Slark Guide - Dota

[NoDenial]

Hello guys,as you can see here i'm posting a guide for slark.
Basically i would say i'm quite good at slark.
Regularly i would score a 12kill/2death score or something around that.
Well here goes,

Background story as stated.
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In the deepest, blackest pits of the ocean a fearsome and terrifying creature lurks. Bending the shadows to his will, few have seen his true form and none have lived to speak of it. For the shadows are his sanctuary, a place of empowerment and revitalisation. Bathed in this inpenetrable darkness he strikes unseen, every attack making him swifter and more powerful whilst weakening his enemy. A unbreakable leash awaits all who try to escape, leaving them at mercy of this horrifying phantom. By sacrificing a fraction of his soul, his pact with darkness allows him break even the most powerful bonds and curses.With echoes of the Great War reaching every corner of the earth, this creature, known only as Slark, has emerged from the depths to search for an ancient relic...

Murloc Nightcrawler.




Skills
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Dark Pact [Hotkey C]

Slark calls upon deities of the swamps to seal a dark pact. Sacrificing some of his lifeblood, Slark is redeemed of all negative effects.

My opinion on this:Dark pact is regularly used if the game has negative buffers such as Slardar,Dazzle where dark pact comes in use to remove the negative buffs.
Note: Dark Pact also removes hastes,regeneration and such.

Pounce [Hotkey E]

Surges directly forward and latches on to the first enemy he hits, binding it with chains of darkness.

My opinion on this:Pounce is a very important skill to Slark,it has many uses such as stopping the enemy from escaping,and also working as a leap just like Priestess of the Moon,make sure you always aim properly before you pounce,as it can determine if the kill is yours to take.

Essence Shift [Passive]

Reciting ancient Nightcrawler incantations, Slark enchants his blade to steal the power and courage from his enemies.

My opinion on this:One of the skills that makes Slark powerful,or should i say over powerful?
when slark attacks enemy heroes with this skill,he gains 2 main attribute and 1 of each other attribute from the hero that he is attacking from.
Making it stronger with damage increasing per hit that Slark makes to enemy heroes.

Shadow Dance [Hotkey D]

Covers himself with a dark smoke, he becomes invisible and does not reveal himself while attacking or casting spells. Also passively provides bonuses when Murloc Nightcrawler cannot be seen by the enemy.

My opinion on this:Shadow Dance is an important skill to Slark,it serves for many things such as a movement speed boost,a regeneration.
And most importantly,you can use it to escape,trap or catch up players.
How do you trap?
Combat with the opposing hero until you are left with 200 hp lesser or more,then activate Shadow Dance and continue hitting him,
When you use shadow dance,you are cloaked in a fog and won't reveal for 5 seconds.
Or you can use it to escape or catch up with players.


Skill build
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Level 1: Pounce
Level 2:Essence Shift
Level 3: Pounce
Level 4:Essence Shift
Level 5: Pounce
Level 6:Shadow Dance
Level 7: Pounce
Level 8:Essence Shift
Level 9:Essence Shift
Level 10-25: Dark Pact or Attribute Bonus maxed first.
[Read my opinion about Dark Pact]

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Start of the game item build.
--

<-- Recipe.

Farm for a sobi mask then purchase from goblin shop after that to form urn.
Urn gives you 50% mana regeneration and also give you charges if enemy heroes are killed near you.
Charges can heal you for 400 health points or damage enemy heroes for 200 health points over time.

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Middle game build
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Urn of Shadows.
Mask of Madness.
Threads
Basher - If you farm well by mid-game,then get Basher or leave it until late game.

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Late game build
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Urn of Shadows.
Mask of Madness.
Threads
Basher
Butterfly
Buriza

--

The late game items can own even a fat Mortred,i've personally tested.
With its essence shift,mask of madness and ulti can already own.

Hope you enjoy my guide,purely written by me.
Took 2 hours in total inclusive or where i ran to the living room to watch tv and ran back to continue writing when it was advertistment.


Credits
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NoDenial aka ORLYowl on Garena.
Icefrog
Official DotA Website for the icons.

[tromelow]

One might add that Bloodseeker is the creepiest hero to fight against. His passive kind of owns you totally.
I would skill Dark Pact earlier, as it can help you killing escaping heroes that are near but not attackable.
Slark needs survivability, it has no real sense to leech life while having no hp at all, apart from that he regs enough hp, so what I suggest is getting Armlet + Diffu. Gives u HP, you reg the hp loss easily with your passive, it grants you attspeed, damage and purge.
And I reckon you're talking about bnet/garena pubs, where everyone gets damage items and has no dust at all etc., but NOONE will ever stop a Mortred in lategame, if played properly (apart from Sylla prolly, as he has his bear). Only a few heroes can cope with Slark 1on1, true, but in a clash he is kind of useless, as anyone will certainly have some true sight with him (be it dust, wards, gem, tree, bloodseeker, whatsoever).

[NoDenial]

Believe it,i've used my build before.
it works probably well even if people get dust.
Anyway,your comments makes sense.

[Idle]

I love your build,its like my build.. but I don't farm bashers,I farm MKB..

[NoDenial]

I like basher because when you catch up with the opponent mom + basher can simply own them and leech more attributes <-- basher stuns them

good that you like it.

[tromelow]

I didnt say your build wouldn't work in a pub, but seriously, I could get a Dagon with him in pub and would still own... As soon as you leave bnet/garena pubs and start playing dotapickup/dotaleague or even clanwars or stuff (as soon he is allowed there) you will definitely need more hp. People have Dust or Wards as soon as you're Level 6. And once you pounced to catch up to an enemy you are rendered helpless. A Venge + Lion (frequent picks) will simply tear you apart when you only got 800 HP on Level 10 or so. You need HP, thus I suppose Armlet, as it grants you HP and damage and attackspeed too, and its hp loss is annulled by your passive.
The point is, that Slark deals enough damage as time passes by. Being 10 Seconds in a Clash usually means at least 50 Bonus Agi for you -> Nearly as good as the Bonuses of a Butterfly (imba!), even without any damage items till then. Therefore, spending most of the money into survivability is the better choice. Lets say you are hit by 2 Nukes w/o any HP-Items, then you're more than half dead. Your ulti is nice, but as I said: One truesight spell/item whatsoever and you do nothing but die or run.

[NoDenial]

Thats true,slark does need hp item for survivability but sometimes just go in as the last hero to clash and it shouldn't be too easy to die.

[Lightnin_Ztruck]

i agree with you exept for urn and treads get phase and something that makes you attack faster maybe hyperstone

[blacki]

It doesn't matter which itembuild you use. I prefer treads first, then sange yasha and a vanguard. Most of the games i played were over because everybody left, but that's because of the shitty bnet. Im so glad that Slark isn't allowed in league yet. And i hope he wont be allowed ever.

[WaRcHiEfAnT]

Well nice guide but i prefer playing slark with treads, sange yasha one poor man's shield a wand and some butterflies. Anyways gj for posting