Tiny, the Stone Giant: Skills and Item Build Guide — DotA 1

Tiny, the Stone Giant, is a formidable Strength-based burst initiator, ganker, and structural siege machine in DotA 1. Armed with a massive base health pool and unparalleled raw Strength growth, Tiny begins the match as a terrifying magical powerhouse capable of deleting squishy targets with a singular, fluid combination of his skills. As the game transitions into later phases, his physical stature and base damage scale aggressively, turning him into a terrifying, building-shattering powerhouse that commands total control over the battlefield.


Base Stats & Attributes

Hero Attributes

Attribute Base Value Growth (per level)
Strength 28 +3.8
Agility 0 +0.0
Intelligence 17 +2.2

Statistics & Mechanics

Statistic Value Mechanic Value
Damage 59-65 Base HP Regen 0.25/s
HP 760 HP Regen +3.05/s
MP 254 MP Regen +0.86/s
Armor 0 Turn Rate 0.5
Move Speed 310 Base Attack Time (BAT) 1.7
Attack Range 150 (melee) Attack Animations 0.4 / 0.7

Hero Skills Breakdown

1. Avalanche

Bombards an area with waves of rocks, stunning and dealing magical damage over a short duration to each enemy inside the area. Rocks start landing shortly after the cast, and then continuously until the duration is over. Each wave deals a part of the damage and micro-stuns enemies. A unit tossed in the air gets multiplied damage from this spell.

  • Damage Type: Magical
  • Stun Type: Continuous micro-stuns per wave
  • Special Mechanic: Units caught in Avalanche while actively under the effect of Toss suffer triple ($3\times$) the standard damage.
Level Base Damage (Magical) Area of Effect (AoE) Cooldown Manacost
1 75 325 26 sec 120
2 150 350 22 sec 120
3 225 375 18 sec 120
4 300 400 14 sec 120

2. Toss

Tiny grabs the nearest unit, friend or foe, and launches them to a targeted unit or rune. Upon landing, enemies around the impact zone receive magical damage. The tossed unit will suffer amplified damage, unless it is an ally, who will not receive any damage at all. Each level of Grow! increases this damage amplification percentage bonus. Landing damage affects enemy buildings.

  • Damage Type: Magical
  • Targeting Mechanics: Grabs the absolute closest unit within a narrow radius next to Tiny and launches them toward the primary target point or rune.
  • Building Interaction: Deals full landing damage to structures in the impact area.
Level Base Impact Damage Cast Range Cooldown Manacost
1 90 850 17 sec 90
2 160 1000 15 sec 100
3 230 1150 13 sec 110
4 300 1300 11 sec 120

3. Tree Grab

Grabs a tree to whack enemies on the head. Grants bonus attack range, but Tiny is slowed. Attacks deal more damage to units and structures, and a part of the damage cleaves on enemies nearby. The tree can be thrown to deal your attack to a unit at a distance. The tree disappears when thrown or when Tiny dies. The cooldown starts upon losing the tree, not upon grabbing it.

  • Damage Type: Physical (Attack Modification / Cleave)
  • Attack Range Modification: +200 Range
  • Movement Speed Penalty: -30 Flat Move Speed
  • Scepter Upgrade: Unlocks the Tree Volley ability.
Level Bonus Damage to Units % Bonus Damage to Structures % Cleave Damage % Cooldown Manacost
1 10% 20% 30% 25 sec 0 (Passive)
2 20% 50% 40% 20 sec 0 (Passive)
3 30% 80% 50% 15 sec 0 (Passive)
4 40% 110% 60% 10 sec 0 (Passive)

4. Grow!

Greatly increases Tiny's power and size, but does so at the cost of his attack speed.

  • Mechanic: Passively modifies Tiny's character model size, base physical damage, and base armor while reducing his raw attack speed value.
  • Toss Synergy: Each level passively boosts the Toss damage multiplier by an additional +15% per level (scaling up from the skill's baseline 130%).
Level Bonus Physical Damage Armor Bonus Attack Speed Reduction Cooldown Manacost
1 30 +10 20 Passive 0
2 45 +16 35 Passive 0
3 60 +22 50 Passive 0

Item Build Guide

Phase Recommended Items Strategic Purpose
Early Game Arcane Boots, Magic Wand, Bracer Tiny suffers from severe mana starvation in the early game due to high spell costs and low baseline armor. Arcane Boots expand his mana pool to comfortably perform his full burst sequence, while a Bracer supplements early health.
Core Items Blink Dagger, Echo Sabre, Shadow Blade Blink Dagger is the mandatory tool for initiating, allowing Tiny to immediately reposition next to a priority target to execute his combo. Echo Sabre adds necessary mana regeneration and allows for a double attack that exploits his massive base damage.
Late Game Aghanim's Scepter, Assault Cuirass, Daedalus Aghanim's Scepter empowers his team-fight utility via Tree Volley. Assault Cuirass is essential to completely negate the severe attack speed penalties from Grow! while raising his defensive armor. Daedalus scales devastatingly with Tree Grab cleave.

Quick Gameplay Tips

  • Executing the "Ava-Toss" Combo: To secure the maximum possible burst damage, you must cast Avalanche first, and then immediately Toss the target unit straight up into the air while the rocks are actively landing. Because units caught mid-air suffer $3\times$ the individual rock damage, performing this sequence seamlessly will multiply your magical output and instantly vaporize squishy opponents.
  • The Absolute Zero Agility Curse: Tiny has a base Agility value of 0 and a growth factor of +0.0. This means he naturally possesses zero armor scaling outside of his ultimate, and your physical attack frequency drops drastically as you level up Grow! Prioritize buying items that provide raw attack speed and flat agility stats to ensure you aren't completely slowed down in late-game skirmishes.
  • Strategic Structure Demolition: Tree Grab grants an enormous 110% physical damage bonus against buildings at level 4. When executing a high-ground base siege, activate your tree item charges exclusively on enemy towers and barracks, aligning Tiny so that the high-percentage Cleave splash damage naturally clears out defending enemy heroes standing behind the structure.