Dota: Manta Style Strategy on Tinker

Early Game:

The average player believes that Tinker is strong earlygame but becomes weak later on. Though nothing could be more false than the second part of the statement, the average player is right in thinking that Tinker is strong earlygame. Our main spell at this point is Laser, which is very strong. Once you hit level 3, Laser is strong enough to do serious damage, but you should still use it somewhat sparingly unless laned against a low hp hero. At level 5, it will generally be worth using Laser every time the cooldown ends. Our goal is to outfarm and outlevel our opponents, which we achieve by harassing and hopefully forcing retreats with Laser. Good chicken use helps in this regard by allowing us to never leave the lane. Note that once Missile hits two targets, it does do more damage per mana point if against two heroes; if laned against two low hp heroes, you may consider spamming level 3 and 4 Missile instead of Laser, although in most circumstances the higher focused damage of Laser will be more helpful. At this stage, we do not expect kills without allied help- our goal is to build up advantage over our opponents while working towards Boots of Travel. You may be able to get a sneaky kill by hiding behind trees, then ambushing and casting Laser and Missile on a clueless enemy hero, but don't count on it. On the other hand, if we have an allied nuker in the lane, consider being very aggressive to get kills- Tinker with another nuker can kill many heroes from full health!

After getting some basic items and Boots of Speed, it's time for perhaps the most difficult part of the build: saving 2200 gold to buy the Boots of Travel recipe. At this point, I strongly recommend buying a set of Observer Wards. I cannot stress enough how helpful Observer Wards are. Apart from the standard significant benefits of avoiding ganks (one gank avoided is worth about two or three sets of Observer Wards), Observer Wards help Tinker in particular because the extended vision range allows Tinker to hit far away opponents with Missile. Generally, it is difficult to take advantage of the full 2500 range on Missile, and Observer Wards can help you to achieve that. Simply place two wards near your lane to cover possible ganks. On the side lanes, this means one ward in the river (preferably by the rune, to help your team) and one ward in the forest. In the center lane, one ward at each rune spot should work.

Mid Game:

You got Boots of Travel. Breathe a big sigh of relief. Even if the rest of the game goes badly for you, Boots of Travel alone means you will always be able to be helpful to your team no matter what happens.

There is one thing that defines us at this stage- Boots of Travel + Rearm. This combo has countless uses, the most important of which are described here.

The most basic use is to teleport to the fountain to regain mana, then use Rearm and teleport back to your lane. Mana is now a non-issue, so you can unload your arsenal on unlucky opponents and creeps. Use March every wave, Missile every time the cooldown ends. Often, you can drive away an enemy hero by repeatedly using Missile/Laser/Rearm. Though your mana will be depleted, you can quickly teleport to the fountain, Rearm, and teleport back, while the enemy hero must make the long walk back to their own fountain.

Our goals at this stage are to gank weak enemies and to farm in safety, in that order. Watch for weak or low hp heroes in any lane, then teleport to that lane where you can't be seen, come up from behind trees, and nuke them to death. Always see if your allies in the lane can help when you perform these ganks, nukers being the most useful. Many times, you will be able to kill one enemy hero repeatedly by teleporting to his lane and ganking each time he respawns, which is even better if that hero is a carry hero. Intelligent opponents will soon see through this strategy, but that is perfectly okay. Scared opponents will push less and give your allies less trouble, which helps you get into the lategame where you can shine.

If no enemy hero makes a good target, try teleporting to a lane with no enemy hero and simply farming. Once you get level 3 or 4 March, you can use that if you want, but in general last hitting should be enough to gather lots of cash. If there is no enemy hero around to stop you, last hitting is as effective or more so than using level 4 March, unless your goal is to push.

Always watch the minimap! You need to watch for two things: missing heroes and towers/lanes that need help. If enemy heroes attempt a push, you can probably fight it off by teleporting over, then repeatedly March/Rearming. Overlapping marches will decimate even the largest push. Beware of ganks as well- there is nobody opponents like to gang more than a solo