The Heroes in Dota 2 - An Introductory Guide for Slardar

Introduction

Dota 2  is a MOBA game that has over 120 heroes and items to choose from, making it one of the most complex game in existence. Even though it's been out for nearly ten years, it is still one of the most popular games in its genre that attracts people from all over the world. Apart from the popularity among casual players, this game is also the biggest esports when it comes down to cash prizes, with some tournaments surpassing $34,000,000.

With that said, we are going to continue our hero overview with yet another trendy pick for many players - Slardar. Let's check out what do we need to know about this "king of the deep."

Basic information about Slardar

This hero can potentially be one of the most influential "snowballers" in the game, a term that's often used for heroes that can quickly scale up. Although he is played mostly in the offlane, there are cases where Slardar can be played as a carry too. He is a melee strength hero that is known for having one of the strongest single-target ultimates in the game that reduces the armor of enemy heroes.

Despite being very strong in specific scenarios, there are many people out there that just don't like the way this hero works. As a result, Slardar is often very underrated and is not getting as picked as some other offlaners. With that said, let's take a look at his different abilities:

• Guardian Sprint is an ability that allows Slardar to receive a lot of bonus movement speed. As a result, this skill is amazing for either chasing your enemies or running away from them, whatever the case may be. Even though the bonus movement speed works anywhere on the map, if he uses this spell while he is in the river, there will be an even more significant movement speed increase.
  As if that's not enough, this ability is also upgradable with an Aghanim's Scepter, which gives longer duration, HP regen, and armor.
• Slithereen Crush is one of the most recognizable stuns in Dota 2. When used, Slardar slams the ground, which results in damage, slow, and stun to all nearby targets. As you probably guessed, this ability works wonders when it's combined with items such as Blink Dagger, for example. A well-timed Slithereen Crush can make all the difference in the world in a team fight, so use this skill wisely. It doesn't consume that much mana, so in most cases, you shouldn't worry about that.
• Bash of the Deep is a passive skill that was reworked many times throughout the years, but its latest incarnation is definitely the best one yet. This ability allows Slardar to automatically Bash and deal bonus damage on every four hits he does. Although this might not seem that strong at first, Bash of the Deep can bully any single carry from his lane, especially early on. It's super easy to get four hits because they don't have to be on the same target. In other words, you can simply hit the creeps and then use your forth hit on the enemy, which will result in a stun.
  If you play Slardar as a carry, it's a very wise idea to get as much attack speed as possible just to make the most out of this skill. After all, just imagine the damage you will do to your enemies.
• Corrosive Haze is Slardar's ultimate that many people might find useless at first. However, this ability can make all the difference in the world when it's used on the proper target. Once it reaches level 3, it removes a total of 20 armor from the target, which makes it very susceptible to physical damage. In other words, Slardar himself and his team-mates will be capable of easily bring anyone down with their melee attacks. In addition, this ability has a very low cooldown and doesn't cost that much mana, which makes it easily spammable.

Item choices and counters

Even though Slardar is played mostly as an offlaner or a carry, the items for both builds are relatively the same. Of course, it is also possible to see a support Slardar, but that rarely happens in pub games. However, it's possible to see it among the professional teams. With that said, here are a couple of items that are very important on this hero:

• Blink Dagger is a must for every single Slardar player. It makes this hero a lot more involved, which allows him to cast his stun better.
• Armlet of mordiggan is a very popular option among the carry Slardars because it gives attack speed and damage. It's possible to see it even on the offlaners, even though there are better items for them.
• Force Staff can be an excellent option when Slardar is either support or an offlaner. 
• Assault Cuirass is one of the best items for this hero because it gives everything he needs.

Unlike many other heroes, Slardar doesn't have that many counters in Dota 2. However, there are a couple of heroes that can easily make his life a living hell:

• Ursa is one of the best heroes against Slardar because she can get an Aghanim Scepter that will remove his stun.
• Zeus/Skywrath/Tinker is also among the most significant pains to deal with because they just do insane amounts of magical damage. However, if you manage actually to get close to those heroes, you can quickly kill them in just a matter of seconds.