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40 comments
Mudge

    I can't play clock worth shit. I'm bad and I feel bad.

    Radio Free Zerg

      Clock is hard.

      blue clark

        Clockwerk is a pretty fun hero to play (especially if you can get the farm for a force/aghs/etc). I enjoy playing him mid, usually against heroes where if he can catch up to (with cogs) they can't escape/are dead that rely too much on kiting or space such as zeus, sniper, shadow fiend

        Cube

          (Since everyone is commenting on him) Clock is great!! Favourite hero almost since the start. High early damage, awesome skill-shot, global scouting and farming tool, fight-deciding blockade of electrical cogs! What's not to love about that. Such a make or brake hero with many build and item possibilities. Not a good meta for him with Juggernaut, Slark and Troll being so far up the pick-list in pubs these days, but he will come back! Btw, for those who hasn't realized it yet: Phase Boots are (generally) the best boots.

          idol hell

            Clock = Top 3 most fun heroes in the game

            Guppi

              Really loving these analysis posts; a lot of discussion comes up.
              Batrider always a strong hero. I feel he's among the few heroes that are truly completely balanced (or at least, as closed go balance as you can get)
              Clock getting back into the game is also really nice to see. Not one of the easier heroes to play and very dynamic in games. Provides a large amount of utility in a similar manner as batrider.
              Bristle is an odd on out among the three here. Haven't been seeing him as much in the offlaner as we used to which is perfectly understandable considering how fast he can come online in a safe lane. Also among he few heroes who can stand up to the shit storm that is troll warlord, Jugg, sniper. At the same time, he doesn't seem to be that op as his stat growths aren't out of the world crazy.

              Guppi

                Can't wait for the post on Phoenix, Tide and Broodmama. All three heroes I like to play in offline myself.

                NiGHTS

                  Give my boy Undying some love. He's a fun offlaner to play as too!

                  Glotch

                    Clockwork is a really strong offlane vs melee heroes because of cogs intense mana removal, so you just run up to the creepwave and cog and bounce anyone farming away, that way they have less kill potential and you can last hit/suck XP a little safer.
                    Another thing you can you on the dire side is cog in a very specific place (I don't remember exactly where, its a pro strat) so that some creeps run into the trees and get stuck, pulling your wave back to the tower and denying those creeps to their safelane.

                    KingOfGods

                      interesting... Can't wait to see another Analysis in depth.. good work.

                      cool teens

                        clock's biggest weakness is he has to spend a lot of mana to flash farm and even then it's not very fast. which means you both eat runes and fall off late game. still my most played and fave hero, but i've been playing a lot more axe/pudge offlane lately.

                        Pela1

                          Looking forward for timber, imo the best off hero ^^

                          BlackHat

                            Pudge, Mirana, Timber, u need to add them into next part, btw, im clock player, and that was really strong hero:/

                            CruZzader_3000

                              i dont think that potm is a strong offlaner in this meta :/

                              iphone....wow

                                i can't batrider -_
                                dafuq
                                always lose with that flying badass

                                ISE

                                  Clock is love
                                  Clock is life

                                  nrl

                                    I'm just wondering are there any good alternatives on Vanguard/CG on Bristle, I was thinking about Atos, it can work as a cheap version of Skadi.
                                    What do you guys think?

                                    Owl Exterminator❗

                                      It all depends on the enemy team nrzl. If they're heavy magic dmg, pipe would most likely be better to go than vanguard. Or if they have a strong right clicker such as PA, then a Halberd would be a good first item. Atos wouldn't be a bad first item if your teams draft allows you to be super greedy in the first 15-20 minutes, however survivability and regen is typically the best way to go to get those quill stacks.

                                      matrice

                                        Clock is not suffering from trilane ....
                                        He just need to cog creep to get the xp under his tower, which is all he need to start a game.

                                        Pattiex

                                          @nrzl, Atos is a fine item, but mostly heroes that really benefit from it should get it (Sky, Krob, Silencer, Enchantress). 2 Vit Boosters gives only additional raw hp, no regen. and +10 int from staff is kinda dumb for his' skills are cheap spammables. If you are gonna build something with staff of wizardry, it should be Force Staff, helps him really well. Offensive & Defensive type of Bristle. I DEFINITELY NOT RECCOMEND RoA on BB.

                                          Anyways, waiting for that Tidehunter, he's one of my best heroes as a Role 4 & 5 Support.

                                          개성관광

                                            clock is the easiest thing to play after BA buff

                                            WhoTheFuckAmI?

                                              Cant wait for phoenix,my favourite and imo one of the best offlane heroes <3

                                              Adra (Hiatus)

                                                Offlane player myself, hugely enjoyed this article and I'm pretty sure I will enjoy the rest of the series too.

                                                Daviba1995

                                                  Download some Clockwerk plays from me. 61% winrate. I really enjoy to play this fantastic dynamic hero. He forms the battleground by splitting the enemys with cogs in two groups for example. So he shines to remain Mapcontrol constantly.

                                                  Hyperion_

                                                    I prefer Bat mid as i can pick up a really early Blink and Tranquils and head to the lanes to gank as soon as i hit lvl 6. He such a powerful laner and ganker.

                                                    This comment was edited
                                                    Crustle

                                                      Looking forward to the Phoenix and Earth spirit episodes - I believe these to be the two best offlaners overall (but not in every situation!)

                                                      GOHF

                                                        ^ I thought this series analyzed some of the uses in the competitive scene. Earth Spirit is banned in captains mode and therefore not used in pro games, so what is there to analyze?

                                                        Raynuva

                                                          I wonder if they will touch on some of the non-traditional offlaners that do well in the offlane, mainly thinking of Beastmaster, Lich, and ET.

                                                          'makh✝️wɔrt

                                                            NICE THEME

                                                            PogumonMemann

                                                              I'd like to see what people's opinions are on the new heroes being run on offlane. Namely Magnus and Morphling. They are not quite common, yet have been done enough times recently that people are actually considering it.

                                                              Also, will they ever cover some other potential offlaners like QoP, Puck, and not to mention some other heroes who have been played a lot in the offlane and are known in the position like Void, Weaver, Centaur Warrunner, Spirit Breaker, Undying, and Zues even. Some may not be used as much, but some are. Axe even. Or did they just not mention them, and only mention the next 3? I hope they atleast follow up with the Offlane Axe, Spirit Breaker, and Centaur.

                                                              not cob

                                                                It was said that clock's only escape is his cogs- this is true in most cases- but in an emergency (Or with Aghanim's) you can quite easily hookshot neutrals or perhaps a team mate to prevent your immanent death.

                                                                syz_tangerine

                                                                  Magnus was a common off laner back in the old days. Farm with wave, escape with skwer. Get dagger and force team fight. Nothing much to analyse.

                                                                  I am interested in spirit breaker and morphing though. They both need level. But they are both easily zone out. Good warding and tp by opponents mean that it is hard for u to gank mid pre 6 unless you are counter ganking or they had over commit.

                                                                  Winston Churchill

                                                                    Clockwerk is tough because of his mana requirements I find. Obviously with a bottle it helps, but that assumes you have full rune control for it to be effective. In addition to that, being in the enemy's safe lane, you end up taking a lot of harassment (if the opponent support knows anything), so its always situational as to what to get first, whether it be phase boots or a secret-shop ring of health, and then from there on to blade mail. I suck bad with clock so I never play him. Always nice having a guy on the team who can play him though.

                                                                    Qe

                                                                      puck fast

                                                                      HaylingZar

                                                                        I love clockwerk! Don't play him often but my most recent game was 23-0-12. That was with an omniknight on my team though, which makes a great combo as his heal makes clockwerk more likely to survive if he cogs someone, and also deals a decent 300 pure damage nuke. All in all, they work very well together.

                                                                        count yo blessings

                                                                          Well even if you use this offlaners you can't do shit coz two enemy supports will harass you so badly.

                                                                          Nizzity

                                                                            "Flaming Lasso is strong by design. It is the only spell in game which can reliably change the position of an enemy hero. "

                                                                            Someone forgot about Nether Swap.

                                                                            *FarizTampan93

                                                                              well done , keep it up , but i need more detail analysis about it
                                                                              like BB quil spray 1 stack 80 damage, 2nd 116 damage, 3rd 152 damage, 4th 188 damage etc
                                                                              and its combo very well with VS or other minus armor , such as SF
                                                                              i think more deep detail is more interesting

                                                                              Lt. Painis

                                                                                Most difficult part in playing Clock is positioning, and that's where I usually fail. i also like Timbersaw who has same difficulty