Slark/Guide

General

 * Slark is usually played in the safe lane, with a support. He can also be played in the offlane.
 * Slark is sometimes played in the mid lane, but may struggle against ranged heroes like.
 * Slark's base attributes are average at best, although with enough stolen Agility and damage items he can keep up with hard carries such as and.
 * Slark is potent ganker in the mid game, and should always be looking for opportunities to pick off an enemy. The enemy jungle is an excellent hunting ground for Slark.
 * Slark's unusually large night vision radius (1800) means he can see further than most heroes at night. Use this advantage when timing ganks.
 * Because Slark lacks a stun, enemies will often blink or teleport away when ganked.
 * Slark differs from most carries in that he takes more of a hit-and-run approach.
 * Due to the high health regeneration from Shadow Dance, Slark can often return to teamfights after moving out of enemy vision to regain health.
 * Slark's mana is fairly low in the early game, when his abilities should be used sparingly.
 * Slark should try to play aggressively once he reaches level six, so he can take full advantage of the agility transfer from Essence Shift.
 * Use Slark's high mobility and pick off supports before fights break out, allowing his team to start with an advantage.
 * More tips needed.


 * Activate Dark Pact before using Pounce or initiating on the enemy. This gives the effect of higher burst damage, and triggers the cooldown earlier.
 * Dark Pact purges debuffs and disables from Slark, including . This is especially useful for escaping.
 * Activate it just before you are about to be disabled by abilities like or . After the projectile hits, Dark Pact will automatically remove the disable.
 * The multiple hits from Dark Pact is useful against protection abilities with a limited number of charges, such as or.
 * Dark Pact is a great way to finish off an invisible unit that has been leashed, as the AoE damage affects invisible target.
 * More tips needed.


 * One point of Pounce is usually leveled first in case Slark needs to escape a bad situation.
 * When determining the direction to pounce in, make sure Slark has fully turned towards that direction before using Pounce.
 * Use Pounce over elevations and barriers to escape pursuers.
 * Use Pounce to disjoint projectiles.
 * Some disables can catch Slark mid-air, though no damage will be dealt.
 * Pounce will hit invisibile heroes. Use it immediately after an adjacent enemy goes invisible to ensure a hit. If a leash is established, follow up with Dark pact.
 * Heroes with blinking abilities will be able to break out of Pounce's leash.
 * More tips needed.


 * Maximize Essence Shift's duration by continually harassing and retreating. Go for the kill once you think you have enough damage and attack speed to take down enemy heroes.
 * Maximize Essence Shift's efficiency by taking objectives using his stolen attributes. After a large teamfight, it is not uncommon to find that Slark has stolen upwards of 50 agility, making quick work of untended towers or Roshan.
 * More tips needed.


 * In general, Shadow Dance should be activated when Slark is at low health, not at the beginning of fights.
 * During the laning phase, regain your health by simply retreating out of enemy vision once Slark is level six.
 * When being chased, try to get out of sight from the enemy, be it around trees, up high ground, or behind barriers. The passive from Shadow Dance will activate when out of enemy sight and give you a boost to move speed and HP regen for a short moment before sight is regained. This can be the difference between life and death.
 * Shadow Dance's passive can be used as an indirect way of detection. If you find that Slark has suddenly lose his movement speed and regeneration, it means the enemy has vision over you.
 * This indicates that there is a source of enemy vision nearby, such as an, a Hawk, or an invisible enemy.
 * Keep an eye on Shadow Dance's buff icon to know whether or not the enemy has vision nearby.
 * More tips needed.

Items
Starting items:
 * allows Slark to sustain more harassment from enemies and stay in lane longer. It can later be built into a from the side-shop.
 * help Slark regenerate his health without the need of returning to base.
 * can save Slark at the last moment.
 * es provide good stats and can be built into a.

Early-game
 * can be crucial in many situations, giving a burst of mana and health when needed.
 * allow Slark to catch up to enemies and immobilize them with Pounce.
 * gives Slark agility points, therefore increasing his last-hitting and denying in lane. It also saves Slark from harassment in lane.
 * is a cheap but powerful item to slow enemies and inflict damage overtime, giving an advantage to Slark's early ganks. It can later be built into a.

Core items
 * gives Slark attack speed and a boost to attributes that can be switched to survive teamfights or give him enough mana to use one of his abilities.
 * is an upgrade to . Giving him more stats and opens up item slots.
 * provides a good source of attack speed and additional invisibility to improve your ability to gank and escape. It also synergizes very well with the passive part of Shadow Dance giving him the hp-regeneration and movement speed buffs when he is not revealed by detection.
 * grants two stacks of Essence Shift right away, and its burst damage is very useful for ganking.
 * can allow Slark to arrive at teamfights faster, or help him escape in a pinch. Consider holding onto one for most of the game.

Situational items
 * provides Slark with attributes to improve his lackluster stat-growth while giving him extra movement speed and attack speed to help close the distance on foes. It can give him the early game advantage he needs to snowball.
 * works great in conjunction with Slark's skill set allowing him to easily chase and attack enemy heroes due to the passive maim. In addition to the slow, Sange and Yasha also provides additional move speed, attack speed, and a strength and agility boost to his attributes.
 * 's spell immunity offers protection from magic damage in team fights.It can make him almost invulnerable while under the effect of Shadow Dance.
 * offers bonus attack speed, armor, damage, and Agility, and its evasion gives him more survivability against right-click damage. It can be activated to provide a movement speed boost that makes chasing or escaping easier.
 * can be built for some stats and an aura that provides buffs such as lifesteal, mana regeneration and more to you and your teammates.
 * grants Slark both incredible survivability and killing power. Its wealth of attributes provide Slark with HP, mana, armor, damage, and attack speed - all superb boosts to Slark's lackluster base attributes. Not to mention, its Unique Attack Modifier which slows enemies on-hit greatly helps Slark to stick to his targets. The effect also stacks with any lifesteal UAM.
 * helps lock down enemies if they break free of Pounce's leash.
 * is a natural extension of and can improve Slark's ganking capability even further with its Break and damage reduction. Keep it in mind when facing heroes with strong passive abilities such as 's  and  or '.
 * is an extremely useful item on Slark that combines very well with Slark's high agility and attack speed, which can constantly proc bashes. It also provides him with extra attack damage and a strong active ability.
 * is sometimes picked up to help Slark gank, and regenerate mana for more frequent uses for Pounce and Dark Pact.
 * hugely increases Slark's attack speed, allowing him to steal large amounts of attributes in a short amount of time. As the game progresses, it can be consumed to free an item slot and provide a permanent attack speed bonus.