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Wolffmother

08-31-2011, 03:10 PM

This guide is written as of version 2.1.7 and for Normal Mode, 5v5, Forest of Caldavar gameplay.
Slither‘Master of the DoT’
http://honwiki.net/w/images/6/6c/Slitherhero.gif

Table of Contents
Introduction

Stats
Pros and Cons

Skills

Overview
Skill Build

Items

Starting Items
Laning Items
Core Items
After Core/Luxury
Situational Items

Gameplay

Laning
Farming, Ganking & Pushing
Teamfights
Friends & Foes
Tips & Tricks

Replays
Miscellaneous
________________________

Introduction
________________________

The Serpent of the Seventh Pit, feeder on the sick and the weak, was summoned forth in the last days of the war between Man and Beast. A cunning conniver and whisperer of false promises, Slither delights in suffering and despair.

Slither is a very versatile hero that can play many different roles and fits into virtually any team set-up because of this. He can be a ganker, support, “tank”, initiator, pusher or semi-carry. In this guide I will outline each one of the possible roles for slither, however I will go into more detail about the ganking/”tank” slither build.
Stats

Strength: 18 (+1.85)

Agility: 22 (+2.6) Primary attribute
Intelligence: 15 (+1.75)

Damage: 46-48
Armor: 3.08
Dmg. Reduction: 16%
Magic Armor: 5.5
Magic Dmg. Reduction: 25%
Movement Speed: 290
Attack type: Ranged
Attack Range: 500
Attacks/Sec.: 0.72
Pros and Cons

+ Very dominant solo hero, even in 1v2 situations
+ Crazy amount of DoT damage
+ One of the best if not the best harasser in the game
+ Can be a fantastic pusher if built properly
+ Can play basically any role as needed
+ Very good for countering STR heroes that rely heavily on health regeneration (ex. Amun-Ra)
- No disables
- Not the greatest farming skills
- Squishy early on due to low strength
- Low mana pool early on
- Heavily magic damage based

____________________

Skills
____________________

Poison Spray

http://honwiki.net/w/images/3/30/Slitherskill1.gif

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/9076/skill1u.jpg

Slither sprays a torrent of toxins toward a target location, infecting any enemies that come in contact with the torrent. Infected enemies take some initial damage followed by damage over time and reduced Movement Speed.

Action > Target Position

Range: 600 / 725 / 850 / 1,000
Radius: 125
Cast Time: 1.0 Seconds
Mana Cost: 90 / 105 / 120 / 130
Cooldown: 22.0 Seconds
Required Level: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7

Activation
Deals 50 / 70 / 70 / 100 Magic Damage and applies Poison Spray to target for 15 seconds.
5 ticks of 10 / 20 / 40 / 50 Magic Damage
Reduces Movement Speed by 50% initially, recovering to full speed over 6 seconds.

One of your many Damage over Time (DoT) spells. This ability has a fairly long cast range but it is not very wide, so when casting this you have to sometimes predict the direction the enemy will go in to ensure that you hit them. This ability has a very good slow and is ideal for ganking, once you have the slow on them it enables you to get many more auto attacks in and apply toxicity to them. You want to avoid using this for harassing as it will deplete your already small mana pool. Try to only use it when you actually want to go for a kill. Also at lower levels it has a very short range, so it takes some practice and some risk to get the hang of hitting heroes as you have to get fairly close to them to do it early on. Another ideal time to use this is when is if you are being chased, a lot of times heroes tend to be in a line directly behind you when chasing so you can turn and use this to take advantage of the slow and get away. In team fights try to use this ability and hit as many enemy heroes as possible as it ticks them down and due to its lethal damage can help with the final blows.

Toxicity
http://honwiki.net/w/images/6/6d/Slitherskill2.gif

Slither adds poison damage to his attacks. His attacks then deal damage over time and negate regeneration.

Action > Passive
Required Level: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7
Toxicity Effects: 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 Magic Damage per second, Negates Regeneration by 80%

Your bread and butter skill that makes you one of the best laners in the entire game, due to your massive harass potential. Once you hit level 3 and have 2 levels of Toxicity no hero can exchange auto-attacks with you without having to back down. The DoT damage can deplete an enemies health pool very quickly in the laning phase. This ability makes you the best harasser, when up against melee heroes especially you can get one or two auto attacks in when they try to kill or deny a creep and this can be devastating harassment. When in the lane (solo or dual) be sure to harass a lot with your auto attacks to constantly apply toxicity. In team fights you want to try and attack everyone to apply toxicity to make sure that you are negating every enemy heroes regen, once you use your other skills constantly applying your toxicity makes you a powerful and dangerous presence for the enemy to deal with.

Toxin Ward
http://honwiki.net/w/images/f/f2/Slitherskill3.gif

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/2026/skill3edited.jpg

Slither summons a ward at target location that will attack nearby enemies, deal minor damage and slowing their movement speed. The ward is immune to magic.

Action > Target Position
Type: Physical
Cast Range: 850
Vision: 300
Cast Time: 1.0 seconds
Mana Cost: 20
Required Level: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7

Activation: Uses a charge to spawn a Toxin Ward at target position. One charge is gained every 5 seconds with a maximum of 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 charges. Toxin Wards have 60 / 110 / 160 / 210 Health, 40 second lifetime, deal {9-11, 17-21, 26-32, 34-42} damage, and apply a -25 Movement Speed slow for 5 seconds.

Due to the vision nerf a while back this skill is not AS powerful as it used to be however it is still a very versatile skill and can help with pushing, defending and chasing. When this ability is maxed it is a very good pushing tool, when you get to a creep wave throwing 2 of these down can significantly help in killing the wave quickly, and at the tower constantly laying them down when they are off cooldown can significantly help in destroying a tower. When defending, if you know a push is coming in a lane, start laying down wards at the tower you are defending, and constantly keep putting them down near the tower, this can be very helpful for when a team tries to push, kills creeps and slows heroes while doing damage to them. For chasing, due to their fairly nice cast range you can toss one ahead of you and if it gets one attack on the fleeing enemy (which it usually does) it can help greatly in you catching up to finish the kill. They are not as good for sight anymore but can still be helpful if you put them in small path areas (e.g. the entrances to the river by kongor’s pit) they can still help warn you of incoming enemies. (keep in mind that they can block neutral camps so be careful when using them to not block camps that your team will farm, the other side of the coin is you can block a camp in lane if the enemy is jungling, but involves you leaving the lane to do so, something to keep in mind though)

Poison Burst
http://honwiki.net/w/images/7/76/Slitherskill4.gif

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/4157/skill4f.jpg

Slither expels poison in all directions. Enemies hit by the ring of poison become infected, taking damage over time. The infection is non-lethal, and as such, it will not drain a target's Health below 1 Health.

Action > Self Position
Type > Enemy Units

Type: Magic
Cast Time: 1.0 Seconds
Mana Cost: 200 / 300 / 400
Cooldown: 140.0 / 120.0 / 100.0 Seconds
Required Level: 6 / 11 / 16

Activation
Applies Acidic Poison to targets in a 950 radius for 12 seconds. Grants 800 day and night clearvision around Slither for 3 seconds.
This ability can be boosted by Staff of the Master.
Staff Effect: Increases damage per second from {36,58,81} to {58,81,108}. Reduces cooldown of level 3 Poison Burst to 60 seconds.
Acidic Poison Effects
36 / 58 / 81 Non-lethal Magic Damage per second

Your major team fight skill, this can help turn team fights around very quickly. You spray off in all directions with a fairly large radius, generally you use this right at the beginning of a big team fight and it is not difficult to get it to hit most if not all of the enemy heroes. It deals a large about of DoT damage (972 total magic damage @ max level without staff over 12 seconds) to each hero it hits. It is an extremely good skill because as the fight is going on any hero that has your ult on them is constantly dropping in health and makes it a lot easier to kill them. The damage is non-lethal (will only drop them to 1 health) which is why combining this with poison spray can kill heroes very quickly. It can be countered by shrunken head, but it does not purge it, it only negates the damage for the duration of the magic immunity, so it can still be useful against heroes with shrunken heads. In team fights you want to try and be near the middle to ensure you hit all enemy heroes.

Skill Build

1. Toxicity/Poison Spray
2. Poison Spray/Toxicity
3. Toxicity
4. Poison Spray
5. Poison Spray
6. Toxicity/Poison Burst
7. Poison Spray
8. Toxicity
9. Poison Burst/Toxicity
10. Wards
11. Wards
12. Wards
13. Poison Burst
14. Wards
15. Stats
16. Poison Burst
17-25. Stats

Rationale:

This build is more of the ganking style build, being able to do large amounts of damage with low mana costs. For this build I don’t like taking the wards until later on when you have a better mana pool to support it and when your team is going for pushes more.

You have a few options here, you can either level toxicity first or poison spray first. I generally will level toxicity first unless my lane or team wants to go for a level 1 bloodlust kill, in which case the slow and damage of poison spray is much more useful, otherwise I prefer toxicity to start harassing hard right away. However it's up to you which one you take first as getting to level 2 doesn't take very long to get the other ability. Basically, toxicity for early harass, or poison spray for kills or a bit more of a heavy harass but for mana cost. If you do take poison spray at level 1 and use it early be sure to try and only hit heroes and avoid hitting enemy creeps if you can as this will push your lane early which you generally do not want to do. It’s situational whether to take your ult at level 6 or 9, I usually take it at level 9 because early on with your low mana pool a 200 mana cost is a huge chunk of it. Only take your ult at level 6 if your team requires more team fight presence otherwise leave it until level 9.

Some ideal quick bloodlust/early kill lane combos for you would be (i.e. kill lanes):

http://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/d/da/Swiftbladehero.gif/64px-Swiftbladehero.gif
Swiftblade: your poison spray slow will allow him to spin on the enemy without them getting away, very easy kills

http://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/5/58/Night_Houndhero.gif/64px-Night_Houndhero.gif
Nighthound: your poison spray and/or toxicity plus his pounce and/or smoke bomb will give a lot of slow and make for some easy kills

http://www.hondb.com/img/heroes/pollywogpriest/icons/hero_64.pnghttp://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/d/d4/Electricianhero.gif/64px-Electricianhero.gif
Pollywog/electrician: their tongue-tie/static grip allows you to get an easy poison spray off then beat into them with toxicity, again easy kills

Alternate Skill Build: (pusher/1v1 lane/semi-support)

1. Toxicity
2. Poison Spray
3. Wards
4. Wards
5. Wards
6. Poison Burst
7. Wards
8. Toxicity
9. Toxicity
10. Toxicity
11. Poison Burst
12. Poison Spray
13. Poison Spray
14. Poison Spray
15. Stats
16. Poison Burst
17-25. Stats

Rationale:

This is a super push build and involves focusing on maxing the Toxin Wards first. This enables you to put out 2 at a time and they have lots of health at max level and since you rushed them people have a much harder time killing them without taking a lot of damage themselves.

This is also a good build for a solo side lane (preferably 1v1) where you can spam the wards just outside the enemy tower range and the enemy hero will not be able to kill them because he will take lots of damage from them when trying to kill just one. It will also kill the enemy creeps fast and enable you to push down the tower very early on in the game.

I usually don’t play this style as it can be risky if it is a 1v2 because they can kill the wards faster and it starts to become free money for them. If you are comfortable in your ability to control the lane with this build then I recommend it as you can get quick and early tower kills with this strategy. (see [MSi]Trixi replays with this build)
**note: this can also be used as the semi-support slither build (I will not talk about the support slither much more in this guide but will provide a replay with [MSi]Fly playing the semi-support style)

Wolffmother

08-31-2011, 03:20 PM

____________________

Items
____________________
Starting Items

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/7555/itemrunesoftheblight.jpg+ ( http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/2644/itemhealthpotion.jpg orhttp://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/e/e5/Mana_Potionitem.gif/60px-Mana_Potionitem.gifx2) + http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg221/scaled.php?server=221&filename=itemguardianringg.jpg&res=gal+ (http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg717/scaled.php?server=717&filename=itemminortotemk.jpg&res=galx3 OR http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg717/scaled.php?server=717&filename=itemminortotemk.jpg&res=gal+http://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/e/e5/Mana_Potionitem.gif/60px-Mana_Potionitem.gifx2)

This is the build I always start with, get the mana pots only if you plan on spamming your poison spray, generally I don’t spam it early so I prefer the health pot. Also you should be able to finish your Ring of the Teacher pretty early which helps with your mana regen, so less need for mana pots. Get the mana pots over health pot if you think you can survive with only runes regen, otherwise keep the health pot and replace 1 or 2 of the minor totems with mana pots.

Guardian Ring will build into your Ring of the Teacher which is an excellent laning item to have as you can turn it to only heroes early on to help with mana regen and when pushing later in the laning phase use it on all ally units to buff your creeps to push easier.

Runes of Blight – 90 gold
Health Pot – 100 gold
Guardian Ring – 175 gold
Minor Totem x3 – 53 gold x 3 = 159 gold

Total = 524 gold

Minor Totem
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg717/scaled.php?server=717&filename=itemminortotemk.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+1 Strength
+1 Intelligence
+1 Agility
Value 53

Runes of the Blight

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/7555/itemrunesoftheblight.jpg
Activation
Consumes target tree, healing self for 115 HP over 16 seconds
Value 90

Health Potion

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/2644/itemhealthpotion.jpg
Activation
Heals target for 400 HP over 10 seconds, Dispels on damage
Value 100

Mana Potion
http://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/e/e5/Mana_Potionitem.gif/60px-Mana_Potionitem.gif
When activated, grants +5 Mana Regeneration to self for 20 seconds, dispels on damage
Value 50

Guardian Ring
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg221/scaled.php?server=221&filename=itemguardianringg.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+2 Armor
Value 175

Laning

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg51/scaled.php?server=51&filename=itemscarab.jpg&res=gal + http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg221/scaled.php?server=221&filename=itemguardianringg.jpg&res=gal = http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100803025409/newerth/images/thumb/f/fc/Item_Ring_of_the_Teacher.jpg/64px-Item_Ring_of_the_Teacher.jpg

Scarab from side shop to combine with your guardian ring to make your Ring of the Teacher (RotT)

**NOTE: be sure to switch your RotT to “only heroes” right away as you most likely do not want to be pushing your lane this early, you will switch in later on in the laning phase**

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg819/scaled.php?server=819&filename=itemmarchers.jpg&res=gal + http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg651/scaled.php?server=651&filename=itemlifetube.jpg&res=gal

Marchers are a given make sure you get them right after your scarab. Alternatively if your lane is being very aggressive you can get Marchers before your scarab to help with chasing enemies that are slowed by you, otherwise finish RotT first)

Next get your Lifetube to build into your Helm of the Black Legion (Hotbl), will also increase your staying power in the lane as this helps your health regen greatly (decreasing the need to return to base)

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg88/scaled.php?server=88&filename=itempowersupply.jpg&res=gal
Power Supply is always an option never really a bad choice feel free to pick it up as necessary

Scarab
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg51/scaled.php?server=51&filename=itemscarab.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+50% Mana Regeneration
Cost 325

Ring of the Teacher
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100803025409/newerth/images/thumb/f/fc/Item_Ring_of_the_Teacher.jpg/64px-Item_Ring_of_the_Teacher.jpg
Passive Bonuses
+6 Damage
+3 Armor (Aura affecting Allies)
+0.65 Mana Regeneration (Aura affecting Allies)
Applies an aura to nearby allies. The mana regeneration aura and Armor aura do not stack with Abyssal Skull or Nome's Wisdom.
Cooldown: 1 second
Requires
Guardian Ring – 175
Scarab – 325
Total Cost 500

Marchers
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg819/scaled.php?server=819&filename=itemmarchers.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+50 Movement Speed
This item contains a passive Movement Speed bonus which does not stack with itself or with Striders, Steam Boots, Ghost Marchers, Plated Greaves or Post Haste.
Cost 500

Lifetube
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg651/scaled.php?server=651&filename=itemlifetube.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+5 Health Regeneration
Cost 875

Power Supply
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg88/scaled.php?server=88&filename=itempowersupply.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+3 Strength
+3 Agility
+3 Intelligence
Activation
Restores 10 Health and 15 Mana per charge.
Aura
Radius 1200
Aura Effects
1 charge every time an enemy hero on the radius casts a spell. Maximum of 15 charges.
Requires
Minor Totem 53
Minor Totem 53
Mana Battery 200
Recipe 240
Total Cost 546

Core

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg28/scaled.php?server=28&filename=itemhelmoftheblacklegio.jpg&res=gal + ( http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/437/itemghostmarchers.jpg / http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg13/scaled.php?server=13&filename=itemsteamboots.jpg&res=gal) + http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg685/scaled.php?server=685&filename=itemnomeswisdom.jpg&res=gal

I would say you should always get Helm of the Black Legion (Hotbl) on slither, helps a lot with survivability which allows you to do even more damage in team fights by constantly applying toxicity. It also has a really nice build up as getting your life tube at the side shop helps you stay in the lane and avoid returning to the well.

Nomes Wisdom is an amazing item to get on slither and you should get it right after you finish your boots, RotT will build into it and by the time you get it you will have toxic wards maxed out or close to it, which means you will be spamming wards for pushing and defending, nomes wisdom gives you a heal on spell casts or a damage shield. Since you will be constantly spamming wards you will constantly be getting a heal or have a damage shield! Perfect item for slither to have.

Which Boots to Get?

This is a game time decision, if you are playing more of a full ganking slither and you have a more early game team go with ghost marchers as they help you with chasing slowed enemies and getting better positioning, while adding some damage. If you are going for a full tanky build or semi carry build then you will want to go with steam boots as the mutable stats will help with those play styles.
Either of them are good choices regardless. I feel these are the best two options; all other boots are situational pickups:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg641/scaled.php?server=641&filename=itemstriders.jpg&res=gal
I don’t like striders on slither in most situations, however if you are playing a full support slither you will most likely only have the gold for these, try to avoid them otherwise.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg810/scaled.php?server=810&filename=itemplatedgreaves.jpg&res=gal
You can go with plated greaves if you are using a full push strategy with slither, generally I would only recommend these with a pushing team, and in those cases another push hero would do better with them (i.e. a hero with minions) but slither can pick them up for increased push if needed

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg94/scaled.php?server=94&filename=itemposthaste.jpg&res=gal
Post Haste can be picked up on slither, however in almost all situations there are better things to spend all that gold on, you can get them to help with ganking but I generally do not recommend them.

Optional: If they have a high magic damage team:

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100802042837/newerth/images/thumb/1/1d/Item_Mystic_Vestments.jpg/64px-Item_Mystic_Vestments.jpg http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg189/scaled.php?server=189&filename=itemmagicarmor2.jpg&res=gal

Mystic Vestments into Shaman’s Headdress for increased magic armor

**If they have some magic damage but not a lot get only mystic vestments and don’t bother building a whole shaman’s headdress

Helm of the Black Legion
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg28/scaled.php?server=28&filename=itemhelmoftheblacklegio.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+300 Max Health
+6 Health Regeneration
Blocks damage when attacked, but blocks less damage if wielded by a ranged hero.
*can now be pierced by shieldbreaker
Requires
Lifetube – 875
Iron Buckler – 250
Beast Heart – 1100
Total Cost 2225

Ghost Marchers

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/437/itemghostmarchers.jpg
Passive Bonuses
+24 Damage
+70 Movement Speed
When activated, applies Phased to self for 6 seconds.This item contains a passive Movement Speed bonus which does not stack with itself or with Marchers, Striders, Steam Boots, Plated Greaves or Post Haste.
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Requires
Marchers – 500
Punch Dagger x2 – 500 gold x2 = 1000
Total Cost 1500

Steamboots
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg13/scaled.php?server=13&filename=itemsteamboots.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+25 Attack Speed
+10 Strength/Agility/Intelligence
Requires
Marchers 500
Gloves of Swift 500
Bolstering Armband/Fleetfeet/Apprentice's Robe 450
Total Cost 1450

Nomes Wisdom
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg685/scaled.php?server=685&filename=itemnomeswisdom.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+4 Strength
+4 Agility
+14 Intelligence
+6 Damage
+50% Mana Regeneration
+3 Armor (Aura affecting Allies)
+1 Mana Regeneration (Aura affecting Allies)
Applies an aura to all nearby allies. The mana regeneration aura and Armor aura do not stack with Abyssal Skull or Ring of the Teacher.
Cooldown: 1 second
Requires
Ring of the Teacher – 500
Major Totem – 540
Neophytes Book – 1000
Recipe – 200 gold
Total Cost 2240

Striders
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg641/scaled.php?server=641&filename=itemstriders.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+50 Movement Speed
Worn by the greatest runners in the history of Man, these Striders allow the wearer to inrease their speed significantly as long as they focus on running. Any other action will break the focus.This item contains a passive Movement Speed bonus which does not stack with itself or with Marchers, Steam Boots, Plated Greaves, Ghost Marchers or Post Haste.
Cooldown: 6 seconds
Requires
Marchers – 500
Recipe– 300
Total Cost 800

Plated Greaves
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg810/scaled.php?server=810&filename=itemplatedgreaves.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+3 Strength
+3 Agility
+3 Intelligence
+70 Movement Speed
+5 Armor
Target > Allied Creeps
Range > 600
Cooldown > 30 seconds
Mana Cost > 25
When activated, grants bonus damage and deflection to nearby ally creeps. Shares cooldown with Shield of the Five.This item contains a passive Movement Speed bonus which does not stack with itself or with Marchers, Striders, Steam Boots, Ghost Marchers or Post Haste.

Post Haste
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg94/scaled.php?server=94&filename=itemposthaste.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
105 Movement Speed
Activation
Mana Cost 75
Cooldown 60
Target ally non-hero unit/structure. After 3 seconds of channeling, teleports to the target, and applies 200 movement speed buff for 5 seconds.
Shares cooldown with Homecoming Stone
Requires
Marchers 500
Recipe 2200
Total Cost 2700

Mystic Vestaments
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100802042837/newerth/images/thumb/1/1d/Item_Mystic_Vestments.jpg/64px-Item_Mystic_Vestments.jpg
Passive Bonus
+5 Magic Armor
This item contains a passive Magic Armor bonus which does not stack with other Magic Armor items.
Cost 450

Shaman’s Headdress
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg189/scaled.php?server=189&filename=itemmagicarmor2.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+10 Magic Armor
+8 Health Regeneration
This item contains a passive Magic Armor bonus which does not stack with other Magic Armor items.
Requires
Mystic Vestments – 450
Helm of the Victim – 950
Trinket of Restoration x2 – 350 gold x2 = 700
Total Cost 2100

After Core/Luxury

The build I normally finish off with in most situations is:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=itemshrunkenhead.jpg&res=gal + http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemfrostwolfsskull.jpg&res=gal + (http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg217/scaled.php?server=217&filename=itemsheepstick.jpg&res=gal / http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2619/sbaneitem.jpg / http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg148/scaled.php?server=148&filename=itemnullfireblade.jpg&res=gal)

I find this build is more of an all-around build, you have your tankiness from Hotbl and your early mana helping item in Nome’s Wisdom then build shrunken head to increase staying power in team fights to constantly put out toxicity. Finally finish it off with Frostwolf's Skull for added slow, health, damage and mana. Then I pick one of the final three depending on the need in the specific game:

Sheepstick if I don’t need more damage having a cc item is always useful
Geometer’s Bane if I want to lean more towards semi carry
Nulfire usually only to counter certain heros (madman, jera, etc.)

**if the other team happens to have little to no cc abilities or high magic damage abilities (i.e. Plague Rider/Magmus ult) and in theory this shouldn’t happen if they picked well, but if it does you can skip shrunken head and pick another item suitable for the game you are in**

Other Item Build Options:
Full Carry Build (the competitive/”Trixi” build):
Shrunken, Geometer's Bane, Riftshards, Wingbow
**only recommended if you have no other carry

Full Tanky Build:
Shrunken, Demonic, Frostfield Plate, Behemoth Heart

Full Support/CC Build:
Barrier Idol, Sheepstick, Hellflower

Wolffmother

08-31-2011, 03:27 PM

Full Luxury Item Usage Scenario Descriptions:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=itemshrunkenhead.jpg&res=gal

Shrunken Head: Pick this up if the opposing team has a lot of stuns or magic damage, this allows you to stay alive in team fights, get good positioning on your abilities and continuously apply toxicity to every enemy.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemfrostwolfsskull.jpg&res=gal
Frostwolf's Skull: Pick this up for the killer slow, especially useful when dealing with melee carries on the enemy team, adds to your already great slowing potential and helps you slow even if they have magic immunity. Also adds to your mana and health pools which always helps!

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg217/scaled.php?server=217&filename=itemsheepstick.jpg&res=gal
Kuldra’s Sheepstick: Pick this up if you are in need of a CC item, gives you lots of mana and enables you to put in a ton of damage on a hero before they can put any on you, also good for dealing with carries on the opposing team.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2619/sbaneitem.jpg
Geometer’s Bane: I only advise picking this up if you are leaning towards being a semi-carry slither, it’s very good for pushing, disjointing and your toxicity propagates to illusions as well!

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg148/scaled.php?server=148&filename=itemnullfireblade.jpg&res=gal
Nullfire Blade: Generally a good item on slither, increases agility and has a mana burn, I usually only think about this item if there is a hero on the other team that I need a purge for (jera, madman, dark lady) but is always a useful item for the mana burn, if you don’t need the purge consider only buying it once and not upgrading it, if you need more charges then buy the unlimited upgrade, preference choice.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg705/scaled.php?server=705&filename=itemriftshards.jpg&res=gal
Riftshards: Definitely an item pickup if you are going carry slither, adds to your dps like crazy, and helps you keep up with other carries, only get this if you need to carry otherwise do not get it as it offers only dps benefits.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg683/scaled.php?server=683&filename=itemwingbow.jpg&res=gal
Wingbow: Again another item you only pick up if you are going carry slither, get this in combination with riftshards shoots your dps capability through the roof and you can dish out tons or damage in combo with your ult. Keep in mind though that if the other team’s carry has a savage mace it negates the evasion wingbow offers and you might be better off spending your money on a different item

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/6817/itemdaemonicbreastplate.jpg
Daemonic Breastplate: Adds to your tankiness and also helps out your team with the aura, the –armor aura for the other team also helps greatly in team fights. This item will also help you push as it affects towers as well. It has a nice build-up with sol’s bulwark being introduced so it’s a pretty good item to pick up, however make sure there isn’t another hero on your team more suitable for it (deadwood, pebbles, kraken) otherwise get it yourself.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg825/scaled.php?server=825&filename=itemfrostfieldplate.jpg&res=gal
Frostfield Plate: This will add to your AoE capability, run in ult, spray and frostfield offers a massive amount of slow and damage. This is a good counter to carries as well cause of the attack and movement speed slow, also offers a big int increase and armor, a possible item if you are thinking more of a tanky slither buildup.

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100803044449/newerth/images/thumb/8/85/Item_Behemoth%27s_Heart.jpg/64px-Item_Behemoth%27s_Heart.jpg
Behemoth’s Heart: Generally the only time I get this is in a really long game, if I have a lot of gold and have enough for a buyback I will split up my Hotbl and use the beast heart for a behemoth heart, offers ton’s of regen and health to make you really hard to kill.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg847/scaled.php?server=847&filename=itembarrieridol.jpg&res=gal
Barrier Idol: Very useful item if your team is up against a AoE magic damage team, get this if no one else on your team is when you are up against a hero like plague rider, moon queen or magmus to help your team withstand their high damage ults.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg828/scaled.php?server=828&filename=itemhellflower.jpg&res=gal
Hellflower: Get this if you have to deal with a blinking or invis hero on the enemy team like Wretched Hag, Magebane, Madman, Scout, Night Hound, Doctor Repulsor to name a few. The silence will help you kill them before they can get away and it also gives you a good amount of attack speed and a TON of mana regen, not to mention the enemy takes increased damage when you use it on them. Situational pickup for slither though.

Shrunken Head
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=itemshrunkenhead.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+10 Strength
+24 Damage
Activation
No Target
Cooldown 80 seconds
Applies Shrunken Head to self for 10 seconds and dispels debuffs from self.
After each time Shrunken Head is used, the duration of Shrunken Head is reduced by 1second and Shrunken Head's cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds. The duration of Shrunken Head will not go below 5 seconds, nor will the cooldown go below 55 seconds.
Shrunken Head cannot be removed or dispelled
Shrunken Head Effect
Magic Immunity
Requires
Mighty Blade 1000
Warhammer 1600
Recipe 1300
Total Cost 3900

Frostwolf's Skull
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemfrostwolfsskull.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+25 Strength
+25 Agility
+25 Intelligence
+200 Max Health
+150 Max Mana
+10 Damage
On Attack Impact
Applies Freeze to target for 3 seconds when attacking or casting a single target spell
Freeze Effects
30% Movement Slow
20% Attack Slow
Requires
Glowstone 1200
Icebrand 2200
Blessed Orb 2100
Recipe 700
Total Cost 6200

Sheepstick
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg217/scaled.php?server=217&filename=itemsheepstick.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+10 Strength
+10 Agility
+35 Intelligence
+200% Mana Regen
Activation
Target Enemy Unit
Type: Magic
Range: 800
Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 35 seconds
Applies Transfigured to target for 3.5 seconds
Transfigured EffectsSilenced
Perplexed
Disarmed
Movement Speed set to 100
Requires
Acolyte's Staff 2700
Manatube 875
Blessed Orb 2100
Total Cost 5675

Geometer’s Bane
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2619/sbaneitem.jpg
Passive Bonus
+10 Strength
+26 Agility
+10 Intelligence
+10% Movement Speed
+15 Attack Speed
Cooldown > 50 seconds
Mana Cost > 165
When activated, creates two images of self. This item can be disassembled.
Requires
Firebrand – 2200
Blessed Orb – 2100
Recipe – 800
Total Cost 5100

Nulfire Blade
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg148/scaled.php?server=148&filename=itemnullfireblade.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonus
+22/26 Agility
+6/10 Intelligence
Target > All Units
Range > 600
Cooldown > 12 seconds
On attack, burns {20,36} Mana from target. When activated dispels a target, removing buffs and applying Dispelled if it is an enemy or simply removing debuffs if it's an ally. This item can be upgraded once to grant infinite charges.
On use Dispel will destroy a targeted illusion or summoned creature. Cannot be used on Magic Immune units.This item contains an exclusive modifier of type Mana Combustion. Exclusive modifiers do not stack. You will automatically use your most powerful exclusive modifier of this type.
Requires
Quick Blade x2 – 1000 x2 = 2000
Apprentice’s Robe – 450
Recipe – 850
Recipe 2 – 850
Total Cost 3300 / 4150

Riftshards
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg705/scaled.php?server=705&filename=itemriftshards.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+45/55/65/75 Damage
+10/13/16/20% chance to deal 1.8/2/2.2/2.4x extra damage
Can be upgraded 3 times
Requires
Broadsword – 1200
Punchdagger – 500
Recipe – 950 x4 = 3800 total
Total Cost 5500

Wingbow
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg683/scaled.php?server=683&filename=itemwingbow.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+32 Damage
+30 Attack Speed
+30% Evasion
This item contains Evasion properties. Evasion properties do not stack. Instead, you will automatically use the Evasion from the item or ability that grants you the highest chance to evade.
Requires
Dancing Blade – 3000
Snake Bracelet – 1800
Steamstaff – 800
Total Cost 5600

Daemonic Breastplate
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/6817/itemdaemonicbreastplate.jpg
Passive Bonuses
+40 Attack Speed
+10 Armor
+15 Attack Speed (Aura affecting Allies)
+5 Armor (Aura affecting Allies)
-5 Armor (Aura affecting Enemies)
Applies a positive Armor aura to nearby allied units and structures and a negative Armor aura to nearby enemy units and structures.
Requires
Warpcleft – 2100
Sol’s Bulwork – 1800
Ringmail – 550
Recipe – 1100
Total Cost 5550

Frostfield Plate
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg825/scaled.php?server=825&filename=itemfrostfieldplate.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+30 Intelligence
+15 Armor
-25 Attack Speed (Aura affecting Enemies)
Target > Enemy Units
Range > 744
Cooldown > 30 seconds
Mana Cost > 100
When activated, damages and slows enemy units in a radius.
Applies an aura to all nearby enemy units with the following effect:
-25 Attack Speed
Requires
Acolyte’s Staff – 2700
Platemail – 1400
Recipe – 600
Total Cost 4700

Behemoth’s Heart
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100803044449/newerth/images/thumb/8/85/Item_Behemoth%27s_Heart.jpg/64px-Item_Behemoth%27s_Heart.jpg
Passive Bonuses
+35 Strength
+300 Max Health
Requires
Axe of the Malphai – 3200
Beast Heart – 1100
Recipe – 1200
Total Cost 5500

Barrior Idol
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg847/scaled.php?server=847&filename=itembarrieridol.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+2 Strength
+2 Agility
+2 Intelligence
+10 Magic Armor
+10 Health Regeneration
Target > Allied Units
Range > 600
Cooldown > 60 seconds
Mana Cost > 100
Gives the holder the ability to summon a Barrier around his allies, absorbing Magic Damage for a short time.
Barrier cannot affect a hero more than once every 50 seconds.
Requires
Shaman’s Headdress – 2050
Refreshing Ornament – 603
Recipe – 1000
Total Cost 3653

Hellflower
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg828/scaled.php?server=828&filename=itemhellflower.jpg&res=gal
Passive Bonuses
+20 Intelligence
+51 Damage
+30 Attack Speed
+225% Mana Regeneration
Activation
Target Enemy Unit
Type: Magic
Range: 900
Mana Cost: 100
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Applies Hellflower to target for 5 seconds.
Hellflower Effects
+20% Damage taken
Silenced
Perplexed
Leaves a visible trail behind afflicted target
Requires
Arcana 1575
Arcana 1575
Arcana 1575
Total Cost 4725

Situational Items

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100803044531/newerth/images/thumb/f/f3/Item_Assassin%27s_Shroud.jpg/64px-Item_Assassin%27s_Shroud.jpg

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg36/scaled.php?server=36&filename=itemportalkey.jpg&res=gal

Assassin’s Shroud/Portal Key
- Only get these if you are having trouble setting up your ult as they help you get perfect positioning for your ult, otherwise I don’t like these items on slither as there are many other better options

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4509/itemstaffofthemaster.jpg

Staff of the Master
- Some people like getting this item on slither, I don’t like this item because there are so many other items that are better on slither, but you can get this item, if you are going to get it, try to get it early before your enemies start getting more magic armor/magic immunity
- Another reason to get this is if your team is a pure team fight team, as this item makes you that much more deadly in a team fight because your ult ticks the enemy heroes down REALLY fast.

Assasin’s Shroud
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100803044531/newerth/images/thumb/f/f3/Item_Assassin%27s_Shroud.jpg/64px-Item_Assassin%27s_Shroud.jpg
Passive Bonuses
+40 Damage
+10 Attack Speed
Cooldown > 18 seconds
Mana Cost > 75
When activated, applies Stealth to self for 9 seconds.
Requires
Broadsword – 1200
Steamstaff – 800
Recipe – 1300
Total Cost 3300

Portal Key
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg36/scaled.php?server=36&filename=itemportalkey.jpg&res=gal

Activation
Target Position
Range 1200
Mana Cost 75
Cooldown 14 seconds
Teleports self to target position. Cooldown of 3 seconds is applied to Portal Key if damaged by a player controlled unit.
Value 2150

Staff of the Master

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4509/itemstaffofthemaster.jpg
Passive Bonuses
+10 Strength
+10 Agility
+10 Intelligence
+200 Max Health
+150 Max Mana
Boosts the Ultimate of many heroes.
Requires
Glowstone – 1200
2 of Mighty Blade/Neophyte’s Book/Quickblade – 1000 x2 = 2000
Recipe – 1100
Total Cost 4300

____________________
Gameplay
____________________

Note: this is the ganking/tanky playstyle that I use slither in, keep in mind there are other possibilities depending on the role you are playing

Laning

You are one of the best if not the best harasser in the game, and you should be sure to exploit that fact to win your lane all the time.

Slither can play mid, 2-1-2 side lane, solo long or short lane and can also play the tri-lane. Fnatic MSi is one of best for showing slither’s versatility.

2-1-2 (Side Lane Play)

Let’s start with 2-1-2 side lane play which is probably what you will be doing the majority of the time in low level play (i.e. pubs). You will have one point in toxicity to start most of the time and you should use that right away. Anytime the enemy heroes get close enough you should attack them, the DoT damage and regen block on your toxicity is especially deadly early on when heroes are very weak. Once you hit level 3 and have level 2 of toxicity, no hero can exchange auto attacks without backing down, be sure to constantly harass as you can get heroes down to low health very quickly with your auto attacks.

When playing against squishy heroes (flint, Arachna, basically most non-strength heroes) you can usually get some pretty easy kills on them. I usually don’t like going for kills too aggressively until I get level 2 of poison spray (so level 4). The basic plan is to hit them with your poison spray and due to the slow you can pound into them with toxicity auto attacks and almost always get a kill, a lot of times they might get back to tower range safety with really low health but if you played it right and got enough attacks in the poison spray will tick them down to death.

Ideally you can make your life easier by ensure you harass a lot (especially against melee heroes) and have them at low health before going in for the poison spray kill.

2-1-2 (Middle Lane Play)

When playing mid as slither you play similarly except you are only against one hero, be sure to harass them any chance you get (while still creep farming). If they try to get into a back and forth battle with you make them pay for it, your toxicity will out match them (especially when combined with poison spray). Go for kills when you can but for the most part harass and farm. You can be a very good ganker with rune control, make sure wards are up and you get the runes. If the situation arises try to gank the side lanes with haste (excellent chasing power), invis (can sneak up with a perfect poison spray), double damage adds to your already powerful DoT auto-attack. Keep in mind that those runes are also very good for you to kill the other mid hero.
When playing mid you can be a ganking machine, with your level advantage you can overpower underleveled side lane heroes with your poison damage.

Tri-lane (1v1 side lane play)

For a 1v1 side lane, follow basically the exact same as the mid play style but you most likely will leave the runes to your middle hero instead.

1v2 Side Lane Play

For a 1v2 side lane, try to get creep kills as you can and if nothing else get experience and once you start outleveling your enemies your toxicity auto-attacks will be able to harass them more then the 2 of them can harass you.

Overall in the laning phase you should be focused on creep farming early, then start ganking when you get some levels, if you are soloing a side lane you can farm for a bit longer before venturing out but if you are solo mid you should start ganking earlier.

Farming, Ganking & Pushing

“This goes for almost all the time when you solo middle - don't blindly gank side lanes because they are asking for it/need it. Nothing is worse than wasting a full minute to walk to a side lane so the enemies can just run away because of a ward or otherwise escape while your middle opponent freefarms. Ganks should come when they have a high chance of success (AKA, you just got a haste rune or it's really a countergank). If you happen to get an invis / haste, or the enemies are playing over-aggressive, capitalize on that; Get pickoff, or preferably, gank multiple heroes at the same time (with the help of allies) and then proceed to push the tower on that lane, or even better, push 2 or 3 lanes at the same time, if possible.” – quoted from Jezu’s Pyromancer guide

This is the key mantra to live by when you are playing mid with slither as well. Always bear these thoughts in mind when playing the solo mid role.

Teamfights

In team fights your main role is to get your abilities off really early and on as many heroes as possible, when a team fight begins you should position yourself to hit as many enemies as you can with your poison spray, ideally you want to hit the most high priority targets (carries with no magic immunity). Then use your ult and usually as most team fights go if you are somewhere in the middle (which once you have your Hotbl you should be able to be) you can ult and hit most if not all enemies with your ult. Getting your ult off is huge for your team because this means that the enemy heroes are dropping large amounts of health even if they are being ignored.

Finally after your two abilities are used you can throw down wards, and be sure to auto attack everyone as much as you can, constantly applying toxicity is huge because the regen blocking it does can cripple many heroes in a team fight.

This is why we are building slither with some tankiness first because the longer he can stay in team fights the more DoT damage he can dish out through toxicity and using poison spray multiple times. Getting your poison spray and ult on many if not all enemy heroes can turn a fight around even when you start losing, this is because all the while the fight was going on, the enemies were dropping tons of health to your DoT damage and before they know it your team comes flying back at their low health selves.

Note: If you have geometer's bane and have micro-ing skills (i.e. being able to control multiple units at once effectively) there is a special tactic to use in teamfights:
- Use your geometer's bane and so you have you and your two illusions
- Control one of your illusions and have it attack an enemy hero
- Control your second illusion and have it attack a different enemy hero
- Lastly use your hero and attack a third enemy hero
- Continue to repeat this and have your hero and your illusions attacking different enemy heroes as this will allow you to apply toxicity to all enemies more often and efficiently in team fights

Friends & Foes

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uZVd9BCU8i0/TiFtBi6H2oI/AAAAAAAAC-k/rYqV7lzHrVg/s400/magmus.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PvN8c20tAuQ/TAzzPea-v6I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/ry6FJigOi1k/s200/kraken.pnghttp://img33.imageshack.us/img33/4844/tempest.jpghttp://static.hondbs.com/img/heroes/flux/icon_64.png
You best allies are heroes with stuns, such as Behemoth, Hammerstorm, Magmus or any hero that can trap enemies in a group (tempest, kraken and to a lesser degree flux); they give you the ability to hit more enemies with your poison spray/ult if the enemies are all grouped up.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PvN8c20tAuQ/TAzwXZWfUtI/AAAAAAAAAqg/lvBqPW3Z92U/s200/Thunderbringer.png
Thunderbringer can also be your friend as your combined ults can do a serious amount of damage to the enemy team, your ult ticking them down combined with Thunderbringer's huge burst damage ult can equal a ton of damage done by the time the 12 seconds of your ult is over. This can cripple your enemies in team fights.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PvN8c20tAuQ/TAzxreSHxWI/AAAAAAAAAsA/D8Hcj53L70Q/s200/Hellbringer.png
An interesting matchup is against Hellbringer 1v1, he is one of the few that can go toe to toe with you as he has extremely powerful DoT damage as well, this is a harder matchup and one you would like to avoid if you can. Also keep in mind that a Hellbringer on your side can be a good friend due to the -magic armor that his Life Void ability offers (increasing your DoT magic damage)

Any sort of magic armor reducing spell is very helpful to you as it allows all your poison DoT damage to be increased, a few more examples would be Blacksmith's Flaming Hammer and Myrmidon's Wave Form.

http://hondota.ru/hon/heroes/accursed/accursed-64.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n7SFhGl5bbk/TiBWzOv1YcI/AAAAAAAAC8E/QhVrLAGUej4/s400/armadon.jpg
Your worst enemies are heroes who can withstand your large amounts of magic damage, strength heroes once they get tanky like accursed, armadon, etc. Accursed's shield is also your nemesis as it can dispel most of your debuf's and DoT damage (except your ult) just like a purge would do.

Healers are another enemy that is really bad for you, since the majority of your damage is dealt slowly over time, heroes with heals can mitigate a lot of your damage done and most heals tend to have low cooldowns which can seriously negate your damage dealing ability.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PvN8c20tAuQ/TAzyxqSj2LI/AAAAAAAAAtg/m61CS8aDqj4/s200/Predator.pnghttp://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/d/da/Swiftbladehero.gif/64px-Swiftbladehero.gifhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg11/scaled.php?server=11&filename=itemshrunkenhead.jpg&res=gal
Also heroes with magic immunity such as Predator, Swiftblade, heroes with Shrunken Head, while they don’t dispel your ult they do stop the damage for a while. Predator also counters you in that his carnivorous ability later on makes your DoT damage do virtually nothing to him as he is leeching more life than your DoT is taking.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PvN8c20tAuQ/TAzxLFlMSEI/AAAAAAAAArY/ppq6zFnDEXw/s200/The-Chipper1.png
Chipper is also your enemy as his maxed focus buffer can mitigate a lot of your magic damage as well.

http://honwiki.net/w/images/thumb/d/d4/Electricianhero.gif/64px-Electricianhero.gif
Electrician purge can also cause you some issues by mitigating your DoT damage as well.

Finally any team with lots of cc that can focus you down before you get any abilities off is brutal because a lot of damage is now missing from the fight with you being dead. This again is why we build slither tanky and with a shrunken head most times, because the longer you can stay alive in team fights the more damage you can do and the more chance you have of winning.

When to pick Slither?
- Enemies have a lot of melee heroes (your harass is brutal for them)
- Enemies have a melee mid / short range hero / squishy solo hero (again your harass and DoT damage is brutal)
- Enemies have squishy targets (your poison damage will tick them down really quickly with your poison spray/ult combo)
- If you need to fill any role that doesn’t require a stun

When not to pick Slither?
- When your team is lacking in stuns or cc abilities as slither has none without getting cc items
- If you need a carry, he can be a semi-carry but he generally should not be used as your only carry, he is good as a secondary semi-carry instead
- the enemy team has a lot of counters to your poison damage (ex. Electrician, Swiftblade, chipper, pred, accursed, any 2 or 3 of those heros you should avoid slither as his DoT damage capabilities are negated greatly)

Wolffmother

08-31-2011, 03:29 PM

Tips & Tricks

Always carry a TP stone, you can counter gank really well and catch fleeing enemies after a gank.

When playing slither you can play virtually any role, take a look at your team before hand and figure out which role you have to play in that game and plan accordingly.

If you are killing Kongor be sure to continuously spam your wards as the slow helps your team kill kongor and as the wards grow in numbers they can do a fair chunk of damage to him as well. (Do this especially after you have Nome’s Wisdom)

If you are using steam boots, be sure to exploit the mutable stats; if you need more mana? Intelligence. About to regen hp / mana? Agility. Usually leave them on strength as this helps you maintain your tankiness and team fight presence.

Practice using poison spray so you can get a feel for how far it goes and the range that it has, if you have a good knowledge of the range you can just barely get heroes with it that normally you wouldn’t bother trying to get.

You don't need to land your poison spray line close to you, even if you hit them right on the very tip or the very sides, it still has the same slow and damage. If played right sometimes you can just barely hit a hero on the tip and it will make the difference as you can now easily catch them and hopefully kill them.

When pushing towers, you can spam wards around the tower to help attack the tower down and clear incoming enemy creeps faster. (do this especially after you have Nome’s Wisdom)

When defending towers, you can spam wards prior to the push actually getting there so there is a huge build-up of toxin wards waiting at your tower for the enemy push. (do this especially after you have Nome’s Wisdom)

If you are being chased and you have your poison spray available try and use it behind you and hit as many enemy chasing heroes as you can, the slow will usually be enough to help you get away, if you do not have spray ready then throw down wards as you go to slow the chasing heroes, this can be the difference in you dying or not

Use wards to slow fleeing enemies, if an enemy is running away and trying to juke you, try to predict their movements and throw wards to them, this will slow them and help you/your teammates catch up to them and maintaining vision on them helps as well.

Once you get level 3 of wards and get 2 charges you can easily jungle stacked ancients with them by spamming them while auto attacking, they neutrals will attack the wards instead of you, and you can make quick work of them

When pushing lanes, each time you get to an enemy creep wave, spawn two wards to assist you with clearing the creep wave quickly

Try to avoid using poison spray to kill creeps, it’s generally not worth it unless it is a rather large group of creeps then you can use spray to clear them faster.

Never forget how powerful your slows and DoT damage can be, always apply toxicity, once you get level 3 wards use them constantly (especially with Nome’s Wisdom) as they can help with many different things.

____________________

Replays
____________________

Carry/Tanky Style Play: 55878163 - 55878163
Reason Gaming's Giftig playing solo side lane vs. bubbles, harasses bubbles really nicely and controls the farm in that lane, over the course of the game does a great job farming with slither and starts with the usual Hotbl and working towards a carry/tanky slither with shrunken, savage mace and frostwolf skull

My Replay: 59271589 - 59271589
I used the alternate skill build in maxing wards first to showcase the pushing style a bit as well, I was in a 1v2 lane and held my own pretty well, harrassed them a lot. I couldn't use the wards as much early on as I would have liked as with two of them they killed them easily, but a few times in the game I showed how to push and jungle with the wards and in the end I went for a carry style build after my Hotbl with shrunken and geometers bane, my DoT damage combined with perfect ults from tempest crippled their team when they were ahead and we eventually took over after some huge team fights, enjoy!

_________________________

Miscellaneous
_________________________

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u_fVhUxc3pQ/TbY5rsQvFOI/AAAAAAAAAac/Wcxigj0Jazs/s1600/MSIVY+SLITHER.jpg
**MSivy is the alternate avatar for slither and was designed by clan Fnatic MSi, it is a golden edition avatar and can be purchased for 600 gold coins or 3000 silver coins

To-Do List:

Change Log:

08/31/2011
- First Posting
09/01/2011
- Indented text
- Changed all item pictures so they are all no border
- Fixed range number in Toxic Ward picture
- Some adjustments to the friends/foes section
- Various small formatting changes
- Added a replays and various edits to replays section
09/02/2011
- various formatting fixes and edits
- added new info to the friends/foes section about accursed shield, magic armor reducing spells, thunderbringer/slither combo and healers affect on your damage ability
- added new info to toxic wards about blocking neutral camps
09/10/2011
- adjusted skill builds
- added some early kill lane-mate options
09/16/2011
- minor formatting and font changes
09/29/2011
- added a note in "Teamfights" for micro-ing illusions to apply toxicity more efficiently

Credits
Jezu – for letting me use his guide template, and for the large amount of help on the formatting and various fixes
man_guy for the creation of the skill pictures

Wolffmother

08-31-2011, 03:52 PM

reserved just in case :)

Anizer

08-31-2011, 04:23 PM

Frostbiite

08-31-2011, 04:44 PM

Very, very good guide. the only (small) suggestion i could make is to add some pictures to the friends and foes part. the last 2 pages were just solid walls of text, started to make my eyes hurt. Also, in the picture for the toxin ward you wrote 800 range but in the skill description is 850 range.

Ghidoran

08-31-2011, 05:01 PM

I like :)

Jezu

09-01-2011, 12:24 AM

This guide is very well written, and the pictures are clear and well edited.

Possible changes I could think now: Indenting your body text would make it look even prettier, and you might want to have all item pictures without the frames (or all of them with frames, which might be a bit more work)
http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=309149 is the link if you wish to change it.

I will take the time to fullfully read the whole guide, and point out any flawed things, or things that are missing later today.

Wolffmother

09-01-2011, 01:14 PM

Slither doesn't always need nomes wisdom. I prefer to get firebrand then geobane because it stacks toxidity and is much more useful in late game.

Never get striders on slither, they are useless. Always get steamboots because it gives you attack speed.

I didn't say he always needs Nomes, but for the main all around build I usually do it's a very ideal pickup to help with mana especially.

And yes Geometer's Bane is a really good pickup on him which is why it's also in my main build as a possible item pickup, very good late game for sure.

And yes ideally I would say never get striders on slither, but if you are playing support slither you may be forced to get striders, I will add a point there to say only get them if it's impossible to farm steam boots

Very, very good guide. the only (small) suggestion i could make is to add some pictures to the friends and foes part. the last 2 pages were just solid walls of text, started to make my eyes hurt. Also, in the picture for the toxin ward you wrote 800 range but in the skill description is 850 range.

Thanks! And yea I just noticed that reading through it again on the forum, will definitely add some pictures and possible try and cut down some of the paragraphs, and thanks for pointing out the mistake, will fix the number in the pic

I like :)

Thanks!

This guide is very well written, and the pictures are clear and well edited.

Possible changes I could think now: Indenting your body text would make it look even prettier, and you might want to have all item pictures without the frames (or all of them with frames, which might be a bit more work)
http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=309149 is the link if you wish to change it.

I will take the time to fullfully read the whole guide, and point out any flawed things, or things that are missing later today.

The problem I was having with the item pictures is some of the links on your list seem to be broken (for example: ring of the teacher and ghost marchers both the 64x64 ones) so I had to find some different ones and ended up with a mix, would like to get them consistent though for sure, good point. Will work on some indentation as well. Thanks!

Jezu

09-01-2011, 01:47 PM

The problem I was having with the item pictures is some of the links on your list seem to be broken (for example: ring of the teacher and ghost marchers both the 64x64 ones) so I had to find some different ones and ended up with a mix, would like to get them consistent though for sure, good point. Will work on some indentation as well. Thanks!
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg148/scaled.php?server=148&filename=itemghostmarchers.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg707/scaled.php?server=707&filename=itemdaemonicbreastplate.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg231/scaled.php?server=231&filename=itemstaffofthemaster.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemringoftheteacher.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg844/scaled.php?server=844&filename=itemhealthpotion.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg708/scaled.php?server=708&filename=itemrunesoftheblight.jpg&res=gal These ones aren't working? :(
I can use them no problem though O_o

Oh and also, you can't put links in your signature anymore.

Also, The feedback will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, was very busy today and might be tomorrow as well, not sure. Sorry for the delay.

Wolffmother

09-01-2011, 02:04 PM

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg148/scaled.php?server=148&filename=itemghostmarchers.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg707/scaled.php?server=707&filename=itemdaemonicbreastplate.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg231/scaled.php?server=231&filename=itemstaffofthemaster.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg837/scaled.php?server=837&filename=itemringoftheteacher.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg844/scaled.php?server=844&filename=itemhealthpotion.jpg&res=galhttp://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg708/scaled.php?server=708&filename=itemrunesoftheblight.jpg&res=gal These ones aren't working? :(
I can use them no problem though O_o

Oh and also, you can't put links in your signature anymore.

Also, The feedback will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, was very busy today and might be tomorrow as well, not sure. Sorry for the delay.

I seem to have gotten them to work now, weird haha

Ahh kk that's what I thought :(

And sounds good, thanks for the update/feedback! :)

Jezu

09-02-2011, 01:58 PM

I'm sure I missed some typos and forgot couple things the guide needs, because thats just what I am... You need Ekamo with his amazing eyes to see all small things in the guide ;)
Anyways:

Typos
pros&cons, last row - should start with Capitalization
Poison Burst, 3rd last row - Should be countered, not countering
Laning items - life tube --> Lifetube
Luxury Items:
Frostwolf Skull --> Frostwolf's Skull
Rift Shards --> Riftshards
Demonic Breastplate --> Daemonic Breastplate

Items / Skills
Spray - Mention that the range is very minimal in the first levels (although the skill description and the picture demonstrate it, you can't be too detailed)
Alternate skill build - I would max Spray over Toxicity because of the huge range increase in Spray, and Toxicity while is a good skill is IMO worse compared to Wards / Spray.
Starting Items - I think the option should be to replace 1 or 2 Minor Totems with Mana pots, as Slither does need the Hp pot + runes of blight to have enough regen on lane.

Friends & Foes
Might want to mention that Accursed's shield can dispel your debuffs (everything but ulti) just like a purge would.
Healers are also a big threat against Slither, because most of Slither's damage is dealt slowly, making heals easily mitigate the damage, as they usually tend to have low cooldowns.
Thunderbringer is also an interesting ally, because Slither's ulti and then Thunderbringer's ulti = Profit. Magic armor reducing spells, such as :blac:Flaming Hammer, :myrm:Wave Form or :hell:Life Void are also great.

Other Stuff
Might want to consider adding [ goto ] and [ anchor ] tags (here you can see how they work (http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/misc.php?do=bbcode#goto)) and if you need some help with them, feel free to ask.
All item descriptions should imo start from the next row after the picture, if you know what i mean (consistency is great)

More feedback may or may not be coming soon, depends if I find anything what's missing or misleading. Excellent guide you have right here, I admit :)

PS. Might want to add a note that Toxic Wards block neutral camps, so be careful when using them.

Wolffmother

09-02-2011, 02:47 PM

Wolffmother

09-05-2011, 07:30 PM

Made a bunch of updates, feedback and criticism is welcome!! Hoping to make this guide premium caliber! :)

Drasha

09-08-2011, 01:26 PM

Whats your logic for not having any builds with the first point in spray?

foxmindedguy

09-08-2011, 01:31 PM

Wow, pretty insightful. I think this guide should go premium, but will respect Drasha's verdict on this (because he is more experienced in this department than I ever will be).

Wolffmother

09-08-2011, 02:58 PM

Whats your logic for not having any builds with the first point in spray?

Ahh well generally I go toxicity first to start harassing right away, I used to go spray first with the 0:00 rune for rune first bloods, I would only go spray first now if my team or lane wanted to go for a quick bloodlust kill (I.e. A slither/swift combo) which I should actually add as a possibility

Otherwise I prefer the toxicity harass right from the start to start getting the enemy heroes to use their regen early and often

Wolffmother

09-08-2011, 03:01 PM

Wow, pretty insightful. I think this guide should go premium, but will respect Drasha's verdict on this (because he is more experienced in this department than I ever will be).

Appreciate the feedback and praise :)

Drasha

09-08-2011, 06:48 PM

Anizer

09-08-2011, 06:59 PM

Ahh well generally I go toxicity first to start harassing right away, I used to go spray first with the 0:00 rune for rune first bloods, I would only go spray first now if my team or lane wanted to go for a quick bloodlust kill (I.e. A slither/swift combo) which I should actually add as a possibility

Otherwise I prefer the toxicity harass right from the start to start getting the enemy heroes to use their regen early and often

You never know if that slow, when you are at level 1, may give your team a blood lust or not! That's why I build with slow first. Yes toxidity matters but choosing it over spray so you could harass more does not matter much cause it requires little exp. to level up to level 2 and more later on so I find spray first more useful. (=

:slit:

Wolffmother

09-10-2011, 07:17 PM

Add a kill lane skill build and what heroes i combos well with. (nighthound being a personal favorite)

Added what you asked for :) alternate build plus some kill lane teammate options!

buttloving4u

09-23-2011, 12:42 AM

One tip that I didn't think I see after a readthrough: his wards do take up space, so you can toss them in front of an enemy that's fleeing or chasing a teammate to force them to go around.

c0rrosive

09-25-2011, 03:26 PM

Wolffmother

09-25-2011, 03:35 PM

Couldn't you just build straight for Frostbrand -> FB and skip helm? Frostbrand offers 16 strength which is 320 health. I know it would be situational, since i just recently had a game vs a pollywog that made me SO GLAD I built helm. Still, can't help but feel it's a viable option. Thoughts?

You could do that, I guess I would only really recommend doing that if you get really good early farm. Generally I prefer Hotbl always, the build-up in the lane is very good and easy (getting lifetube and shield at the side shop) and the tankiness you get helps you with staying in team fights and farming the jungle, then you can build the next items.

wonzling

10-12-2011, 12:10 PM

I really enjoy a well written premium guide, especially as there seems to be a lack of them recently.

Excellent work, thanks dude!

man_guy

10-12-2011, 02:04 PM

Can you please credit me for using images I made http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=254813 zzz

The Poison Spray radius around Slither is now incorrect.

ActnBstrd

10-18-2011, 07:34 AM

Its nice to see a slither build that doesn't max wards first. That is one of the most wasteful ways to play this hero in my opinion, due to how much you will help your opponent if they are smart enough to get a power supply. One of the best characters to lane with slither that I have found is Demented Shaman, with his poison dot coupled with slithers, you can deal massive damage and enemys will not escape from you. Great for first bloods and early ganks, and the benifits that he has for added survivability really really helps out as well.

Wolffmother

10-18-2011, 09:43 AM

Can you please credit me for using images I made http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/showthread.php?t=254813 zzz

The Poison Spray radius around Slither is now incorrect.

My mistake, I did not know, thanks for bringing it to my attention, will definitely credit you for them!

dreta

10-20-2011, 09:44 AM

looks good, but do wards in HoN deal piercing damage like in DotA or it's normal damage, if so you might want to point that out

Watercat

10-26-2011, 05:58 PM

Savage mace is great Luxury item for slither, but great guide overall.
Maybe a ward in the starting item build instead of a totem.
Support slither can go 2-1-2-3-2-6-2. I your not planning on carrying or heavy pushin or in a really passive lane. Your probally going to be under leveled so ult would be a good choice for team fights.
AnD your guide would be more attractive with a pic of msivy at top

Pudds

10-27-2011, 11:51 AM

starting items for slither should always be 4 gg branches 2tangos ring of protection
never get ultimate at 6 unless you have mana ring or nymph on team
slither wards are the best for pathing blocks
stat+utility items are best for slither
so pushbook, cyclone, nullstone
helm of the black legion imo is bad for a pressure team
nomes / push is better
support slither is pretty weak imo so i don't suggest it

LiL_Lycosa

11-03-2011, 11:23 AM

Very nice and thorough guide nicely presented.

D_D

11-11-2011, 08:32 AM

Great guide, I've never picked slither before but I've been wanting to try him out for a long time and this is an awesome starter for me.

I also see Trixi jungle with slither sometimes, what is your opinion in a slither jungling? He can jungle from level 1 very well but much better from level 3. Do you have any guides or suggestions on how to jungle?

I also see trixi use the wards to block enemy paths - you can throw the ward in front of a fleeing enemy so they have to step around it. Also, this is very professional - I've seen trixi also use wards to block himself in the trees so melee heroes cant get in to attack him, but he can attack them with his range. Maybe those would be great additional tips for your guide ;)

man_guy

11-11-2011, 09:15 AM

I also see Trixi jungle with slither sometimes, what is your opinion in a slither jungling? He can jungle from level 1 very well but much better from level 3. Do you have any guides or suggestions on how to jungle?I go boots first to kite with Toxicity and max wards. Avoid easy camps until you have two levels in wards. Kite and stack a hard camp until I'm level 3. There are of course more effective ways to level 2 (which gives you Tox + wards to work with), but this way is guaranteed and doesn't require your teammates to do anything or be hindered outside having a jungler with no ganking skills until level 4.

You need to kite the creeps with the wards. Let the creeps go after you with the wards in the middle of the path. They won't deal damage to the wards and continually reaggro. Make sure to put the wards in a position that they will cover two creep paths. Rotate Toxicity through each of the creeps until dead. RotT keeps your mana up enough to spam wards without ever leaving the jungle, you just have to be conservative and not let the wards die to creeps.

HotTamale

05-10-2012, 12:45 AM

First off, props, this feels like one of the more accurate and better written guides, and I agree with most of the stuff written.

Secondly, I haven't really played on my international accounts in a loooooong time(far before pre-compression) since I moved to Thailand, so I'll admit I may not be going against the same level of competition any longer by playing with SEA players. It feels super easy to reach 1900 on the SEA garena, and my 4 free to play accounts I've brought to that level with 100% solo que make me think that the average person before 1900 is leagues below those in international HON. There is a decent level of competition once you finally reach the very top tier though.

For those curious, my mmr on intern was just above the 1900 mark pre-compression, and other than dicking around with scrubby friends, have pretty much exclusively played solo queue since late in beta when I got bored of pre-mades, high level in houses, and the occasional competitive tournament.

That said, slither mid is one of my favorite/most played with his overwhelming 1v1 power, so I'll share my 2cents.

If I'm going mid, especially vs a melee(lol have fun sitting at tower or fountain,) I almost never go for HOTBL. You should be dominating the lane so hard that you will have pretty high gpm to rush steamboots/phaseboots and firebrand quickly. Those items can change a bit game to game depending on how much burst my enemies have. If I'm afraid of being bursted down, I'll pick up an early glowstone that can be used to finish FWS(if they have a hero like pred) much later.

The lane survivability of a lifetube is also pointless in mid because, assuming the enemy sidelanes aren't perma-camping all runes, you ought to be able to get every single one. Even if you're in one of the few match-ups you can lose if you aggressively manup, poison spray is such a retardedly strong slow in a race to the rune. If they start to jump the rune early, all you have to do is follow them to the same side and force them to back off.

Obviously side lane situations are different and you won't always be able to get the farm you need to boost your stats/health/mana pools early. In mid I would never skip my ultimate at 6. If you are soloing mid you have no excuse to not get your ultimate immediately. If you can't get a good early farm soloing mid as slither in a 1 on 1 situation, you have no business even trying to do so. Mana should not be much of a problem if you are controlling your lane correctly and filling your bottle with runes. In addition I almost always quickly pick up a power supply, and if I feel I won't be needing the extra speed or will have to carry, choose steamboots over phase boots and swap to intel when casting my combo.

The impact of your ulti early game is insane. If for some reason I haven't completely dominated mid already, hitting level 6 almost always guarantees I can wipe out the enemy mid to set their farm/lvls back to where they should be. If I have been dominating mid like I should be, the ult lets me easily tp to a side lane for a double tap if my teammates aren't mindless zombies. Even if my team has already failed their side lane hard and someone is fed, the ulti does SOOOOO much damage to a hero early on that it should guarantee a team kill. If you are soloing mid as slither you should have plenty of farm to grab one of the items available in hon nowadays that give easy stat boosts like a grave locket, glowstone, or simply steamboots.

I also disagree with armadon/tanky melee being a bad match-up. In fact I commonly pick slither specifically to counter an armadon or ra. With armadon one of the big problems is the fact that he can stack those mitigation items and withstand loads of damage. Meanwhile those same items ie: hotbl,shamans, heart give him insane health regen making it seem like you can't even touch him. With slither not only do you majorly screw up his health regen with toxicity, but your super strong slow lets you and your team position yourselves in front of him to avoid smacking his back. Facing these heroes just means you can't rely solely on the dps of your skills, as obviously they won't be able to outright kill them as easily. You will need additional dps focused items yourself or, preferably, have a teammate who can fulfill that role while you get a perma slow item like FWS.

I don't think you mentioned him specifically, but other heroes like ra/salforis/pred are pretty obviously countered by anything that can kite, and Slither kites about as good as anyone, especially if you go the frostwolf skull route later on.

I must agree with accursed though, not becuase he's tanky, but becuase of his shields/heals. If I pick slither and see someone grab him or the other burst/aoe healers like midas, jera, ds, I want to just ragequit and punch the screen. Using slither against these heroes(if played properly) is even more annoying than a valk landing 5 seconds arrows only to be instantly ignored by the press of 1 button.

The only other thing is I don't ALWAYS get a nomes wisdom, especially when soloing mid with rune control. You can skip or just stop at a ring of the teacher if in the situation where you will have to carry, or if have picked up an early power supply, glowstone, or grave locket. If I'm mid, I will almost always have a power supply and bottle, so then the only time I will get ring of the teacher in that situation is if I'm afraid of physical dmg burst. I never skip it if I'm against a monkey king or deadwood, and usually not if the other team has something like pred or rampage. You also have to keep in mind that the armor aura from nomes/rott/abyssal don't stack with each other(correct me if I'm wrong,) so if you have a teammate who will be getting one of those items, there really are better options for slither.

ps. sorry for the wall of text

Daaaaaaaark

05-10-2012, 02:02 AM

not sure about this but i think its better to get a beastheard and a glowstone instead of the hotbl since hes ranged and because of his mana problems (the glowstone is very helpfull early and will also help u combined with vestements against spells) and later u can make staff of the master out of it