Dota 2 Clockwerk Guide

Clockwerk is one of the most efficient offlaners in Dota 2 and one of the game’s more iconic characters. According to Dotabuff, this hero has a 52% win rate and a 5.47% pick rate. He has good ganks, great fight initiation via Hookshot, and can get instant vision anywhere on the map with Rocket Flare.

On the other hand, the hero is notoriously tricky to play, and even experienced gamers often struggle with getting the most out of him. Our Clockwerk guide for Dota 2 is here to address that, boost your game knowledge, and help you master this powerful robot. We’ll review the popular tactics, item builds, and skill selections so you can make the most of this hero in your matches.

Who Is Clockwerk in Dota 2

The hero first appeared in DotA Allstars under the name Goblin Clockwerk. He was added to the Dota 2 heroes list during the game’s early beta phase on March 15, 2012.

Lore Overview

Clockwerk, also known as Rattletrap, was a clockmaker from the Keen Folk, a race known for their interest in gadgets. After the destruction of his home village, Clockwerk promised his dying father to focus on battle instead of making clocks. He used his skills to create a set of extremely deadly implements and joined the battle of the Ancients. There, he continues perfecting his “artisan of death” tactics. He also wears a suit of magical power armor. Duh.

Hero Type & Primary Role

Clockwerk in Dota 2 is a melee strength hero with strong fight initiations and ganking potential who usually takes the role of the team’s tank. His abilities include strong crowd control for almost any in-game situation, allowing Rattletrap to disrupt teamfights and pick off weak enemies to secure kills.

Key Gameplay Identity

The game rates Clockwerk’s gameplay as “Medium Complexity,” as playing this character requires you to land skillshots and have good positioning. Moreover, despite his significant HP pool, Rattletrap still may be quickly defeated by several determined opponents, especially during high-risk ganks.

Clockwerk’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Before we dive deeper into the hero’s abilities and tactics, let’s review his core strengths and weaknesses. Our Dota 2 Clockwerk guide includes a short summary of both in the table below, and a more in-depth discussion in the next block.

Strengths

Rattletrap has the following advantages over other heroes:

1. Long-range engagements: Thanks to Hookshot, Clockwerk can easily reach a target within the 3,000-unit range while also causing damage and stunning his enemy.
2. Advanced crowd control: Power Cogs allow Rattletrap to isolate his enemies and prevent them from escaping.
3. Global vision: Clockwerk can use Rocket Flare to scout any area on the map.
4. Interruption: Rattletrap’s Battery Assault is ideal for interrupting enemy heroes who are channeling powerful spells.

Weaknesses

Like any hero in Dota 2, Clockwerk has some weaknesses, including:

1. Weak late-game: After the 30th minute of the match, Rattletrap starts losing his edge as the enemy team acquires powerful items.
2. Complexity: Misused Hookshot or Power Cogs may ruin your fight initiation and lose you the ensuing teamfight.
3. Limited mana: Clockwerk depends on items to have enough mana for casting spells, but his slow farm often prevents him from getting enough gold to purchase more expensive artifacts.

Clockwerk Abilities Overview

In this part of our Clockwerk guide in Dota 2, we’ll review Rattletrap’s abilities. Read on, and you’ll learn what to expect from his spells.

Battery Assault

Rattletrap starts discharging shrapnel at nearby enemies, damaging them and causing mini-stuns. A magitech shotgun! What’s not to love?

Power Cogs

Clockwerk creates a ring of energized cogs around himself and traps any nearby units inside. If enemies outside the circle touch any of the cogs, they immediately get knocked back, losing some health and mana. Additionally, Clockwerk can push any cog up to 1000 units by hitting it. The hero can move through his own cogs, but doing so will disable them.

Rocket Flare

This global spell allows Clockwerk to reveal any area on the map. It also damages the enemies caught in the blast, and briefly slows them down.

Hookshot

Rattletrap fires a grappling hook at the target location. If he manages to hit a unit, he immediately launches himself to the target, stunning and dealing damage to all nearby enemies.

Jetpack

This Aghanim’s Shard ability equips Clockwerk with a jetpack. Once activated, the hero gains flying movement, flying vision, and bonus speed, but cannot attack.

Overclocking

After purchasing Aghanim’s Scepter, Clockwerk can supercharge his abilities for a limited period of time:

1. Battery Assault affects all enemies in range.
2. Power Cogs increase Rattletrap’s attack speed.
3. Rocket Flares get reduced cooldown and additional rockets.
4. Hookshot’s stun duration and radius are increased.
5. Jetpack provides even more movement speed.

How to Play Clockwerk

Playing Clockwerk can feel confusing, especially if you don’t have much experience with similar heroes. To make matters a bit simpler for you, here are the key objectives for each game phase that you should try to accomplish as Clockwerk.

Laning-Stage Strategy

Traditionally, Clockwerk starts the match as an offlaner on the Hard Lane, which is the top lane for Radiant and the bottom lane for Dire. Up to the 15th minute of the game, your core objectives will include:

1. Harrassing the enemy carry.
2. Initiating early ganks after reaching level 6.
3. Disrupting the enemy carry’s last-hitting rhythm by using Cogs and Battery Assault.
4. Scouting the map via Rocket Flare to monitor enemy movements and secure courier kills.

Mid-Game Gameplay

Mid-game is extremely important for Rattletrap, since it is when he reaches his power spike. Also, that’s when you should decide which Clockwerk items build to go for. Here are the tasks you should focus on from the 15th to the 30th minute of the match:

1. Working with teammates to force fights and create favorable engagements.
2. Locking down and eliminating mobile heroes and lone farmers using the Hookshot + Power Cogs + Battery Assault combo.
3. Separating the enemy team during fights using Power Cogs. Alternatively, you can also use the ability to protect vulnerable teammates.
4. Providing map vision with Rocket Flare, focusing on the Roshan pits.

Late-Game Gameplay

After the 30th minute of the match, Clockwerk must be more careful. He is likely to lose to the enemy carry in a 1v1 fight, and other opponents may buy items to counter his abilities. Thus, it’s essential to focus on teamwork and do as much as possible for your buddies:

1. Pick off supports or damage-dealing heroes while your teammates engage other opponents.
2. Prevent dangerous opponents from casting spells via Power Cogs and Battery Assault.
3. Prevent surprise initiations by using Rocket Flare.

Best Skill Build for Clockwerk

Your Dota 2 Clockwerk build should depend on the in-game situation. However, here we’ll review the “traditional” prioritization of the hero’s skills, which you can use in most scenarios.

Early-Game Skill Order

Since Clockwerk is an offlaner, he’s relatively strong during the laning phase, especially if he lanes together with a ranged support. The most efficient skill progression for this phase is:

Battery Assault			2		4					9		11
Power Cogs		1		3		5		7
Rocket Flare									8
Hookshot							6
Talents											10

Mid-Game Skill Priorities

If you’ve managed to reach the 11th level by the 15th minute, you’ll dominate the entire mid-game, especially if you coordinate your actions with teammates. The table below shows how an ideal Dota 2 Clockwerk skill build should look by the 30th minute:

Rocket Flare		12		14	15
Hookshot			13					18
Talents						16

Late-Game Skill Focus

After reaching the 18th level, you won’t be able to improve your abilities anymore. However, you still can increase their efficiency by purchasing Aghanim’s Scepter or consuming Aghanim’s Blessing. This upgrade will help you better control enemies in late-game engagements and significantly increase your damage output.

Best Item Build for Clockwerk

Now, let’s talk about which items to consider for your Clockwerk build in Dota 2. Here, we’ll review the best artifacts to help you during various stages of the match and also list items that may be useful in specific situations.

Starting Items

The table below includes the items you should purchase to enjoy a comfortable laning phase:

Magic Stick	Sentry Ward	2x Iron Branch	Tango	Blood Grenade

By the 15th minute, you must purchase the following artifacts:

Magic Wand	Tranquil Boots	Urn of Shadows

Core Items

This part of our Dota 2 Clockwerk items build includes the must-have artifacts to increase Rattletrap’s survivability in the late-game fights:

Spirit Vessel	Lotus Orb	Boots of Bearing

Situational Items

Finally, you never know what to expect from your enemies, so it’s a good idea to have plan B. Here, we’ve listed various items that will help you deal with all sorts of unusual scenarios (e.g., purchasing Blademail if there are too many physical damage heroes in the enemy team).

Solar Crest	Force Staff	Eul's Scepter of Divinity	Blade Mail

Best Counter Picks Against Clockwerk

It’s essential you know which items and heroes pose the most danger to Rattletrap. This part of our Clockwerk Dota 2 guide offers you a chance to get acquainted with the most threatening enemies and best allies you can meet on the battlefields of the Ancients.

Heroes That Counter Clockwerk

Do you wonder how many heroes are in Dota 2 and which of them can counter Clockwerk? Well, the top 5 enemies to avoid are:

Phantom Lancer	Huskar	Venomancer	Anti-Mage	Storm Spirit

Items That Counter Clockwerk

Even if you don’t see any of the heroes mentioned above in the enemy team, it doesn’t mean you can lower your guard. Any player can assemble the following items to counter Clockwerk’s abilities:

Force Staff	Eul’s Scepter of Divinity	Black King Bar	Glimmer Cape	Solar Crest

Best Allies & Synergies

It’s always good to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with allies, especially if their abilities significantly boost Clockwerk’s efficiency. Rattletrap works great when paired with the following heroes:

Crystal Maiden	Ancient Apparition	Gyrocopter	Skywrath Mage	Kunkka

Conclusion

Are you ready to bring the artisan of death to your matches? Follow the tips from our Dota 2 Clockwerk article to boost your MMR or just have some fun with the hero’s gameplay loop.

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