Deadwood

[nahmad]

Nahmad's Guide to Deadwood

Born of the cruelly tainted lands of Newerth, Deadwood is the undead husk of the first Keeper of the Forest. All around him, living things wilt, and he has little hesitation to destroy trees or use them as weapons. Despite seeking the destruction of Newerth, he still commands the incredible strength and natural powers of a forest guardian, thus combining the cruelty of the Hellbourne with the powers that once belonged only to the Beast Horde.

Contents (Ctrl+F to search)

1. Introduction
2. Basic Information
3. Skill Build
4. Items Build
5. GamePlay
6. Credits

Introduction

Hey guys. This is my guide for Deadwood. Deadwood is by far my favourite hero in the game. I've been looking around for a while and I haven't seen any deadwood guides that play him at all in the same way as me so I thought I'd write my own guide to show how I play him and maybe help some of you out. I play Deadwood as a hit and run hero and doesn't really see the centre of team fights very often until very late game. He is in my opinion one of the best gankers in the game as his abilities synergies awesomely as well as being a very able initiator.

Basic Information

Primary Attribute: Strength
Strength:25 Per level: 2.7
Agility: 16 Per level: 2
Intelligence: 16 Per level: 1.5

Attribute Information

Health: 625 Regen: 1
Mana: 208 Regen: 0.65
Movement Speed: 300

Defense Information

Armor: 2.74 Magic Armor:5.5
Reduction: 14.1% Reduction: 24.8%

Attack Information

MeleeRange: 128
Damage: 56 - 61
Base Attack Cooldown: 1.7 seconds
Attack Cooldown: 1.466 seconds
0.682 attacks per second

Abilities

Rotten Grasp



Calling upon the deep corruption underground, Deadwood can root anyone standing in the targeted area after a short delay.

Type: Magic
Range: 1,300
Radius: 200
Cast Time: 1.0 Seconds
Mana Cost: 120
Cooldown: 13.0 Seconds
Required Level: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7

Activation
After a 2 second delay, applies Rotten Grasp to all enemies in the radius or who walk into the radius. Effect lasts 1 / 1.7 / 2.3 / 3 seconds.

The effect during the delay is stealthed.

Rotten Grasp Effect
-1 / -2 / -3 / -4 Armor
100 Magic damage per second

Notes:

The ability that makes Deadwood such a great ganker and a viable initiator. This has a much longer range than it first appears and can root someone from a screen length away. Mastering this ability is what makes deadwood an amazing team choice. The hardest part of it is the 2 second delay but sometimes it works to your advantage, try to place this ability where they will be. not where they are and watch them panic as you speed towards them with your finger poised on the R key

Uproot



Deadwood can turn any tree into a weapon by simply tearing it out of the ground. While holding a tree, he can throw it at an enemy, mini-stunning and snaring them.

Type: Physical
Range: 100
Cast Time: 1.0 Seconds
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 15.0 Seconds
Required Level: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7

Activation
Picks up the target tree, getting +15 / 30 / 45 / 60 damage for 5 attacks.

Uproot Effect
15 / 30 / 45 / 60 Damage

Notes:

An amazing ability that gives a huge boost to damage throughout the whole game but particularly early game. +60 Dmg at level 7 is a HUGE advantage and will allow you to 3 or 4 shot most int and agi heroes. Also is amazing for last hits and denies especially when playing mid. you will be able to last hit a creep from half health and easily slow enemy heroes gaining levels and gold. Very important to note that THIS STUNS TARGET WHEN THROWN! this means you can use it to stop a TP, stop a casting ability etc. Can you imagine how angry a would be if he got a tree in the face will channelling his ulti? use this to your advantage!

Clearcutting



Deadwood, not known for his love of nature, can gain the ability to destroy trees he walks through. Empowered by the destruction he has caused, Deadwood gains movement speed, attack speed, and slow resistance when destroying trees.

Mana Cost: 50
Cooldown: 25.0 Seconds
Required Level: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7

Activation
Applies Clearcutting to self for 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 seconds. Any tree run through and killed grants one charge. Maximum of 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 charges.

Clearcutting Effect
Attack Speed Per Charge: 0.2
Movement Speed Per Charge: 0.03
+25% Slow Resistance per charge

Notes:

Another amazing ability that synergies extremely well with Deadwood's other abilities. Will allow you to quickly close the ground between you and a rooted opponent complete with increased attack speed. Also handy as an escape mechanism. I cant count how many times I've escaped ganks by running straight through the woods with Clearcutting especially when facing heroes such as whose slow would have otherwise meant my untimely demise.

Willowmaker



An ageless and powerful force, Deadwood uses his stump arm to punch an enemy, dealing massive damage and lowering the targets strength.

Type: Physical
Range: 150
Cast Time: 1.0 Seconds
Mana Cost: 100 / 150 / 200
Cooldown: 85.0 / 75.0 / 65.0 Seconds
Required Level: 6 / 11 / 16

Activation
Deals 350 / 650 / 950 Physical damage and stuns the target for 1.5 seconds.

Willowmaker Effect
Lowers total strength by 20%

notes:

The brutal punch in the face that makes Deadwood a scary ganker. Although many say that it loses power late game, a well placed willowmaker can turn the tide in a teamfight, taking out a pesky nuker early before they can do any real damage. Also has an awesome stun that can be used to initiate from invis(should you be lucky enough) followed by roots. Altogether an awesome ability with an amazing satisfaction level guaranteed when you hear the sickening crack that follows

Skill Build

1. Uproot
2. Rotten Grasp
3. Uproot/ Rotten Grasp
4. Rotten Grasp/Clearcutting
5. Uproot/Clearcutting/Rotten Grasp
6. WillowMaker
7. Clearcutting/Uproot/Rotten Grasp*
8. Uproot*
9. Rotten Grasp/uproot
10. Rotten Grasp*/uproot*
11. Willowmaker
12. Clearcutting
13. Clearcutting
14. Clearcutting*
15. Stats
16. Willowmaker*
17-25. Stats

Red is an alternative skill build if you want to go very early game ganking while playing in a side lane

Explanation

I max uproot first simply because its practically a free Mock minus the aura at level 7/8. One level of Clearcutting for ganking, but is mostly useless early game. Sometimes I prefer to max uproot at 7 and leave Clearcutting until level 8 but its situational. I recommend leaving Clearcutting until level 7 at the earliest as I usually use level 1 Willowmaker to demolish who I'm laning against and the extra damage from level 3 Uproot will kill them that much quicker.

The parts in Red are an alternative build that I play sometimes that I learnt from Drasha's Deadwood guide. It focuses on side lane early game ganking, and using the trees to your advantage. I don't play this very often but as with most other things about deadwood, its very situational.

Items Build

Starting Items

Explanation

This is what I nearly always start off with. Logger's Hatchet for the extra damage against creeps will make you even more of a last hitting machine. Because Deadwood is such a good last hitter, he generally needs to be right beside the creeps to maintain control. I take the shield to make it easier to do so without being harassed so hard by a ranged hero. And the health regen is pretty self explanatory. Other items can be taken as starting items for survivability such as:

These are all down to personal preference though. I myself normally take the shield, hatchet and runes. I also want to point out that its viable to go for some stat items and some more regen while playing in a side lane. This is personal preference, but replacing the shield for some totems and a claw can help you survive a bit better especially while laning against 2 melee heroes.

Early Game

Explanation

Pretty Straight forward to be honest. Bottle is ALWAYS the first item I get during early game, firstly because I'm usually playing mid but also because Deadwood can take advantage of nearly every rune with devastating effect. Even if I'm not mid I take a bottle so I can pick up runes while I'm running around ganking. Early game I only start with basic boots as their are more important items to be bought.

Mid Game

Explanation

Portal Key is my first big investment and shouldn't be very hard to farm if you've been ganking effectively so far. it adds a whole new level to ganking with Deadwood, meaning you can close down the distance between you and the enemy quicker, taking advantage of the few seconds of roots to whack them a few times after your Willowmaker. I then finish my ghost marchers. A lot of people tell me to take steamboots, which i do sometimes, but mostly I take ghost marchers. This is simply because they combine with clearcutting to allow to to steam up and down lanes to assist your team-mates better. However a bad early game may see my get Steamboots, simply for the Survivability. This again comes down to personal preference.

Late Game

Explanation

These are all items that can be got on deadwood late game. ShieldBreaker is a must as he is really a physical character (Willowmaker is Physical too) and it makes him do so much more damage. Late game you will be involved in teamfights more often so I usually go for some survivability such as the demonic Breastplate or/and Heart. Savage mace is nice for its mini stuns. I sometimes get Insanitarius right after my portal key as it can help deadwood output some crazy damage but anyone using it must be careful as it saps your hp and makes you an easier target in a fight.

Gameplay

Early Game

Early game with deadwood is all about last hitting. Deadwood is an amazing last hitter due to his uproot and also the bonus damage from logger's hatchet. Use this to full advantage. Deprive the enemy players of gold and experience, farm and get that bottle asap. If your mid keep control over the runes and kill your opponent whenever possible. You don't necessarily need your ulti for this. Rooting them beside a tower when they push followed by a few hits and finally throwing your tree to finish them off or slow them for the finishing blow will ensure you dominate your lane early. If your on side lanes, check your rune every so often and if you happen to get an invis then now is the time to help your mid player out with a gank. Mostly its pretty easy to play with deadwood early game, but don't waste your mana with badly timed roots. Save it for ganking opportunities. All you need is your tree and it only costs 30 mana these days

Mid Game

Mid game is where deadwood is at his best! Gank as often as you possibly can. Remember the combo:

+++

Grasp to hold them + Clearcutting to get there fast and with bonus attack speed/ Portal key to blink in + willowmaker to do insane damage and stun them further (especially good if your at the end of grasp) + uproot to finish them with the bonus damage and the stun if they try to run (I want to point out that you should have a tree in your hand at the start of a gank, as it means you can throw it and grab another instantly and use it for a second stun but besides that you should ALWAYS have a tree in your hand)

Its important to mention though that if you were lucky enough to get an invis rune then its always possible (not necessarily better) to initiate your gank with willowmaker. This stuns them and lowers their strength instantly, and then followed by roots will still keep them grounded for long enough for you to finish them.

Continue to farm with ganks and get your portal key and this will make it much easier to make the most of your grasp time. You can also initiate with willowmaker this way too.

Late Game

Late game start stacking -armour. Because most of your abilities are physical this will allow you to output more damage making you still useful late game. Try to initiate ganks and team-fights with a well placed grasp and your team will love you for it. Think of it as a mini keeper of the forest ulti (I think that's the point :P)

After you have your minus armour go for some survivability or go for some craziness with riftshards etc. (Kudos to EmpIE :P) Just continue to support your team in fights by grasping and taking out the int nukers, gank when you can and push towers by grasping a wave of creeps when you see them coming down the lane to give your creeps more time at the tower

Also I was to point out, ALWAYS have a . I know this is like basics of the basics but its SOOOOOO important. Running from a gank into tree with clearcutting will give you the valuable seconds you need to get out of there!

Good Allies /Bad Counters

Good allies for deadwood varies throughout the game in my opinion. Early game if I'm not mid, I prefer to lane with a heavy nuker with aimed abilities like :fors: as grasp gives them plenty of opportunity to do their damage without missing. Other characters such as are awesome for obvious reasons. Swift's spin with grasp is amazing, so is witch slayer's stun straight after grasp followed by miniaturise followed by throwing your tree pretty much guarantees a kill. Bubbles can teleport beside the grasped character and unleash on them until you get there. I honestly think deadwood can be paired with anyone early game as his skill set really compliments alot of characters' abilities.

Mid and Late game your real friends are etc. Anyone with minus armour abilities will make you an even scarier killing machine!

Counters to deadwood are pretty simple. With the way I play deadwood, he is still quite flimsy. Getting stun locked or disabled is pretty much GG. Of course you can counter this with a shrunken head if you wish (Kudos to EmpIE again ) but to me its a waste of money if you play deadwood right. Another obvious counter to deadwood is any character with high armour or/and high health. Characters like and other high armour strength heroes will lower the effectiveness of you ulti and your tree.

Then there is the worst possible counter to deadwood, aka the bane of my existance. it should be renamed deadwoodbane :P it is of course:

The void talisman, if timed correctly, renders deadwood useless. On top of this its relatively cheap, especially when compared with a shrunken head. If the enemy has one of these, its going to be difficult for you, but to counter it as deadwood, simply keep a sharp eye and save your ulti until it wears off.

Replays

8131525 - Pretty annoyed by this one as I felt I played well only to find out that it was EM. I was on follow and afk as the guy who was Chipper chose a match. Didn't even realise it was duplicate heroes until I got mid. Never the less, shows pretty well I think how to play deadwood in the build I explained above.

Credits

Guide created by Nahmad. Any mistakes let me know and I'm always always open to constructive criticism, something missing from this guide? jsut let me know and I might put it in Thanks guys!

Change Log: 21/7/2010 - Rewrote Gameplay Section and added alternative skill build and information about alternative starting items
: 23/7/2010 - Added Replay Section and added one replay

[[WyGD]InsPirati0N]

Really good, but u can try the situational way of dw...
with:




Defensive:



Or my off. buildup:

[BarneyGumbal]

Nothing wrong with your guide that I can see. It could use more information though. You should explain how you can use combo Rotten Grasp and Willowmaker outside of grasping them and then ulting. E.g. Ulting them first to stun, then immediately casting grasp so that they can't move away.

If you're after replays, I feel this may be good enough: 7936981

My first DW game.

Edit: Just thinking, you should also add counters and things to look out for such as Nullstone.

[nahmad]

Really good, but u can try the situational way of dw...
with:




Defensive:

Seeing this really makes me realise just how much freedom there is with deadwoods item builds. There are reasons I dont get some of the above items however.

Alchemists bones: I can see the benefits, but at the level you would be buying it, its a much better investment to go for the portal key as its only 250G more.

Defensive items: As I said at the start of my guide I build deadwood as an extreme ganker (hit and run if you will) and thus I never really need defensive items. Don't get me wrong, I think every single one of those items are viable, and I would even consider some defence if the early game went very badly, but mostly i go offensive with as much -armour as I can find. As I said this is my own personal way of playing him, but you have def given me a new way to look at possible builds on deadwood so thanks ^^

[Chackle]

lold at nahmad doing a guide for scrub hero :<

[nahmad]

lold at nahmad doing a guide for scrub hero :<

Deadwoods unreal bro

[Chackle]

Deadwoods unreal bro

Yeah i suppose its a good pub stomper. Nice guide btw. Thinking of doing one myself on Mr Chipper

[Akavir]

Deadwood is also my favorite hero and this guide is very similar to the way i play him.

The only important thing i see missing though is that you should remind the readers that your oakbolt ministuns. I can't count how many times i've had a deadwood ally (with his ulti on cooldown) do absolutely nothing to interrupt that succ, tempest or magmus, it seems to be a rather common mistake.

Finally i think you should also mention that Willowmaker is a physical spell, and as such it will fully go through any magic immunity.

[nahmad]

Deadwood is also my favorite hero and this guide is very similar to the way i play him.

The only important thing i see missing though is that you should remind the readers that your oakbolt ministuns. I can't count how many times i've had a deadwood ally (with his ulti on cooldown) do absolutely nothing to interrupt that succ, tempest or magmus, it seems to be a rather common mistake.

Finally i think you should also mention that Willowmaker is a physical spell, and as such it will fully go through any magic immunity.

Ah your right i should mention that! thanks for the suggestion ^^ also I did mention that willowmaker is physical but il put it in the notes section for willowmaker

[[WyGD]InsPirati0N]

Seeing this really makes me realise just how much freedom there is with deadwoods item builds. There are reasons I dont get some of the above items however.

Alchemists bones: I can see the benefits, but at the level you would be buying it, its a much better investment to go for the portal key as its only 250G more.

Defensive items: As I said at the start of my guide I build deadwood as an extreme ganker (hit and run if you will) and thus I never really need defensive items. Don't get me wrong, I think every single one of those items are viable, and I would even consider some defence if the early game went very badly, but mostly i go offensive with as much -armour as I can find. As I said this is my own personal way of playing him, but you have def given me a new way to look at possible builds on deadwood so thanks ^^

You are welcome.... Look i don't really like that def build. I'm always playing dw as a semi-carry/ganker. But u can try to make combinations. Like midas and portal key together for extremely farm and map control or.... Nullstone and helm with frostburn.... To be a good initiator and a bit tanky beast... Just DW! Best hero in the game (for me).

[[TaX]Rusian]

Pestilence is a good hero u can take and works great with deadwood.Pest ulties then deadwood teles and target dead.And other armor reductors heroes.

On deadwood u should always really get boots (either strenght of damage type) then blink then bkb.Sometimes you can get bkb first cuz u can clear cut thru trees and outflank the enemies before they respond, its up to you really...

Since ur an initiator u need bkb really badly so u can finish ur target u initiated on.Nullstone is good too but since u initiate u will be targeted alot so im for bkb Nullstone gives u mana regen but u got a bottle....while shrunken head = +36 damage.

Initiator means ur in the middle of the enemy team, with ur bkb i sometimes go thunderclaw cuz u get from tree cutting 60 attack speed, but i only do that when i have gotten attack speed boots.Few lighting strikes will really bust up the enemy team.

Insanitarius is a great idea i think i will get that after my bkb.
thats my opinion...cheers.

[nahmad]

Updated ^^

[Chackle]

Did a quick skim over (so sorry if you HAVE mentioned this), but you should probably mention alternate skill builds / item builds to when you're in lane. At the moment your starting items indicate a melee mid build, but you'll need more stat items if you're in lane. Also, you should add andro and slither to good lane partners (slither's lvl 1 50% slow makes it easy to line grasp up and andro's stun + -armor is perfect with deadwood)

[nahmad]

Did a quick skim over (so sorry if you HAVE mentioned this), but you should probably mention alternate skill builds / item builds to when you're in lane. At the moment your starting items indicate a melee mid build, but you'll need more stat items if you're in lane. Also, you should add andro and slither to good lane partners (slither's lvl 1 50% slow makes it easy to line grasp up and andro's stun + -armor is perfect with deadwood)

yeah I get what you mean, I take pretty much the same starting items whether I'm lane or mid anyway with some small changes but I do take a slightly different skill build sometimes, should probably include that, as with most things when it comes to deadwood, its situational :P once you get your bottle though, your good to go

will mention the other good heroes too, thanks man

[Chackle]

No problem, also, mention that in the laning phase if you want a successful root you should be out of sight of the enemy (in the shroud) so they cant see your mana bar going down. Helps land those roots really easily and its also what makes deadwood amazing at roaming early and mid game.

[FlameHaZe]

I didnt read all,but I think you missed that the combo with portal key kinda changes.Its better with pk to : pk in -> ult-> grasp -> tree -> autoattacks.

[nahmad]

I didnt read all,but I think you missed that the combo with portal key kinda changes.Its better with pk to : pk in -> ult-> grasp -> tree -> autoattacks.

Already mentioned

[[WyGD]InsPirati0N]

Grasp-Pk-2Attacks-Ult-Attacks-Treethrow-Attacks till death.... Simple takeout any hero under 2500Hp non blink.... Strenght heroes are so much heavy so u need a partner for help.

[Smeggles]

Never underestimate the Shroud -> Codex deadwood! (yes it was for shits and giggles, but soooo much fun to do)

Match ID's:

8091828
7535079

[[WyGD]InsPirati0N]

Never underestimate the Shroud -> Codex deadwood! (yes it was for shits and giggles, but soooo much fun to do)

Match ID's:

8091828
7535079

True True.... But quite squishy later..