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Endroil
04-16-2010, 04:21 AM
Hello. I am Endroil, and this is a Guide to the Chipper. While I realize they are indeed out there, I have yet to see a really good one - or one which isn't misleading, atleast in my opinions. Alright, I hope you like the Chipper because this guide isnt going to be about anything else.
I'll start you off with general gameplay.

1 General Gameplay + Tips
2 Spells
3 Choosing your Spells
4 Lanes & Lanepartners
5 Items

1: General Gameplay
As the Chipper, your job is to Gank and support the team with powerful amounts of damage and slight amounts of protection. You have both the tools for ganking and for supporting. More on specific ability uses later, but essentially you have two spells available for defense. Tar Toss and Focus Buffer. Tar Toss will help you escape from ganks and help you have your friends escape from ganks, or simply be an inconvenience for enemies in teamfights.
The Focus Buffer speaks for itself, use it on whoever you think will be taking the most magic damage -OR- who needs to surive the most, and he will hopefully not die or atleast die slower.
The Chipper is a downright damagedealer in addition to these abilities. Even Tar Toss buffs up his damage, but aside of that he has his powerful rockets and his ultimate - which is usable for teamfights and farming.
You will try to quickly burst down an enemy with rockets and ultimate, while placing the ultimate in a way that it also hits as many additional targets as possible for a long time.
I have noticed some tricks with The Chipper when it comes to gameplay.
*Use Rockets for Scouting, especially after you have some mana items. But even before that, It can be useful, If you think they might be in there. 50+ mana to avoid a gank Isn't really that terrible.
*Use your ultimate to farm, especially when It's on lv. 2 or 3. You can use it on neutral stacked creepcamps, creepwaves, or even ancients (although your carry will probably want the ancients) - however do NOT do this when you expect an upcoming teambattle. But Chipper is fairly gold-dependant, and needs this to really keep up.
*Farm with your rockets at lane, especially if you're having a rough time. You can autoattack+rocket to get a real damage burst on a creep to assure your kill, do not forget the power of rockets.
*Try to harass with rockets - Tar Toss makes additional burst and harass.
*In a sidelane you must try to take advantage of your Rocket Harass. Think Devourer. You try to move behind trees where they can't see you to take an easy shot with a rocket - It's excellent harass. Try to lock a hero down this way. If you fail this, you will likely fail the lane.

2: Spells
The chipper has just as many spells as any other hero - 4. Let's talk about them here.

Rocket Barrage (Q)
This is the Chippers first spell, and has many uses. You can scout runes (although they should be warded unless counterwarded), you can scout for enemies, you can harass, you can burst and you can farm with those goodies. You have to be able to aim them precisely, if you do hit every single rocket in a game - chances are you will be successful. Remember to try to hit these. A three-rocket burst is incredibly effective if hit, but try to only use this when you're pretty sure of a hit. Otherwise, you lose all damage capability you have except ultimate & autoattacks. It all comes down to how much you're willing to gamble.
Please note that the Rocket Barrage is useful for farming if you have enough mana for it or if you have trouble at lane.
- REMEMBER: Rocket Barrage is your only ability with a stun. It's a ministun, sure, but It lets you interrupt abilities and many people might not think of this - but it forces people to start over their cast-times. You can delay casts with this. The most important factor however is interrupting channeling abilities such as Tempest or Glacius ultimate.

Tar Toss (W)
Tar Toss is The Chippers second ability. This is his best utility and this is said to be the best slow in game, provided you can hit it correctly. It has a decent casting time and it takes a lil time before it lands, so It can be tricky to hit correctly. However, It's easier to hit than say Forsaken Archers Crippling Volley when it comes to actually hiting with it. The slow could be pretty weak however.
You will use this ability to chase, escape, gank and burst. It adds damage to your rockets.
Try to use it from behind a tree if you have the range for it - It really helps landing a perfect Tar Toss.

Focus Buffer (E)
Focus Buffer is The Chippers third ability. Most people only get this when they have enough mana to support spamming it on themselves. Well, yes, as soon as you have enough mana to regenerate to full mana again after using it on yourself before the cooldown is over, you should definitely start using it.
But situationally, this ability is also efficient. When you want your initiator to initiate, or when you simply want to keep your precious Carry under protection while pushing. It also deals some neat damage.
If the opposing team has only physical damage or barely no magic damage at all, you could go stats over this ability. If they have alot of magic damage, you should only go stats if you haven't learned to use this yet, because then It's more effective.

Sawblade Showdown (R)
The Sawblade Showdown is a sometimes underestimated, sometimes overestimated but actually always useful ability of great potential.
One must realize that this ultimate has several uses. You can clear out Ancient Stacks (though you should probably save those for your carry), you can clear out forest stacks (you could infact stack while laning.), and you can clear out big creepwaves.
At lv. 1 - This might be too risky. It costs alot of mana and you might need it later, since it has a huge cooldown. But when you have the ultimate in lv. 3 - you should definitely NOT hesitate using it to farm, unless you suspect an upcoming teamfight shortly. The Chipper needs this to compete at lane.

3: Choosing your Spells
You can go different routes when it comes for this. If you need extreme amounts of damage, you can go rockets. If you need protection, you can get Focus Buffer early, etc.
My most common and most effective way to put points into the Chipper, however, is the following:
1: Tar Toss/Rocket Barrage (Utility/Lane Ability)
2: Tar Toss/Rocket Barrage (Get the other one.)
3: Tar Toss
4: Rocket Barrage
5: Tar Toss
6: Sawblade Showdown (Some people differ. I find it useful for burst and even to escape - the damage is scary to some. Helps alot. Could help farming forest stacks.)
7: Tar Toss
8: Rocket Barrage
9: Rocket Barrage
10: Focus Buffer/Stats (Depending on enemy lineup)
11: Sawblade Showdown
12: Focus Buffer/Stats
- Etc. Get your ultimate lv. 3 when possible. Get Focus Buffer if they have some amount of magic damage, especially a powerful initiator.
I max out Tar Toss early for the slow, It's excellent utility. Rockets damage increment is poor compared to the mana, you're not going to want to throw three rockets in the face of the enemies at lv. 7 anyway. It's very expensive.
If you get a more effective slow you can put out more damage through autoattacks and ultimate than you otherwise would have, which means you get as much damage or atleast nearly as much, however you pay way less mana for it -AND- more of it is reliable compared to aiming Rockets.

4: Lanes & Lanepartners
Personally, I like to go mid as the Chipper. He is very suited for it - with his rockets for ganking and scouting, and his excellent harass, range, and autoattack animation. The only downside is having pretty low autoattack damage.
He's good at a Sidelane too, however. Anything that can help him get a maximum Tar Toss out is a good partner - and what's most important is The Chippers ability to position himself so that creeps wont block the Rocket Barrage during a gank attempt.
He can both babysit and play an offensive lane at a sidelane. Magmus, Hammerstorm, Pandamonium or any other stunner will let him get a maximum tar toss out. I like pandamonium because it gives them insane amounts of damage output, however people beg to differ. Any stun works.
The Chipper works with swiftblade, but you may want to try to get tarr tosses out from behind trees to ensure hiting them - because if you miss them a gank attempt is ruined.
The Chipper works with any stun in general, or even slow. He can work with Slither, Glacius etc.
Engineer, Zephyr etc. might work well to ease your time hiting rockets by knocking them away from creeps, but at the same time they may make your Tar Toss more difficult to hit compared to other stunners. I have yet to decide who I like the most of all heroes to lane with the Chipper - experiment yourself, but the most importance is Stuns, which lets you capitalize on your Tar Toss.
Extra Damage Output is nice aswell, gives alot of burst.
If you babysit and play passive - try to hit as many rockets as possible on the enemies. It hurts.
A few proposed lanepartners for those too lazy to read:
:glac: :blac: :magm: :pebb: (This is not all)
- ALSO TAKE THIS INTO NOTE: If Puppet Master puts his strings up and you ulti at the location of his strings, the enemy will effectively be DRAGGED -INTO- the ultimate several times if trying to run away. This is not strictly for lane as It's lv. 6 - but keep this in mind when building a team lineup. Most enemies will try to run rather than staying still even at high levels, trust me. Perhaps they'll stop later when they've gotten to know the Chipper more ;)

5: Items
Items. There is alot of different opinions on this.
I like to start off with:
:MinorTotem: - x2 (106g)
Then get a Monkey Courier/Wards, a Health Potion, Runes of Blight, and 2 mana potions.
If you do not buy a courier, you could go for a bracelet/talisman of the Exile (play by your own judgement. I like Talisman for some earlygame mana and lane damage.)
However, you do not buy this instantly.
Instead, you get:
:MinorTotem: - x2
:PretendersCrown: - x1

You then proceed towards the Talisman.

Boots:
Personally I usually get Ghost Marchers :EnhancedMarchers: , for chasing. If you feel you're behind and you need more survivability, however, Steamboots :Steamboots: is an excellent choice. If you feel that you generally will have to tank alot of magic damage, then again Steamboots :Steamboots: is brilliant.
If you're going to tank alot of physical damage, Plated Grevaes :PlatedGreaves: is an excellent choice. I usually get Ghost Marchers :EnhancedMarchers: as mentioned, but sometimes get Steamboots :Steamboots: or Plated Greaves :PlatedGreaves: instead.

OTHER ITEMS:
:Bottle:
- I feel this item is almost core if not strictly core on the Chipper. He needs this for the damage output and while moving past creeps to nuke rockets during gank attempts he could also get a bit dirty, so the HP reg is definitely very useful.
If he's mid, this speaks for itself. A bottle is always useful mid, especially for heroes like The Chipper.
- 600g

CORE:
:NomesWisdom:
- This item is excellent on The Chipper. You can start off with a Ring of the Teacher - especially useful if your lanemate benefits from it aswell. You can then proceed towards it when you afford it. Nomes is pretty easy to build especially with this part early.
This helps your regeneration alot, survivability and mana pool alot. It will not be enough by its own, however.
- 2300g

:Stormspirit:
- Although I usually do not get this on The Chipper, It's a respectable item. If you put up your ultimate and then stormspirit the enemy on the ultimate, he will take the "entering" damage twice. This is sometimes very impractical, as many mentions - but can also be effective at times. Besides that, It gives him a much needed speedboost and manaregeneration. This combined with Nomes will probably be enough to not have you worried about your mana all the time. Stormspirit isn't that hard to build, so It's easy to go for even if your farm is poor. It's possibly to get this instead of Nomes if you prefer so, but I wouldnt recommend it.
- 2600g

:Portalkey:
PLEASE NOTE: I do not strictly consider this Core, but sometimes it can be so I decided to put it here.
- The Portal Key will help you land your ultimates better and utilize the time during which you can synergize with other abilities and initiators, such as Tempests ultimate. You should probably not straight-down initiate, you're way too fragile, the ultimate is too inconvenient and you have no stuns for this. Basically, you do not have what's needed to initiate. You can, however, jump with an initiator or into positions to place ultimates.
It's also useful for escaping, ganking, and rocket barrage positioning. It helps you with Tar Tosses and Ultimates.
It's very useful and makes sense on the Chipper. Usually I do not get it, but do not hesitate. It's considered core by many and It's at its peak of effectivity when you have a true initiator alongside you. Pharaoh/Hellbringer/Behemoth are excellent with this.
- 2150g

LATEGAME:
:Nullstone:
- I always loved this item on the Chipper. It gives everything he needs. It increases the mana and health pool, it gives him mana regeneration an it gives him awesome survivability with the spell negation. This is farly situational, however. You do not want the enemy to have craploads of small singletarget spells, such as Armadons Snot - when you go for this. I go for this almost every game however. Personally I build this over and instead of Stormspirit.
- 4800g

:SacrificialStone:
- This is mostly an alternative to Nullstone. Both are very expensive to get, although It's entirely possible. This is definitely a great item on The Chipper - but personally I prefer Nullstone, since it usually extends your life through its ability by alot and it gives more hp/manareg.
Sac Stone would be more useful against teams with no singletarget spells however. An excellent choice to go for.
Personally, I almost never go for this.
- 5000g

:BehemothsHeart:
- I always, or atleast usually, get this after my Nullstone/SacStone. It gives The Chipper all the survivability he needs and helps him land Tar Tosses. It's a perfect survivability item for him - and he already has all the manaregeneration he'd ever ask for. This is a very expensive item however, and strictly a luxury. Though I personally prefer this item over many others, there's in most cases a more effecitve option. Read next item.
- 5500g

:KuldrasSheepstick:
- I don't get this on the Chipper very often, but I definitely should - I've just developed a fetish for Behemoths Heart's all. But I will not mislead you, this is an excellent item. It helps you land better Tar Tosses, and hit easy rockets. It's also straight down a crowdcontrol item and great against Carries and heroes in general.
Simply, It's a great item. You could definitely consider geting this before your Null/Sac stone. The buildup is tricky and expensive however, and you probably need decent farm to build this up. To try and get this in one of your bad games (we all have them) could be suicide.
- 5675g

OTHER LUXURIES:
:FrostfieldPlate:
- This might suit you. It's a good item, especially effective with a Portal Key and against a lot of physical damage. Personally I don't get it - the buildup isn't really that sweet and frankly I find other items better. It's not bad however, and you could definitely see if it suits you. This could be an excellent survivability option to Behemoths Heart which I listed earlier, perhaps better aswell depending on enemy lineup.
- 4800g

:BarrierIdol:
- If no one else gets it, you should - if the enemy has enough magic damage. The Chipper likes to get a bit tanky and this helps him. However, It's probably best for other heroes to get this unless your farm is beyond excellent. You will want your manaregeneration early and not afford this until late anyway. But keep in mind It's a great item.
- 3800g

:FrostwolfsSkull:
- I'm not a fan of this, but would rather only get it for the fun. I guess It could be effective if you try to carry though (which The Chipper is probably capable of semi-doing.) It's too expensive to get on the Chipper imo, but you could try it. Personally, I wouldnt do it unless for fun.
- 6100g

:HarkonsBlade:
- This time, probably just for fun. I don't get this, never would unless for the lulz. But It's fun :>
- 4875g

****Final Words****

^^ THIS GUIDE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE SOTM WAS INTRODUCED FOR CHIPPER. ^^

This guide was written because I think people need a good Chipper Guide. I've played Chipper alot lately and people tell me I'm a good one - I've even been asked to write a guide, so here it is. I realize some may differ in their opinions but I encourage them to atleast consider my words.
Anyway, the Gold Costs aren't correct on every item. If the guide is the slightest appreciated I will fix that shortly, but they're pretty right so I do not feel It's of great need.
I hope you enjoy the Chipper - Happy Chipping! :chip:

g1real
04-16-2010, 02:19 PM
Harkons is core on chipper.

I found that out when I was carrying my team vs a fed scout.

Endroil
04-16-2010, 03:04 PM
You found out that Harkons is core on Chipper after playing one game against a fed scout with him?
It makes no sense other than that he deals alot of magic damage.
Yes, It works on him, but It's probably less effective than other items. If you want to carry, sure. He's not suited to Hard Carry though, and he has nothing else that gives minus magic armor. With the right lineup, sure, but It'd probably be better on fx. Hellbringer who would probably be in that lineup.
While I disagree, however, If It works for you, then roll for it. But It's definitely not core, because It's not flexible enough.

g1real
04-16-2010, 03:23 PM
Because that magic armor reduction totally doesnt synergize with all your abilities including your ulti which will deal true/more then true damage if they have default magic armour.

His rockets become incredibly useless lategame especially when the fights get more hectic.

Endroil
04-16-2010, 04:16 PM
It "synergizes" with his high magic damage. And you can apply Harkons to one target.
And those 4.5k could definitely not be invested anywhere else.
You've made your point and stated your opinion. This is no discussion thread about Harkons, you're finished here. ^_^

Ryuukun
04-16-2010, 07:15 PM
With next update a all so loved item will become core for him as well.
But i don't want the Kraken be released so i will shut my mouth

Anizer1
04-17-2010, 12:32 AM
The core items should be Ghost Marchers, Nome's wisdom, Power Supply and Bottle. Portal key is pretty useless unless you an HP item plus frostfield plate.
The stats you have is pretty bad because you want the rockets maxed out first, not the tar. The tar is just a plus to the rockets (when you rocket an enemy hero with tar, they burn)
I would put my stats like this
1) Rocket
2) Tar
3) Rocket (you have 2 rockets at level 3
4) Stats
5) Rocket
6) Ult
7) Rocket
8) Tar
9) Third skill
10) Tar

and so on.
Rocket - Get Early Game so you can use late game well
Tar - Get mid game for ganks and team fights
Shield - Get late game because it's useless mid game.

Toosmart
04-17-2010, 02:41 AM
Please excuse me for asking how many games have you actually played with the chipper Endroil? I looked at your stats but the last recorded game with the chipper was 5 days ago and it also said you played a total of three games.

Endroil
04-17-2010, 07:40 AM
Anizer: I disagree. That's extremely mana consuming.
I would hardly consider Power Supply core on The Chipper more than on any other hero, but due to its efficiency overall It's definitely worth geting. I just didn't include it in my guide.
- And about the portal key: The guide clearly states that I personally don't get it - I don't like it as an item on the Chipper. I've heard many say Portal Key is core on Chipper, and while I disagree, It's undeniable that it helps you land sweet tars and ultimates - and The Chipper could make an excellent Secondary Initiator.

Toosmart: I've played almost all my Chipper games on my anonymous pub account. I don't know exactly how many.

Anizer1
04-17-2010, 07:30 PM
The frostwolf skull is completely useless and so is the barrier idol. I'd also personally prefer nullstone over storm spirit because everytime i'm about to stun and my teammate has stormspirit, I end up missing my stun which pisses me off a LOT. Not much point in sheepstick either. Please include the Power Supply with the bottle in core items. It's only useful to have both PS and Bottle than just one.

Endroil
04-17-2010, 07:53 PM
Anizer: How can you say It's only useful when you get BOTH? That doesnt make sense. They dont synergize in any way. It's just that they're both useful.

About Frostwolf Skull: Yes, I agree, I do not get this. I clearly state this in the guide aswell :>

Sheepstick: It's an effective item overall, if your farm is good enough you can get it just because It's awesome kickass hardcore. personally, I don't.

gebb
04-18-2010, 08:43 AM
I seriously disagree on the whole maxing out tar first thing. First of all the combo three rockets + ult kills just about any non-strength hero at lvl 7, and is what makes chipper such a great sololaner. Tar toss is just insanely hard to hit a decent slow, cripplin volley is like a single target stun in comparison, so maxing out tar toss is just ruining your early game. (unless you've somehow mastered the arts of tossing tar and getting 70% everytime, which I sure haven't).

On the items I pretty much agree; Nomes is just plain awesome. Stormspirit is great for movementspeed and to land perf tar-tosses, though after that I would go astro, barrier and frostfieldplate, instead of going the whole carry route.

Anizer1
04-19-2010, 09:52 PM
Anizer: How can you say It's only useful when you get BOTH? That doesnt make sense. They dont synergize in any way. It's just that they're both useful.



PowerSupply you need to collect charges right? Bottle you can just refill. So you start off with 2 minor totems for stats and whatever. Then you build the minor totems into a PS for stats and healing. By then you reach the 25min mark, you prob will have around 10-15 charges. Plus you will get the bottle earlylate game. So when you are in a team fight, you can easily heal with the power supply and when pushing lanes, you can use the bottle plus collect runes. It all works out =D

Endroil
04-20-2010, 05:12 AM
Anizer: The only reason to get both is because power supply is a superb item and because bottle is used on many heroes. WHen these heroes have a bottle, they usually get a mana battery/power supply in addition to this - not because of a crazy synergy but because Power Supply is awesome. It's not "only effective" if you get both.
You can do fine with either one of them, but personally I -always- get a mana battery at the least.

Panzergebby: Either way works, If you want crazy burst you can certainly go full rockets. It depends on if you play passively for harass or in a ganking matter where you need the burst the most.

emo_dota
04-20-2010, 05:22 AM
wow....
keep posting...
nice post

SarinEke
04-21-2010, 08:39 AM
:Nullstone: are my faivorire item too


but what u guys think :RestorationStone: at late game?
i wanna try it :confused:

FiskOgHon
04-21-2010, 08:50 AM
I would say SotM is now a very valid item option. 70% slow on the ultimate will be extremely powerful imo.

Endroil
04-21-2010, 04:38 PM
SarinEke: I don't think Restoration stone is that awesome, but you'd get alot of damage out.

FiskOgHon: Yes, It probably is. I havent tried Chipper since patch. This guide was written pre-patch.

Grovel
05-03-2010, 09:36 PM
Isn't SotM standard these days, thanks to the huge buff to Chipper's Ult? Where in the build would you pick it up?

EDIT: yeah, I didn't read the posts above mine, but you should update OP :)

a_cloth
05-04-2010, 01:27 PM
Staff of the Master is what Makes Chipper OP

enchanced marcher
bottle/power supply/both
nomes wisdom
staff of the master
GG

Unyazi
05-05-2010, 12:57 AM
the low mana cost on his rockets, and the amount of dmg they can add up to is what makes him op..
the sotm acutally maintains his utility in to late game, altho 70%snare is kinda big given its size if you position it well.

WtchCRFT
07-17-2010, 12:41 PM
Just played a game with chipper and did well imo. I bought staff of the master. I have to say it's core now. The ulti is 20x more effective with the hectic slow it adds to it. You effectively control the flow of a team fight with SOTM-enhanced chipper ult. :D