Item Build
Starting -
Early -
Mid -
Late -
Situational - ___Luxury -
Gameplay
Role: Ganker, Carry
Strategy: Focus on last hitting in lane. If against weak lane and lane mate has a stun, try to get kills and play aggressive.
If against strong lane, use ranged form to last hit. Focus on farming in laning phase.
When level 7 and you got Phase Boots, go out and try to gank with your team. If ganks go well, keep ganking, if not, focus on farming. If the other team plays defensively, farm.
Team Fights: Try to enter after the other team uses most of their nukes and disables. Focus on the most dangerous opponent, usually the carry or spellcasters.
Late Game: DO NOT DIE. Never engage opponents alone. No matter how buff you are, 4 or 5 heroes are probably strong enough to kill you alone. Stay with the team and don't go rambo.
Combo: Use Whirling Axes, use Phase, run up to your opponent, switch to ranged, Whirling Axes, switch to melee, ult, attack.
In late game, save Whirling Axes against the enemy physical DPS carry.
Changelog:
7/14/11 - Guide started as a draft guide
7/29/11 - Guide published
7/30/11 - Updated some stuff
7/31/11 - Added some images and notes
8/1/11 - Added more images and “Extra Info” section
8/6/11 - Minor updates
9/3/11 - Minor updates
3/18/12 - Updated items, skill info, and allies.
9/30/12 - Updated to 6.75, edited situational items, skill build, and item build
About:
Version 6.72 brought buffs to this unloved hero and had improved his gameplay for the most part. IceFrog replaced his mediocre Blind skill with two new actives, a ranged and melee version of Whirling Axes. This changed his gameplay by allowing Troll to deal some burst damage and chase more effectively. I've always personally loved Troll's insane IAS and when I read the changelog, I wanted to try him out. This guide is about my findings and what I think can maximize Troll's effectiveness in casual Dota.
This is also my first guide and item/skill/gameplay suggestions are welcome! Please comment and rate but only rate after you read the entire guide!
Troll has also received various buffs in the past couple versions (6.73 - 6.74) to his attack speed skills. Although they may not be as big of a buff as Whirling Axes but it is still useful nonetheless. Also, with the coming of DotA 2, mechanics that were a hassle in WC3 will be improved (being able to Bash and Crit in phase boots and toggling melee and ranged forms with Berserker Rage) and a smoother gameplay will help players control and use Troll.
Another buff came in 6.75 to Troll’s ultimate, Battle Trance, making it last on all his allies for the full duration as Troll.
6.75 – Battle Trance now lasts full duration for allies
6.74 - Battle Trance attack speed bonus increased from 60/100/140 to 60/120/180
6.73 - Fervor increments now increase while attacking towers
6.72c - Fervor AS bonus rebalanced from 5/10/15/20 AS per attack with a max of 100 to 20 AS per attack max of 40/60/80/100
6.72c - Ranged Whirling Axes now does 75 damage
6.72 - Blind replaced with Whirling Axes
6.72 - Cast point reduced by 0.3
6.72 - Berserker Rage transformation time removed
6.69 - Battle Trance self duration increased from 8 to 10 seconds
6.69 - Fixed melee/range item to update properly for Berserker Rage transformation
6.67 - Berserker's Rage bash rebalanced from 5/5/10/10% chance for 2 seconds bash and 25/50/25/50 damage to 10% chance for 0.8/1.2/1.6/2 seconds bash and 20/30/40/50 damage
6.63 - Battle Trance attack speed bonus increased from 60/80/100 to 60/100/140
The Troll: Pros and Cons: Pros
[+]Can choose to fight in ranged or melee
[+]High base damage
[+]Fast attack animation
[+]High MS
[+]Abilities give IAS
[+]Good AGI gain
[+]Decent STR gain for a carry
[+]Longest lasting Bash ability (2 sec)
[+]Global Ultimate
[+]Low mana costing skills
[+]Short cooldowns
[+]Ganker and carry
Cons
[-]Must be in melee to gain many benefits
[-]Will be aimed in team fights
[-]Squishy
[-]No escape mechanism
[-]Lowest base INT and gain
[-]Low Bash chance (10%)
[-]Switching targets hinders DPS
When to pick Troll?
You can pick him whenever you want but these may screw up your game:
Berserker Rage
This skill boosts Troll's stats quite nicely. It gives HP (equivalent to about 5 STR) to make up for his not-so-great base STR, armor to tank some extra harassment, some useful MS for mobility, damage for easy last hits, reduced BAT to whack even faster, and a Bash to hold the enemy in place.
All ranks give +15 damage, +3 armor, +100 hit points, reduces BAT to 1.55, and the Bash ability.
Effect: Toggles melee/ranged modes. Adds 20/20/20/30 MS. 10% Bash for 0.8/1.2/1.6/2 seconds and deal 20/30/40/50 bonus damage
Cooldown: 0
Note: The bonuses from the extra levels into Berserker Rage only increase the duration (not the chance) of this unreliable Bash by a lousy 0.4s. It is more beneficial to keep this at Rank 1 and level up his other, more useful skills.
Uses:
Melee/Ranged toggle
This is huge in the laning phase. Sometimes you won’t be able to get a creep kill because you’re in melee form and you need to walk too far but just switch to ranged, and attack. In the laning phase, you might have to switch modes a lot because you need to switch to get creep kills, harass, run away, and to use your Whirling Axes and Whirling Axes. Use it as needed. Troll is the only hero in the game with a 0 second CD transformation with 0 transformation time that switches melee and ranged. Make use of it.
Abusing melee/ranged toggle
Because toggling between melee and ranged form changed HP and armor, it is possible to increase the benefits of a healing item or to reduce incoming damage. The benefits are small but useful nonetheless.
Example 1: You're in a dangerous lane against a ranged opponent so you attack creeps in ranged mode instead of melee. When the enemy attacks you, you switch into melee mode because it gives you extra HP and armor so it will make the incoming attack hurt less. When you switch back to ranged mode for last hitting, you will end up with a higher % of HP versus taking the hit in ranged mode.
Example 2: You're level 4, melee form, and at red HP from a failed gank. Your HP is now 120/744 or about 16%. If you switch to ranged mode, you're at 103/644. Then you use a salve and stay in ranged mode, and then switch back to melee mode when the salve is done. You will end up with end up with 503/644 HP or 78% versus staying in melee mode while salving and ending with 520/744 or 69%.
Note: This technique is more useful in the early game. The switching can be neglected when healing in the late game because the benefits are so small compared to moving faster in melee form or the reduced BAT.
Getting more out of denied creeps
When you are in melee mode and an enemy creep is denied, you gain more experience than when you are in ranged mode. Every time an enemy creep is going to be denied, and you are in ranged mode, change into melee mode. This might be applicable if you are in a dangerous lane and you need to stay in ranged mode to get last hits.
Whirling Axes
The skill that Troll was long waiting for. This skill gives him a little more utility than his simple "right-click" play style. Whirling Axes gave Troll what he needed in the older versions. It combined his old Blind skill with an AoE nuke in melee form and an AoE slow and mini-nuke in ranged form.
Notes: The ranged and melee forms of this skill are independent of each other. They do not share cooldowns. One form is available in ranged form and the other is accessible by switching to melee form.
Whirling Axes (ranged)
When cast, Troll throws 5 axes in a triangular shape to the target location. This skill is what he was lacking in the last few version; some sort of reliable disable. Also note the really long cast range.
Effect: Slows opponents by 30% for 3/3.75.4.5/5.25 seconds and deals 75 damage.
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 20
Casting Range: 900
AoE: 100(Triangle tip)/900(Distance)/600(Triangle base)
This picture was stitched together to show the axe tails. The odd thing about this is even though Troll targeted sniper, the center of the triangle base is shifted upwards. The top axe appears to curve upwards.
Uses:
Chasing
This is the most common use for Whirling Axes. Basically, when you want to chase the enemy, you just cast Whirling Axes at them and run up to attack. It is best to use Whirling Axes when you are close to your target but it is easy to miss when at melee range so be careful when clicking. It is easiest to click on the hero you want to attack.
Tip: When attacking, stay in melee form, then when you get close enough to attack, switch to ranged, cast the slow, then switch back to melee form. This gives you more MS to get closer, faster.
Fleeing
Using Whirling Axes to flee is easier than using it to chase because the enemy doesn't need to be at melee range. The use is the same, point and click, then switch to melee form for MS and run.
Finishing
Using Whirling Axes to nuke heroes isn't as common because it deals a small amount of damage but because it slows, if there are about two more hits on an enemy and you are far away, cast this on him, switch to melee, run into ranged attack range, switch to ranged, and attack for the kill.
Interrupting Consumables
Whirling Axes has impressive range and can be used to stop the enemy from using items such as a healing salve or a clarity potion. It is similar to the old version of the Wave of Terror skill that Vengeful Spirit had. And since Whirling Axes is a new skill, opponents probably won't see it coming or they will underestimate the range of it.
Note: Whirling Axes has a 20 second cooldown which is short enough to use in separate ganks and chases but it can rarely be used twice in the same fight so use it wisely. If the cooldown finishes while chasing someone, you might be chasing into death.
Vision
Whirling Axes will give vision where ever it is cast. Using this skill for vision is not recommended because it has a long cooldown. It can be used for moments where vision is crucial such as checking to see if the enemy team is roshing or checking where someone is TPing in the side shop.
Whirling Axes (melee)
When cast, axes swirl outwards from Troll and deal damage and cause affected units to miss their attacks. This is the result of the Troll's Blind skill after IceFrog did his work on him. It allows Troll to dish out some burst damage and hinder enemy carries DPS. And it's AoE so the miss chance is placed on everyone that gets hit by the axes.
Effect: Deals 125/175/225/275 damage to enemy heroes in an AoE and have a 60% chance to miss their attacks for 4/5/6/7 seconds.
Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 12
AoE: 450
The AoE is only 450 at the end of the outwards swirl which takes 2 seconds to reach. The comparison is Venomancer’s attack range.
Notes: Deals magic damage. It takes 2 seconds to reach its maximum distance and another 2 seconds to return to Troll. Heroes with MKB's Truestrike are unaffected by the miss chance debuff.
Uses:
Nuking
This is exactly what Whirling Axes is used for. It deals almost as much damage as the standard nuke and it complements Troll's play style: get close and personal. Whirling Axes is extremely powerful in the early game. It allows you to last hit a group of low-hp creeps, to harass or even kill an enemy. You can use Whirling Axes right after Whirling Axes to deal even more damage.
HP after Whirling Axes. Total 275 damage.
HP after Whirling Axes and Whirling Axes. Total 350 damage.
Zeus’ Lightning Bolt. Total 350 damage.
Tip: You may use Whirling Axes before they reach the enemy because as long as you knows he will get in melee range, Whirling Axes will hit. The axes that come out of Troll last for 4 seconds. By doing this, it will decrease the time you need to wait to use Whirling Axes again AFTER the enemy is affected by it.
Miss Chance
The miss chance from Whirling Axes is quite impressive. It causes enemies without Truestrike to miss more than half of their attacks. It can be what causes you to get a kill or be killed. In the late game, Whirling Axes can be saved so you can use it when the enemy carry joins the fight.
Vision
Whirling Axes also gives vision around the axes as they spin around Troll. This can be used to get more vision around fogged areas such as trees and juke spots. When running around trees, you can use Whirling Axes to see which way your opponent is running but be careful, they can see the axes moving. If the enemy is smart enough, they can figure out which direction you are going based on the movement of the axes. This spell can also be used to check for Roshan (stand on the ledge to the left of his lair) but depending on what kind of opponents you have, you may want to save the miss chance for a team battle that follows.
Notes: The cooldown for Whirling Axes is a lot shorter than the ranged form. Whirling Axes is important because it establishes a little bit of lane control and scares your opponents. And if you are lucky enough, it could save you life in a gank. The debuff lasts for 7 seconds which is more than half of the cooldown.
Fervor
When Troll attacks the same target in succession, each attack will increase his attack speed by 20. Fervor is pretty much a free MoM when your ultimate is activated. Even though it takes 5 attacks to raise the bonus to 100, those 5 attacks pass by like nothing.
Effect: Increases attack speed by 20 for each attack with a maximum of 40/60/80/100 bonus attack speed.
Notes: Switching targets resets the bonus counter to zero. This is why switching targets will hurt Troll's DPS. There will be people with Ghost Sceptors that like messing up your momentum.
WORKS ON STRUCTURES!
Uses:
Increase Attack Speed
It does just that. Fervor is solely for the purpose of increasing your attack speed during a fight. It can be used to play tricks on the enemy when they see that your first attack is slow. They will think that you will keep attacking at that speed and by the time they realize that your attack speed is increasing, it will be too late.
Tip: Make sure to attack your target after using any of your skills because Troll will attack anything that is near (creeps) after casting spells and when a new target is selected, Troll will lose all of his Fervor charges. You wouldn't want to lose all your bonus IAS.
THIS ABILITY WORKS ON STRUCTURES! Troll can abuse this by backdooring towers with ease. It provides 100 IAS more than Troll before the buff which is like an extra level 2 Battle Trance providing a lot of dps to take down towers solo.
Battle Trance
This skill is what gives Troll his insane IAS instantly. At level 2 of Battle Trance, it gives what Fervor gives, instantly, and at level 3 it gives more. It also applies this IAS to everyone on your team.
Effect: Increases the attack speed of Troll and all his allies by 60/120/180.
Mana Cost: 75
Cooldown: 20
AoE: Global
Duration: 10
Notes: Does not affect illusions or summons.
Uses:
Increase Fervor Counter
Using Battle Trance will greatly reduce the time it takes to build up your bonus attack speed from Fervor. It also gives high IAS for a full 10 seconds at a low mana cost so it's like already having your bonus IAS from Fervor but you can keep building it up.
Pushing
When there are four allied heroes attacking a tower, it will go down fast. When you use Battle Trance, it will drop even faster. As you are pushing, if the opposing team uses the fortification and TP in, just run back, and 20 seconds later, you can try to take the tower again. The short cooldown allows you to use Battle Trance frequently. Paired with the new Fervor, Troll is easily able to backdoor low hit point towers. He may also backdoor naked barracks. And since Troll has so much IAS, he doesn’t need as much damage to backdoor.
Helping Teammates
You don't have to be around the same area as your teammates to help them when you cast Battle Trance. The bonus IAS is given to all allies on the map. If you notice one of your teammates in a losing fight, use Battle Trance. It could bring your teammate out on top. The attack speed is also great when using it when you have teammates that rely on attack speed to fight effectively. Heroes like Slark, Barathrum, or anyone with a % chance passive. It also increase auto attack DPS by a LOT.
Last Stand
When you are running away with low hp and you will probably die even if you keep running, or you hit a dead end, just cut a corner, use Battle Trance and attack. You will deal quite a bit of damage and if a Bash procs, you can even come out as the victor.
Notes: Battle Trance only lasts for 5 10 seconds on allies so when you cast it, make it count don’t be afraid to cast it to help out your ally. Make sure both your ally and the opponent dedicate to the fight, and then use it. You could also use it right after the opponent is slowed or stunned. If your ally needs just a few more last hits on someone, you could cast it then too.
As you can see, he gets a LOT of IAS but no damage from his abilities. At level 25 and some IAS items, he nears the IAS cap of 400. This is what sets Troll apart from other carries. DPS is dependent on two main components, damage and IAS. Troll is already given all the IAS he needs. No other carry has spells that give them damage or IAS to such an extreme with the exception of Ursa’s Overpower (only last for # of attacks).
If Fervor is level 4 and Battle Trance is level 3, the IAS bonuses add up to 87(Base AGI) + 100(Fervor) + 180(Battle Trance) = 367. If you add in Janggo and Lothar’s it becomes 367 + 14(Janggo) + 30(Lothar’s) = 421, (21 over the IAS cap) faster than a normal hero with a BAT of 1.7 with 400 IAS and exceeding the 3 attacks/second mark (3.23 atk/sec).
We can see why we don’t need to focus on IAS at all when we work on the item build for Troll.
Gameplay:
Jungle or Lane?
Because of the change to Fervor, Troll's jungling ability was crippled. Not only was the maximum bonus IAS reduced to 40/60/80/100, but the counter is reset every time he switches targets. This means that Troll can no longer reach 100 bonus IAS from level 1 Fervor, and whenever he switches to a different creep, instead of the IAS counter being set to half, it is completely lost. The change of gaining 20 IAS from every attack is also made more for going up against the opponent. His new skills also hint that he is stronger in a lane. Jungling is hardly possible, not worth it, and not recommended.
Which Lane?
Troll doesn't have any escape mechanism so he should take the safe lane. Top lane for Scourge and bot lane for Sentinel. Best if you lane with a babysitter that can pull neutrals to keep the creep wave close to your tower. The side shop also carries almost everything you need for the laning phase.
Skill Justification
Berserker Rage is taken first for its benefits or Whirling Axes if you try to get first blood. Whirling Axes is maxed as soon as possible because it is most effective in the early game as a nuke. It will make you more of a threat and gives you some defense. Fervor is more beneficial than extra levels into Berserker Rage so that's taken second. At level 11, you'll have about 270 IAS naked from your skills alone (100 from Fervor, 120 from Battle Trance, and the rest from your AGI). This is enough to make leveling up Berserker Rage worth it because you have more chances to proc a Bash and it's his last remaining skill anyway. Stats may be taken over Fervor and Berserker Rage if you are having a hard time surviving.
Skill Justification
Berserker Rage is taken first for its benefits. Fervor is maxed as soon as possible because it is need to build up your IAS to jungle. Whirling Axes is more beneficial than extra levels into Berserker Rage so that's taken second. It can be used as a nuke to help jungling as it is also an AoE. Take Berserker Rage last as it's his last remaining skill and more beneficial than stats.
It is extremely hard to jungle with the new Troll because he just doesn’t have enough IAS to clear creep camps fast enough without dying. It MIGHT work if you are extremely lucky with the neutrals camps but Troll is a lot stronger in lane anyway.
Item Build Starting Items Total Cost - 603
Justification: Mix and match some of the above items. Stout Shield if you have aggressive ranged enemies in your lane, Quelling Blade for easier last hits, some regen to stay alive and GG Branches for Magic Wand, some stats, and a good game.
Notes: You will not have enough starting gold to purchase every item so buy what is most fitting to the situation.
Early Game [ ]Total Cost - 2434
Justification: Because of his high IAS, Troll doesn't need to get any more IAS. Instead he should try to optimize his DPS by getting damage items. Check out this link to get a better understanding of optimization of DPS: Dota: Fun to Think and Imagine - DotA Guides. We have Phase Boots because it gives the most damage for boots and it gives you burst MS for getting closer to the enemy and for jukes.
The Magic Wand and Bracer are just for some extra HP and clutch moments where you need that little bit of HP or mana to kill someone or get out alive. If you feel you do not need the extra stats from Bracer, feel free to skip it.
Ring of Basilius is useful if you plan to gank a lot. The passive mana regen is very beneficial especially since Troll has very cheap spells. Feel free to skip Ring of Basilius too if you don’t plan on ganking or don’t need the mana regen.
Bottle is probably the best item that a ganker can have since it gives him sustenance to keep hitting up the lanes and it allows him to keep a powerful rune with him to use when needed. Like Ring of Basilius, you can skip it if you don’t plan on ganking.
Always carry a TP for ganks and counter-ganks.
Notes: You cannot Bash or Crit while phased.
Mid Game >[][]Total Cost - 7350
Justification: Lothar's comes to mind because it offers an escape mechanism, a surprise attack mechanism, some decent damage, and a good amount of attack speed. Try to build it by buying the Claymore first. It gives a lot of damage for its cost. However, you may choose to get a Shadow Amulet instead if you plan on pushing towers (read “Extra Info”). The Janggo is for escaping/chasing, build up from Bracer, and to help with Troll's horrid INT a bit. Crystalys is the logical follow-up because it is a pure damage item. More crits due to high attack speed. If the enemy team is disable-heavy, get a BKB. Get a Mask of Death when you feel you do enough DPS to make good use of it. It can even be used for taking on Roshan or to upgrade and use the creep to stack the ancient creep camp.
Simply dominate a neutral creep, preferably a strong one and then bring it to the ancient creep camp.
Make it wait at the camp. The red arrows show either way you can pull the creeps. It is best to put this creep in a control group so you can quickly access it by double tapping the group number. Hold ctrl and then press a number key 0-9 to assign it to a group.
Then at the x:51-53 mark, move the creep towards the creep camp and then run away so you can pull the creeps away from the spawn point.
I got close enough to get the agro of the creeps and then ran down the ramp into the river.
Rinse and repeat. If done correctly, when the creep spawns (x:00), the game will detect no creeps in the spawn point and it will spawn the next ancient camp. Be careful not to stack more creeps than you can handle.
As you can see, there is another ancient creep camp on top of the old one that I pulled. Have fun getting lots of gold! Each camp gives about 230-330 gold.
Late Game > Total Cost - 8850
Justification: If you think you can deal damage without dying, build up your Crystalys to a Buriza and then finish off your build with a Satanic. Note that Satanic has an active 175% lifesteal! When you’re dishing out 1300 DPS, that means you can gain all your HP back in a few second. It works almost like an Aegies if timed well. Some might think that Buriza isn't as good as other items such as MKB or Butterfly but the crit chance makes it pull through. Troll's DPS hits about 1300 at the Late Game. Buriza gives the most damage besides Rapier.
This compares Buriza DPS to MKB and Butterfly. As you can see, Buriza’s is only above the other two items because of the crit damage. Note that this is total DPS without taking into account armor, damage block, chasing, nukes, etc.
At level 18, about the time Troll gets Buriza, it gives a theoretical 190 added damage per attack. Troll will have an average base damage of 109 (62(base) + 47(2.75AGIgain * 17Lvs) = 109). He will have a total added damage of 161 (24(Phase) + 12(Janggo) + 30(Lothar's) + 81(Buriza) = 147) leaving Troll with a total damage of 256.
The crit that Buriza gives is a 25% chance to hit for 2.7x normal damage or 1.7x bonus damage every time you crit. On average, Troll will hit for 25% of that 1.7x bonus damage per attack or 42.5% more damage per attack (0.25 * 1.7 = .425). 42.5% of 256 is 109. Add that to 81 and you get 190.
In a nutshell, Buriza adds 81 damage and 37.5% of every other damage you get from stats and items. Of course this is all theoretical probability and things can be different in reality. There have been times where i procced a crit three times in a row and some where I only crit once after 8 attacks.
Get one of these after you got the above items and any situational items needed. Chances are, you won't have inventory space or the game will be over by the time you get to buy one of these.
Buriza-Do Kyanon
Justification: I am not kidding when I say this. Even though you already have one, Buriza still gives the most damage (besides Rapier). Chance to crit does stack totally, but multiplicative, not additively. Basically, a second Buriza will add 81 + 28.125% of your total damage on average.
The second Buriza will crit 25% of the time the first Buriza doesn't crit. The first crit has a 75% chance to not crit so 25% of that is 18.75% (0.75 * 0.25 = .1875) and that means it will deal 18.75% of 1.7x your total damage per attack, or 31.875% (0.1875 * 1.7 = 0.31875) of your total damage per attack.
If you add that to the first Buriza, both of them give a total of about 69.375% of your total damage per attack on average.
Divine Rapier
Justification: This will give the absolute highest increase to Troll's DPS. It also has the lowest cost/damage ratio. Of course getting this item is risky because if you die, you will probably lose it, and there goes 6200 gold. Get it if you haven't been dying.
This is one of the most important sections in this guide. I can already see the "wheres bkb in core? noob 0/10" or "no mkb in luxury?! fail guide." But please, in an ideal game where there are no disables/nukes on the enemy team, no blinkers on the enemy team, and no TPs on the enemy team, we wouldn't need any of the following items. Unfortunately, there are those things in almost every game so you will end up buying one or more of the following items.
Black King Bar
Justification: The most commonly bought situational item. Why? Because in almost every game, there are enough disables on the enemy team to perma-stun you. Get this if you want a disable-free fighting environment
Note: Most ultimates that stun or slow will go through magic immunity. Some other spells can still affect Troll Notables: Dismember, Meat Hook, Primal Roar, Chronosphere, Overgrowth, Flaming Lasso, Fiends Grip, Black Hole, Reverse Polarity, Hookshot, Ensnare, Pit of Malice, Doom, Culling Blade Check out this guide for full understanding: Magic Immunity
Duration and cooldown are reduced after every use of BKB.
Duration: 10/9/8/7/6/5
Cooldown: 80/75/70/65/60/55
Monkey King Bar
Justification: MKB is a favorite amongst many players because it, like Buriza, gives a lot of damage, but since Buriza gives more damage, MKB is left as a situational item. Get MKB against evasion users and TPer's that always get away. Truestrike is very important against a lot of other carries because a lot of them get Butterfly and some already have evasion such as Mortred and Windrunner.
Note: Does not work against Void's Backtrack.
Butterfly
Justification: Get this for more evasion against carries WITHOUT MKB. Coupled with your Whirling Axes your opponents have a 0.4 * 0.7 = 28% chance to hit you making you almost unkillable against physical attacks. It also gives the 3rd most DPS against Buriza and MKB.
Linken's Sphere
Justification: Get this when there is a single targeted spell that keeps getting you killed... a lot, namely long lasting stuns or ultimates. Dismember, Fiends Grip, and Primal Roar are all reasons to get this item. This isn't recommended though as it is very expensive and offers little DPS. It’s best if your team initiates before you enter the fight so you don’t need to eat the stuns first.
Heart of Terrasque
Justification: More survivability at the cost of DPS. This item is only recommended if you need a little more slack when fighting in the late game. This items offers 0 DPS and takes up an item slot so be careful when you buy it. As a carry, Satanic should offer enough HP to do your job.
Battlefury
Justification: Get this against illusion heroes or if you have teammates that can round up the enemy and keep them still. Gives some cheap damage and nice regeneration.
Vanguard
Justification: Cheap way to increase your survivability in the early game. Get this if you don’t have enough HP to do your job. I feel that a Bracer or Ogre Axe is enough because they can be built into Janggo and BKB, respectively.
Hood of Defiance
Justification: Cheap way to lessen the hurt from nukes. Get this against nuke heavy teams but if there are a lot of disables, you may want to get a BKB instead.
Sange and Yasha
Justification: I am mostly against this item on Troll because it offers very little DPS for its cost but it packs a lot of little things into one item. This item is similar to Janggo. The slow is the main difference and it's a good way to follow up your Whirling Axes. Get it if you need another chase mechanism.
If you have teammates that play like a team, you probably won't need to get this item.
Orchid Malevolence
Justification: Get this item against blinkers that always get away or heavy casters. It is pretty pricey but it gives decent damage and IAS.
Hands of Midas
Justification: Get this if you know you will only farm for the next 15 minutes or so. Also if you can get this item in the first 10 minutes or so. It offers bonus gold and experience but is only effective if used on every cooldown and you don't die. Getting this takes up an item slot and the IAS is redundant.
Diffusal Blade
Justification: You get it for the Purge against specific enemies. If you want it ONLY FOR THE PURGE, you can get it with lifesteal because lifesteal overrides it anyway but is recommended for someone else to get it if it fits them better. Ex: SA, PL, Naga.
Used against: Ghost form, Repel and Guardian Angel, Insatiable Hunger, God’s Strength, Overpower and Enrage (the latter 3 can also be semi-countered with Whirling Axes)
Stygian Desolator
Justification: The Corruption orb is particularly effective against certain enemies and with certain lineups. If your team can hold the enemy down, Desolator is some of the cheapest damage items in the game. The downside of it is that it is an orb effect so that means no lifesteal. Get this if your team is doing well in the early game and is able to push for the win. The minus armor works against towers and structures so it helps with pushing and backdooring as well.
Maelstrom
Justification: This item is potent because of Troll’s massive IAS. In Dota 2 the chain lightning orb will only override lifesteal when it procs so having these two orbs is viable. Get this as an alternative to single target dps. The chain lightning can help to clear creep waves and farm faster and is strong in teamfights.
Mask of Madness
Justification: 1. You already have 280 IAS from your skills. 2. It gives mediocre lifesteal that isn't good late game. 3. IT MAKES YOU TAKE 30% EXTRA DAMAGE! Why make a squishy hero even squishier?
Cranium Basher
Justification: I wish this item would still stack with the Bash from Berserker Rage but unfortunately, it doesn't. Don't get it, it doesn't work. It will work in ranged mode but 10% Bash is just silly.
Abyssal Blade
Justification: The upgrade from basher. That’s already one reason not to get it. The damage might be pretty good but for its cost, no way. The active ability is good, but not worth paying that much to get it.
Vladmir's Offering
Justification: Waste of an item slot. The lifesteal is mediocre and only works when Troll is in melee form. The auras aren't good enough for Troll to carry. If your team needs it, tell someone else to get it.
Orb Effects
Justification: Orb effects do not stack. It's that simple. We want lifesteal on Troll because it allows him to take on other carries in the late game. Some other orbs might seem strong but you become too easily killable in the late game when the only healing you have is natural regen. Lifesteal is better than other orbs most of the time because it gives you a way to stay alive longer. I say most of the time because in some very very rare situations, getting a Desolator or a Diffusal (for purge) may give you a higher chance to win. If you really need an orb, just know that the lifesteal from Vlad’s works with any orb.
Extra Info:
Using the Phase ability from Phase Boots, you are unable to Crit or Bash. Using items or abilities cancels Phase.. It has one of the lowest gold/damage ratios and offers the most out of the other boots. It also allows Troll to be one of the fastest heroes in the game when he uses the Phase ability.
This chart shows the MS of Troll when he uses different abilities. You are mostly going to be traveling using the Phase ability or Windwalk and the Janggo aura will always be affecting you. Until level 14, Troll will have a base MS of 320. Here are other heroes that compare: 330 - 325 - 320 - 315 - 310 - 305 -
When you chase in the early game, you just want as much MS as you can get so use Phase as you see fit. The thing to be careful of is just how far you need to run in order to hit your target. If you are too far away and you run in anyway, you may end up dead. Take a look at that list above and check how fast your enemy is.
A with power treads has a base MS of 390. If she got Yasha then she would have 429 MS. If she were 600 range away and running, it would take Troll wouldn’t catch up in a reasonable amount of time. That’s when Whirling Axes comes in.
A 30% slow would drop Luna’s MS to 312 for 5.25 seconds. This means that Troll will get into attack range after 3.2/3 seconds giving him a couple hits before the Phase wears off. Then hopefully he will land a bash and continue to kill Luna. Do note that Luna will run backwards about 900 units before you catch her so be sure to chase only in long lanes close to your base or if you know her team is dead.
Troll has 320/330 base MS before/with level 4 Berserker Rage and Phase Boots gives 60 MS to make his Base MS 380/390. With Janggo aura he has a MS of 399/410. If he uses Phase, he gets 460/472 MS for 4 seconds.
This results in an approach of 31/43 units per second. If you run for 4 seconds, you will get 124/172 range closer and then you will run at 399/410 MS for the next 4 seconds while Phase Boots cools down. This means that Troll will actually get farther away each second by 30/19 units. This means that there is an average closure of 1/24 units. Time needed to catch ? 600/25 seconds.
If Whirling Axes is used, Luna’s MS will drop to 312 for 5.25 seconds. Now Troll will get closer by 148/160 per second and will get 592/640 units closer. Because Troll has a 128 range in melee form, he will actually be able to hit Luna in (600-128)/148 ~ 3.2 seconds/(600-128)/160 ~ 3 seconds. After 0.8/1 second, you will be able to Bash again and hopefully one will proc.
Also, there are heroes faster than Luna so be careful not to chase them. Notables: Clinkz with lv 4 windwalk, Bara running away with Charge of Darkness, Blinkers, Slark if he goes into fog (very fast and regen) Slardar with sprint, Lycan in wolf form, Tethered heroes, Doom with Kobold aura, Janggo, Scorched Earth, and S and Y (12%+5%+10%+16%+12%), Night Stalker at night, most heroes with slows/ensnares, Syllabear with Rabid
If the enemy is already slowed or stunned by your team, DO NOT USE PHASE as it will prevent you from Bashing and Crit. Use Magic Wand or toggle forms to cancel the buff.
If you are being chased, try to cut vision off from your opponents. Phase Boots can help you with that. It gives you a lot of speed for a short while so you can juke your opponents in the woods or to simply out run them. Always use Phase Boots when trying to escape. This guide explains all you need to know about escaping the enemy and juking: The Forbidden Techniques
Phase Boots and Troll’s high MS just makes it easier to do. And always, be creative when trying to escape so your opponents can’t read your next move. Use Tangos and Quelling Blade to cut down trees or appear to run one way then run the other way.
This is simple. Use it to run through creeps to get to your opponent. Use it to run through stuff when running away. Use it after you run into trees and run through your opponent. Use it anytime you want to run through something, whether you’re chasing or fleeing, or even trying to trap your enemies with creeps.
Running through the creep wave. Hard to see Troll but he’s there.
Janggo is a great item because it offers so many useful things in one item. It offers a 5% MS and IAS aura but it also has an active ability that gives everyone in the area a 10% boost to those two resulting in a total 15% MS and IAS.
Activate this at the beginning of a team fight and it will give all your teammates nice MS to move around the battlefield. The 10 IAS is also useful but not as much as the MS. This can help your teammates chase down the opponents and reduce chasing time to allow more killing time.
When things are looking bad, and you want to get away fast, use this and Phase and it will give you a huge burst of speed (Use Janggo before Phase because it will cancel the buff if used after it).
Using this to chase consumes 1 charge and sometimes they might even get away. Use this only if the person you’re chasing needs to die or if you feel you wouldn’t kill them if you didn’t use it. It’s a tough decision because recharging Janggo costs a whopping 750 gold. Usually if the enemy is at more than half HP and you are pretty far away, just let them run away. Chances are if you chase, his teammates will come out of nowhere and kill you.
BKB is probably the most common situational item on Troll because there will be nukes and disables on the other team most of the time.
When to use: Before a team fight and you know you will die quickly if you don’t use BKB. If you are about to die from a spell. If you are chasing an important person and you need to kill them but they turn around to stun/kill you. If your reaction and internet speed is good, try to let them use a spell, but before it hits you, activate BKB. This way, they waste a spell and mana that they could’ve used on someone else.
When not to use: Do not use when solo ganking if you would’ve killed that person whether you got nuked/stunned or not. On accident.
Lothar’s is also an important item for Troll because it offers Windwalk, a spell that increases MS by 20%, allows you to walk through units, and makes you invisible. This allows you to get out of battles safely or to sneak up on your opponents.
When to use: Before a team fight to surprise the enemy. When solo ganking to get close to the enemy. If you are running away. When chasing someone and their teammates are dead. If your reaction and internet speed is good, try to let them use a projectile spell, but at least 0.25 seconds before it hits you, activate Lothar’s. This way, they waste a spell and mana that they could’ve used on someone else.
Tip: You can cast Lothars AFTER USING a TP and you will become invisible while channeling your TP so you can cut a corner, cast TP, then cast Lothar’s.
When not to use: When you are going into a team fight but you know you will die if you don’t have it to get out. When you are going to solo gank someone that also has Lothar’s. When you are trying to run and have less than 150 mana (need at least 75 for TP). To run somewhere faster.
One of the most important items in the game. This bad boy lets you teleport to any allied building in about 3 seconds. Use it to escape from the enemy. Use it to help a teammate counter-gank. Use it to go to a tower that has a HUGE creep wave incoming for lots of money. Use it to defend the base. Use it gank a lane in early-game. Use it to find a free farming lane.
ALWAYS HAVE ONE WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES. It is more useful than that quarterstaff or that extra Javelin. Having you somewhere you need to be is more important that having you somewhere you aren’t supposed to be, with better weapons.
A simple item that has many uses. The 30 IAS is good in the mid game for pushing towers and such because it makes it easy to hide from enemies. When pushing, you think the other team is coming for you, or if you see someone TP in, run out of their vision and into some trees, then use the amulet and wait until the enemy leaves. After they leave and you know they are nowhere nearby, you can continue pushing.
Be careful that if the enemy sees you return and sees the amulet in your inventory, they will probably buy some kind of true sight so you can’t hide the next time.
Be creative with the invisibility. It has no cooldown and lasts indefinitely BUT it has a 2.75 second fade time so be careful when trying to hide and make sure the enemy can’t see you.
First before anything, assess the other team. Are there a lot of nukes? Are there a lot of disables? Am I probably going to be in an aggressive lane? Do they have squishy heroes? Who are their carries? Figure out what your item build is going to be. It might change as the game goes on but try to get an idea of what you want for now. You also want to look at your own team. If your team has a lot of invis or you have teammates that can mass disable, you probably want to opt out of Lothar’s.
Grab your starting items, and if there is a disabler on your team, ask him to lane with you. You don’t want to lane with an ally carry because you want all the last hits you can get. Competing for last hits means you will get less money. Remember, bot lane for Sentinel and top lane for Scourge are recommended.
Try to get as many last hits without losing a lot of HP or getting killed. Also, remember to look at the minimap for missing heroes. The last thing you want to do is die, even worse if it’s by the enemy carry.
Buy your Boots and then build them into Phase Boots when you can. If against spammers like Batrider get a Magic Stick. If you are unable to gank or you know that you will farm for the next 15 minutes or so, get yourself a Hands of Midas.
vs. weak lane: If your opponents have low lane presence, feel free to stand next to the creep wave and farm away. When they get far away from their tower, try to get a kill. Use Whirling Axes and then use Whirling Axes. Let your lane mate know when you are going to attack so they are ready to throw their spells at the enemy too.
vs. strong lane: You probably won’t be able to do anything for a while. Try to get as many last hits possible without losing too much HP. Use ranged form to last hit and if they are denying or harassing, change to melee form. You gain more exp from denied creeps and less damage from the harassment in melee form. Call for a gank or switch lanes with a teammate. If your team doesn’t help, just stay alive. If harassment is really bad, just stay in experience range (1000 AoE) when the enemy creeps die.
If you at least have Boots and are level 5, then you can try to gank (much easier if you already have Phase Boots. Try to go for the squishy heroes or the enemy carry. You combo is:
Whirling Axes and let your allies throw their nukes and disables. Whirling Axes after all the disables are over (enemy will probably be dead by now) and continue to attack. Try to get the last hit.
Finish your Phase Boots if you haven’t already and build a Bracer if you need some HP. Also, finish up your Magic Wand and go for a weapon to build upClaymore for Lothar’s, Broadsword for Crystalys, Javelin for MKB or Mithril Hammer/Ogre Axe for BKB. If the enemy team has a lot of anti-invis or you don’t need Lothar’s, go for Crystalys. If they have an evasion hero or are going for Butterfly, go for MKB. If there are a lot of disables, go for BKB. Get the Ogre Axe first for some HP.
Roshan: If you want to take down Roshan for whatever reason, you can do it now because the IAS bonus from Battle Trance to the team and yourself makes it a piece of cake to kill him. Many people say that Troll should rush a Dominator, take an Ogre Magi and then solo Roshan but that limits your damage for ganks and it’s a lot faster when you have the help of your team and your Battle Trance.
Pushing: If you want some towers now is also a great time to push because of your Battle Trance and your team’s DPS.
Team Fights: This is the point in the game where team fights will be more common and push the game in either teams favor. Try to stay alive. Don’t be the one to lead your team into a fight, let your initiator do that. After the big disableBlack Hole, Ravage, Echo+Fissure, etc. goes down run in and use everything to get kills. Aim for their carry or most dangerous player. Never aim tanky heroes (unless they are close to death) because they take a lot of time to kill and are most likely not the most important person to kill. Always try to kill as many people as possible. If your team wins the fight, push.
If your farm is decent, you will probably finish your Buriza around this time and your DPS will skyrocket. Upgrade your Mask to Helm of the Dominator and dominate a Centaur Warchief or a Dark Troll for their disables or an Alpha Wolf for his Command Aura. If the game drags on, finish up your build with a Satanic.
Team Fights: These team fights are the most important. They can decide who will win the game. It is very important to stay alive in these fights. Tell your team to stay away from team fights when you aren’t there. When a team fight starts, do the same thing you did in the Mid-Game. Let someone else initiate and follow them after most of the disables are used. If you have an enemy carry that relies on autoattacks and doesn’t have MKB, save your Whirling Axes for them.
Buyback: After your build is complete, stop buying components of items because you probably won’t have inventory space to hold them. Only buy luxuries when you have enough money to complete the entire item. The rest of the money should be saved for buybacks.
Playing With Other Heroes:
Good Allies Babysitters
These guys will keep you alive during the laning phase and make life a lot easier for you. Some can even help you net some kills.
Disablers
These guys hold the enemy in place. You start hitting them with your axes. Simple reason why we love them.
Buffers
These guys make Troll even stronger. Some can even keep him alive longer and bring you to your target faster.
Autoattackers
These guys do a lot of damage when they autoattack. They do even more when they get a 180 IAS boost.
Special Mentions
He can toss you to get in melee range and then follow up with an avalanche so you can keep attacking.
He can roll you in so you get close and then he can trap in the enemy.
Free cleave, pulls enemies together AND keeps them there. Perfect for a carry like Troll.
Every carry's dream. Global relocate, even more MS, a free stun, and damage reduction.
If you ever gank with this guy, it’s an automatic kill and he gains 10 damage permanently. Every time he uses his ultimate, use yours too.
Bad Enemies Disablers
These guys will hold you in place. Enemy carries smash your face in. Simple reason why we hate them.
Heavy Casters
They have 100 HP and you chase them with full HP. They turn around, stun, nuke, nuke, and suddenly you’re dead. Yes, it sucks.
Debuffers
These guys bring you down. Ever attacked with -200 damage? Ever got 4 misses in a row? Very irritating.
Special Mentions
Craggy Exterior. 24% to stun you when you attack. Very fast attacks = lots of stuns. Do not focus him in the late game.
How to combat: Don’t focus him first. BKB stops the stuns.
What do they have in commmon? An active disable and a passive Bash. They 1-up you when it comes to keeping their targets stunned and you are no exception.
How to combat: BKB to stop their active stun, Whirling Axes to beat their passive Bash.
He can keep your damage low, make you sleep, or completely disable you for 5 seconds while his team kills you, even with BKB. Try to stay away from him when he has all his skills off cooldown.
How to combat: Attack him when his spells are on cooldown or have a silencer with you. BKB blocks all his spells except his ulti.
He can make you useless for up to 7 seconds because your DPS comes from physical attacks. Guardian Angel > physical attacks
How to combat: Diffusal’s purge will take off his Repel and his Guardian Angel but Diffusal is not recommended for Troll. Guardian Angel only stops physical damage so spells will still hit other, non-magic immune units. Get it only if you can’t win the game without it.
Just don't attack into it.
How to combat: BKB will stop the damage return. Or you could activate Satanic to negate the damage for 3.75 seconds.
Well you can't really do much against this except to wait until it's over.
How to combat: Diffusal’s purge will take off the ghost form but Diffusal’s is not recommended for Troll. Or you could bring a nuker with you to gank.
You need to get close to do your job. This keeps the enemy away from you. Unlike Dagger, it doesn’t get disabled after taking damage.
How to combat: Have a stunner with you. Or Vengeful Spirit
It might not seem like it but Troll actually gets a lot of his survivability from using Whirling Axes on enemy heroes for miss chance. Once your opponents get this, you lose all of that miss chance and you need to rely on ally disables to survive fights.
How to combat: Have a stunner with you. In team fights, try to focus down the MKB holder. It will probably be the carry holding it anyway.
Bad Luck… Sometimes you can’t help it. Never Bash when you need it? Whether it’s that Chaos Knight always getting 4’s or getting stunned over and over from attacking Tiny.
Conclusion:
A lot has changed since the old version of Dota. Troll is no longer a jungling hero and has been moved to the lane. Instead of farming all game to carry the team, he has the option of ganking with his team.
His old Blind was turned into a AoE nuke+debuff, and a second skill was added for chasing. These buffs made him more fun to play and overall more useful to the team.
Other than that, Troll is pretty much the same carry as he was before. Lots of IAS, lots of damage. He goes for the items that can optimize his DPS. Early game focuses on staying alive with cheap useful items and transitions into straight DPS in the mid to late game.
___Luxury - 
Whirling Axes (melee)
Total Cost - 603 
[ 
]
Total Cost - 2434 
>
[
]
[
]
>
with power treads has a base MS of 390. If she got Yasha then she would have 429 MS. If she were 600 range away and running, 
Jah'rakal the Troll Warlord
