Hero Discussion of this Day: Slardar (10 December 2012)

Slardar, the Slithereen Guard

Slardar is a powerful close range stunner and physical damage fighter. He excels at chasing down fragile heroes and bashing them into the dirt. Slithereen Crush and Bash allow him to stun and damage a target, then follow up with additional bashes to keep them stunned and finish them off. To get into close enough range to make use of his stun skills, Slardar uses Sprint. Sprint gives him a massive movement speed bonus for a relatively long duration, but causes him to take extra damage from enemy attacks and spells. This downside makes good Sprint usage critical for Slardar: trying to catch a fleeing hero with Sprint can often turn into a trap, and due to the extra damage Slardar can get into a lot of trouble. To help keep an eye on his target and make sure they go down quickly, Slardar uses Amplify Damage. This ability gives him vision of a target unit and drastically reduces their armour, making them easy prey for his powerful attacks. If faced with this dangerous hero, it's best to keep him as far away as possible.

Lore

Slardar is a Slithereen, one of the Deep Ones, guardian of the great wealth of sunken cities and the ancient riches buried there. In the lightless gulf of the great ocean abysses, the Slithereen Guard carries his lure-light with him through the secret treasure rooms. Subaqueous thieves (sent into the deeps by covetous dryland sorcerers) are drawn in by its friendly glow, never to return. He is utterly loyal, and his taciturn nature hides deep knowledge of the most secret places of the sea. He rises to the shallows in spite of the pain caused him by brightness, to commit reconnaissance, to make sure no one is conspiring against the depths, and sometimes in relentless pursuit of the rare few who manage to steal off with an item from the Sunken Treasury. Because he has spent his whole life at great pressure, under tremendous weight of the sea, Slardar the Slithereen Guard is a creature of great power.

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Roles: Carry, Durable, Initiator, Disabler

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Strength: 21 + 2.8

Agility: 17 + 2.4

Intelligence: 15 + 1.5

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Damage: 51-59

Armour: 5.38

Movement Speed: 300

Attack Range: 128 (Melee)

Missile Speed: N/A

Base Attack Time: 1.7

Sight Range: 1800 (Day) / 800 (Night)

Turn Rate: 0.5

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Spells

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Sprint

Slardar moves significantly faster, but takes 15% bonus damage.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	50	40	N/A	N/A	20	Increases Slardar's movespeed by 20% but makes him take 15% increased damage
2	50	40	N/A	N/A	20	Increases Slardar's movespeed by 27% but makes him take 15% increased damage
3	50	40	N/A	N/A	20	Increases Slardar's movespeed by 33% but makes him take 15% increased damage
4	50	40	N/A	N/A	20	Increases Slardar's movespeed by 40% but makes him take 15% increased damage

• Activating this ability does not cancel channeling spells, meaning you can use Boots of Travel and then use this ability without canceling the teleportation

• Does not stack with Mask of Madness

• Amplified damage is the same type of damage dealt

As Slardar has made the transition from the Deeps, it has been necessary to use his powerful tail for sprinting instead of swimming.

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Slithereen Crush

Slams the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemy land units. After the stun, the affected units are slowed by 20% for 2 seconds.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	80	8	N/A	350	1	Deals 50 damage and stuns enemies in an area around Slardar
2	95	8	N/A	350	1.5	Deals 100 damage and stuns enemies in an area around Slardar
3	105	8	N/A	350	2	Deals 150 damage and stuns enemies in an area around Slardar
4	115	8	N/A	350	2.5	Deals 200 damage and stuns enemies in an area around Slardar

• Physical Damage

• The damage is not blocked by magic immunity

A swift crush of might and water breaks even the toughest of defenses.

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Bash

Passive

Grants a chance that an attack will do bonus damage and stun an enemy. The duration is doubled against creeps.

Level	Manacost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	-	-	-	-	1 (heroes), 2 (creeps)	Gives a 10% chance to deal 40 bonus damage and stun on an attack
2	-	-	-	-	1 (heroes), 2 (creeps)	Gives a 15% chance to deal 50 bonus damage and stun on an attack
3	-	-	-	-	1 (heroes), 2 (creeps)	Gives a 20% chance to deal 60 bonus damage and stun on an attack
4	-	-	-	-	1 (heroes), 2 (creeps)	Gives a 25% chance to deal 70 bonus damage and stun on an attack

• Magical damage

• Does not stack with Skull Basher or Abyssal Blade

• Stun goes through magic immunity

Thieves of the wealth of the Deep Ones meet the brutality of the Slithereen Guard in melee combat.

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Amplify Damage

Ultimate

Reduces enemy armor to amplify physical damage and provides True Sight of the targeted unit, revealing invisibility.

Level	Mana Cost	Cooldown	Casting Range	Area	Duration	Effects
1	25	10	700	N/A	25	Tracks the unit giving vision and true sight wherever the unit goes while reducing 8 armour
2	25	10	700	N/A	25	Tracks the unit giving vision and true sight wherever the unit goes while reducing 14 armour
3	25	10	700	N/A	25	Tracks the unit giving vision and true sight wherever the unit goes while reducing 20 armour

• Provides True Sight on enemy unit

• Goes through magic immunity such as Black King Bar. However, if a unit becomes magic immune while under the effects of Amplify Damage it will be dispelled

Slardar's lure-light reveals even the most hidden of opponents, as well as their vulnerabilities.

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Recent Changes from 6.76/6.76b/6.76c

• None

Recent Changes from 6.75/6.75b

• Amplify Damage armor reduction increased from 8/12/16 to 8/14/20

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Findings (not-factual information as above):

I find Slardar to be a solid hero if you want tanky hero with a reliable stun and able to do damage output with the right items. Remember to be careful when you have Sprint on, as it's like an MoM in the sense that it amplifies the damage you take, which could essentially kill you. In teamfights, or whenever, make sure you're tracking heroes with amplify damage it should also be mentioned that Slardar is a great counter to any invisible hero due to their squishy nature and his ultimate.

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Samology has a mini-writeup on Slardar from a previous discussion

A tl;dr by Wilco-

Does Slardar counter tanks... or do tanks counter Slardar? Peterohsx asked, this KindGoat has an informative answer

A good comment discussion here on Slardar vs other carries and their viabilities

Here are some informative guides on playing Slardar, when you should play him, skilling, items, enemies, laning, etc: "Spare the Pleasantries" and "I'll start with the swimming pools."

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If you guys want a specific hero to be discussed next, please feel free to post (or message as someone did for Meepo, Lina, Krobelus, Sylla and Puck).

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Important Puck tip of last thread by TheBurningSoda: If you have blink dagger and are using Phase Shift > Blink to get out of situations such as "if Pudge is rotting next to you, you'll have to blink the direction you were facing before phase shifting, or else you'll spend too much time turning around, and rot will stop you dagger." This goes for any constant source of damage, Edict, Pulse Nova, Ice Wall, Rocket Barrage, etc.