I'm not paranoid.

What do you mean there's trees out there?

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Rizzrack could still hear the screams in his mind. He worked, frantically turning wrenches, twisting screws, building and carving and forging. Sleep eluded him; he only built. Months had passed since he had shut himself in his uncle's workshop, and his deliverance was nearly complete. He rubbed his back as his eyes drifted shut, and saw a blanket of flowers floating on the placid waves of Augury Bay before exploding into a cloud of pollen that silenced lives as it seized the lungs. He woke with a choking start. For hours the rhythmic sound of a whetstone filled the shop as he sharpened a set of massive blades, his mind filled with images of strangling vines garroting neighbors, enwrapping homes. The flooding of Augury Bay had been nothing compared to the violent horrors the waters left to take root beyond the city walls. But the saw-suit would make him strong and safe he thought, allowing himself this sliver of hope before the full might of his fear crashed into his fading mind. Branches and blood. When the city fell, Rizzrack fled trees that walked, and fought, and killed. Trees had shattered the gates and swarmed into the city. Trees had crushed and thrashed and stomped the last that Augury Bay could muster in defense, and stalked the few fleeing refugees. In addled silence Rizzrack unspooled the thick chain from the suit's arm, his hands quaking as he inspected each link and ran a trembling finger along the claw attached at its end. The saw-suit was ready.

With his hand trembling he sparked the bladed machine to life. Terror drove him, terror of what awaited him and of what he would have to face to have any hope of calming his mind. As the saw-suit shuddered to life he knew he must face this fear, and he knew he wouldn't like it one bit.

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Watch out for that tree!

Timbersaw is a vine-swinging, wood-cutting, branch-hacking good time. Extremely mobile and tanky, Rizzrack is a little-played hero with a lot of potential in the right hands. He's got a relatively steep learning curve, but once you can master his skills he becomes an exciting and satisfying hero to play as. I often liken him to the Strength version of Puck.

Timbersaw's hallmark spell Timber Chain is the key to his high mobility and fun gameplay. Playing as Rizzrack is like becoming a flying cyborg spider monkey of destruction and chaos. Spells like Timber Chain are what gives Timbersaw such a high skill ceiling, which means there is always room for improvement.

Complete with a nifty area of effect nuke in Whirling Death (that can deal pure damage, mind you) and a tank's passive in Reactive Armor, Timbersaw really is a target nobody wants to touch. That's if they can get their hands on you in the first place.

Chakram, Rizzrack's spammable ultimate, is a spinning blade of doom that you are free to send out at your own insane discretion. It's a legit tool for hunting down fleeing enemies, blocking off pathways, or having presence in teamfights.

With a crazy fun chase and escape game, impeccable voice acting, and spells that force you to take positioning into consideration, playing as Timbersaw is a guaranteed good time. And it's twice as fun when you're winning.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself. I'm only going to take a little off the top.

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Slices and splinters

Highly mobile chaser and escapist
Spammable spells
High skill ceiling
Pure damage output on most skills

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Mana intensive spells
Relatively level dependent
Countered by mana-burn and silence
Terrible base-breaking ability

The forest doesn't stand a chance

Whirling Death (Q)

"Oh god I think I'm going to be sick."

With a low cooldown and relatively low mana cost, Whirling Death is an extremely useful area of effect nuke Timbersaw has at his disposal. If a tree is cut down by Whirling Death, pure damage will be dealt to any enemies affected. This means that Whirling Death is most effective after a tether to a tree via Timber Chain.

This skill comes in handy in the later stages for both pushing the lanes and farming up the neutral camps. And similarly to Chakram, you can always use Whirling Death to clear a path in the forest to make a hasty escape.

Whirling Death also reduces the primary stat of any enemies affected by 15% for 7 seconds. This is especially effective against Strength heroes and other heroes that rely on high numbers in their primary stat (like Silencer or Skywrath Mage).

Note: Enemy heroes using Black King Bar will not take damage from Whirling Death but will still receive the stat debuff.

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Timber Chain (W)

"Yoink!"

Timber Chain is Rizzrack's defining spell. With low mana cost and cooldown, you can use this spell to zip from tree to tree over and over again in both chase and escape scenarios. Timber Chain is the skill that grants Timbersaw such high mobility, no doubt. However, the pure damage done to any enemy in the way of a speeding Rizzrack is another huge incentive to use this skill and use it often.

Although Timbersaw is mana starved in the early game, use of Timber Chain in between the lanes does massive amounts of damage and will make your opponent think twice about their positioning in relation to you. Use this spell to harass your opponent early game and possibly nab an early kill.

Timber Chain takes skill and practice to reach full potential. Trees are a huge part of the Dota 2 landscape. As Timbersaw, you'll have to get closely acquainted (eek) with each and every branch on the map. Below is an image of some of the most useful Timber Chain ziplines on both the Dire and Radiant sides. Some of these can be used as escape and chase routes, and others are simply handy shop and neutral camp access!


There are also a few handy cliff spots where Rizzrack can farm the neutral camps using both Whirling Death and Chakram via access of Timber Chain. These are great for grabbing some quick farm and getting in and out. The below image should give you a better idea of these spots on the map.


Note: The targeted tree Timbersaw latches to is destroyed upon landing. You can use this to your benefit to squeeze through tight openings for jukes.

Note: Timber Chain won't be stopped up by heroes or impassable terrain, and will always travel its maximum distance wherever it is aimed.

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Reactive Armor (E)

"Safe. Safe. Safe."

Reactive Armor is a very useful passive for Rizzrack, making him tougher with every instance of damage he takes. Providing bonus armor and health regeneration per stack, this skill makes Timbersaw tough to kill.

You can also use Reactive Armor as an impromptu healing method by using creep camps and creeps in the lane to attack you. Each stack gives you a health regeneration buff equal to 1 health healed per second. With a maximum of 16 stacks, you can see how using Reactive Armor in this fashion could heal you up quickly!

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Chakram (R)

"I'll cut everyone!"

Chakram, Timbersaw's low cooldown ultimate, is another awesome and versatile tool in his arsenal. With the ability to mow down trees like nothing and slow escaping foes, this skill perfectly compliments Rizzrack's playstyle.

As long as Chakram is out on the battlefield, Timbersaw loses mana. This can be a big drain early on, (less so after the recent 6.78 buffs) but in the later stages of the game, you'll be able to toss out Chakram blades left and right.

You can also use Chakram to cut off enemy escape routes. Use of this skill takes prescience and an understanding of positioning. (As most of Timbersaw's skills do.) Try to assess the area before engaging and cut off the most likely route of escape. Chakram takes some time to reach its target destination, so you will have to lead your enemy for maximum effectiveness.

In ganking situations (especially in the side lanes) this skill is incredibly effective. Toss out Chakram through the tree line and behind your enemy, then zip through the open space to the other side with Timber Chain, and finish with Whirling Death. (Pictures coming soon.)

It's important to keep in mind that Chakram does damage on the way in, and on the way out. This means you can dole out two quick successive hits by tossing Chakram at an enemy and pulling it back immediately after hitting. This is key in bursting down enemy heroes fast. Instead of tossing out Chakram and leaving it there, it can be more effective to pull it in and out, tossing out the burst damage more often.

This is also a great skill for pushing fast and farming. Sending out Chakram through the creep wave or a neutral camp and pulling it back quickly is a surefire way to clean up fast, especially in the later stages of the game.

Note: Despite the strangely worded description, you can use mana (i.e. spells) while Chakram is active. However, your auto-attack will be disabled.

You're selling me this? And they call me crazy?

First cut is the deepest

"Gimme."



This is your cookie-cutter basic loadout for Timbersaw. Stout Shield lets you be more aggressive in the laning phase and secure some last hits without taking too much harassment punishment.

Sometimes having the set of Tangos isn't even necessary with the early point of Reactive Armor you'll be taking. This is dependent on your lane match-up, but in some cases where I'm feeling more aggressive I'll instead opt for a second Clarity.

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Revving up

"Yup, that'll work!"



Magic Wand is too good of an item to pass up on, especially in the laning phase when Rizzrack is mana starved.

Bracer provides Rizzrack with cheap stats in the early stages of the game. On top of that, it also builds into your Drum of Endurance.

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Never wanted anything else

"Hey that is a crazy bargain."



Arcane Boots are hugely effective for Timbersaw, again, especially in the early to mid-game when he struggles with mana. Your allies will appreciate it too!

Drum of Endurance is a great pickup for Rizzrack and builds from the Bracer we picked up earlier. If you aren't getting much farm into the mid-game, it's okay to skip this in favor of a faster Bloodstone or Heart of Tarrasque. There is a certain point in the game where buying a Drum of Endurance won't benefit you as greatly, so keep that in mind.

Bloodstone, while expensive, does everything Timbersaw wants--adds tankiness and provides huge mana regeneration buffs. And, for every kill you rack up, the mana regeneration buff just gets better.

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Deep cuts

"That's all I need."



Heart of Tarrasque is another expensive but extremely useful item on Rizzrack that when in combination with Bloodstone makes him virtually unkillable. Once you have these two items, the combined health and mana regeneration will allow you to stay on the field forever.

Shiva's Guard is another item that is a perfect fit for Rizzrack. Adding Intelligence and armor value, Shiva's Guard also aids your initiation game with a useful active ability.

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Back-up blades

"Snip!"



Boots of Travel, while expensive (an unfortunate running theme with many of Rizzrack's core items), can bring your mobility to another level. Useful Teleport aside, the +100 movement speed will improve your chase game tenfold.

Blade Mail can be useful if you are being focused by the enemy team. Usually, the best time to pick this up is if you have become the main carry and damage dealer on your squad.

Pipe of Insight is a general utility for your team (similar to Drum of Endurance) and should only be picked up when your team is taking heavy magical damage and there isn't a support on your team who can afford one.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity provides a great single-target disable you can use to your advantage while chasing an enemy down. Cast Cyclone, then toss down Chakram underneath. The stats Eul's Scepter of Divinity provides are a perfect fit for Timbersaw as well--movement speed, Intelligence, and mana regeneration!

Hackers, slashers, and lumberjacks

Tusk

"Cut cut cut cutcutcutcutcutcutcutcutcutcutcutcut!"

Tusk's Ice Shards ability creates a perfect spot for a Chakram to be cast in. His Frozen Sigil also benefits Timbersaw's own chase ability.

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Enigma

"I'm under enough pressure without your help, Enigma."

Enigma's Black Hole is perfect for a well-placed Chakram.

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Disruptor

"Mm! That is one less voice in my head."

Kinetic Field in combination with both Static Storm and Chakram is a devastating combination that works wonders.

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Magnus

"Nobody takes me seriously."

Magnus's ultimate Reverse Polarity is another perfect opportunity to cast Chakram on. His Skewer can also put enemy heroes in a better position for you to deal damage.

Treehuggers and plant potters

Nyx Assassin

"I'd hack you down again if I could!"

Mana Burn is the bane of Timbersaw's existence. Vendetta also means Nyx has an easy get-out-of-jail-free card when you attempt to initiate on him.

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Keeper of the Light

"I told you to stop getting blood on my blades!"

Keeper of the Light's Mana Leak ability is devastating to Timbersaw, and Blinding Light can screw with positioning (a crucial aspect in Rizzrack's game).

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Silencer

"You don't get to win. I get to win!"

Nearly all of Silencer's abilities give Timbersaw a tough time. Both Last Word and Curse of the Silent almost completely counter Rizzrack. Dying to a Silencer is even worse, as you'll have your Intelligence stolen, making you even more mana starved.

You should avoid picking Rizzrack when a Silencer has already been picked.

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Anti-Mage

"You mad? Cuz I am! Hahah!"

Anti-Mage's Mana Break is extremely annoying to deal with as Timbersaw, and his ultimate Mana Void can cause you some serious trouble after constant use of spells that Timbersaw relies on. His Blink also means he can easily escape from any initiation you try on him.

Replays and gameplay footage

Gameplay footage

Play Video Some cute Rizzrack play by Dendi.

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Play Video Two nice highlights that demonstrate Timbersaw's ability to get in and out of situations where he is outnumbered.

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Play Video Just another crazy Tarzan highlight. This one comes complete with a terrible Bon Jovi cover.

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Play Video SingSing plays some Timbersaw and nice things happen.

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Play Video Zenith versus First Departure, Rizzrack pick.

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Replays

No replays yet. If you have any great (high level, preferably) Timbersaw replays, please share them in the comments section below!

Balance changelog

6.78

• Base Strength increased by 3
• Int growth increased from 1.8 to 2.4
• Chakram initial manacost rescaled from 125/150/175 to 75/125/175
• Chakram move speed increased from 800 to 900

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6.75

• Strength growth reduced from 2.4 to 2.1
• Chakram moves 20% slower

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6.74

• Timber Chain damage increased from 80/120/160/200 to 100/140/180/220

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6.73c

• Chakram mana cost over time reduced from 20/30/40 to 20/25/30

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6.73

• Created

Sawblades still not sharp enough

Changes, removals, and additions:

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None as of yet.

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What's to come

I plan on adding a distilled Steam guide version as soon as possible. I also want to add a lot more information in both the 'Hackers, slashers, and lumberjacks' and 'Treehuggers and plant potters' sections, as well as a few more item/skill builds. If you'd like to see anything else, please let me know in the comments section below. Clear cutting to all!

Reference and relevant reading

• Dota 2 Wiki
  The extremely helpful Dota 2 Wiki, which I use countlessly in the process of writing guides like this one.
  
• DotaCinema
  Love the content these guys create, check them out.

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Enjoy my work? I've also written guides for: Bristleback, Treant Protector, and Puck.

You can check out my personal Dota 2 blog here.