Tinker is a ranged intelligence carry. Unlike most carries, his power comes primarily from dealing burst spell damage, but where many other nukers scale off in the late game Tinker only becomes stronger thanks to his ultimate, which refreshes the cooldowns on his items and abilities – this makes a good Tinker player almost unstoppable.
Skills
There are two popular skill builds for Tinker: The push/anti-push competitive March Build and the lower-skilled pub-friendly Ganking Build.
March Build:
Laser is skilled first but maxed last.
Heat-Seeking Missile is skilled last but maxed second.
March of the Machines is skilled second and maxed first.
Rearm is skilled at ~level 9, when you get Boots of Travel, and maxed only once you have Scythe of Vyse.
Burst Ganking Build:
Laser is skilled first but maxed second.
Heat-Seeking Missile is skilled second but maxed first.
March of the Machines is skilled and maxed last.
Rearm is skilled at ~level 9, when you get Boots of Travel, and maxed only once you have Scythe of Vyse.
Items
The item build is the same for both skill builds.
Starting Items: Tangos, Healing Salve, 4x Iron Branches.
Early Game: Boots of Speed, Magic Wand, Soul Ring, Bottle.
Core: Boots of Travel.
Luxury Items: Scythe of Vyse, Blink Dagger, Shiva's Guard, Dagon, Ethereal Blade.
Situational Items: Force Staff (cheap Blink alternative), Eul's Scepter of Divinity (poor man's Scythe), Manta Style (anti-silence), Aghanim's Scepter (fun burst build - generally a poor use of a slot though), Black King Bar (anti-lockdown).
