


I usually roshan troll at level 8-11 in which I already have my HotD, Treads and completing my Lothar's Edge. First, Go to ancient creeps camp, Dominate an Ogre Magi with your HotD, then go to Roshan's Place. Let Ogre Magi Cast Frost Armor on you and fight. Here is an example of me fighting Roshan :





Laning And Gamestyle


Early Game

This my basic playstyle with troll in early game, now buy your starting items and head out to lane or jungle. I prefer going to safe lane (Bottom for Sentinel and Top for Scourge) or go mid for more farm and exp. And don't forget to block your creeps to make laning more easier for you. If your opponent is ranged make sure use the Autoattack technique to draw in creeps to stay away from harassment. Try to last hit and deny but always prioritize last hitting than denying. Here are your goals in laning:

1. Farm up your core
Focus first on lasthitting and buy your Hotd then Treads in the side shop.

2. Push your lane
When you reach level 6, learn Battle Trance and push your lane a bit. When you reach the enemy tower and they don't have creeps yet, use your Ulti to push the lane. REMEMBER: DO THIS IF YOURE ENEMY IS NOT THERE. FIRST CALL A MISS TO ALERT YOUR TEAMATES

3. If you were mid, gank a lane
It is very easy to gank when troll. If you have an ally with a slow or disable, it will probably end up in a kill. Gank your safe lane. This is where the enemies get close to the tower. While going there, look at the runes, get a dd or an invi to give more power in ganking.


Mid Game


This is the fun part of the game where many team fights happen. By this time you are already level 15 or 16, and if you had any luck you already have the core and some of the luxury items. Now, your role in the team is the Hardcore Carry.Don't just rush in and die, that's wrong, in every game you need to act smart and be two moves ahead of your opponent. Before the clash starts make sure all of your teammates are in the position to back you up. Rush in and click BKB and focus on the first disabler you see. If an enemy is dying and is running away don't blindly chase him too far, you might wanna check if your teammates can do okay if you leave them, if you chase the target too far away and even if you manage to kill him, there's a chance that your team might be wiped out due to your absence. Stick to your team and give as much damage as possible. Always use your Battle Trance to help your fellow allies, this style will give you a good chance to win a clash, just keep cool and think of the next best thing to do.


Late Game




This is the hard part, make sure that you are stacked up since you will have a hard time handling this part of the game considering that the opposite team also has an ace carry in their line-up. Do the same rules of engagement in Mid Game, don't be afraid to die after utilizing all your skills in battle, trust in your teammates to finish the job, hopefully your team will win with the only consequence of you dying, you'd still feel good about yourself knowing that your sacrifice wasn't in vain.



Allies And Enemies


Allies


Stunners/Disablers



They give you the time to hit and perma-bash them.


Special Mentions:


Dazzle gives every thing you need, an armor reduction spell which makes you hit more harder and 2 life saving moves. Just the best hero to lane with.


Omni acts like Dazzle, but the best part is a free 20 sec BKB!!! It makes you last longer in team battles.


Enemies


One-Hitters:


They are just a nightmare to you. The fact that Troll is a very fragile hero.


Nukers:

They will just nuke you to death...


Q&A



Q: Why go for QB and PMS, when I can easily farm for items using Bottle/SoulRing?

I do agree that bottle is effective for farming with Troll, but getting QB and PMS is better in most of the situations during laning. it is efficient enough to farm by means of last hitting every creep wave. You can't last hit every wave by just auto-attacking. You will need to dive in and attack each creep if you wanna take it ( If you were melee), your opponent will definitely take the chance to attack you. When you take in damage you will have to use bottle to regen then when it runs out you get the crow and refill( If you have) by that time your opponent is already busy denying.



Q:Why do you reject Sange and Yasha as an item for Troll? He needs IAS boost.


Level 3 Battle Trance grants 140 AS, which is already good. SY only grants minimal dmg and IAS which is insignificant if you wanna push on to late game and you don't really need IAS because you already have the DPS items. You already have enough IAS and DPS when you get the main core items shown in the guide, you chase the dying heroes, thats your job and you have a lothar's edge, right?


How about blink dagger on Troll?




I have been thinking about that, I didn't put it in either the optional of rejected items because I think it's just a matter of choice in the player to get it or not, though personally I discourage the usage of dagger, you spend 2150 gold to get more mobility and getting blink is good to perma-bash enemies. But, Troll only focuses on one hero when he fights. Heroes like Slardar with AOE stun is more effective with dagger. You get in fights by Using BKB, Ulti then chase with Lothar's.



Q:Can MoM be an alternative to HotD/Satanic?



I seriously doubt it, MoM amplifies the damage you take upon usage it degrades your ability to take damage and you die faster, then with HotD you get +5 armor and +20 dmg with a considerable 15% Lifesteal, even if getting +100% IAS from MoM is good it's still not viable for Troll, it's not upgradable so it's just gonna be crap. Better to have Satanic, better lifesteal, better dmg, better HP.


Q: What about getting Phase instead of Treads?




Phase is a good idea, but in late game you'll be farming for late game Tier 3 items. Therefore you'll be using all of your item slots. Putting on Phase instead of Treads will decrease your AS and damage . Phase Is just a waste on troll. And there I said it again, YOU HAVE A LOTHAR'S RIGHT?



Q:What about battlefury on Troll? He's not ranged all the time?


You don't need splash damage in melee form since you can easily last hit with the high damage that Troll already has, sure +65 dmg and +1.5 mana regen is nice but Butterfly is better than that, 30 Agi 30% Evasion and it enables you to hit and farm faster. Don't be a retard and engage the enemy knowing you don't have the items, that's not the problem of this guide it's your problem.





Credits And Final Words


IceFrog for DotA

Thanks to Lycan for so many tips about DotA

Thanks to You For reading this guide.


I hoped that this guide helped your style of playing troll. I wish all luck to you playing troll. If you find some mistakes, build changes. pm me for feedback. I will find some replays and I will post more screenshots next time.