Can someone help me learn to play Slither correctly?

[Aristobulus]

I've searched the forums, but there doesn't seem to be an "agreed upon" Slither guide, and I've mostly seen people saying that Slither should be a lane pusher, or he should be a jungler, or he should do this, or do that, and it's too confusing for a relatively new player like me to be able to figure out exactly how to play him.

What I've gathered, is that toxin wards suck, and that the poison line/poison burst combo is pretty good. So I've stopped levelling wards unless I've levelled everything else (including stats) and I try to rely on poison line/burst more.

But item wise? I'm not sure. I'm also not sure how to play him. I just know I often get a ton more deaths than I do kills as him, and I can't even creep that well since I can't get a runed axe for splash and such. I'm just confused. Someone please help me out here, I really want to learn Slither.

Edit - and it's not SOLELY my own skill at the game, because I do noticeably worse with him than with other heroes. I even figured out how to not suck as voodoo jester, which is (apparently?) difficult. But either way, my k:d ratio is just much worse with him than other heroes, and I want to change this.

[Nome]

Go with Trainingday's guide. I haven't seen all the guides, but his is more or less the accepted way to play competitively.

[Aristobulus]

That guide says to roam around the jungle ganking.

I don't get it though, when I'm Slither and I run into people they are more likely to kill me than me to kill them, because Slither is slow dot that doesn't even usually kill (Though it does often leave them at one hp) and the other people wandering to gank will be like madman and heroes that will have alot of front loaded damage to take me down quick.

And Slither doesn't have the stats to stand up to them in a fight, and the guide doesn't really explain how to survive with Slither, it just says "KILL OTHERS" which is pretty obvious anyway?

[Tyrando]

I don't get it though, when I'm Slither and I run into people they are more likely to kill me than me to kill them, because Slither is slow dot that doesn't even usually kill (Though it does often leave them at one hp)

Which Dot are you reffering to?

Some skills clearly state "Non Lethal" meaning it will never kill them.

[Nome]

That guide says to roam around the jungle ganking.

I don't get it though, when I'm Slither and I run into people they are more likely to kill me than me to kill them, because Slither is slow dot that doesn't even usually kill (Though it does often leave them at one hp) and the other people wandering to gank will be like madman and heroes that will have alot of front loaded damage to take me down quick.

And Slither doesn't have the stats to stand up to them in a fight, and the guide doesn't really explain how to survive with Slither, it just says "KILL OTHERS" which is pretty obvious anyway?

1v1 Slither is weak as hell. Once you hit LVL6, roam around the map. Gang up on heroes--usually, if they're far from tower, just go from behind and let loose with your sppels. Assuming you're playing casual games, go for Assasin's Shroud and some Marchers first; get Soulscream Rings or Fortified Bracelets if you're having trouble surviving.

[Aristobulus]

Which Dot are you reffering to?

Some skills clearly state "Non Lethal" meaning it will never kill them.

That's exactly my point, and why it confuses me that apparently Slither is supposed to wander around the jungle trying to kill others?

Slither won't often kill on his own, whereas heroes I'd encounter who also jungle would have front loaded damage that DOES kill and would kill Slither quick.

[Nome]

That's exactly my point, and why it confuses me that apparently Slither is supposed to wander around the jungle trying to kill others?

Slither won't often kill on his own, whereas heroes I'd encounter who also jungle would have front loaded damage that DOES kill and would kill Slither quick.

He doesn't mean wander within the jungle. He means travel through the jungle and gank the guys in lanes. Also, heroes that actually DO jungle tend to be mid-low HP when you find them.

[Aristobulus]

How do you get exp then? And again, how does that result in anything, since you come up on enemies, poison them, then they damage you down and kill you within 2 seconds and sure, you may have left them needing to run for regen, but you don't get exp for that. Or gold. And you still died.

Nobody is explaining how to get Slither *capable* of winning these ganks I am supposed to go on, which is where I get confused. I get told, wander around and gank people, so I try that, but after I use my abilities on them they very very handily damage me down. I just...don't understand

[Nome]

How do you get exp then? And again, how does that result in anything, since you come up on enemies, poison them, then they damage you down and kill you within 2 seconds and sure, you may have left them needing to run for regen, but you don't get exp for that. Or gold. And you still died.

Nobody is explaining how to get Slither *capable* of winning these ganks I am supposed to go on, which is where I get confused. I get told, wander around and gank people, so I try that, but after I use my abilities on them they very very handily damage me down. I just...don't understand

So, here's a short playthrough of a Slither game. Let's pretend you're playing Legion.

Starting item, buy a Bottle. Go bottom with a carry hero. Level up your skills according to Trainingday's guide. Stay in lane, applying pressure and denying, until you hit LVL6. Then go ganking. Check river for runes every 2 min and bottle. Invis, haste, and DD are great, but invis is the best. Sneak up behind heroes, blow all your skills, hit a few times, and run. Rinse and repeat until teamfights.

In teamfights, hang back. Let someone else initiate, then run in and spam your skills and try to survive.

The main thing about Slither is that you don't need to do much after you blow your spells--in fact, you're fairly useless. After each successful gank, hang out in lane and soap XP/money until you can get the next rune.

[Aristobulus]

The problem seems to be that after I've run in and blown all my skills, I get killed and the enemy runs back to regen with 1 health.

And hanging out in the jungle waiting for the perfect time to strike gets me no exp and I have even more trouble not constantly dying

[Tryptophan]

The problem seems to be that after I've run in and blown all my skills, I get killed and the enemy runs back to regen with 1 health.

And hanging out in the jungle waiting for the perfect time to strike gets me no exp and I have even more trouble not constantly dying

Lay wards. Watch the runes. Watch the Jungle. Stay closer to the lane but still in the jungle so you still get EXP.

[Damendar]

I think there's a slight terminology misunderstanding going on here.

When someone says Slither should gank, this doesn't mean go and tower dive into a 1v1 with an enemy hero.

What you're looking to do on him is to find a lane matchup, between 1-2 of your heros and 1-2 of theirs that, if you show up all of a sudden from the side or behind, out of the forest or w/e, you will turn into a stomp.

Example:

Lets say your Defiler is laning mid against their Thunderbringer. TB has dominated with the rune control, and the fight is approaching your tower. Both of the heroes are somewhat hurt, but not in any immediate danger from the other.

What you do is time it with your Defiler so that, about 2 seconds before you are in range of the TB, you have the Def fire his nuke at him. Let's say they both (TB + Def) were around maybe 2/3 life before this. The one nuke will hit TB, putting him around 50% life. He starts backing up a bit. Now, all of a sudden, you show up behind him (say on the ledge near his mid tower) and tag him with the DoT Spit skill you have. Now he's slowed and DoTted.

Defiler chases in, landing auto attacks. You start in with your auto attacks too. Now he's at 33% life, dropping fast, and has 2 DoTs on him. And he's probably only even with you at this point in terms of positioning relative to his safe area (tower), because you came in from behind him, and immediately slowed him.

See how that works? You're not going to 1v1 guys, or be able to pop out and gank the Electrician at max hp/mp usually. What you excel at, is changing the dynamics of the lane matchups to the point where what was safe and good farming 2 seconds ago is now a deathtrap that they don't even know exists yet.

Also, target selection. I alluded to that earlier with the Electrician comment. You see a lot of Slithers going for very tanky targets sometimes. That's bad. Go for the squishies, go for people who do not have good escape skills, go for the carries before they have farmed up.

Start playing him in this way, and follow Trainingday's guide, and you'll be golden.

[Crickets]

Get in, get out.

Say its a team fight. Pop your spray (hitting as many as you can), pop your ult (hitting entire team if possible). Kick in your enhanced marchers and jam back to the back side of your bros (or further if your getting nailed). At this points you're just looking to safely spew a little extra damage with your generic attack or to drop some toxic wards in the way of retreating enemies (or just spamming them for a little extra damage, just don't screw over a bro's retreat path).

Enhanced marchers are great for exiting the fray (provided you're not stunned) however a portal key can also be handy (for both positioning to ult, or getting out quick.) That said, I rarely grab portal key as its kinda pricey and takes a back seat to getting my mana regen where I need it.

Toxic wards by the way are *****in. Yeah, I still max all other skills first, but I don't take stats first. Toxin wards are great to position well while a lane pushes helping to ensure you don't get jumped. And once your mana regen is decent you can freely spam as many as you want without putting a dent in your mana pool. Torwards end game my mana pool refills before the cool down even finishes.

Edit: Oh yeah, sometimes I also spam the toxin wards around a tower when the opposing team is clearly going to push a certain one. Position them right/get enough up (provided you have the time) and they will provide a little shield against melee attacks. Not to mention the psychological effect of running into a wall of wards on the enemy, weak or not, I have seen teams back of just because (I think) of a toxic ward shielded tower.

[Golok1]

My idea is to get the item correctly....since slither is an agi hero try to get agi hero item.Which is to attack faster, absorb more hp and become invi..After getting ur first ulti and enhanced marches, try to get whispering helm as fast as u could..it helps a lot when u go farming in the forest or defending the lane...it life steal propertise will make u selldom go back to fountain. it also can be upgrade to symbol of rage which is better in later game. Next, try to get assasin shroud. Its for become invi. its a verstaile item...u can use it for pushin, or even ganking. If u r pushin, activate it when any opponent hero spotted coming. If ganking, u can sneak at the back of the opponent group or in the middle of them, then when both team engage, open ur ulti and run to ur group back....its a lot of pain in their ass..trust me. Thirdly, when u have quite a decent amount of money from farmin forest or pushing. Getting a wingbow that make u hav 30% evasion should make u become more targeted by opponent cause u r important in the game now. adding warpcleft which is +55 attack speed will make u solo all the creep trust me...it helps a lot.
(enhanced marches, whispering helm, assasin shroud, wingbow, warpcleft, symbol of rage)

[Dorana]

there is a great guide about it premuim forum.

Slther's poisons make great use in taking out enemy heroes. slither himself is not a strong DPS hero, and he's failry unarmored.
Slither is great for prefenting enemies from suriving a fight, in group fights slithers ulti along with a portalstone can be devistrating, port in, ulti, spray. the key can also be used to get your ass out again since slither does not to well in hand to hand combat.

But it ensures that the enemy will get a large disadvanage in their health.

[Bonburner]

Slither does a very good job at ganking all but the mid lanes. Mid lane ganks should be reserved for stunners because of the towers are so close ... although you can still get some kills once they push out far enough.

You also need to understand that you need to attack walk. Meaning do not auto attack but cancel part of you animation and either walk towards them when they run away or attack and walk away from them as they come at you.

[Wolfsong]

You should gank/roam at level 3 (not 6), teamwork with others, your level 2 poison is very strong at that time.

[Wolfsong]

I think there's a slight terminology misunderstanding going on here.

When someone says Slither should gank, this doesn't mean go and tower dive into a 1v1 with an enemy hero.

What you're looking to do on him is to find a lane matchup, between 1-2 of your heros and 1-2 of theirs that, if you show up all of a sudden from the side or behind, out of the forest or w/e, you will turn into a stomp.

Example:

Lets say your Defiler is laning mid against their Thunderbringer. TB has dominated with the rune control, and the fight is approaching your tower. Both of the heroes are somewhat hurt, but not in any immediate danger from the other.

What you do is time it with your Defiler so that, about 2 seconds before you are in range of the TB, you have the Def fire his nuke at him. Let's say they both (TB + Def) were around maybe 2/3 life before this. The one nuke will hit TB, putting him around 50% life. He starts backing up a bit. Now, all of a sudden, you show up behind him (say on the ledge near his mid tower) and tag him with the DoT Spit skill you have. Now he's slowed and DoTted.

Defiler chases in, landing auto attacks. You start in with your auto attacks too. Now he's at 33% life, dropping fast, and has 2 DoTs on him. And he's probably only even with you at this point in terms of positioning relative to his safe area (tower), because you came in from behind him, and immediately slowed him.

See how that works? You're not going to 1v1 guys, or be able to pop out and gank the Electrician at max hp/mp usually. What you excel at, is changing the dynamics of the lane matchups to the point where what was safe and good farming 2 seconds ago is now a deathtrap that they don't even know exists yet.

Also, target selection. I alluded to that earlier with the Electrician comment. You see a lot of Slithers going for very tanky targets sometimes. That's bad. Go for the squishies, go for people who do not have good escape skills, go for the carries before they have farmed up.

Start playing him in this way, and follow Trainingday's guide, and you'll be golden.

Follow this combined with Trainday's guide, if you can do everything said above and in the guide perfectly, you will be a godlike slither.

[Sordak]

so much confusing **** on this thread. wtf slither wont kill on his own? i bet youve never played slither. OK he is KSed all the time but he DOES kill on his own. Second Spell than ult than just hit him with basic attack and dead. duuuuh.
Hes hella easy to play. Just go with boots , whispering helm , assasins shroud (can be nice when poping up in team battles castin your ult) and symbol of rage / wingbow as you please. i would get bottle early so you can make a quick kill using second skill and ult. with that technique you are sometimes able to get a double kill. however it is not likeley in late game.
stay away from arachna she renders you useless because of carpace wich basicaly dispells all your skills.
dont take the wards. take them when you finished every other skills. However wards can be extremly usefull in terms of map awareness. just throw one into the jungle so you can see if any enemies want to gank you (in case your team is too dumb telling you miss)

[Glorify1]

Phase blink Aghanims
blow **** up

[Damage]

He's a ganker. He can be a semi-carry is your team tooks week late game, but he shines early/mid game. Also wards before stats, good for towers and defending/pushing.

Here's a few good items on him
Assassin's shroud
Wingbow
Nullfire Blades/Geometry Bane
Frostfield Plate

[loGi]

Protip: Gank means gang kill. Meaning you don't go 1v1, you team up with the teammate on lane to gang up on (gank) the opposing hero. 2v1 shouldn't be too hard.

[abgeschmatzt]

how do i have to play in the lategame? my ulti makes no dmg, my other skills are bs also ? some tips?

[RedPowerVan]

Protip: Gank means gang kill. Meaning you don't go 1v1, you team up with the teammate on lane to gang up on (gank) the opposing hero. 2v1 shouldn't be too hard.

Yep, that protip is true. However, Slither may also do 1v1 early engagement.

It is possible to 1v1 when you have you ult up. I this situation you have to pick a vulnerable person to do this to. Don't pick someone with a teleport\blinking skill. If you don't hit your spray, don't bother engaging or ulting. This is important. Your spray is what usually ends up killing people in the end because your ult will not out right kill anyone. If you don't have enough mana for your spray and your ult, don't 1v1 anyone.

You may still gank someone with a teammate with just enough mana for poison spray, or catch someone injured in the jungle. They'll find it hard to disengage from creeps they're fighting when you spray them and attack. Should cut their movement speed in half. Someone who has little chance of blinking away, or who has been feeding is usually a good target. Don't waste your spray on poor targets. Your mana is precious! Target slower heroes who have not bought boots or upgraded boots. If you do use your ult for small engagements, do so during the earlier parts of the game. Later on though you definitely want to save your ult for engagements with multiple enemies.

The guides that are up for slither are assuming you have the knowledge to pick the right target for your skill, to save enough mana to do it, have enough health and have bought the items to finish the job.

You won't always have these things, and that's when you should change your strategy to something safer instead of hunting other players.