Slark is an agility hero from the depths of the ocean. Here’s a deep dive into Slark’s abilities and strategies that can help you win games in Dota 2. 

Dota 2 has a unique set of agility heroes who can become a threat to their foes early on. Slark is a melee hero, equipped with skills 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 till he can take on enemies and destroy them. The agility hero can free himself from the spells of his opponents with debuffs and escape mechanisms. 

Slark’s Primary Attributes

Slark is primarily a carry hero in Dota 2. He can make his way around the map at blazing speeds and scout for any enemy heroes that can be cornered into a kill. He has 600 HP and 267 mana to start with. 

Primary stats – Slark

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 on to enemies and put them on a leash for 2.5 seconds at level 1. Pounce will give your team plenty of time to nuke heroes with spells and attack them together. There’s a good chance of landing a First Blood kill when you get your Pounce right before the first 5 minutes elapses.  

A good strategy for Slark is to max out Dark Pact before upgrading any other skills. Dark Pact can deal 300 damage to enemies and purge you of most debuffs, such as stuns. Take at least one level of Essence Shift to rip the attributes off of your enemies and add them to yourself. Dark Pact and Pounce can help you deal damage and keep them from fleeing the battle during team fights. 

Best lanes to farm for Slark 

Slark can survive most battles and get out of situations that can lead to an untimely death. The top lane is preferred by many Dota 2 players who take their time to farm. Focus on getting last hits on creep waves till you can farm adequate gold for buying items. 

Tango, Healing Salves, and Enchanted Mango can be quite resourceful while farming in the top lane. Pouncing on Strength heroes with over 800 HP early in the game can be disastrous. If you’re being 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 kills during the early game. Make sure you have an ally who can disable their opponents and deal instant damage to them after being leased. Ancient Apparition and Sven can be exceptional teammates to Slark. Cold Feet and Storm Hammer will provide Slark the support he needs to go in for the kill.  

Bone-Crushing Items for Slark 

Purchasing items that add damage to his stats can strengthen Slark’s abilities to strike his enemies with death-defying physical attacks. You can choose items that can help increase the movement speed and attack speed of Slark to chase heroes fearlessly while looking for team fights. 

Phase Boots – 1500 gold

• Boots of Speed – 500 gold
• Chainmail – 550 gold
• Blades of Attack – 450 gold

Slark has an impressive movement speed of 300 at the beginning of the game. Phase Boots can increase his movement speed by 45, and provide a much-needed boost to his footsteps with its active ability. Slark receives 18 attack damage from Phase Boots, 6 more damage than ranged heroes receive from the item. 

You can use Phase quickly after Pouncing on enemies to move toward them at increasing speeds. Slark can also use Phase Boots to Pounce out of ambushes and step out of the way of incoming spells, such as Illuminate and Sacred Arrow.   

Echo Sabre – 2500 gold

• Oblivion Staff – 1500 gold
• Ogre Axe – 1000 gold

The attack speed of Slark is a key component that has to be amplified to unlock his true potential. Echo Sabre will provide Slark with bonus attack speed to fight his enemies and drain them of their stats using Essence Shift. 

Echo Strike, the passive ability of Echo Sabre lets melee heroes attack foes in quick succession. The double hit from its passive ability deals twice the damage and slows the movement speed of Slark’s opponents by 100% for 0.8 seconds. Echo Strike has a cooldown of 6 seconds before being able to hit enemy heroes with the debuff. 

Shadow Blade – 3000 gold

• Shadow Amulet – 1000 gold
• Blitz Knuckles – 1000 gold
• Broadsword – 1000 gold

Shadow Blade is an essential item for Slark. You can use Shadow Blade to move closer to enemies and surprise them. It has an active ability, Shadow Walk, that can be enabled at any time to gain invisibility for 14 seconds. Attacking enemies after using Shadow Walk will deal bonus damage to them. 

You can use Dark Pact as soon as you hit enemies with Shadow Walk to zap them of their health. The item gives Slark 35 attack speed to strike enemies with lethal hits. Shadow Blade also grants additional attack damage that can shred foes with each strike. You can upgrade Shadow Blade to Silver Edge and disable the passive abilities of enemy heroes for up to 4 seconds with Shadow Walk. 

Heroes that can counter Slark 

The recent changes made to Slark have reduced his base strength, making the melee hero susceptible to team fights before the first 15 minutes of the game. Dota 2 has rescaled several of Slark’s abilities to make him a dangerous hero early on. The increased attack damage added to Slark in 7.31D turn him into a formidable opponent for Dota 2 players.  

If your enemy chooses any of these heroes, you can take Slark to counter them with his amazing abilities. 

Bristleback

Bristleback is a core tank hero. The passive abilities of Bristleback can trample opponents and deplete their health over time. Slark can close in on Bristleback using Pounce and quickly gain attributes from physical attacks using Essence Shift. You can strike Bristleback face forward to avoid getting hit with his passive abilities. 

Attacking Bristleback from his rear can reduce incoming damage by 40%. Bristbleback will constantly release 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. 

Enchantress

Enchantress is a ranged hero who can use distance from enemies to her advantage. Her ability, Impetus, imbues each of her attacks with additional damage that is based on the distance away from Enchantress. Dota 2 players use Impetus to punish melee heroes with Pure damage before they have a chance to approach Enchantress. Impetus also deals double the damage to creeps and illusions. 

Many gamers use Enchant to slow the movement speed of their opponents. Enchant can slow the movement speed by 55% for 3.75 seconds at level 1. The ultimate ability of Enchantress slows the attack speed of heroes by 200 after being attacked. Slark can use Dark Pact to debuff Enchant and restrain her movements with Pounce. 

Getting a Silver Edge for Slark can disable her ultimate ability, making physical attacks effective against Enchantress. Slark can also use Shadow Dance to avoid being hit by enemies and Enchantress while dishing out damage in Dota 2.