Slark Guide

Items

Starting items:

• Stout Shield allows Slark to sustain more harassment from enemies and stay longer in lane. It can later be built into a Poor Man`s Shield.
• Tango help Slark regenerate his health without the need of returning to base.
• Healing Salve can save Slark at the last moment.
• Iron Branches provide good stats and can be built into a Magic Wand.

Early-game

• Magic Stick can be crucial in many situations, giving a burst of mana and health when needed.
• Boots of Speed allow Slark to catch up to enemies and immobilize them with Pounce.
• Poor Man`s Shield gives Slark agility points, therefore increasing his last-hitting and denying in lane. It also saves Slark from harassment in lane.
• Orb of Venom   Item   Changelogs     Orb of VenomBL Envenoms your veapon with the venom of a venomous viper. Cost275 Bought FromArmaments Passive Poison Attack Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Orb of Venom is a cheap but powerful item to slow enemies and inflict damage overtime, giving an advantage to Slark`s early ganks. It can later be built into an Eye of Skadi   Item   Changelogs     Eye of Skadi Extremely rare artifact, guarded by the azure dragons. Cost5775 Bought FromArtifacts Passive Cold Attack Bonus +25 Strength+25 Agility+25 Intelligence+225 Health+250 Mana Disassemble? No Alert allies? No .

Core items

• Power Treads   Item   Changelogs     Power TreadsBL A pair of tough-skinned boots that change to meet the demands of the wearer. Cost1350 Bought FromCommon Active Switch Attribute Bonus +25 Attack speed+45 Movement speed Disassemble? gives Slark attack speed and a boost to attributes For a list of heroes sorted by attributes, see Table of hero attributes.   Attributes   Old Abilities     Attributes are the main statistics of all heroes that independently determine most scaling statistics. These that can be switched to survive teamfights or give him enough mana to use one of his abilities.
• Magic Wand is an upgrade to Magic Stick. Giving him more stats and opens up item slots.
• Shadow Blade provides a good source of attack speed and additional invisibility to improve your ability to gank and escape. It also synergizes very well with the passive part of Shadow Dance giving him the hp-regeneration and movement speed buffs when he is not revealed by detection.
• Echo Sabre grants two stacks of Essence Shift right away, and its burst damage is very useful for ganking.
• Town Portal Scroll can allow Slark to arrive at teamfights faster, or help him escape in a pinch. Consider holding onto one for most of the game.

Situational items

• Drum of Endurance provides Slark with attributes to improve his lackluster stat-growth while giving him extra movement speed and attack speed to help close the distance on foes. It can give him the early game advantage he needs to snowball.
• Sange and Yasha works great in conjunction with Slark`s skill set allowing him to easily chase and attack enemy heroes due to the passive maim. In addition to the slow, Sange and Yasha also provides additional move speed, attack speed, and a strength and agility boost to his attributes.
• Black King Bar`s spell immunity offers protection from magic damage in team fights.It can make him almost invulnerable while under the effect of Shadow Dance.
• Butterfly offers bonus attack speed, armor, damage, and agility, and its evasion gives him more survivability against right-click damage. It can be activated to provide a movement speed boost that makes chasing or escaping easier.
• Vladmir`s Offering   Item   Changelogs     Vladmir s OfferingB An eerie mask that is haunted with the malice of a fallen vampire. Cost2275 Bought FromSupport Passive Vladmir s Aura Bonus +2 Strength+2 Agility+2 Intelligence Disassemble? No Alert can be built for some stats and an aura that provides buffs such as lifesteal, mana regeneration and more to you and your teammates.

Gameplay

Playstyle
Slark   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Slark 20 + 1.9 21 + 1.5 16 + 1.7 Level Base is an extremely slipperly melee carry. Jumping over obstacles, he Pounces on enemies and jumps away to safety, shrouding himself from damage with Shadow Dance. When unseen, Slark`s natural regeneration replenishes his health, allowing him to return to the fight time and time again. Slark is susceptible to area disables and magical nukes, and his damage is mostly effective against single targets.
Pros	Cons
Numerous escape mechanisms. Steals enemy attributes For a list of heroes sorted by attributes, see Table of hero attributes.   Attributes   Old Abilities     Attributes are the main statistics of all heroes that independently determine most scaling statistics. These . Large night vision Vision changes around while the hero moves. Vision describes what a unit can and cannot see from its current location and state. Places a unit cannot see are filled with the Fog of War, a . Strong pick-off and snowball potential.	Fragile in the early game. Low attribute growth. Primarily single target focused. Has no stuns.

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Hero

Strategy

Counters   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Bad against... 1.1 Others 1.2 Items 2 Good against... 2.1

Equipment   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e Slark Equipment (collapse sets)Sets Dark Reef Escape Deep Sea Scoundrel Deep Warden Haul

Gear   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     This is a list of cosmetic items that reflects Slark s design aesthetics.

Responses   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Voice responses Hero responses Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe Bane

Sounds   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     v • d • e  Dota 2 Sounds Hero Sounds Abaddon Alchemist Ancient Apparition Anti-Mage Arc Warden Axe

Lore   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Slark, the Nightcrawler Little known to the inhabitants of the dry world,

Old Abilities   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     No records NewPP limit report Cached time: 20170623131133 Cache expiry: 86400 Dynamic

Changelogs   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Contents 1 Version history 2 Patch history Version history edit] Version Description

Ability Builds

• Level 1 point is almost always spent on Pounce, providing early-game lockdown or a reliable escape spell as needed.
  • Against a melee opponent, consider getting Essence shift at level 1 in order to strengthen harassment.
  • Dark Pact is rarely picked up at the start, as it pushes the wave and is generally weaker, but a point can be taken at level two if the dispel is needed early.
• At level 3, each basic ability should have a point to maximize early kill potential.
• Dark Pact is maxed out first, as the aoe damage and lowered mana cost is vital for quickly farming waves and Neutral Creeps.
• Pounce is usually maxed out second in order to maximize the damage he can deal when picking off enemies, and the reduced cooldown allows him to use it as both initiation and escape in the same fight.
• Essence Shift is usually maxed out last, as the only thing that scales up for that ability is the duration of the stolen stats, which does little to affect early game fights.

Talents

Hero Talents   Main   Table of Gained Bonuses     The Talent Selection interface. Talents are traits unique to each hero. They are chosen every 5th level starting at level 10, offering a permanent choice between
+3s Pounce Leash	25	+12 All Stats
+25 Attack Speed	20	10% Cooldown Reduction
+15 Strength Strength is the attribute that grants health and health regeneration. For each point of strength a hero gets: 20 Health 0.06 Health regeneration Additionally, strength heroes also get 1 attack damage per strength point. To	15	+15 Agility Agility is the attribute that grants armor and attack speed. For each point of agility a hero gets: 0.14 (1/7) Armor 1 Attack speed Additionally, agility heroes also get 1 attack damage per agility point.
+15 Damage	10	10% Lifesteal

Notes:

• The lifesteal is not a unique attack modifier Unique Attack Modifiers (abbreviated UAM; formerly known as Orb Effects) are special attack modifiers that cannot be used simultaneously with each other—one always takes priority. They may be provided by abilities (e.g. Anti-Mage s Mana Break), and fully stacks with other sources of lifesteal.

• The attack damage is added as bonus attack damage, and therefore does not benefit illusions.

• Cooldown reduction affects abilities and items. Stacks multiplicatively with Octarine Core   Item   Changelogs     Octarine CoreS At the core of spellcraft are spectrums only the very gifted can sense. Cost5900 Bought FromCaster Passive Cooldown Reduction, Spell Lifesteal Bonus +25 Intelligence+425 Health+425 Mana Disassemble? and additively with Arcane Rune   Double Damage   Haste   Illusion   Invisibility   Regeneration   Bounty   Arcane     See more: Runes#List Buff icon Arcane Play AbilityNo Target AffectsSelf Reduces cooldowns by 30% and mana costs by .

• Upgrading health increases maximum health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

General

• Slark is usually played in the safe lane, with a support. He can also be played in the offlane.
• Slark is sometimes played in the mid lane, but may struggle against ranged heroes like Queen of Pain   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Queen of Pain 16 + 2 18 + 2 24 + 2.5 .
• Slark`s base attributes are average at best, although with enough stolen Agility and damage items he can keep up with hard carries such as Phantom Assassin   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Phantom Assassin 20 + 2.15 23 + 3.15 15 + 1.4 Level and Sniper   Hero   Strategy   Counters   Equipment   Gear   Responses   Sounds   Lore   Old Abilities   Changelogs     Sniper 16 + 2 21 + 2.5 15 + 2.6 Level Base .
• Slark is potent ganker in the mid game, and should always be looking for opportunities to pick off an enemy. The enemy jungle is an excellent hunting ground for Slark.
• Slark`s unusually large night vision Vision changes around while the hero moves. Vision describes what a unit can and cannot see from its current location and state. Places a unit cannot see are filled with the Fog of War, a radius (1800) means he can see further than most heroes at night. Use this advantage when timing ganks.
• Because Slark lacks a stun Stun is a status effect that prevents active actions like moving, turning, using spells or items, but does not prevent passive abilities, such as evasion and Damage Block. Stuns also interrupt spell casts, channeling spells , enemies will often blink or teleport away when ganked.
• Slark differs from most carries in that he takes more of a hit-and-run approach.
• Due to the high health regeneration from Shadow Dance, Slark can often return to teamfights after moving out of enemy vision to regain health.
  • Since Shadow Dance gives Slark an incredible rate of health regeneration, it encourages many players to forgo boosting maximum health and strength in favor of attack and damage.
• Slark`s mana is fairly low in the early game, when his abilities should be used sparingly.
• Slark should try to play aggressively once he reaches level six, so he can take full advantage of the agility transfer from Essence Shift.
• Use Slark`s high mobility and pick off supports before fights break out, allowing his team to start with an advantage.
• Slark can stack 2 or even up to 3 camps at a time using his high mobility and Pounce.

Dark Pact

• Activate Dark Pact after using Pounce or initiating on the enemy. The cast time is instant, meaning you can use the ability after your target turns to try and disable you, without interrupting Slark`s attack.
• Dark Pact dispels most debuffs and disables from Slark, and needs to be timed well in order to maximize its effectiveness.
  • If being chased, using Dark Pact immediately before Shadow Blade allows you to dispel Dust of Appearance   Item   Changelogs     Dust of AppearanceB One may hide visage, but never volume. Cost180 Bought FromConsumables Active Reveal Charges 2 Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Dust of Appearance is an without losing your invisibility.
  • Activate it just before you are about to be disabled by abilities like Storm Hammer or Unstable Concoction. After the projectile hits, Dark Pact will automatically remove the disable.
• The multiple hits from Dark Pact is useful against protection abilities with a limited number of charges, such as Refraction, Gravekeeper`s Cloak, or Living Armor.
• Dark Pact is a great way to finish off an invisible unit that has been leashed, as the AoE damage affects invisible targets.
• Dark Pact is a great way to accelerate farm between gank attempts. When combined with Power Treads   Item   Changelogs     Power TreadsBL A pair of tough-skinned boots that change to meet the demands of the wearer. Cost1350 Bought FromCommon Active Switch Attribute Bonus +25 Attack speed+45 Movement speed Disassemble? ` ability to toggle stats, the cost of the ability can be minimized.
  • For maximum efficiency, shift Power Treads   Item   Changelogs     Power TreadsBL A pair of tough-skinned boots that change to meet the demands of the wearer. Cost1350 Bought FromCommon Active Switch Attribute Bonus +25 Attack speed+45 Movement speed Disassemble? to intelligence before casting, then switch to strength while the ability deals damage, and finally switch to agility to maximize Slark`s attack damage. This makes the most of Slark`s unusually small @@@#@@@HP(hp.com)###@### and Mana pools.
• Avoid using the ability recklessly in the early game before Slark has Shadow Dance, as it can be very difficult to heal up after skirmishes.

Pounce

• One point of Pounce is usually leveled first in case Slark needs to escape a bad situation.
• When determining the direction to Pounce in, make sure Slark has fully turned Turn rate is the speed at which a unit can turn. When moving to a location, a unit first turns to face that location, then begins walking. Similarly, when targeting another unit with an attack towards that direction before using Pounce.
• Use Pounce over elevations and barriers to escape pursuers.
• Pounce will hit invisible heroes. Use it immediately after an adjacent enemy goes invisible to ensure a hit. If a leash is established, follow up with Dark pact.
• Be aware that Pounce is considered a soft disable, and does not stop an enemy from attacking or using abilities.
  • Heroes with teleporting and blinking abilities will be able to break out of Pounce`s leash.
• More tips needed.

Essence Shift

• Maximize Essence Shift`s duration by continually harassing and retreating. Go for the kill once you think you have enough damage and attack speed to take down enemy heroes.
• Maximize Essence Shift`s efficiency by taking objectives using his stolen attributes. After a large teamfight, it is not uncommon to find that Slark has stolen upwards of 50 agility, making quick work of untended towers or Roshan For Roshan as he appears in holiday events, see Roshan (Diretide 2012) and Roshan (Diretide 2013) Roshan Ancient Jungle Creep Level 30 Health 5500 Health regeneration 20 Armor 15 Magic resistance 55% Attack damage 65 .
• Essence Shift is a deceptively debilitating attack modifier, as it reduces an enemy`s attributes For a list of heroes sorted by attributes, see Table of hero attributes.   Attributes   Old Abilities     Attributes are the main statistics of all heroes that independently determine most scaling statistics. These , lowering many of their stats. .
  • Every successful hit reduces an enemy`s maximum health, health regeneration, maximum mana, mana regeneration, armor, attack speed, and attack damage.
  • With enough attacks, it is possible to prevent enemies from retaliating effectively due to the lack of attack speed and physical damage, as well as preventing them from using abilities due to a lack of mana.
  • Items and abilities that lock enemies in place greatly increases the power of Essence Shift, making Eye of Skadi   Item   Changelogs     Eye of Skadi Extremely rare artifact, guarded by the azure dragons. Cost5775 Bought FromArtifacts Passive Cold Attack Bonus +25 Strength+25 Agility+25 Intelligence+225 Health+250 Mana Disassemble? No Alert allies? No and Skull Basher   Item   Changelogs     Skull BasherB A feared weapon in the right hands, this maul s ability to shatter the defenses of its opponents should not be underestimated. Cost2700 (750) Bought FromWeapons Passive Bash good items to build in most games.
    • An early Orb of Venom   Item   Changelogs     Orb of VenomBL Envenoms your veapon with the venom of a venomous viper. Cost275 Bought FromArmaments Passive Poison Attack Disassemble? No Alert allies? No Recipe The Orb of Venom can allow Slark to steal from slow heroes that lack disables or escapes, especially if they are lacking any sort of boots.
    • Vladmir`s Offering   Item   Changelogs     Vladmir s OfferingB An eerie mask that is haunted with the malice of a fallen vampire. Cost2275 Bought FromSupport Passive Vladmir s Aura Bonus +2 Strength+2 Agility+2 Intelligence Disassemble? No Alert has a unique synergy with Essence Shift, as it grants an additional 15% damage based on Slark`s agility, allowing him to deal incredibly high amounts of damage with enough stolen attributes.

Shadow Dance

• In general, Shadow Dance should be activated when Slark is at low health, not at the beginning of fights.
  • Be that as it may, in some cases, Shadow Dance is best used even at high or full health to protect against disabling abilities like Tinker`s Laser or Doom`s Doom.
• During the laning phase, regain your health by simply retreating out of enemy vision once Slark is level six.
• When being chased, try to stay out of enemy vision, be it around trees, up high ground, or behind barriers. The passive movespeed and regeneration from Shadow Dance can mean the difference between life and death.
• Shadow Dance`s passive can be used as an indirect way of detection. If you find that Slark has suddenly lose his movement speed and regeneration, it means the enemy has vision over you.
  • This indicates that there is a source of enemy vision nearby, such as an Observer Ward, a Hawk, or an invisible enemy.
  • Keep an eye on Shadow Dance`s buff icon to know whether or not the enemy has vision nearby.
• Be careful not to overestimate Shadow Dance`s utility or assume you will always be able to escape a bad situation once you activate it. Area-of-effect abilities will still hit Slark for full damage.
  • Slark is vulnerable when surrounded by numerous heroes, creeps or illusions. This body blocks him from effectively retreating with Shadow Dance or Pounce.
• With Aghanim`s Scepter, Shadow Dance becomes an aura and bestows its benefits to nearby allied heroes, illusions, clones and creep-Heroes.
  • Take note that only the invisibility and untargetable aspect is passed onto allies. They do not gain the bonus movement and health regeneration.