How to Play Slark in 7.31D
Slark is an agility hero from the depths of the ocean. Here’s a deep dive into Slark’s skills and strategies that can help you win matches in Dota 2.
Dota 2 has a unique group of agility heroes who can become a threat to their enemies early on. Slark is a melee hero equipped with abilities that can root his enemies and deal a devastating amount of physical damage.
If you’re new to playing Slark in Dota 2, you’ll need to help him farm and level up until he can take on enemies and destroy them. The agility hero can break free from his opponents’ spells with debuffs and escape mechanisms.
Sharp’s primary attributes
Slark is primarily a carry hero in Dota 2. He can move around the map at breakneck speed and look out for enemy heroes who can be cornered in order to kill them. He starts out with 600 HP and 267 mana.
Primary Statistics – Slack
Agility – 21 + 1.7
Strength – 20 + 1.9
Intelligence – 16 + 1.7
Dark Pact and Pounce are the very first skills you need to learn as Slark levels up in the game. You can use Pounce to grab enemies and leash them for 2.5 seconds at level 1. Pounce gives your team plenty of time to atomize heroes with spells and attack them together. There’s a good chance of landing a First Blood Kill if you get your jump just before the first 5 minutes is up.
A good strategy for Slark is to max out Dark Pact before leveling up other abilities. Dark Pact can deal 300 damage to enemies and drain you of most debuffs like stuns. Take at least one level of Essence Shift to rip off your enemies’ attributes and add them to yourself. Dark Pact and Pounce can help you deal damage and stop them from escaping combat during teamfights.
The best ways to farm for Slark
Slark can survive most battles and get out of situations that can lead to an untimely death. Top lane is favored by many Dota 2 players who take their time farming. Focus on getting last hits on creep waves until you can farm enough gold to purchase items.
Tango, Healing Salves, and Enchanted Mango can be quite resourceful when farming on the top row. Pouncing on Strength heroes with over 800 HP early in the game can be disastrous. If you’re aggressive with Slark in the top lane, pounce on enemy heroes with a weak tanking ability.
Heroes like Vengeful Spirit, Clinkz, Pugna, and Shadow Demon are easy to kill in the early game. Make sure you have an ally that can disable their opponents and damage them instantly after being leased. Ancient Apparition and Sven can be exceptional teammates for Slark. Cold Feet and Storm Hammer will give Slark the support he needs to go for the kill.
Bone crushing items for Slark
Purchasing items that add damage to his stats can boost Slark’s abilities to hit his enemies with death-defying physical attacks. You can select items that can help increase Slark’s movement and attack speed to fearlessly hunt down heroes while looking for team fights.
Phase Boots – 1500 gold
- Boots of Speed - 500 gold
- Chain Mail – 550 gold
- Assault Blades – 450 gold
Slark has an impressive 300 movement speed early in the game. Phase Boots can increase his movement speed by 45 and give his strides a much-needed boost with his active ability. Slark takes 18 attack damage from Phase Boots, 6 more damage than ranged heroes from the item.
You can use Phase quickly after pouncing on enemies to move towards them with increasing speed. Slark can also use Phase Boots to lunge out of ambushes and dodge incoming spells like Illuminate and Sacred Arrow.
Echo Saber – 2500 gold
- Oblivion Wand – 1500 gold
- Ogre Ax – 1000 gold
Slark’s attack speed is a key component that needs to be boosted to unlock its true potential. Echo Saber grants Slark additional attack speed to engage his enemies and drain their stats with Essence Shift.
Echo Saber’s passive, Echo Strike, lets melee heroes attack enemies in quick succession. His passive ability’s double strike deals double damage and slows the movement speed of Slark’s enemies by 100% for 0.8 seconds. Echo Strike has a 6 second cooldown before it can hit enemy heroes with the debuff.
Shadow Blade – 3000 gold
- Shadow Amulet – 1000 gold
- Lightning Knuckles – 1000 gold
- Broadsword – 1000 gold
Shadow Blade is an essential item for Slark. You can use Shadow Blade to get close to enemies and surprise them. It has an active ability, Shadow Walk, which can be activated at any time to become invisible for 14 seconds. Attacking enemies after using Shadow Walk will deal bonus damage to them.
You can use Dark Pact once you hit enemies with Shadow Walk to drain their health. The item grants Slark 35 attack speed to hit enemies with fatal hits. Shadow Blade also grants bonus attack damage that can shred enemies with each hit. Shadow Walk allows you to upgrade Shadow Blade to Silver Edge and disable enemy heroes’ passive abilities for up to 4 seconds.
Heroes who can face Slark
Recent changes made to Slark have reduced his base power, making the melee hero vulnerable to teamfights before the first 15 minutes of the game. Dota 2 rescaled some of Slark’s abilities to make him a dangerous hero early on. The increased attack damage added to Slark in 7.31D makes him a formidable opponent for Dota 2 players.
If your enemy chooses one of these heroes, you can take Slark to counter him with his amazing abilities.
bristleback
Bristleback is a core tank hero. Bristleback’s passive abilities can trample enemies and drain their health over time. Slark can approach Bristleback with Pounce and quickly gain attributes from physical attacks with Essence Shift. You can punch Bristleback face forward to avoid getting hit by his passive abilities.
Attacking from behind Bristleback can reduce damage taken by 40%. Bristbleback will constantly unleash Quill Spray after tanking 200 damage from any source. Slark can use Silver Edge to hit Bristleback with Shadow Walk and break his passive abilities, giving the team the motivation they need to take out the tanker before he can kill any of your allies.
sorceress
Enchantress is a ranged hero who can use distance from enemies to her advantage. Her Impetus ability grants each of her attacks additional damage based on Enchantress removal. Dota 2 players use Impetus to punish melee heroes with pure damage before they can get close to Enchantress. Impetus also deals double damage to creeps and illusions.
Many players use Enchant to slow their opponents’ movement speed. Enchant can slow movement speed by 55% for 3.75 seconds at level 1. Enchantress Ultimate slows heroes’ attack speed by 200 after attacking them. Slark can use Dark Pact to debuff Enchant and restrict their movements with Pounce.
Getting a Silver Edge for Slark can disable her ultimate ability and make physical attacks effective against Enchantress. Slark can also use Shadow Dance to avoid getting hit by enemies and Enchantress while dealing damage in Dota 2.