What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
178 buys
2ndSecond most
162 buys
3rdThird most
54 buys
4thFourth most
31 buys
5thFifth most
31 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Tidehunter
Melee · Strength
- Win rate
- 49.8%
- Pick share
- 0.7%
- Matches
- 330,101
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsInitiatorDurableDisablerNukerCarry
NeedsSupportTower damageEscape
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 30–40 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 50.1% over 6,358 matches.
Avoid
- Clockwerk is on their side — this hero wins 32.5% of 114 matches against it.
- Ember Spirit is on their side — this hero wins 39.6% of 265 matches against it.
- Lone Druid is on their side — this hero wins 25.0% of 48 matches against it.
178 buys162 buys54 buys31 buys31 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Tidehunter took at each level.
QGush
Summons a gush of water to damage an enemy unit, reducing their movement speed and armor.
Unit Target · Magical damage
WKraken Shell
Thickens Tidehunter's hide to passively block a portion of any incoming physical attack damage.
No Target · Instant Cast
EAnchor Smash
Tidehunter swings his mighty anchor to attack and deal bonus damage to nearby enemies and reduce their attack damage.
No Target · Physical damage
RRavage
Slams the ground, causing tentacles to erupt in all directions, damaging and stunning all nearby enemy units.
No Target · Magical damageMax Order
EWQ
Max E first, then W, then Q. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QGush
- WKraken Shell
- EAnchor Smash
- RRavage
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QGush | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WKraken Shell | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EAnchor Smash | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RRavage | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Tidehunter performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
116 opponents · public matches40%60%Tidehunter's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “stun”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “dispel”.
- Kill them in one window
Damage that lands now rather than over a minute. Matched on “magical”.
- Clear or push the wave
Creeps, summons and anything that hits a building. Matched on “creep”, “summon”.
By medal
- Herald49.9%7,745
- Guardian50.1%26,536
- Crusader50.2%48,099
- Archon50.1%68,135
- Legend49.4%73,831
- Ancient49.5%48,670
- Divine49.6%30,820
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min45.0%4,036
- 20–30 min49.7%9,237
- 30–40 min50.1%6,358
- 40–50 min48.9%2,720
- 50 min +49.4%1,183
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Tidehunter
Abilities
Gush
Unit Target · Magical damageSummons a gush of water to damage an enemy unit, reducing their movement speed and armor.
Kraken Shell
No Target · Instant CastThickens Tidehunter's hide to passively block a portion of any incoming physical attack damage. Reduced block amount versus creeps. The hide also removes negative status effects if the damage taken crosses a threshold. Can be activated to double the block amount at the cost of 40% movement speed. Lasts 4s. DISPEL TYPE: Strong Dispel
Anchor Smash
No Target · Physical damageTidehunter swings his mighty anchor to attack and deal bonus damage to nearby enemies and reduce their attack damage. The radius of Anchor Smash is Tidehunter's attack range plus 225 units.
Dead in the Water
Unit Target · Magical damageTidehunter attaches a heavy anchor to an enemy hero. The hero is leashed while attached to the anchor. Attempting to move more than 350 units away from the anchor forces the hero to 100 move speed, dragging the anchor behind them. The anchor can be destroyed with 4 hero attacks.
Ravage
No Target · Magical damageSlams the ground, causing tentacles to erupt in all directions, damaging and stunning all nearby enemy units.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 26 +3.7
- Agility
- 15 +1.5
- Intelligence
- 20 +1.7
- Move · range
- 300 · 150
Talents
- 4Ravage Stun DurationAnchor Smash affects buildings
- 3Kraken Shell Cleanse triggers Anchor SmashGush Armor
- 2Gush DamageRavage Cooldown
- 1Anchor Smash Damage ReductionGush Slow
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Gush
Gush becomes a ground targeted wave ability that affects enemy units in a line. Decreases cooldown.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Dead in the Water
Tidehunter attaches a heavy anchor to an enemy hero. The hero is leashed while attached to the anchor. Attempting to move more than 350 units away from the anchor forces the hero to 100 move speed, dragging the anchor behind them. The anchor can be destroyed with 4 hero attacks.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.