Tidehunter can withstand focus, dispels some disables with Kraken Shell, and starts big fights with Ravage. Let’s look at how to spread out against Tide, who can burn his mana, and which items help keep your entire team from getting caught by a single ultimate.

Hero Traits

Strengths: Tide is tanky, reduces damage with Anchor Smash, and can stun the entire team in a huge area. Kraken Shell helps dispel many effects after he takes damage.

Weaknesses: The hero depends on Ravage and mana, moves slowly, and dislikes split pressure. After using his ultimate, his impact in a fight drops noticeably.

Best Heroes Against Tidehunter

Tidehunter usually plays the offlane. Counters should be able to survive Ravage, attack from different angles, or deprive Tide of mana before a fight begins.

Carry

  • Anti-Mage Mana Break leaves Tide without Ravage, while Blink helps maintain a safe position.
  • Ursa Fury Swipes stack quickly on a tanky target, and Enrage helps him survive disables and damage.

Mid

  • Outworld Destroyer Arcane Orb deals pure damage, while Astral Imprisonment can save an ally or remove Tide before Ravage.
  • Necrophos Damage based on health and Reaper's Scythe are dangerous for a tanky offlaner.

Offlaner

  • Doom Doom prevents Tide from using Ravage and disables regeneration.
  • Beastmaster Primal Roar lets you start a fight on Tide before he gets into a favorable position, while summoned units apply pressure across the map.

Support

  • Rubick Stays outside Ravage's range and can steal one of the best teamfight ultimates in the game.
  • Nyx Assassin Mana Burn limits his resources, while Spiked Carapace counters Anchor Smash or Ravage.

Hard Support

  • Silencer Global Silence prevents Tide from casting Ravage when his team goes in.
  • Oracle False Promise saves a key target after an initiation, while Fate's Edict reduces some magic damage.

What to Build Against Tidehunter

  • Black King Bar Lets you keep fighting after Ravage if activated beforehand.
  • Pipe of Insight Reduces the magic damage that follows.
  • Diffusal Blade Burns Tide's mana.
  • Lotus Orb Provides armor and helps dispel negative effects.
  • Aeon Disk Saves a support from a team-wide initiation.
  • Blink Dagger Lets you approach from another angle and avoid grouping your whole team together.

How to Play Against Tidehunter at Different Stages

Laning

Don’t stand near creeps when Tide uses Anchor Smash, and don’t try to kill him with a long disable unless you have enough damage. Pressure his mana and his lane partner: without spells, Tide is poor at defending the lane. Use pulls to force your opponents to choose between experience and a safe position. If the lane is pushing toward the enemy, don’t stand around by their tower doing nothing: take a rune, refresh your vision, or help another lane.

Mid Game

Keep track of whether Ravage is available. Split your heroes into two directions and force Tide to choose whom to use his ultimate on. After he uses it, immediately force another fight or take an objective.

Before moving into a dangerous part of the map, agree on who will initiate and who will save their counter-disable. Don’t spend both defensive tools on the very first effect—one of them should be saved for the follow-up to the combo. After a favorable trade, immediately secure vision and the nearest objective; otherwise, the fight you won won’t change the map. After taking territory, don’t scatter across nearby camps all at once. One hero should push a safe wave while the others cover them from the fog and stay ready to punish the enemy for trying to regain vision.

Late Game

Don’t group up as five on a single high ground. One hero should show, while the others keep their distance so they can respond. Silence or mana burn before the initiation often completely ruins Tide’s plan.

The late game requires patience: get information first, then use your long-cooldown abilities. After a failed attack, don’t chase blindly: restore vision, wait for cooldowns, and only then move on Roshan or buildings. Leave one hero on a safe wave so the enemy can’t get a free push toward your base. If the enemy has buybacks, decide in advance whether you’ll keep fighting after the first death. Chasing all the way to the enemy base without waves or vision can easily turn a won engagement into losing Roshan.