Dota 2 Timer: The Stack Timer Tool for Dota 2

The Stack Timer Tool

The Stack Timer Tool tells you the second to pull a neutral camp, so a new group spawns while the old one chases you. Sync it with your game or practice in the trainer until you hit it every time. Axe once stacked a camp by accident. He was running from it. It still counts.

1. Live game: press Start when the horn sounds, or type your game clock. Turn on Sound for 3-2-1 beeps and a PULL tone every minute.
2. Pick your camp: :53 for big camps, :54 for medium, :55 for small camps. Switch on Melee vs ranged −1 s when you are melee and a long-ranged creep is in the camp.
3. Trainer: switch to Trainer, press Start and hit Space (or PULL!) when the hand is in the red zone. Too easy? Turn on Blind mode.

Axe explains

Stacking in 10 seconds

1. :54pull most camps.
2. 1:54first stack of the game.
3. −20%gold and XP per stacked creep.
4. +30%of your ally's gold for you.

Hit, run, wait, eat. Axe's favorite recipe.

Dota 2 stack timing: when to pull camps

Neutral camps first spawn at 1:00 and then at every full minute of game time: 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 and so on. The time is locked to the game clock, not to when you cleared the camp. A camp only spawns if its box is empty at that moment.

So you pull the creeps out just before the minute. Most camps stack at around :54 to :55. Rule of thumb: big camps (large and ancient) at :53, medium camps at :54, small camps at :55. The exact second depends on the size of the camp box and the creeps inside:

• Melee hero, long-ranged creep in the camp: pull about 1 second earlier.
• Ranged hero with a short range (like Luna or Huskar) against a long-ranged creep: about a quarter second earlier.
• The medium camp next to Dire's top tier 2 tower works at around :56, when the creeps walk down the steps and lose sight of their camp.

The Stack Timer Tool uses :54 by default. Set :53 or :55 to match your camp, and practice it in the trainer.

Too early, the creeps go home. Too late, they never left. Axe has the same problem with parties.

How to stack camps in Dota 2

1. Hold Alt to see the camp boxes with a yellow outline. Everything inside the box blocks the spawn.
2. Stand close a few seconds before. Watch the clock at the top of the screen.
3. Pull at :54: attack a creep or walk close to the camp so the creeps chase you.
4. Run out of the box. The creeps follow you for a few seconds, then walk back.
5. At :00 a new group spawns next to the old one. You hear a sound when the stack worked.

• Wards block spawns. Almost every unit in the box does, also invisible wards. Do not ward inside your own camp, and deward the enemy's camp blocks.
• No spawn twice in a row: a camp never spawns the same set of creeps two times in a row.

Runes spawn on the same game clock: the Rune Timer tells you when the next one is up.

Guide · Dota2FreaksDota 2 Support Guide for position 4 and 5Stacking is support work. The guide covers wards, runes, both support roles and a plan for your next three games.→

Stacking gold: what a stack is worth

Creeps that spawn into a stack carry a buff with the stacker's icon. It changes their bounty. The table under the tool shows the average gold per pull for every camp size; here is the rule for one creep:

• 20% less gold and experience from every creep that spawned into the stack, no matter who kills it.
• 30% for the stacker when an ally kills it: that share of the ally's gold, and of the reduced experience.
• Only the new creeps get the buff. The ones you pulled out give their normal bounty.
• The credit goes to whoever aggroed first. No aggro, no bonus: camps moved by Drow Ranger's Gust or pulled by lane creeps do not count.

So a stack is worth it when an ally with area damage clears it: the team gets two camps in one go and the stacker earns gold without hitting anything. The Game Timer reminds you to stack every minute next to runes, day and night and the other timings.

Every cleared camp also drops Madstone for your neutral items: the Neutral Item Timer counts it.

Double and triple stacks

There is no limit. Pull the same camp again the next minute and a third group spawns, then a fourth. Each time the whole pile has to leave the box before :00. The timing gets harder with every stack: creeps with auras change the movement speed of the group, and many bodies get in each other's way. Watch that the last creep is out of the box, and use the trainer to get a feel for your camp.

How to stack ancients

The ancient camp hits hard, so stacking it at low level can cost you your life. Some abilities hit the camp from a safe distance:

Acid SprayAlchemistSplit ShotMedusaQuill SprayBristlebackWild AxesBeastmaster

Clockwerk's Rocket Flare is special: it can stack a camp from anywhere on the map if it damages the creeps. It can also block a camp.

Free guide · Dota2FreaksRank Up Guide: find the one thing holding you backFive quick questions about your role, your lane and your losses. You get one habit to fix and a free mission for your next three games.→

FAQ: Axe answers questions