Dota 2: 7.22 time to play Slark again?

Every time Slark shows up in the pro arena, it’s as if he’s going around like in pubs. But now, that is no longer the case. Slark is no longer the most popular hero in the pro scene, but he’s still great in certain situations. And now is your chance to try Slark in pub.

RECENT CHANGES

In the past few patches, Slark has had a lot of extremely important buffs in the laning phase. Armor is increased by one, while starting attack speed is increased by 20. This attack speed is not really a concern for other heroes, but with Essence Shift, Slark really benefits a lot.

This change doesn’t mean that Slark will dominate in the laning phase, but it does allow the hero to be defensive if he plays proactively in a smart way. Similar to Anti-Mage, Ursa and Monkey King, sometimes trade your health to get more stacks for your own skills or burn the opponent’s mana so that the opponent can’t deploy the move.

Shadow Dance’s increased healing potential at level 1 makes the hero more comfortable in the late lane, making hit-and-run tactics more effective. It also increases Slark’s farm speed a lot.

On the other hand, Slark was also nerfed. Essence Shift stacks now expire after 100 seconds instead of 120 seconds at level 4, while at lower levels unchanged. Pounce also does no damage, preventing active early game play. However, neither of these nerfs really wreaked havoc on Slark.

Pounce level 1 previously dealt 30 damage and most Slark players maxed Dark Pact first. Taking 20 seconds on the Essence Shift stack is a nerf macro, and while it limits Slark’s late game potential, it doesn’t generally have a huge impact on pubs.

These changes make Slark a rather risky pick and need to play well in the laning phase. But towards the end of the game, this hero can be one of the nightmares for opponents if Slark gets off to a good start. Slark is also the antithesis of many popular flexible cores, such as Ember and Storm Spirit.

CONTROL SLARK RIGHT THEM

Slark now has many new directions of development. They depend on how you play and you can be flexible on a match-by-match basis.

Pro players usually get level 2 for Essence Shift early game. Depending on the laning stage, players often choose Pounce or Dark Pact at level three, but the two entry points to Essence Shift are undisputed: the amount of bonus stats you get from hitting enemy heroes is just too good. 2-1-2 at level 5 is the most common way to level up, with Dark Pact being maxed out first.

Second, Hand of Midas is now a hero item. Given the current state of the meta, this item helps a lot and Slark is one of the heroes that really benefit from attack speed. In addition, Hand of Midas will help this hero not need to do tempo-carry (speed up the game).

No matter how well you play or how fast your attack speed is, Hand of Midas is still a tempo item. Shadow Blade and Echo Saber help Slark deal more damage, increase survivability and gank potential. And both of these items help the hero to hunt early, but only on them early in the game.

If the team needs a tempo-core, Drum of Endurance is also a very popular choice. It adds more stats and extra movement speed, allowing Slark to latch onto objects and become a threat without the need for a Shadow Blade.

Speaking of Shadow Blade, it is no longer considered a mandatory item for Slark and many players now choose Diffusal Blade and go to BKB early. Diffusal Blade is one of the most ‘value for money’ items for agility carry and shines for Slark, especially against games where opposing heroes have limited mana. By reducing the enemy’s intelligence and burning mana, leaving them with little choice after being hit multiple times by Slark.

Regarding Talent, most pro players choose +10 Strength at level 10, since the hero doesn’t need +6 Agility. They also often choose lifesteal over attack speed at level 15. Again, the players try to fix the weak points, instead of adding the strengths to the hero. With the same logic, players choose to add leash duration over bonus damage from dark pact at level 20. Finally, to help Slark have better macro selection later in the game, choose to increase Essence Shift duration. .

EPILOGUE

The current meta is pretty open, especially in pubs. Knowing how to get an advantage over the opponent has long been an important choice of the game, but at the moment, with so many good heroes like today, ‘flexibility’ is often seen as the most important aspect to success. public in pub.

Be calm, play smart, practice many heroes and play as a team, you will surely succeed.

According to Dotabuff