The Bone Fletcher is Back – Guide to Unstoppable Clinkz in 7.30

Clinkz has always been a bit of an unorthodox carry hero. While frail, his immense physical burst potential and slipperiness let him single out and pick off enemies with ease. However, his item dependency coupled with his lack of farming capability made him difficult to pilot to success.

With Patch 7.30 though, a new fiery incarnation of Clinkz has been born. Branded with a fresh new ability - the hero’s playstyle has completely shifted. Clinkz has become so formidable that he’s even found a place in the competitive scene. Just in the Group Stage of ESL One Fall 2021 alone, the hero has a 100% win-rate so far. It's not just in pro games, the hero's also sporting a 5.2% increase in overall win-rate. So what is it about the Bone Fletcher that makes him so strong right now? We’re here to break it down for you.

A key component of Clinkz’s revitalization is his new ability - Burning Barrage. Replacing Strafe, the skill is channeled, shooting out arrows in a straight line. Think Drow’s Multi-Shot, but faster and in a single direction.

While this change was met with some confusion and disappointment from Clinkz enthusiasts, it’s not all bad. In fact, Burning Barrage solves one of Clinkz’s main weaknesses, allowing him to clear jungle camps and creep waves easily. The real kicker here though is the last bit - "applying attack modifiers".

This basically means that Burning Barrage can proc things like Chain Lightning from Maelstrom. And we're not talking just once - each one of the 6 arrows flying out can ALL proc Maelstrom. That's an absolute dumpster truck worth of damage.

With this new ability and a Maelstrom, Clinkz becomes a farming machine unlike he's ever been before.

Apart from his new ability, nothing much else has changed for Clinkz's skills. If you want to find out more about them, you can read all the details here.

In terms of his skill build, your relationship with Searing Arrows is over - Burning Barrage is your new best friend. Of course, you still get a point in Searing Arrows first, for that sweet sweet lane harass. From there though, you should max out Burning Barrage, and only take a point in Skeleton Walk if necessary.

After you max out Burning Barrage, you should have more than enough damage to farm. From there, you can leave Searing Arrows at Level 2 in favor of maxing out Skeleton Walk. There's no strict rule on this though, it's really about how much you think you can use the bonus movement speed.

There's nothing too polarizing about Clinkz's talent tree, and the choices are all pretty straightforward.

At Level 10, Mana Regen is the easy choice due to the new item build not having much of it. Clinkz has always struggled with mana issues, and the extra battery will help you keep the farm going. With Death Pact, you should be tanky enough as it stands, and you're probably get a BKB later anyways.

For Level 15, the Skeleton Walk cooldown is extremely valuable, with how important positioning is with Clinkz. As much as the playstyle is a bit different, you still want to slip in and out of fights. Additionally, as Clinkz, you'll rarely find yourself lacking damage, so the +30 Searing Arrows Damage is likely overkill.

With how much we've already talked up Burning Barrage, the additional 2 arrows at Level 20 is a no brainer. As much as additional attack range sounds juicy, we're already going to build Dragon Lance, so you'll be fine.

Finally, at Level 25, it all boils down to a simple question. Do you want to have 5K health and hit like an absolute beast or do you want to hit two extra targets? Put simply, the Death Pact talent is insanely good. It essentially lets you stand and deliver without any fear at all. If you're worried about hitting more enemies - you might be playing the hero wrong.

As we've mentioned, Clinkz is still immensely item dependent. Fret not though, we're here to guide you through the purchasing process, and how to maneuver each stage of the game.

Depending on your lane match-up, you'll want to either get the Quelling Blade + Magic Stick build, or the maximum amount of stats. Both will give you plenty of extra damage to last hit. If you're up against a spam heavy lane, opt for the former.

Just like the old Clinkz, make full use of Searing Arrows to pepper away at your opponents in lane. Clinkz's only real weakness is getting hard committed on, so be wary of that. Your game really comes online when you get Maelstrom, so making it out of the laning stage should be your utmost priority.

Clinkz can rotate into the jungle early on thanks to Barrage, but it's tremendously inefficient. Instead, try to ask for a lane swap. You can even rotate to the offlane to help your team take the tower!

Either way, the goal is to stay alive and keep on farming, so don't commit too hard into any engagement (if at all).

From there, you want to rush Javelin because it procs with Burning Barrage. If necessary, you can complete your Wraith Band, or even get two! Same goes for Magic Stick and Magic Wand. Remember - Maelstrom Maelstrom Maelstrom, so if you don't need them you can even skip em.

At this point in the game, you'll probably need to ferry Clarities to keep your mana topped off as well. You can also opt for Infused Raindrops too, depending on the game.

Once you get Maelstrom, your farm should ramp up immensely. It's time to get that Dragon Lance. One Barrage should easily clear a creep wave or jungle camp. With Barrage and Maelstrom, Clinkz can take stacks with ease as well, so ask your team to stack Ancients for you if you can. Be sure to make use of the movement speed from Skeleton Walk to traverse the map faster too!

Once you get your Dragon Lance, you're ready to start participating in the fights. You should have your Level 15 Talent at this point, allowing you to position favorably in fights. Keep an eye out for stun setups or disables from your team to line up easy Barrages. Why Dragon Lance you ask? It actually increases the range that your Barrage flies too!

As much as Death Pact, along with Dragon Lance will make you surprisingly beefy, don't be mistaken. Clinkz is not a frontliner, and you should always be shooting away from safety, just like an actual archer. You're no longer Old Clinkz, you don't run around to try and find solo pickoffs. You are now a be-all-end-all carry, and you want to keep farming up for your Skadi.

With Eye of Skadi, the slow effect will make securing kills and fighting as whole a lot easier. With the big three items online, it's time to go ham. Of course, if the enemy team has an immense amount of control, you may want to get BKB first. If not, shred em to bits baby.

One thing to note (as can be seen from the clip) is that you can cross large parts of the map quickly with Skeleton Walk. Feel free to use it to split push and shove waves, but always remember to join back up with your team. As much as possible, avoid fights if your Death Pact is down. It contributes a significant amount to your power level, so don't be caught without it!

You know the drill with BKB, if you can't do your job without it - pick it up. It's an extremely good item on Clinkz making you near impossible to kill. 90% of the time, it's the best pick up after Skadi. As for the final item slot, you can choose between Daedalus for more damage, or a Hex/Nullifier depending on what you need.

Both of Clinkz's Aghanim's Upgrades, the Shard and Scepter are exceptional ones. They add a whole new dimension to the hero - area denial. Be sure to pick up the Shard when you can, and Scepter if necessary.

The shard in particular can be picked up before or after BKB. Just a heads up that you can actually Death Pact your own skeleton buddies, essentially "packing your own lunch". The skellies die to two opponent autoattacks, but have 1000HP, making them great targets for your ultimate.

In terms of playstyle in the late game, nothing much should change. You should always keep an eye out for set ups from your team, and play from a distance. If you have your Agh's Shard, play around your boney buddies. Once you get to Level 25 though, you can start facing down your opponents and forcing the issue. Just be wary that with your BKB down, you are still susceptible to being gone on.

That's about all there is for Clinkz's new playstyle and build! While the hero is no longer as reliant on running around alone, he definitely feels a lot more rewarding. And besides, who doesn't love some free MMR!

Burning Barrage may take some getting used to with regards to using it to it's fullest - but just as Clinkz says, "Better to run, than curse the road." What does that mean? Who knows! We've already walked you through everything you need to know, so get out there and start firing away!

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This guide was written by TCGDota and Permasneeze.