Skill builds and justifications

Tauren Chieftain skillbuilds are not really flexible: Ancestral Spirit should always be maxed first (Direct damage increase, and the damage and ms are always useful), and you must get at least two levels of Echo Stomp to be able to use your powerful ultimate. The main question is: Should I max Stomp at level 9, or get aura first? This really depends on the game. You usually want Stomp maxed, because 5 second sleep is no joke when it comes to teamfights, but in some cases (especially in public games), you can afford to skip the last two levels of Stomp.

The cookie cutter:



Level 1: Echo Stomp
Level 2: Ancestral Spirit
Level 3: Ancestral Spirit
Level 4: Echo Stomp
Level 5: Ancestral Spirit
Level 6: Earth Splitter
Level 7: Ancestral Spirit
Level 8: Echo Stomp
Level 9: Echo Stomp
Level 10: Natural Order
Level 11: Earth Splitter
Level 12: Natural Order
Level 13: Natural Order
Level 14: Natural Order
Level 15: Stats
Level 16: Earth Splitter

Explanation: This is the most common Tauren Chieftain build. You get Echo Stomp first because the 2 seconds disable is way more useful than the 120 damage to score a first blood/escape a first blood attempt. Ancestral Spirit is maxed first because it is your main damage source early game (direct damage+ms and damage bonus). This build allows you to dominate teambattles from level 9, and the 5 second sleep is great to help your team during early/mid game ganks.

The aura rush



Level 1: Echo Stomp
Level 2: Ancestral Spirit
Level 3: Ancestral Spirit
Level 4: Echo Stomp
Level 5: Ancestral Spirit
Level 6: Earth Splitter
Level 7: Ancestral Spirit
Level 8: Natural Order
Level 9: Natural Order
Level 10: Natural Order
Level 11: Earth Splitter
Level 12: Natural Order
Level 13: Echo Stomp
Level 14: Echo Stomp
Level 15: Stats
Level 16: Earth Splitter

Explanation: This is the build you may want if your team lacks the coordination to make use of the additional 2 seconds on Echo Stomp (This usually happens in public games). 3 seconds of sleep are usually enough to land good ultimates, and the fast aura increases your team damage.