A red and white logo with the word 'Dota Coach' in a stylized font.
Dota Coach logoDota Coach logoDota Coach logoDota Coach logo

Slark

Popularity: #33

Leaderboard: #58

Ban Rank: #27

KDA Rank: #64

Slips in and out of skirmishes

Pouncing into danger then slipping back out is what Slark does best. He rushes at the chance to pin or corner a lone foe, steals their essence with each cut from his dagger, and is always ready to vanish should the tables turn.

Win Rate 49.9%
Pick Rate 10.6%
Attributes
Slark Image

560 +46.2/lvl

267 +22.8/lvl

Strength Image

20 +2.1/lvl

Agility Image

21 +1.5/lvl

Intelligence Image

16 +1.9/lvl

Stats
Attack

Damage:

58 - 64 + 1.5/level (115.5 - 121.5 at level 30)

Attack

Range:

150

Attack

Armor:

3.5 + 0.3/level (13.1 at level 30)

Attack

Movement:

300

Roles

Carry

Durable

Nuker

Pusher

Support

Escape

Disabler

Initiator

Facets

Leeching Leash

Win Rate: 50.1%

Pick Rate: 87.5%

Pounce applies stacks of Essence Shift when striking enemy heroes.


Pounce

Pounce applies stacks of Essence Shift when striking enemy heroes.

ESSENCE SHIFT STACKS: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Dark Reef Renegade

Win Rate: 48.7%

Pick Rate: 12.5%

Barracuda lingers after being revealed to the enemy if Slark is not nearby allied heroes.


Barracuda

Barracuda lingers after being revealed to the enemy if Slark is not nearby allied heroes.

LINGER SEARCH RADIUS: 900

LINGER DURATION: 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3

Abilities

Innate Ability Image
Barracuda

LEVELS WITH: Shadow Dance

BREAKABLE: Yes


When not visible to the enemy team, Slark gains bonus movement speed and health regeneration.


If Slark is damaged by a neutral unit, the passive movement and health regeneration bonuses are lost for 2 seconds.


HEALTH GAINED PER SECOND: 10 / 70 / 100 / 130


FACET: Dark Reef Renegade

Barracuda lingers after being revealed to the enemy if Slark is not nearby allied heroes.

LINGER SEARCH RADIUS: 900

LINGER DURATION: 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

LEVEL 15 TALENT: +50 Barracuda Regen


Q

Dark Pact

After a short delay, Slark sacrifices some of his life blood, purging most negative debuffs and dealing damage to enemy units around him and to himself. Slark only takes 30% of the damage. DISPEL TYPE: Strong Dispel


DELAY: 1.5

RADIUS: 325

DAMAGE: 75 / 150 / 225 / 300

Cooldown

9 / 8 / 7 / 6

Mana Cost

65


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch
  • +70 Dark Pact Damage

Slithereen are capable of quickly regrowing appendages, in case of critical injury, to save their own lives.
W

Pounce

Slark leaps forward, leashing the first hero he connects. That unit can only move a limited distance away from Slark's landing position.


DISTANCE: 700

LEASH DURATION: 2.5 / 2.75 / 3 / 3.25

LEASH RADIUS: 400

CHARGES: 2

BASE CHARGE RESTORE TIME: 12

DISTANCE: 900

Cooldown

24 / 20 / 16 / 12

Mana Cost

75


Aghanim ScepterAghanim Shard

Aghanim's Scepter

Provides charges and increases range.


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch
  • +0.5s Pounce Leash

Time in the Dark Reef made Slark a dangerous assassin; aggressive and fearless.

Essence Shift

Slark steals the life essence of enemy heroes with his attacks, draining each of their attributes and converting them to bonus Agility. If Slark kills an affected enemy hero, he permanently steals 1 Agility.


AGILITY GAINED: 3

ALL ATTRIBUTE LOSS: 1

DURATION: 20 / 40 / 60 / 80

STEAL RADIUS: 300


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branchTalent tree branch
  • +1 Agility gain/stolen per Essence Shift Stack
  • +40s Essence Shift Duration

With each strike at his adversaries, Slark's knowledge of their weaknesses improves.
R

Shadow Dance

When used, Slark hides himself in a cloud of shadows, becoming immune to detection. Attacking, casting spells, and using items will not reveal Slark.


DURATION: 4 / 4.25 / 4.5

Cooldown

50 / 40 / 30

Mana Cost

100


Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch
  • +1.25s Shadow Dance Duration

The hidden Thirteenth is a slippery foe.

Depth Shroud

Creates a cloud at the target location. All allies inside the radius are hidden and affected by Shadow Dance.


DURATION: 3

RADIUS: 250

Cooldown

75

Mana Cost

75

Cast Range

600


Talents

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+40s Essence Shift Duration

+ 1.4 %

+1.25s Shadow Dance Duration

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+90 Shadow Dance Attack Speed

+1 Agility gain/stolen per Essence Shift Stack

+ 2.7 %

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+50 Barracuda Regen

+ 1.5 %

+70 Dark Pact Damage

Talet tree backgroundTalent tree branchesTalent tree branch

+0.5s Pounce Leash

+ 3.5 %

-0.5s Dark Pact Cooldown

Win Rate

Pick Rate

Strategy

As you load into the game, start running to scout opponents placing wards as you have high night vision.

Hit an opponent whenever you can to create a damage difference of 4. It'll help you with last hiting.

If you are able to build up a few Essence Shift stacks, look to commit for a kill attempt with Pounce.

Play more aggressively during night time as you have increased vision.

Whenever you are in trouble, you can Pounce away or even Shadow Dance and teleport out.

Pick up a couple of sentries to deward when you sense with Shadow Dance you are being seen.

Whenever you have a decent amount of Essence Shift, play more aggressively and look for extra kills.

When not much is happening, push out the side lanes as Slark is quite elusive.

Slarks Aghanims Shard is very good for man fighting and saving allies, consider purchasing after your 3 main items.

When low on HP, look to get out of enemy vision to gain some HP regen from your Barracuda innate.

Counter Strategy

Slark tends to do well against melee offlane heroes due to Essence Shift stacks. Check if you can send at least one ranged hero against him

Place wards in unusual spots and more defensively as Slark is able to sense vision with his ultimate

Keep an eye on Slark's Dark Pact usage so that your spells and items don't get dispelled

Slark has increased night vision so he's likely to spot you before you spot him. Use Smoke of Deceit to gank him more effectively during night

Long fights are favoring Slark as he is able to acquire Essence Shift stacks. Keep an eye on it and avoid fighting him if his stacks are high

Instant or near instant disables and burst damage are good at dealing with Slark

Lore

Little known to the inhabitants of the dry world, Dark Reef is a sunken prison where the worst of the sea-bred are sent for crimes against their fellows. It is a razor barbed warren full of murderous slithereen, treacherous Deep Ones, sociopathic meranths. In this dim labyrinth, patrolled by eels and guarded by enormous anemones, only the vicious survive. Pitched into Dark Reef for crimes unknown, Slark spent half a lifetime without kin or kindness, trusting no one, surviving through a combination of stealth and ruthlessness, keeping his thoughts and his plans to himself. When the infamous Dark Reef Dozen plotted their ill-fated breakout, they kept their plans a perfect secret, murdering anyone who could have put the pieces together--but somehow Slark discovered their scheme and made a place for himself in it. Ten of the Dozen died in the escape attempt, and two were captured, hauled back to Dark Reef, then executed for the entertainment of their fellow inmates. But Slark, the unsung thirteenth, used the commotion as cover and slipped away, never to be caught. Now a furtive resident of the carnivorous mangrove scrub that grips the southern reach of Shadeshore, Slark remains the only successful escapee from Dark Reef.

Dota Coach logo
A red and white logo with the word 'Dota Coach' in a stylized font.
Dota 2 is a registered trademark of Valve Corporation.
© 2024 Rho Technologies LLC
Visit Dota Coach's gaming profile on Skelly.Get involved in the Dota Coach community and chat with us on Discord.Join the discussion on our subreddit /r/DotaCoachApp.Follow Dota Coach on X for updates, conversations, and more.Support Dota Coach on PatreonContribute to the translation of Dota Coach on Crowdin.Reach out to Dota Coach by e-mail.