Slardar is a powerful off laner who is a strong initiator and potential carry if you can get some farm. Corrosive Haze is one of the most powerful single-target spells in the game and even without much more than a Blink Dagger, can have a very big impact in a game.
Overall, his skill-set make him very fun to play and his item build is very flexible.
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[/column]Slardar Skill Build
- Slithereen Crush
- Guardian Sprint
- Slithereen Crush
- Guardian Sprint
- Slithereen Crush
- Corrosive Haze
- Slithereen Crush
- Guardian Sprint
- Guardian Sprint
- Talent
- Bash of the Deep
- Corrosive Haze
- Bash of the Deep
- Bash of the Deep
- Talent
- Bash of the Deep
- –
- Corrosive Haze
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Guardian Sprint costs no mana, increases your movement speed and grants you phase movement. At level 4, this spell gives you 700 movement speed and haste while walking in the river. It should be maxed out secondly as it provides you with significantly more movement speed to help position your Slithereen Crushes for ganks, and also to help you escape. It can be used to get the Bounty Rune as an off laner quickly, and to get to and from base faster. This spell coupled with Slithereen Crush makes Slardar a difficult to kill off laner. When this spell is maxed, you can very easily gank any other lane in the game, as you can move between them through the river very quickly. Keep your eyes on mid lane, as you can easily help to sway ganks. It costs no mana, which allows you to use the spell whenever you want.
Slardar slams the ground to stun and deal damage to nearby enemies. After the stun duration ends, affected units receive and attack and move slow. The spell deals physical Damage and as such can be amplified with Corrosive Haze. Therefore, it’s always better to cast your ultimate before you stun. This spell should be maxed first as it increases the damage and stun duration.
Crush can be used to farm, push creep waves and to contribute a solid stun in team-fights. However, Slardar has very low mana, so it should not be spammed when farming. Blink Dagger is needed in the early-to-mid game to effectively land stuns against enemy heroes.
This is a passive ability that makes Slardar’s regular attacks occasionally bash the enemy for extra damage and a stun. This is skilled last because Slardar can’t make much use out of it with his low attack speed in the early and mid-game. One value-point of this can be taken earlier, as the RNG may result in a kill but it’s usually better to max his other two spells first. This spells is also why a carry Slardar should build attack speed over raw damage in Dota 2 esports.
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Slardar’s ultimate places a massive armor debuff onto the targeted enemy and gives permanent vision and true-sight of the target. As said above, this spell amplifies the damage of Slithereen Crush. The spell only costs 25 mana and has a very low cooldown at all levels which means you can use somewhat spam it if you have a mana item.
You can also use it to increase your or a carries farm rate by using it on the big creep in a jungle camp or on ancients, as it pierces spell immunity. For this reason, it should also be used on magic immune carries. You should use this on carries in lane when you get it to keep track of where they are. It also usually forces the opponent carry out of the lane as they tend to feel somewhat unsafe as they can easily get ganked with it on. In team-fights and ganks you should prioritize the cast onto heroes that are hard to lock-down or that have invisibility. Corrosive Haze can be used to disable Linken’s Spheres on enemy heroes and to take an early Roshan.
The health regen can be helpful if you plan on farming the jungle much, or if you just want the extra sustain in team-fights and when farming the lane. The extra regen can be very helpful if you can get away with getting Power Treads. This is because you won’t miss out on the regen from Tranquils as much and can still benefit from tread switching to solve his mana issues and gaining attack speed and health. The health regen is usually not needed if you have Tranquils, but it can be good if you are taking a lot of damage in fights anyway. Usually you can get the attack damage when you get Tranquils, and deal more damage in team-fights and farm a bit faster.
The health is a safer option if you are having a harder game and need to tank up. If you are able to be in melee range of enemies and relatively safely attack enemies, then the extra bash damage can be very strong.. It will also increase your farm rate. However, most of the time, Slardar likes to move in and out of fights, stunning and re-positioning so he doesn’t get nuked down while in Sprint. The extra Health helps to mitigate some of the extra damage he will take from Sprint as well.
The extra night vision range is very strong if you are either a bit behind or very closely tied, as it will give you an edge in team-fights and help you scout the enemy team a bit more easily. This can also come in handy against enemies that are hard to lockdown or have high movement speed. It can also be very strong against heroes like Luna or Night Stalker who have very far night vision and like to fight at night. If you’re playing as a more of a core Slardar, or if you’re able to attack enemies a lot in team-fights without taking too much damage, then the extra attack speed will help you get more bashes off in team-fights, deal more damage to enemies and farm a bit faster.
Usually, Corrosive Haze being undispellable is a stronger than the extra bash chance. This is because enemies usually have a few basic dispels in the late game, either in the form of BKB, Eul’s scepters, or Manta Styles. This makes the spell a lot more potent and much more deadly. The extra bash chance increases the chance from 25% to 40% which is very significant in its own right, but the problem is often that it’s hard to right-click a hero long enough to take advantage of this. In addition to this, Slardar rarely has the farm to make the bash chance worth it more than the other option.
Slardar is usually played off lane, although he can farm the safe lane. You should always get a Stout Shield as Sprint tends to make you very vulnerable to damage and in particular, right clicks. Tangos, a Healing Salve and a Clarity give Slardar enough regeneration during the laning phase. A Clarity isn’t always necessary although Crush costs a lot of mana relative compared to his mana-pool. A Mango will give you some HP regen, can be used for burst mana for another Crush and can be built into a Magic Wand later. Iron Branches can be used for a Magic Wand in the early game or potentially to double your regen from a Tango. An Observer Ward is often necessary for the off lane, but usually a support can give you one.
Tranquil Boots are the boots of choice for an off lane Slardar as they provide him with the health regen and movement speed necessary to roam the map and get kills. They are favorable to Power Treads because an off lane Slardar does not need attack speed with his skill-build.
Power Treads should be bought if you’re playing Slardar as a farming core, preferably in the safe lane, mainly because the attack speed they provide help you get more bashes. The main attribute on Power Treads can be swapped to allow him to be able to cast a few more spells.
A Magic Wand can be purchased if you’re playing against a lineup that casts a lot of spells. The ability to burst replenish health and mana can help you to survive while using Guardian Sprint and can allow you to cast Slithereen Crush a couple more times in fights.
A Hand of Midas can be a good pickup if you’re playing a core position, or if you get a lot of farm in the off lane and can afford to delay your Blink Dagger. Generally, it’s better to get a fast Blink Dagger if you need to be able to fight or dominate early.
An Infused Raindrop can provide Slardar with some helpful mana regen in the early game and tank him up against nuker-casters. It’s a cheap item that it’s very effective on Slardar.
A Smoke of Deceit can be used to gank the enemy mid laner, preferably when you have Corrosive Haze, although there are often times when it’s not needed. For example, if you have a mid hero with lots of kill potential, or another roaming support.
This should be your first core item on Slardar. Blink allows you to land Slithereen Crushes much easier and to escape from tricky situations much more easily. A Slardar with a Blink Dagger is often enough initiation for an entire team, as you can blink in, get a stun on 2 or more heroes, and follow up with Corrosive Haze, while your team follows-up.
An Urn of Shadows can be picked up if you expect to get many kills in the early and mid game. It provides some fairly decent stats, and a helpful ability to heal yourself or allies. However, it’s often unnecessary as Tranquil boots can heal you up, and there are other items that can give you mana regeneration.
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A Force Staff is good on Slardar as it allows him to Blink in with Slithereen Crush and Force himself back out of a fight before he takes too much damage from Guardian Sprint. Overall, it makes him much harder to kill and increases his team-fight ability considerably. The intelligence also considerably helps with his mana-issues.
A Solar Crest is a great addition for Slardar, as it provides him with some evasion, mana regen and armor, all of which are helpful for an off lane Slardar. When cast on an enemy, can further decrease the target’s armor in addition to the minus-armor from Corrosive Haze. Overall, a solid pickup on the hero.
Vanguard can be effective on Slardar if you’re playing against a lineup with several physical damage dealers. Somewhat of a situational item, however. May allow you to have more of a presence on the front-lines of a fight. Can be upgraded into a Crimson Guard.
An Armlet can be a great pickup for a core Slardar. The item effectively allows you to be able to dish out much more damage when active ad gives you more HP. The increased armor and HP regen help while you farm as well. This should be picked up in the early to mid game, after either Blink Dagger or Hand of Midas.
Echo Sabre is a great item on Slardar, as it gives him another chance to bash an enemy after initiating onto them. The item also provides some very good all-around stats, including some very helpful mana and mana regeneration from the Oblivion Staff. Should be picked up on a core Slardar, or an off lane Slardar looking to move into more of a damage dealer role. The extra slow it provides can allow for even an easy third chance to get a bash.
A Eul’s can answer all of Slardar’s mana problems as well as providing a helpful defensive active. The range of Eul’s can also be used offensively to set up for a easier to land Slithereen Crush.
A drum can be a helpful addition as it provides good all-around stats and some helpful movement speed which can be effectively combined with Guardian Sprint. Should be bought after Blink Dagger if at all, as Blink is your absolute core item.
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A BKB is a great late game pick up, which can allow you to stand and attack enemy heroes much more easily and get more bashes off overall. This is very good against important carries which you need to be able to lockdown. Even for a Slardar who hasn’t played a core role in the game, the item can be good, as you can still get bashes off much easier and it makes you magic immune. It works well with Guardian Sprint as the magic damage you would have taken becomes negated. Great purchase against teams with lots of magic damage or stuns. BKB also slightly increases his damage.
AC is a great addition for a core Slardar, as it reduces enemy armor even further. It also increases your armor, and attack speed allowing you to get more bashes off and tanking you up overall. Many pro players build this item in DPC Dota.
Lotus Orb is a great item against lineups that have lots of single-target spells. You can cast this on yourself and run towards the enemy with Guardian Sprint without them being able to cast spells on you as they would harm or stun themselves. The purge active can also be helpful against several spells.
Linken’s Sphere can be good on Slardar as it can prevent the enemies from initiating onto you, or catching you easily. Works well with Guardian Sprint as you can move about even more unhindered.
HoT is the best late-game item to tank you up with raw HP, as it gives you an additional 1300 health, as well as some damage. This should be bought if you don’t have enough health in fights, or if you need to become your team’s front-lines.
Silver Edge can be a good pickup if you need the break active against heroes such as Phantom Assassin. The invisibility can allow you to initiate onto enemies until they buy detection as well.
Crimson Guard should be upgraded from Vanguard, and can be a good item against lineups which have lots of physical damage dealers. Note that the active does not prevent damage from wards, such as from Venomancer, Witch Doctor or Shadow Shaman.
Monkey King Bar is a very good item if you are playing a carry position. It adds extra damage to your hits, increases your attack speed and provides a lot of accuracy against evasion. You should buy this if you’re facing lots of evasion.
Mjollnir is a good core item as it provides you with attack speed to get more bashes and a strong active. Static Charge is good on Slardar as well as he can be the team’s front-lines and deal a lot of damage back to the enemy heroes.
Satanic can be a good late game carry item, if you need to be able to get your HP back when fighting an enemy carry. It provides Slardar with a lot of bonus damage, and in conjunction with Corrosive Haze has the potential to heal you a significant amount.
Eye of Skadi gives you a lot of stats for each attribute, which is very good for Slardar. It also applies a movement and attack speed slow which can allow Slardar to chase and bash an enemy much easier.
Sange and Yasha provide some good all-around fighting stats for a Slardar playing a core role. He gains a maim passive which makes it even easier to lockdown and bash enemies, increased attack and movement speed and some HP among other bonuses. S&Y can be bought either in place of, or in addition to Armlet.
Vlad’s can be a helpful mid game item if your team needs to win fights, or achieve some objectives to catch-up. It provides some stats, and a lifesteal aura which can allow you to farm the jungle, although overall it’s not that important a pick-up on Slardar. The damage bonus also works well Corrosive Haze.
Blade Mail can be a good pickup against heroes which can nuke you. It effectively tanks you up a bit as it somewhat prevents enemies from targeting you.
Desolator can be helpful against high-armor heroes if you need extra minus-armor or if you have lots of physical damage dealers on your team. However, it does not provide any attack speed to help get Bashes.
Pipe of Insight can help your team out against several magic damage dealers and tank you up through magic resistance. Can be a great pickup in the mid game.
A Spirit Vessel will give you lots of HP regen and is very strong against enemies with strong healing abilities. Given the amount of ganking that slardar can do in the early and mid game with Sprint around the river, you can often gain lots of charges. The HP and movement speed tank you up a bit more which helps to mitigate the damage from Sprint and the movement speed helps you to move in and out of fights and use Slithereen Crush.
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Corrosive Haze can be applied to the real enemy to keep track of which ones are illusions, although most illusion heroes buy Manta Style or Diffusal Blade which can be used to purge this. If you manage to keep track of the real one however, you can re-apply Corrosive Haze to signal to allies which one to attack.
Corrosive Haze is strong against invisible heroes, as it provides true sight and vision of the target for the duration of the debuff. This makes it almost impossible for invisible heroes to escape from a fight.
Slardar’s Corrosive Haze is even more effective if he has other heroes on his team that can reduce the opponents’ armor further, such as Dazzle, or Templar Assassin.
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