Kunkka
From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
Kunkka
24 + 3.6
14 + 1.6
18 + 1.8
| Grants the following bonuses per level: | |
| +79.2HP and +0.36HP regeneration +3.6 Main Attack Damage | |
| +0.27 armor and 1.6 attack speed | |
| +21.6MP and +0.09MP regeneration +0.1% base magic resistance | |
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Instant Projectile Speed
| ||
100 (114)
(1.7 BAT) | ||
0.4 + 0.3
| ||
0.6
| ||
Default
Gib Type | ||
2011-10-06
Released | ||
2008-10-07
(6.55) | ||
Competitive Span
2011-10-06 — Present | ||
Version Control This article is mostly accurate for 7.39c, the last version this hero was changed in. New interactions that emerged in following patches may have not yet been accounted for. |
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| Disrupts enemy positioning and disables them. | |
|---|---|
| It is said that none survived the battle at the Trembling Isle, save perhaps, the Admiral of the Claddish fleet. Man or phantom, Kunkka's presence on the battlefield is duly felt by all. Armed with the legendary Tidebringer, the Admiral strikes with a single blow at all who stand before him. A veteran of innumerable naval engagements, Kunkka times his skills with Planned Precision, predicting Tidal Waves and catching opponents in a rising Torrent, disrupting the battlefield with a Storm of Geysers, or summoning the ephemeral Ghostly Shipwreck to dash them upon the rocks. Should his aim prove true, he and his allies will have no trouble cleaning up whatever is left. | |
| Roles: | |
| Adjectives | Aquatic, Bearded, Undead, Nose Legs ( 2 ) |
Facets[edit]
High Tide
Reduces Tidebringer cooldown per enemy hero hit.
Grog Blossom
Grants the Admiral's Rum buff to allied units within the radius centered around the Return unit.
The buff applied corresponds to Ghostship's current level.
The buff applied corresponds to Ghostship's current level.
Upgrades[edit]
Aghanim's[edit]
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:
Launches a fleet of 2 ships on a 2.5 second interval. Each ship now also fires 3 waves of cannonballs from the port and starboard side that deal 40% of Ghostship's damage as they pass through enemies.
Grants the Tidal Wave ability.
Calls upon a tidal wave from behind Kunkka that deals damage, disarms, and drags enemy units along it.
Calls upon a tidal wave from behind Kunkka that deals damage, disarms, and drags enemy units along it.
Talents[edit]
| +120% Tidebringer Cleave | 25 | +100 |
|---|---|---|
| +15% Admiral's Rum / Ghostship Damage Reduction | 20 | -4s Torrent Cooldown |
| +70 Tidebringer Damage | 15 | +25% Torrent Damage/Stun Duration |
| -15s Admiral's Rum Cooldown | 10 | +1s Tidebringer 60% Slow |
| ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ +2 All | ||
Bio[edit]
Step lively now, your Admiral is on board!▶️Kunkka, the Admiral
Alias:
Admiral
Lore:
As The Admiral of the mighty Claddish Navy, Kunkka was charged with protecting the isles of his homeland when the demons of the Cataract made a concerted grab at the lands of men. After years of small sorties, and increasingly bold and devastating attacks, the demon fleet flung all its carnivorous ships at the Trembling Isle. Desperate, the Suicide-Mages of Cladd committed their ultimate rite, summoning a host of ancestral spirits to protect the fleet. Against the demons, this was just barely enough to turn the tide.
As Kunkka watched the demons take his ships down one by one, he had the satisfaction of wearing away their fleet with his ancestral magic. But at the battle's peak, something in the clash of demons, men and atavistic spirits must have stirred a fourth power that had been slumbering in the depths. The waves rose up in towering spouts around the few remaining ships, and Maelrawn the Tentacular appeared amid the fray. His tendrils wove among the ships, drawing demon and human craft together, churning the water and wind into a raging chaos.
What happened in the crucible of that storm, none may truly say. The Cataract roars off into the void, deserted by its former denizens. Kunkka is now The Admiral of but one ship, a ghostly rig which endlessly replays the final seconds of its destruction. Whether he died in that crash is anyone's guess. Not even Tidehunter, who summoned Maelrawn, knows for sure.
As Kunkka watched the demons take his ships down one by one, he had the satisfaction of wearing away their fleet with his ancestral magic. But at the battle's peak, something in the clash of demons, men and atavistic spirits must have stirred a fourth power that had been slumbering in the depths. The waves rose up in towering spouts around the few remaining ships, and Maelrawn the Tentacular appeared amid the fray. His tendrils wove among the ships, drawing demon and human craft together, churning the water and wind into a raging chaos.
What happened in the crucible of that storm, none may truly say. The Cataract roars off into the void, deserted by its former denizens. Kunkka is now The Admiral of but one ship, a ghostly rig which endlessly replays the final seconds of its destruction. Whether he died in that crash is anyone's guess. Not even Tidehunter, who summoned Maelrawn, knows for sure.
Voice:
Innate[edit]
Admiral's Rum[edit]
Admiral's Rum 
Passive
Affects
Self
Douses himself with the Admiral's signature rum upon taking additional player-based damage instances when reaching a certain health threshold.
The Rum buff grants bonus movement speed and damage reduction for a period of time.
The Rum buff grants bonus movement speed and damage reduction for a period of time.
Health Threshold: 65%
Move Speed Bonus: 10%
Damage Reduction: 
20% (
35%)
Damage Timer: 6
Rum Buff Duration: 6
60 (
45)
Deleterious to landlubbers, no one holds their rum like a sailor.
Admiral's Rum Sources
Stacks additively with other Admiral's Rum sources.
- Admiral's Rum
Grog Blossom X Marks the Spot
- Ghostship
- This
innate ability is in the fifth ability slot.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- The
Rum buff.
- The
Hangover buff.
- The
- Hence, reapplying the
- Both buffs are independent of each other.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- Grants the following bonuses:
- Bonus
movement speed.
- Accumulates damage instance of all damage types Kunkka receives in the following 6 seconds.
- Applies a unique
buff that affects all damage types.
- Stacks multiplicatively with other incoming damage manipulation sources.
- Neither accumulates nor reduces from
HP Removal sources.
- Bonus
- Grants the following bonuses:
- Applied immediately once the
- Divides the previously accumulated damage evenly over the buff duration, and deals a non-lethal
current health cost per second as self-damage utilizing the setting health mechanic.
- Has the lowest priority among all
damage negation sources.
- Does not reduce damage when other damage negation sources are active.
- Applied immediately once the
The Admiral's Rum: You're drunk! Movement speed increased by x%, temporary numbness to incoming damage.
Rum Hangover: Sobering up. Gradually feeling the rest of the damage taken while under the effects of The Admiral's Rum.
Abilities[edit]
Torrent[edit]
Summons a rising torrent that, after a short delay, stuns and hurls enemy units into the sky.
Cast Animation: 0.4 + 0
Cast Range: 
1300
Radius: 
250 (
350)
Effect Delay: 1.6
Stun Duration: 1.4 (
1.75)
Knock-Up Duration: 1.33 ( 1.66)
The rising torrent also applies the damage and movement speed slow are to all enemies within the radius throughout its duration.
Total Damage: 80/160/240/320 ( 100/200/300/400)
Move Speed Slow: 40%
Slow Duration per Instance: 1/2/3/4
Kunkka does not need to face the area-targeted location to cast this ability within the ability's cast range.
16/14/12/10
90
An ancestral rush of water explodes from the center of the world, called upon by the Admiral.
- Displays an ally-only visual radius indicator appears upon cast.
- Plays an ally-only sound effect upon cast.
- Grants a 3.13-second 350-radius
vision centered on the effect radius upon cast.
- The Torrent appears 2 seconds after cast.
...
- Applies the following
debuffs simutaneously on the first
magical
spell damage instance to units:
- The
upward movement debuff.
- The following ability effects in a single debuff instance:
Stun
- The
- The
- The aforementioned debuff components are not affected by
status resistance sources.
- The
- Applies the following
- Applies the following ability effects to units who enters the radius after the created Torrent:
- The
- The
- The
- Applies the following ability effects to units who enters the radius after the created Torrent:
- Reapplying the movement speed slow debuff refreshes its duration.
- Deals 16/32/48/64 (
The upward movement applied no longer affects debuff immune units.
- Acquiring
Aghanim's Scepter while drafting this ability unlocks Torrent Storm.
On hidden modifier
Torrent: Stunned by a massive blast of water.
Torrent Slow: Movement speed slowed by x%
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- Both the
- The
- The
- Both the
Tidebringer[edit]
Grants increased damage and cleaves a large area of effect in front of him for a single strike.
Cast Animation: 0.4 + 0.3
Cast Range: 
150
First Width: 150 ( 250)
Distance: 650/800/950/1100 ( 750/900/1050/1200)
End Width: 500/550/600/650 ( 600/650/700/750)
Cleave Damage: 150% (
270%)
Attack Damage Bonus: 35/70/105/140 (
105/140/175/210)
Move Speed Slow: (
60%)
Slow Duration: ( 1)
13/10/7/4
A lost Claddish soul inhabits Kunkka's trusty Tidebringer, empowering it to destroy demons of the Cataract.
High Tide
Reduces Tidebringer cooldown per enemy hero hit.
Current Cooldown Reduction per Hero Hit: 
0.8
- Tidebringer is an active attack modifier, and has the following properties:
- EXPR
CastRange = HeroAtkRange - Affected by
- Both
Autocast and an active cast uses Kunkka's current
- Has Autocast on by default.
- Tidebringer is an active attack modifier, and has the following properties:
- Deals
physical
- Affected by
damage block sources on the enemy individually within the area-of-effect.
- Has the following damage flags:
- Stack independently with other
cleave sources.
- The total ability area-of-effect is an isocseles trapezoid in front of Kunkka.
- Deals
- The
High Tide
facet considers
clones and the Spirit Bear as heroes,
illusions and other
creep-heroes as creeps.
Cannot acquire active 
attack modifiers.
Utilizes the caster's current attack range while Autocast is active, manual cast utilizes the ability's current cast range.
Hidden modifier
Tidebringer: Slowed by x%.
- The damage is applied immediately to all valid enemy units within the area-of-effect regardless of the ability visual effects.
- Does not proc cleave when attacking the following units:
Allied units.
- Does not damage the following units:
- Neither proc nor damage the following units:
X Marks the Spot[edit]
Unit
Affects
Heroes
Targets a hero, marks its position with an X, and returns it to the X after several seconds.
Cast Animation: 0.2 + 0
Cast Range: 550/700/850/1000
Enemy Duration: 3
X Marks the Spot is more effective while targeting an ally.
Ally Duration: 6
30/24/18/12
50
The Admiral's set of arcane abilities includes some that can be used for battle as well as entertainment.
Grog Blossom
Doubletap casts the ability on Kunkka.
- Grants a 5.94-second 400-radius vision centered around
upon cast.
- Grants a 5.94-second 400-radius vision centered around
- Considers
- The following sources are considered a Return-based source proc:
- Upon the ability's
- Upon the Return
sub-ability cast.
- Both sources do not disjoint incoming
projectiles.
- Both sources do not disjoint incoming
- Upon the ability's
- The following sources are considered a Return-based source proc:
- Considers
- Disable Help on Kunkka prevents the ability being cast on an allied hero.
- Marks the affected hero's current location upon cast.
- The affected hero leaves behind a dotted-line while walking, indicating its previous movement path, if Kunkka's faction has vision over the affected hero.
- Previous dotted-lines stay visible when losing vision over the affected hero.
- Once the hero is within vision again, a straight dotted-line is drawn toward its last known location.
- These dotted-lines draw from its current to the hero's previously last known location, and do not follow the movement path the hero took.
- The first ability cast buff or debuff instance applied on the affected hero has precedence over subsequent casts while the modifier is active.
- The affected hero still returns at the time corresponding to the first ability cast.
- Although each independent casts creates its own
- This affects the following things:
- The ability visual effects do not represent the Return-based properties on the affected hero correctly as follows:
- Does not return to the
death.
- Recasting the ability on the same hero do not stack, and does not affect the Return duration time.
- When the hero is additionally affected by the following sources:
Hidden sources.
Invulnerable sources.
- For multiple X Marks the Spot sources affecting the same hero:
- If any other the sources uses the Return
Dispels other X Marks the Spot instance(s) upon the hero returns to any of the
- If any other the sources uses the Return
-
Grog Blossom has the following properties:
- Received damage through
- The Grog Blossom Rum buff counts as the Ghostship Rum buff and refreshes the duration instead of stacking additively.
- Ghostship and Admiral's Rum notes apply.
- Received damage through
- All components of the ability do not affect the
debuff immune enemy.
- Procs
Spell Block sources upon cast.
- Procs
Spell Reflection sources upon cast.
- The affected target immediately returns to the original X Marks the Spot position upon losing ability.
- Morph notes apply.
On hidden entity
X Marks the Spot: You will be returned to the location of the X
Hidden modifier
Return[edit]
E
X
ReturnNo
Affects
Heroes
Kunkka can return the marked hero to the X at anytime during the duration.
Cast Animation: 0.2 + 0
1
Grog Blossom
- Procs all on-cast effects.
- Replaces X Marks the Spot until this
- Goes into a 1-second
-
Root sources do not prevent the target from being affected by the
- Only affects the primary target.
Tidal Wave[edit]
Calls upon a tidal wave from behind Kunkka that deals damage, disarms, and drags enemy units along it.
Cast Animation: 0.2 + 1
Cast Range: 1050
Travel Distance: 1800
Radius: 750 ( 850)
Damage: 180
Knock Distance: 600
Knock Duration: 1
Disarm Duration: 1
12
75
A good sailor knows the timing of the tides like the back of his hand.
- Acquiring
Aghanim's Shard unlocks this ability in the fourth ability slot.
- Tidal Wave starts at
Point P, from the behind where Kunkka is facing.PO = 750OQ = 1050OQ), not the wave spawn location.
- Tidal Wave starts at
- Affect units up to
Disarm
- Applies a 600-distance non-disabling
knockback on affected units from their current position, following Kunkka's
facing angle.
- Acquiring
Hidden modifier
Disarmed
- Has a 700-travel speed.
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
- The
- The
- The
- The ability effects are applied as follows:
Ghostship[edit]
Summons a ghostly ship that sails through the battle before smashing apart, damaging and stunning all enemies caught near the wreckage.
Cast Animation: 0.3 + 0
Cast Range: 1000
Number of Ships: 1 ( 2)
Ship Radius: 450 ( 550)
Travel Distance: 2000
Ship Spawn Interval: 3.5
Impact Damage: 350/475/600
Stun Duration: 1.2
Allied heroes touched by the Ghostship are given a swig of a stronger Admiral's Rum, receiving bonus movement speed and bonus damage reduction for a certain duration. Upon sobering up, affected allied heroes will have a delayed non-lethal reaction to the previous incoming damage.
Move Speed Bonus: 15%
Damage Reduction: 35% ( 50%)
Damage Timer: 10
Rum Buff Duration: 10
Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Summons a fleet of Ghost ships on a 2.5 second interval. Each ship now also fires waves of cannonballs from the port and starboard side dealing part of Ghostship's damage as they pass through enemies.
Summons a fleet of Ghost ships on a 2.5 second interval. Each ship now also fires waves of cannonballs from the port and starboard side dealing part of Ghostship's damage as they pass through enemies.
Ship Interval: 2.5
Cannonball Volley Waves: 3
Volley Ghostship Damage Ratio: 40%
Projectile Radius: 100
Projectile Speed: 1400
90/80/70
125/175/225
The final ship of the Claddish Navy is nothing but a phantom, but it is all too real to the enemies of the Admiral.
- The ability the following properties upon cast:
- The Ghostship spawn location is set upon cast.
- Grants a
flying vision centered around the Ghosthip as it sails.
- Spawns the Ghostship 2000-distance away opposite of the point-targeted direction where Kunkka is facing, then crashes at the targeted point.
- An ally-only visual effect appears at the point-targeted location indicating its crash location and the ship radius.
- Has a 650-
projectile speed and reaches its crash location in 3.08 seconds.
- The sailing Ghostship applies a stronger Admiral's Rum buff to all allied heroes that come within the ship radius, and grants the following bonuses:
- The Admiral's Rum buff considers
- The Admiral's Rum buff considers
- The
- Cannonballs created from the
- Cannonballs shoots in 3 volleys of 4 cannonballs per ship from each sides.
- Cannonballs are shot at an angle, tilting slightly towards the bow (front) of the ship.
- Each unit can only be hit by 1 cannonball per volley.
On hidden entity
The Admiral's Rum: You're drunk! Movement speed increased by x%, temporary numbness to incoming damage.
Rum Hangover: Sobering up. Gradually feeling the rest of the damage taken while under the effects of The Admiral's Rum.
On hidden entity
Stunned
- Although the sailing Ghostship model is visually ≈150 radius, both
- The ability effects are applied as follows on affected enemy units:
- The impact
- The
- The impact
- With the
Recent Matches[edit]
Main Article: Kunkka/Matches
| Date | Tier | Tournament | Picks | Score | vs. Picks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 06, 2025 - 16:25 MSK | Tier 3 | Russian Championship | 1 : 0 | ||||||
| Jul 06, 2025 - 13:00 CEST | Tier 3 | CCT S2 Series 2 | 0 : 1 | ||||||
| Jul 06, 2025 - 11:05 CEST | Tier 3 | EPL Season 27 | 1 : 0 | ||||||
| Jul 06, 2025 - 14:10 SGT | Tier 3 | EPL World SEA S6 | 1 : 0 | ||||||
| Jul 06, 2025 - 11:05 SGT | Tier 3 | EPL World SEA S6 | 1 : 0 |
Recent Changes[edit]
Description
- X Marks the Spot
- Kunkka always applies Admiral's Rum buff on self on the following conditions:
- X Marks the Spot expiring.
- Upon the Return sub-ability cast.
- Kunkka always applies Admiral's Rum buff on self on the following conditions:
- Increased Tidebringer damage bonus from 30/60/90/120 to 35/70/105/140.
Talents:
- LVL 10 +25% X Marks the Spot movement speed change ➜ -15s Admiral's Rum cooldown.
- LVL 15 +60 Tidebringer attack damage bonus increased to +70.
- LVL 15 +20% Torrent damage/knock up duration increased to +25%.
- LVL 25 +100% Tidebringer cleave damage increased to +200%.
Dota Plus Progress[edit]
Main Article: Hero Challenges
Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.
| Kunkka's Relics | Voice Lines | |
|---|---|---|
Bronze |
||
Silver |
||
Gold |
||
Platinum |
| |
Master |
| |
Grandmaster |
| |
Equipment[edit]
| Sets | |
|---|---|
| Weapon | |
| Head | |
| Shoulder | |
| Back | |
| Legs | |
| Gloves | |
| Misc | |
| Taunt | |
| Kinetic Gems | |
| "Template:Navbox" and "Template:Navbox/old" are deprecated! Please use Template:NavBox instead. |
Trivia[edit]
- Kunkka's rivalry responses towards Slardar, Death Prophet, and Doom, and his allied responses for Windranger and Ancient Apparition, all come from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
- His battle begin line ▶️ "Rough seas ahead, crew. Strap me to the mizzen when I give the word." is likely a reference to The Odyssey, where Odysseus commands his crew to strap him to the mast so he could hear the Sirens sing.
- Jon St. John, Kunkka's voice actor, originally suggested to Valve to base Kunkka's voice on the voice he used for Varian Wrynn from World of Warcraft.
- The final voice is based on a "bad impression" of Captain Picard, a character from the Star Trek universe.[1]
- Warcraft 3 similarities:
- In DotA, Kunkka uses the model of Admiral Proudmoore, a campaign-only variant of the Paladin hero, without any abilities.
- Kunkka is named Daelin Broudmoore as well, but this was changed in Dota 2 to avoid copyright issues with "Blizzard Entertainment".
- The name Kunkka is in honour of the artist who created numerous loading screen artwork for DotA and Dota 2.[2]
- The artist also participated in the creation of several cosmetic sets, including Kunkka's Bestowments of the Divine Anchor set, and the Chains of the Black Death set.
- In Kunkka's DotA biography, it is stated that some people called him "Jacksparrow," though this name did not appear in-game. Jack Sparrow is the name of the main character in the Pirates of the Carribean movie franchise.
- Kunkka has a 3/9 chance to spawn in with the name "Kunkka".
- Kunkka has a 1/9 chance to spawn in with the name "CoCo". It is unknown what this is a refering to.
- Kunkka has a 1/9 chance to spawn in with the name "Captain Obvious", a common slang word for a Lapalissade.
- In DotA, Kunkka uses the model of Admiral Proudmoore, a campaign-only variant of the Paladin hero, without any abilities.
Gallery[edit]
Splash artwork
Ability icon progress
Hero icon progress
Kunkka T-shirt design
Kunkka on Ringmaster's teaser trailer.
Bone Harvest sprite - alive
Bone Harvest sprite - dead