Nikita 'Pantomem' Balaganin, a support player for the L1ga Team, has released a guide on playing Jakiro in patch 7.36c. His tips on gameplay, skill progression, talents, and itemisation were shared on the team's Telegram channel.
According to Pantomem’s guide, the recommended starting items for Jakiro are Smoke of Deceit, Tango, Circlet, Blood Grenade, two Iron Branches, and wards. He suggests building Arcane Boots, Mekansm, and Drum of Endurance first, followed by Pipe of Insight, Guardian Greaves, and Aghanim’s Scepter.
He advises levelling Jakiro’s first ability at level one, aiming to hit multiple enemies if possible. If not, focus on trading with the enemy four-position and depleting their resources, as a Flask is usually delivered after the bounty runes. At level two, combining the first ability with the third and Blood Grenade can secure solo kills, as the third ability amplifies damage from the grenade, allowing Jakiro to kill almost any hero solo or with the help of a nearby carry.
Pantomem recommends reaching level six with a skill build of 3-1-1-1. Against any hero with a stun, using all abilities can greatly increase the likelihood of dealing fatal damage. Jakiro is noted for his effectiveness in the lane as he can counter any four-position hero and his flexibility in itemisation. In the current aura meta, he often builds Arcane Boots and Mekansm, followed by Pipe, or Arcane Boots and Mekansm into Guardian Greaves.
For talents, he suggests skipping the level 10 talent until all skills are maxed. At level 15, choose the talent that reduces the cooldown of Ice Path by 1.5 seconds. At level 20, always select the talent that increases the duration of the stun, even if you have Aghanim’s Scepter, as an additional 0.4 seconds of stun is significant in Dota 2.
Jakiro is currently the most popular five-position hero among professional players in the meta. According to Dota2ProTracker.com, Jakiro has been picked 5,174 times in matchmaking over the last eight days, with a win rate of 50.3%.