Silencer is currently the worst hero in Dota 2?

Silencer is the only Dota 2 hero to be completely ignored in the Upper Division in every DPC region. This hero has received a lot of buffs in the past, but is still considered unworthy of use in the professional arena. This article will explore why and should we consider skipping this hero in pubs as well?

WHAT MAKES SILENCER SPECIAL IN DOTA 2?

Most Dota 2 heroes, including Silencer, are identified by their ultimate. Global Silence is theoretically a strong skill. It negates a lot of moves, especially the channel – it can counter Black Hole or Mortimer Kisses.

Support the enemy will have a lot of difficulty when encountering Siliencer. While core heroes often go to Eul’s, Manta, BKB, Satanic, Lotus or Greaves to debuff, support is (in theory) considered the most damaged. Most supports are caster, must rely on cc (crowd control) to influence teamfight.

In theory, all of the above is correct, but there are a few issues the article needs to address. One is game economy: even position 5 can get to Eul’s or Lotus if necessary. This is not a big deal, but you will have to trade Glimmer Cape, Force Staff or other support items to get one of the two items mentioned above.

The second problem is with neutral items, specifically neutral tier 4 items. They make Silencer ineffective after 37 minutes. Flicker, Minotaur Horn and Stormcrafter all have basic dispel when cast. The team will definitely have at least one of those items. At this point, the core probably already has a dispel item for itself, so these neutral items can be given to a support, rendering Silencer nearly useless, except for breaking channeling spells.

Silencer’s other two basic skills are also subject to the same situation: they are easily dispelled. Not to mention, Arcane Curse was also nerfed in update 7.29, even without dispell, half the heroes of the meta can completely heal easily.

Maybe we’re misunderstanding how the hero plays? Maybe Silencer doesn’t play support lane but focuses more on DPS? Maybe Glaives of Wisdom is the move that identifies Silencer?

DOTA 2 SUPPORTS SILENCER DPS?

Looking at the game guides for Silencer, we can see that most players choose to play Silencer core, with Safeland Carry being the most popular decision. Pub players in Dota 2 have more success: Silencer wins more than 50% at all ranks. So does this mean Silencer has strong DPS? The author doesn’t think so.

If Net Worth is equal, Silencer can’t deal more DPS than most Agility carry. BKB also strongly counters Silencer’s DPS. Also, Agility increases each level of Silenncer, which is fine, but not as much as QoP or Puck. With a target without spell-immune, the damage dealt can be massive, Pure means it penetrates armor, but you need to know how the stun works on the enemy’s core. This requires team members to coordinate.

The other problem lies in “Equal Net Worth”. Silencer cannot farm nor farm items faster. Aghanim’s Shard turns Silencer into a poor version of Luna, but why choose this Silencer when we can pick the real Luna to play, or a hero that can counter Luna, if the opponent already picked it. Shard can only level up after 20 minutes, and at this point, a playable Luna, or any other fast farming hero, has gained at least 1.5x as much item advantage over Silencer.

HOW DOES SILENCER PLAY?

There are only two ways to promote Silencer DPS in Dota 2. One is to rely on weak opponents: something you can’t do in the pro arena as well as Legend rank and above. The opposing team will have BKB. They will have dispel. They knew it would be a good idea to tackle Silencer first, whether playing at support or core. And Silencer’s blood is not called buffalo.

The other option is lane dominating and this is what Silencer can do very well in Dota 2. Glaives of Wisdom has the following advantage: it won’t pull enemy creeps if you cast Glaves through a different command (i.e. no. right click to type vegetarian). Also, stealing intelligence, especially if it lasts, can turn the lane completely in one direction: you have the right to use all of your skills, while the opponent does not.

But is this move enough to overwhelm the lane? Definitely not in the professional arena. Depending on Silencer position 1 requires careful tactical investment. To be successful, you need to win or draw on all three lanes and then have a push hero in this lane to take control of the map early. The article does not say this is not possible, but it is risky when we have many other options that are clearly better.

In pub, when a game can be “solo” by a good player with good decision making, Silencer is ok. Silencer can dominate lane and snowball completely, but Clinkz is the superior choice in terms of “overwhelm lane and overwhelm map” gameplay, both in logic and statistics.

But in some games, we can make good use of Silencer. There are many heroes that are weak against Silencer due to their high armor, but low health. In addition, as discussed above, there are some heroes that cannot reach their full potential because of the threat of Global Silence. Finally, Silencer also has a talent for 30% cooldown reduction, so 14 seconds Scythe and 53 seconds BKB cooldown sounds pretty appealing.

So you think Silencer is the least played hero in Dota right now? Are there any other names that you think are not played in pub or pro? Or share in the comment section at the end of the post!

According to dotabuff

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