Ladies and gentlemen TheAxe_effect presents to you the freak of nature created by IceFrog, the one the only:



Background Story:
In the deepest, blackest pits of the ocean a fearsome and terrifying creature lurks. Bending the shadows to his will, few have seen his true form and none have lived to speak of it. For the shadows are his sanctuary, a place of empowerment and revitalization. Bathed in this impenetrable darkness he strikes unseen, every attack making him swifter and more powerful whilst weakening his enemy. A unbreakable leash awaits all who try to escape, leaving them at mercy of this horrifying phantom. By sacrificing a fraction of his soul, his pact with darkness allows him break even the most powerful bonds and curses.Within the echoes of the Great War reaching every corner of the earth, this creature, known only as Slark, has emerged from the depths to search for an ancient relic...

Pro's
[+] Decent Movement speed (305)
[+] Insane Attack-speed thanks to Essence Shift
[+] Moderate Escape mechanisms
[+] Insane H.P regeneration after level 6
[+] Insane movement speed again after level 6

Con's
[+] Very, I repeat Very fragile.
[+] Item dependent
[+] Is a new hero so high chances of getting re-worked.
[+] A bit of mana issues
[+] Oh and did I mention HELL FRAGILE!!

Why the hell did I write this guide??

Well the answer to that question is something I can't really tell you. You wanna know why? The reason is cuz I don't know myself Anyways apart from my usual confused state of mind, I'd played this hero a couple of times on garena pubs and well did pretty good with him so I thought lets abuse him while he's still imba!

Skills

*Dark Pact[C]


This skill is kinda like centaur's double edge, except you only take half the damage at each level, but even with this its pointless as you're as weak as shit. It's alright if you're alone in a lane and you need to clear a creep wave fast,in this way you get most of the kills and by the time the next wave comes you're at full h.p thanks to your ultimate.

Extra Info about the skill:


*Pounce[E]


This is your escape/chasing/disabling spell. It has a nice little range of 700 at level 4 so is kinda nice to hop away from a gank. Its range also helps to catch escaping enemies, but be warned if you're an idiot and go jumping into opponent creeps then its kinda pointless. The skill makes sure the enemy doesn't go out of a range of 325 units for 3.5 seconds. All in all its really good if used at the right time.

Extra Info about the skill:


*Essence Shift[N] (Passive)


Yes and no this does look like Harbringer's Skill but it isn't anything like it. This skill increases your attack-speed by 4% each time you hit a hero. Not only that it saps away 2% of the hero's main attribute and 1 more attribute from the remaining two. This skill allows you to play like Anti-mage, meaning that even if you are at a lower h.p than the opponent you still have a good chance of coming out of the battle victorious, reason? its because you are reducing his h.p with every hit,reducing his mana pool and his attack-speed by 1% every hit and on top that increasing yours by 4%. This is an insane skill and might be reworked a little.

Extra info about the skill:


*Shadow Dance[D]


The skill has 2 forms. One when out of sight of enemy units(including hero's) You get insane amounts of h.p regeneration of the increased movement speed. Two when you activate it it gives you once again a movement speed buff, hp regeneration buff and the ability to attack,cast spells freely without breaking the invisibility. Drawback? when you go invisible you're surrounded by a black smoke that follows you everywhere. Solution? Simple, Leap.

Extra info about the skill:


Skill Build:

1------->Pounce
2------->Essence Shift
3------->Pounce
4-5 ------->Essence Shift
6------->Shadow Dance
7------->Essence Shift
8-9------->Pounce
10------->Dark Pact
11------->Shadow Dance
12-14------->Dark Pact
15------->Stats
16------->Shadow Dance
17-25------->Stats

Explanation:
Live with it. You can't take dark pact early, its absolutely pointless. Your h.p sucks, your mana pool is balls bottom line, the skill sucks unless you're a beefed with h.p. Essence is maxed first because it grants you that early game chance of taking on non-disablers and fragile heroes. Pounce is followed up as its your only chasing/disabling/escape mechanism and every level is vital as the range increases. Shadow Dance is taken whenever possible.

Item Build:

The first time I picked Slark, I wondered what to get. I ended up asking for mid solo with a Quelling blade and some regeneration items. I followed it up with a Radiance and then made myself comfy with some treads and decided for a battlefury for my mana regeneration and decided to couple it with a heart for h.p. nicely enough I managed to grab a beyond godlike spree and died only once early because a noob team-mate forgot to call miss.

Sadly though I was up against mostly noobs and I really don't recommend the above item build.

Starters:
and/or

Why you ask?
Simple, Quelling blade allows you to farm with a breeze. Tangoes are a no brainer. Salve if you think you need it else a couple of clarities. Just farm normally in lane. Either take mid solo if you think you can predict the opponent team's mid solo hero like if they have a line up of, Mirana,Troll,Mortred,Nevermore and Axe, you'd know in a flash that its either Nevermore or Mirana whose gonna take mid solo so think rationally and predict your opponent's move. If you think a hero like sniper or lina or demon witch is gonna mid get your sorry weak ass into a lane with an ally who can protect you.

Now after this ask yourself the following,

* Am I over-fed and have a bounty full of creep kills? if yes attempt Radiance. From personal experience this item rocks on him. Once you've pounced on someone just keep hitting him and watch immolation take its toll and also when you activate your ultimate to receive the movement speed buff its easy to just run with your enemy and let immolation finish him off.

* Had a mediocre farm? then try to make this in top or bot lane itself, thanks to now including Boots Of Speed in the goblin shop you can finish the whole treads recipe in lane.

Make sure you get the treads after your done with a radiance if you went for it. If not just go for your treads

After you've decided what your situation is like take the trouble of asking these to yourself,


* Are you surviving with very little hp? then make its damn helpful and also is not a orb. It'll give you a nice life steal and help you live with more h.p after a fight.

* Are you feeling weak? don't worry you are but if you want decent defense for early game try getting this yes the old fashioned vanguard. Very helpful on anti-mage,axe and also on slark. Its bound to help you early to mid.

* Too many spell casters? never fear just farm this little thingy and keep yourself warm and cozy

Once you've prepared yourself with that lets move on to the Orb Effect we get this little guy.

Question Time!!


* Enemies getting away? never fails. and adds feedback to your attacks thereby further irritating your opponents.

* Feeling nasty and cruel? The skull indicates how evil this can get. Get it only if you're sure you can farm it up quickly. It'll give you a good slow and a good buff to your stats.

* Feeling noobish? This will ensure that you lose the game you wanna get a frog who has shit hp something that makes him even more fragile? Go die is my answer.

* Feeling pushy and impatient? Not the best item on the block but its alright. Nothing great here, better if you skipped it.


Now we come to another important little quiz,

* Are you surviving all battles but lacking in offensive pushing? Battlefury ensures you get enough mana regeneration and a cleave this is a good item on him no doubt, worth getting.

* Are you being bullied too much? Heart makes a good answer to this question.

* Are you being made to look like a retard by them disabling you? The B.K.B ensures you don't have to deal with those troubles again.

* Are you feeling unkillable? A little cocky perhaps? then Divine Rapier is definitely not the item for you, you'll just end up dying and giving your opponents insane damage and result in them winning the game and you getting a screen full of abuses.

Okay ladies and gentlemen lets move on to the next part of the guide.


Early game levels 1-5 will be a little hard for you if you are up against some lack in life asshole whose only aim in life is harass you. Try to survive, if you feel you can't a handle a solo take a ranged lane partner or omniknight to protect you. Last hit deny, the usual and if you have a stunner as your ally just go for a kill. Let them stun the opponent you both whack the crap out him once he recovers leap on to him, be careful though, don't end up getting latched on to a creep or missing him completely. Continue this and either get your relic or treads. Don't bother coming for every single gank as you can't help all the time.


Okay, now that you have your ultimate you can push a lane quietly and if you get lowered by creeps just fall back to your tower wait for a second or two and you'll be back to full hp in no time. Continue farming and attempt easy kills on the opponent team's carries or fragile hero's who have no disables. If there are no such opponents just stick with your team and get kills. Jungling can be a good option if you made a vanguard. You'll be able to survive the camps without much trouble. Keep an eye on the map at all times, if you are in a lane which has been pushed quite well and see no enemy dots on the mini-map quickly back off and retire to the neutrals, soon enough you'll see enemy heroes pouring into that area and wondering what happened to their McDonald's Happy Meal.


Now go in search of your McDonald's Happy Meals look for anyone who is either alone or with a weak or stupid ally attack, you should have your Vladamir's Offering so it shouldn't take you too long to finish the first guy, once done with your burger attack the fries and gobble him up also! Finish the game if possible don't delay it. Assist your team and just push the Frozen Throne/World Tree/McDonald's Center down.

Replays:

What? you want everything already? Wait till I get some replays against some real people not noobs!!

Signing Off~~
Hope you all enjoyed this guide to this little frog. Enjoy playing him till he's good. All comments and criticism and gratefully accepted.

RNA|TheAxe_effect~