Clinkz
At the base of the Bleeding Hills stretches a thousand-league wood, a place called The Hoven, where black pools gather the tarry blood of the uplands, and the king-mage Sutherex sits in benevolent rule. Once a sworn protector of the Hoven lands, Clinkz earned a reputation for his skill with a bow. In the three-hundredth year of the king-mage, the demon Maraxiform rose from sixth hell to lay claim to the forest. In response, the king-mage decreed an unbreakable spell: to any who slew the demon would be granted Life Without End. <br><br>Unaware of the spell, Clinkz waded into battle, defending his lands against the demon's fiery onslaught. Clinkz drove Maraxiform back to the gates of sixth-hell itself, where on that fiery threshold the two locked in a mortal conflict. Grievously wounded, the demon let out a blast of hellfire as Clinkz loosed his final arrow. The arrow struck the demon true as hellfire poured out across the land, lighting the black pools and burning Clinkz alive at the instant of the demon's death. Thus, the mage's spell took effect at the very moment of the archer's conflagration, preserving him in this unholy state, leaving him a being of bones and rage, caught in the very act of dying, carrying hell's breath with him on his journey into eternity.
Base STR
18 +2
Base AGI
25 +2.7
Base INT
21 +2.2
Move Speed
285
Attack Range
600
Base Armor
0
Attack DMG
19–25
Projectile
900
Innate Abilities
Infernal Shred
Clinkz and his skeletons apply a stacking debuff that causes their attacks to pierce up to 20% of the target's total physical armor (does not reduce their armor). Clinkz applies 3% per attack, and skeletons apply 1%.
Lasts 5 seconds.
Abilities
Strafe
Cooldown
30 / 25 / 20 / 15s
Mana
60 / 70 / 80 / 90
Clinkz gains attack speed and has bonus attack range. Any current Skeleton Archers within a 1200 radius of Clinkz also gain bonus attack range and 40% of the attack speed bonus.
Casting Strafe does not break Skeleton Walk invisibility.
ATTACK SPEED BONUS:
120 / 160 / 200 / 240
DURATION:
3.5
ATTACK RANGE BONUS:
200
The closest Clinkz can come to peace is knowing that this was the last thing Maraxiform ever saw.
Searing Arrows
Mana
10
Imbues Clinkz's arrows with fire for extra damage.
Skeleton Archers will fire Searing Arrows at targets Clinkz attacks for 50% damage.
BONUS DAMAGE:
20 / 35 / 50 / 65
- Searing Arrows deal damage to structures.
- The damage is directly added to Clinkz' attack damage, as physical damage.
Clinkz simply lights his arrows from his flaming essence for quite the destructive effect.
Death Pact
Mana
60
Clinkz consumes the target enemy creep or friendly Skeleton Archer, healing and gaining max health. Does not take Clinkz out of Skeleton Walk.
DURATION:
45
BONUS HEALTH:
175 / 250 / 325 / 400
CREEP MAX LEVEL:
4 / 5 / 6 / 6
BASE CHARGE RESTORE TIME:
40
- If the target is an enemy, Clinkz will gain the correct experience and gold.
- Increases Clinkz' current and max HP.
- When the duration ends, max HP returns to normal, but current HP stays the same.
Sutherex' bond of life and death has become a part of Clinkz, and his old bones are refreshed with repetition of the pact on lesser beings.
Skeleton Walk
Cooldown
24 / 21 / 18s
Mana
80 / 105 / 130
Clinkz moves invisibly through units until the moment he attacks or uses items. Leaving Skeleton Walk creates Skeleton Archers.
Skeleton Archers are immobile and die within multiple attacks from a hero or tower. Skeleton Archers deal a percentage of Clinkz' damage, and deal 75% less damage to buildings. Attack range is equal to Clinkz' attack range.
DURATION:
35 / 40 / 45
BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED:
25 / 35 / 45%
SKELETON ARCHER COUNT:
2 / 3 / 4
SKELETON ARCHER DURATION:
20 / 25 / 30
SKELETON ARCHER HITS TO KILL:
2
SKELETON ARCHER ATTACK RATE:
1.6
SKELETON ARCHER DAMAGE:
20%
- Has a fadetime of 0.6 seconds.
With a burst of fire and puff of smoke, the Bone Fletcher was nowhere to be seen.
Talents
Aghanim's Scepter
Burning Army
Cooldown
70s
Mana
150
Summons a row of Burning Skeleton Archers in the target location.
RANGE:
900
COUNT:
6
SPAWN INTERVAL:
0.1
Existing on the brink of life and death, Clinkz has learned to temporarily bridge the gap between the two.
Aghanim's Shard
Burning Barrage
Cooldown
17s
Mana
40
CHANNELED - Clinkz channels and shoots multiple piercing arrows in the target direction that hit all enemy units dealing a percentage of Clinkz' attack damage and applying attack modifiers.
ARROWS FIRED:
6
RANGE:
850
DAMAGE PER ARROW:
75%
CHANNEL TIME:
2
- Bonus Attack Range increases the length of Burning Barrage.
It's hard to say whether the blur around the Bone Fletcher is from his flaming heart or his speed with the quiver.
Hero Performance
Median across all public matches · OpenDotaForm
50%
Win rate in recent matches
Performance
100%
KDA ratio (kills + assists / deaths)
Laning
45%
Last hits per minute over full game
Farm
68%
Average gold per minute
Fighting
42%
Average kills + assists per match
Experience
81%
Average XP per minute
Strategy
When to Pick Clinkz?
Pick Clinkz when the enemy team has squishy, isolated heroes that simply cannot handle an invisible assassin appearing out of nowhere and deleting them before they even have time to react—because that is exactly what this hero does when he is fed and left alone to farm. He is very strong right now, and honestly, I am surprised more people aren't talking about him, because in this meta, he just fits perfectly.
Searing Arrows combined with Strafe makes him one of the fastest killing machines in the game the moment he gets his core items, and if the enemy doesn't have real detection ready, They will spend the whole game being picked off one by one like they are in a horror movie.
He is disgusting in lineups that have strong setup and lockdown—Shadow Shaman, Bane, and Disruptor—heroes that hold the enemy in place for exactly the half second Clinkz needs to reduce them to a pile of bones. He also thrives in lineups that can draw attention elsewhere on the map because Clinkz absolutely loves it when nobody is looking at him—give him space and he will make the enemy team's supports disappear every two minutes like clockwork.
He pairs beautifully with Aghanim's Scepter rush lineups too, because Burning Army creates so much pressure on multiple parts of the map simultaneously that the enemy simply cannot deal with everything at once. Avoid picking him into lineups with a lot of AOE detection and tankiness—Axe, Bristleback, Dragon Knight—heroes that just don't care about his damage and can walk through his arrows like they are nothing.
Also feels genuinely terrible about Witch Doctor, because that man will just drop Death Ward and melt Clinkz before Skeleton Walk even finishes casting. And if the enemy has a lot of gap closers and stuns that can catch him before he disappears? Be very careful—because Clinkz has zero survivability the moment he is caught out of Skeleton Walk with no escape.
Tips & common mistakes
- The number one mistake Clinkz players make is going for kills before they have enough items to actually secure them. You are NOT strong enough to solo kill most heroes at level 7 — farm your Orchid or Dragon Lance first and THEN start hunting.
- Skeleton Walk is your most important spell, and people treat it like an afterthought. Use it proactively to reposition, scout dangerous areas, and set up kills—not just as a panic button when you are already dead.
- Strafe has a really short window, and people waste it hitting creeps. Save it exclusively for hero kills and burst windows — every Strafe activation should mean a dead hero, not a slightly faster jungle clear.
- Stop building Clinkz the same way every single game. Yes, Orchid into Aghanim's is the standard—but if the enemy has no real lockdown and you need damage RIGHT NOW, adjust your build. Reading the game matters more than following a cookie-cutter guide.
- Burning Army is not just a pushing tool—those skeleton archers reveal invisible units and provide vision. Use them defensively to check dangerous areas before you walk into them like an idiot.
- You are made of paper. I mean REALLY made of paper. One stun into a follow-up and you are dead before Skeleton Walk even comes off cooldown. Always know where your escape route is before you commit to any kill.
- Don't neglect your Searing Arrows mana cost. Clinkz burns through mana faster than people expect—carry Clarities early, build Orchid for the mana regen, and always keep an eye on your mana pool in extended fights.
Summary
Clinkz is genuinely one of the scariest carries in the game right now, and the enemy team better have a real answer to him in the draft—because if they don't, he will pick them apart from the shadows until there is nothing left to pick. He is not a complicated hero to understand — he is a complicated hero to respect, and that's exactly why people keep underestimating him and paying the price.
Get your core items fast, hunt the squishy targets, and make the enemy support players genuinely afraid to walk anywhere alone on the map. Just remember—the moment you get caught without Skeleton Walk, you are not an assassin anymore. You are just a very fragile skeleton with a bow and absolutely no plan B.
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