Skill Usage

Wild Axes
Rexxar hurls his two axes outward, which then intersect and return to him. Each axe can only damage a unit once. Great tool to harass throughout entire game and aiding Rexxar to get those early kills. Also necessary for some strategic ganks.


Call of the Wild
Rexxar calls upon wild beasts to aid him. The duration, strength and number of beasts increases per level. Previous summons are removed upon casting. Must have skill. Excellent for hero killing, scouting, chasing, harassing, and even farming.


Inner Beast
Releases the inner beast inside nearby allies, passively increasing their attack speed. I used to skip the old "Beast Rage" until Late Game, but its recent "buff" has changed the whole thing around. Get this after Level 2 Primal Roar for some Necro action.


Primal Roar
The Beastmaster looses a deafening roar which deals damage and stuns its target. Enemy units near the roar wave take minor damage and have their movement speed and attack rate reduced. Due to the force of the roar, all units between the Beastmaster and his prey are shoved aside, creating an open path. Main tool for ganks and team fights. Will discuss strategies later on the guide.

Skill Build

Level 1 - Wild Axes
Level 2 - Call of the Wild
Level 3 - Call of the Wild
Level 4 - Wild Axes
Level 5 - Wild Axes / Call of the Wild
Level 6 - Primal Roar
Level 7 - Call of the Wild
Level 8 - Call of the Wild / Wild Axes
Level 9 - Wild Axes
Level 10 - Stats / Inner Beast
Level 11 - Primal Roar
Level 12 - Inner Beast
Level 13 - Inner Beast
Level 14 - Inner Beast
Level 15 - Inner Beast / Stats
Level 16 - Primal Roar
Level 17+ - Stats

Wild Axes are taken first in case your partner has a stun, it might help to get that First Blood. Call of the Wild is maxed out first because it is so very useful. It can help from the get go to scout runes and may possibly help you avoid getting killed by early Ganks. the Greater Quillbeast's slow is more useful than Wild Axes, and simply having a pig harassing with the slow all the time, will be annoying to your oponent(s). Primal Roar is your main killing/ganking tool and as mentioned before, it's the best Ultimate Skill in DotA so it SHALL be learned as quickly as possiblem. About Inner Beast. With its recent change in 6.60, it is now crucial for Rexxar's Cookie Cutter item; Necronomicon. Your Necronomicon Spawns already have a pretty fast attack rate, with your passive you'll be landing more hits than eva! NOTE: If your game is going extremely well, you might be able to farm Necronomicon Level 2 by Level 10. Then, feel free to get Inner Beast instead of Stats

Item Build

The Core Build



Bottle is gotten as your main "regen" item for most of early/mid game. Also important to store runes. Boots of Travel are gotten to maximize map control, later on, pushes are very important and Rexxar is no joke when talking pushes, although, you should rush Necronomicon right after bottle, Boots of Speed can be gotten after Boots of Travel starts being more important in Late Game anyways. Necronomicon is pretty much the base of your Core build. It grants Strength and Intelligence, the two you need the most (now thanks to his new Passive). Necronomicon Spawns give you an extra push in the Movement Speed area and will give you an amazing True Sight for some time. Crucial against matchups with invisible heroes. For additional information and guidance on Necronomicon, check out Necronomicon by -Might-
Possible Items After Core



Assault Cuirass will give you a nice boost in the EHP area, which can save you from nasty disable combos. Also works well to push late game. Armor reduction aura will enhance your Wild Axe's damage mainly against creeps.
Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse is probably your best bet once you finish Cuirass. It gives you decent Stats, more than enough mana regen (to this point, you won't have to worry about spamming Wild Axes on every creep wave) and will also give you Hex, a very viable ability when other team has Channeling heroes or even other dangerous Disablers. Feel free to get it before Cuirass if no one in your team has it or is building it.
Luxury Items



Shiva's Guard is an alternate source of armor, which Rexxar lacks mid/late game. Also, it's -AS aura will help against late DPS heroes and it's Arctic Blast will ensure kills in team fights.
Cranium Basher is a nice addition to your arsenal. With its recent buff, it helps with escaping heroes (preventing TP'ing away) and other dangerous Channeling Spells.
Heart of Tarrasque is pretty simple. Best raw HP item in the game. Coupled with Cuirass, it's the most you should get in the protection department. You can forget about going to fountain for regen.
Radiance should only be gotten if either no one in your team has gotten it or if you're farming really, really well from the get go. Its damaging aura will make clearing creep waves a breeze with help of your Wild Axes. Perfect for final game pushes and team fights.
Not Beast Enough? Items which you should NOT get:


Sange & Yasha. Let's see. Attack speed? Check. Movement Speed? Check. Maim? Check. Perfect huh?. The only problem with S&Y is that you already have everything it gives built in into Rexxar. Attack speed? Your passive gives more and shares it with near allies. Movement speed? You already have above average movement speed. Maim? You have an annoying pig that chases the enemy and slows ALL the time, no % chances for this beast. You might say, "but S&Y gives a ton of HP! Yes it kinda does. But with $4500 you can get Necronomicon Level 2 instead which also gives some HP.
Vladmir's Offering? I still don't think Vladmir's is good enough for Rexxar to carry it. Maybe as a very late game luxury but it's just not worth it early game since you won't be with your allies most of the time anyways. Besides, it sounds like a lot to say "all your summons benefit from its 4 auras" but really, Necronomicons only benefit from the armor and the 15% damage. They won't benefit from lifesteal or mana regen. So if you do get it, you'd be bound to get HotD as well, and that's just two items that although powerful, are a bit overkill and make you deviate from getting a better top-tier item.
Vanguard in my honest opinion, should only be gotten for Axe. This is a protection item, you're not a tank, you're supposed to surprisingly come at your enemies and beat the hell out of them not go in and try to pull a Rambo.
Power Treads takes the same reasoning as S&Y. For the price, you could be building up Necronomicon
As far as Hood of Defiance, you really shouldn't have to spend your money on this survival item. You are a ganker after all. Thus, the magic reduction is not needed as you would not be attracting too much attention unlike other initiators. The HP regen is nice but again, your Bottle should be enough from gank to gank.
For Extra Fun...


Feel free to add this item to any Item Build you desire. Although it is not essential or very important to properly using Rexxar, it can be very effective and fun.

Force The Beast:
I found it is very useful when you cast Primal Roar from its maximum cast distance. Just after you cast Primal Roar, Force yourself to your victim for an instant rear whipping. This will effectively give you ALMOST the entire stun from Primal Roar (which may be 0.5 - 1 seconds more depending on distance but may as well make the difference for a kill).

Force The Enemy:
Another way to use Force Staff is to pull your enemy towards you, the rest of your group and your allies. When you Primal Roar, make sure the enemy is facing you, this is the perfect moment to do a pull towards you. The enemy will still be stunned and open for you and all of your allies to whoop him. Will add a video on this later.

Strategy

Early Game

( OR ) + + ( OR )

Starting the Game: Your starting items may vary a lot depending on type of game, opponents and how much money you start with (different game modes and what not). But your "everyday" purchase should be the one above. Belt is gotten for the STR which is equal to a Bracer and will be used to make Necronomicon later down the road. A Magic Wand works wonders too, so if the enemy has lots of casters or at least one or two spammers, feel free to pick one up. The Tango should suffice until you get a Bottle and start rune raiding, as for the third item, feel free to go Clarity or stats. Other choices are Quelling Blade, Stout Shield or a mix of GG branches and Tangoes. First skill as mentioned before, should be Wild Axes. It can be very useful at the very start of the game and may land you a very early First Blood if you have a good partner.
Level 3: As soon as you reach level 3, learn level 2 of Call of the Wild and cast it. Group yourself with your pig and send the hawk to the rune spot (remember: now that hawk is not invisible, be careful when and where you cast Call of the Wild. Take advantage of the hawk's invisibility skill).
Harassing Early Game: If your enemies are melee, try to constantly attack them with your pig and with your own attack if possible. This might end up giving you a First Blood if your wave kills the enemy wave and the enemy hero is still slowed by your pig. If enemy is long-ranged or has an annoying nuke, use your Wild Axes once or maybe twice, but watch out for mana. Make sure you leave some mana for your Ultimate because you will be using it almost as soon as you get it.

Mid Game

+

Getting Ready to Kill: If enemy has plenty of HP (ex: Centaur or Pudge) try to lower their HP first with a Wild Axe or two (you should bring an ally anyways) Remember to attack with pig constantly as long as the enemy is near the waves. Position your hawk around a reasonable way of escape for the enemy hero which could in effect be a way for their allies to counter-attack.
Main Rexxar Combo: Start with Primal Roar, and order yourself and the pig to attack the hero. At level 1, Primal Roar will give you 3 seconds to attack the hero, that's not as good as a level 3 Primal Roar but it's still plenty of time to get some hits down from you and the pig or any other allies. Use Wild Axes as soon as you get near them to start attacking. If they run and you feel you may die if you chase with your pig, use Wild Axes again.

Incorporating Necronomicon in your Combo:


Late Game

+ + ( OR )

Beast Mastering: Late Game is when you'll most likely be team-fighting and pushing/farming for your luxury or late situational items. By this time you should have Necronomicon Level 3, BoT and Bottle, start buying extension items such as Plate Mail or Ultimate Orb, feel free to sell Bottle for other more expensive ingredients your mana pool should be big enough so that you don't need any extra regen at this point. Pay attention to Runes as always, and be alert with minimap. By this time, you should or will most likely have Level 3 "Necrobook". This will get rid of problems with invisible heroes in battles and/or ganks late game. Push by spamming Wild Axes in each incoming wave and teleport to defend or when planning a hero attack with allies.

Key Points

Pig = Gold
If you're in a lane and you have to come back to the fountain or you need to buy an item, never leave your pig inactive. While traveling to or from the fountain to the lane, use your pig as your hero. Last hit and even deny in early game with your pig and in the end, you will have extra gold.

Primal Roar > All Else
Always start your combo with Primal Roar. This skill offers very effective side effects that would be otherwise be useless. Primal Roar not only stuns the target but also slows all units around the path of the roar. If you use it as a finishing move you would be wasting the precious 4 second stun. The only situation where you might not start with a Primal Roar is when you have two enemy heroes that don't have full health (See Aditional Strategies").

Axes Kill Trees
Use Wild Axes to your advantage. When ganking, or planning a kill, go behind the trees, use Wild Axes to chop through the trees and arrive unexpected. Surprise is a key element for Rexxar.

Map Control is Golden
Pay attention at the map at all times. Be able to use Boots of Travel to teleport in case of emergencies. Respond to your allies' map pings and help calls. Rexxar is a hero that is all over the map most of the time, ganking one second then pushing in the next. You need that map control to succeed.

The Hawk is Half-Ogre/Half-Orc's best friend.
Always have a hawk near you or at a rune. Either roaming/patroling a forest near your location or scouting escape/help routes from your enemies. Try to position this so you can see the runes as well. Move your hawk as you move.

Hero Synergy

Rexxar is one of those heroes that -having an excellent slow and an IMBA stun- synergize well with almost any hero. So, I'm not going to mention the most obvious ones such as Rhasta or Lion or other Stunners, almost all heroes take advantage of them.


His Degen Aura coupled with your Pig's slow, are perfect for fleeing heroes. Also, Repel ensures a nice and safe gank for you, no worries against enemies such as Lion or Rhasta.


You are magic with this hero. A well placed Primal Roar can serve as a prolonged stun for Tauren Chieftain's AoE Ground Rape. Coupled with his Echo Stomp, the enemy won't be anything but STUNNED.


All these heroes have something in common. They can shell out tons of damage, very quick, even at Early Game. These companions will ensure a kill in almost every gank.


Chasers will love you for your Pig slow. If you can, cast Call of the Wild and Auto-Attack a fleeing hero with your Pig, let your allies chase them to death


Heres with skills that take a LONG time to take effect. Timely use Primal Roar to synchronize and position spells together. These combos tend to be very deadly.


Paired with any of these Gank Specialists and you'll be set with unstoppable ganging action. For example Mirana, Primal Roar an enemy and there's a perfect chance to nail a 5 second arrow. You are magic when partnered with any of these.

Additional Strategy

Using Wild Axes
Wild Axes as opposed to other point-target spells, has a varying speed depending on where you cast it. The axes will take the same amount of time to reach their destination, regardless of the distance between Rexxar's position and the point where you target Wild Axes.



Be Alert of Runes
Especially early game, pay special attention to your scouting Hawk and rune positions. In the second example, I found a DD rune and it was easy as pie to terminate Awraith.



Wild Axe Surprise
Remember to use Wild Axes to open your way through trees if needed. Surprising enemies from behind or as they escape can be very efficient at killing heroes.



Primal Roar - 2 Hero Alternative
When you have a pig, a pair of Necrospawns, and you have two enemy heroes with average-low health in front of you, it's hard to resist not to go after them. In this case, cast Primal Roar on the thoughest guy, the side damage and slow will most likely be enough for you to get rid of the weaker enemy while the stun prevents the other one from escaping.