LogFAQs > #962409790

104 - Slark (melee Agility)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/5/9/AAAACbAAC5RL.jpg
Base Abilities: Dark Pact, Pounce, Essence Shift, Shadow Dance
Shard Ability: New ability "Depth Shroud," which puts a Shadow Dance cloud on the ground that allies can sit under to gain true invisibility and the effects of Shadow Dance's passives. This shroud also stacks with Slark's own Shadow Dance.
Scepter Ability: Upgrades Pounce to have two charges and launch Slark farther forward.

I've struggled to write something about this guy all day. He's one of my much-disliked playstyles (melee ganker,) and I like playing him, but I suck at him, and I absolutely hate going against him while acknowledging his myriad weaknesses, but oh man does he have some potent abilities.

That "Escape 3" above is not a joke, and should probably be moved up more. Unless a Slark is hard-countered by a Bloodseeker's Thirst, dodging into a treeline for half a second will turn him into Sonic and regenerate him an inch from death. Slark will be doing this a lot, as those base stats are in the garbage bin; he's expected to use Essence Shift to be a sort of hit-and-run opportunist, deleting a support and anticipating any incoming stuns to purge off with Dark Pact.

Dark Pact is a silly ability - while it hurts Slark as well, it provides a Strong Dispel during the duration, a few pulses of Slark-centered damage over time (so it shreds through instance-based defense buffs like Refraction shields on TA, but doesn't deal enough to reduce Infused Raindrops charges.) Good predictive use of this ability means that if a Slark ever dies with a BKB, it's entirely their own fault.

Pounce and Essence Shift with their lockdown and stat theft means Slark is played as an opportunist-carry, only picking fights with someone he knows he can take. He won't be farming anything on his own early due to his garbage stat bases, attack swing windup, and general harassability, but has survivability limited only by his manapool once Shadow Dance comes online and usually an extra 1k gold worth of agility and corresponding damage/attack speed/armor just by poking someone who got into melee range with him. Shadow Dance itself means even if Slark is hugely behind, he's going to still be useful as a ward-spotter, since the buff from it goes away when the enemy team has vision of him.

Unfortunately, he's often played as a core, which he *can* do if your team lacks sufficient lockdown or timing to use it on him, but there are much, much better options for both safelane and offlane Slarks, but I feel he's best as a 3, and perhaps this is why I suck so bad at him. I can't turn my brain off long enough to get a cheeky support kill while the entire enemy team is defending it and get away before the ult buff wears off... or I show that I picked Slark too early and suddenly I have to contend with a Zeus and a Bloodseeker and a Shadow Shaman all lusting for fishsticks.

Also, I'll yeet myself into orbit with Pounce too often, which earns reports. Because, you know, everyone does perfect play at average level. Stupid cockney-accented fish. If you're going to be a ganker-carry with lockdown, I'm going to echo an earlier write-up and *just pick Spiritbreaker.*

Next hero hint: a game-changing (for good or ill) ultimate does not make for an interesting hero otherwise, even if they are in my highest win-rate heroes and had a huge showing after the International this year.