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Iron BranchIron BranchIron Branch
Stout Shield
Tango
Healing Salve
Magic Wand
Poor Man's Shield
Boots of Speed
Black King Bar
Sange and Yasha
Magic Wand
Poor Man's Shield
Power Treads
Black King Bar
Sange and Yasha
Helm of the Dominator
Hood of Defiance
Armlet of Mordiggian
Butterfly
Orchid Malevolence
Satanic
Skull Basher
Monkey King Bar
Orb of Venom
Linken's Sphere
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1 | 9 | 10 | 12 |  |
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3 | 8 | 13 | 14 |  |
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6 | 11 | 16 |  |
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15 | 17 | 18 |
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In the deepest, blackest pits of the ocean a fearsome and terrifying creature lurks. Bending the shadows to his will, few have seen his true form and none have lived to speak of it. For the shadows are his sanctuary, a place of empowerment and revitalisation. Bathed in this inpenetrable darkness he strikes unseen, every attack making him swifter and more powerful whilst weakening his enemy. An unbreakable leash awaits all who try to escape, leaving them at mercy of this horrifying phantom. By sacrificing a fraction of his soul, his pact with darkness allows him break even the most powerful bonds and curses. With echoes of the Great War reaching every corner of the earth, this creature, known only as Slark, has emerged from the depths to search for an ancient relic...
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Slark is adept in the art of assasination. He is the definition of glass cannon, utilizing unconventional tools to produce a reliable stream of ganks. Should you be stray of your lane, be wary of a pouncing from the Nightcrawler, for it spells death for you; his prey.
COLOUR CODE:
YELLOW - Good, go for it.
ORANGE - Situational, a maybe.
RED - Bad, generally a stay away.
GREY - Is titled accordingly.
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LEVEL [LVL] CODE:
PURP - Q, your first ability.
LIME - W, your second ability.
BLUE - E, your third ability.
PINK - R, your ultimate.
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The below content is appropriately color coded to the above key. All of the following information, with the exception of the actual [ RUNES ] or the [ PLEASE READ ], initially correspond with their description accordingly. If something is not understood fully regarding the color code, please comment with your question / issue.
ROLE:
Nightcrawler: GANKER
Slark is revered as the ultimate in hit and run tactics. His kit accentuates him to be an exceptionally filthy GANKER, an adequate late game SEMI-CARRY, and in some cases a CARRY. The Nightcrawler is an oddball in the terms of ganking, and very inflexible in build and playstyle, with that being said he is a very niche hero, and fills the role to the potential.
POSITION:
Assuming you bought your starting equipment as suggested and are wondering what to do now, you might want to consider your lane or jungle position; for the purpose of this guide you will head to a SOLO or DUO lane. Slark is most compatible in the SAFE lane to have that early access to the side shop. You may take the MID according to picks. Generally a TRI lane is a risky investment as he'd be your main carry if you followed this route.
Bottle: A bottle should be PICKED UP you plan on taking it solo to the MID lane; in which you should try to have full control of runes as you should with any solo mid hero with a bottle. Try to have a caster with a summon to scout runes out for you.
Illusion: You do not benefit much from this rune, this should only be PICKED UP in special cases.
Double Damage: This should be picked up EARLY and MID game, and avoided LATE game.
Invisibility: Generally not needed, but for a sure gank you may PICK UP.
Regeneration: SITUATIONAL, for the most part you will pick this up if no one needs it anymore than you do.
Haste: Use your better judgment, this will be PICKED UP to catch up to the pack or escape.
(A) GANKING ORIENTATED:
Lvl 1: Save your W, only using in defense or a secured kill.
Lvl 2: Save your Q and W, only using in defense or a secured kill.
Lvl 3: Harass and farm accordingly, play safe and avoid conflict.
Lvl 4: Harass and farm accordingly, play safe and avoid conflict.
Lvl 5: Harass and farm accordingly, play safe and avoid conflict.
Lvl 6: You should now either continue your lane, or commence ganking. Save your R for ganks.
(B) GANKING ORIENTATED:
Lvl 1: Save your W, only using in defense or a secured kill.
Lvl 2: Harass and farm accordingly, play safe and avoid conflict.
Lvl 3: Save your Q and W, only using in defense or a secured kill.
Lvl 4: Continue to farm and harass your lane. Use your Q as a purge.
Lvl 5: Continue to farm and harass your lane. Use your Q as a nuke.
Lvl 6: You should now either continue your lane, or commence ganking. Save your R for ganks.
CARRY ORIENTATED:
Lvl 1: Save your W, only using in defense or a secured kill.
Lvl 2: Harass and farm accordingly, play safe and avoid conflict.
Lvl 3: Save your Q and W, only using in defense or a secured kill.
Lvl 4: Continue to farm and harass your lane. Use your Q as a purge.
Lvl 5: Continue to farm and harass your lane. Use your Q as a nuke.
Lvl 6: Continue to farm and harass your lane. Use your R as an escape or a secured kill.
MIDLANE ORIENTATED:
Lvl 1: Use your W only to escape.
Lvl 2: Save casting for next level, and only use your abilities in defense.
Lvl 3: If you can, secure a kill using your W and Q, prioritize rune control.
Lvl 4: If you can, secure a kill using your W and Q, prioritize rune control.
Lvl 5: Save casting for next level, and only use your abilities in defense.
Lvl 6: You should now either continue your lane, or commence ganking. Save your R for ganks.
Ready to ride the tide?
A proper SUPPORT can ensure a great laning phase, allowing exceptional early game ganks. Your second source of sustenance, is a good DISABLER, these guys will make a happy fish.
ALLIES:
+ 
Ancient Apparition - Kaldr
+ 
Bane - Atropos
+ 
Crystal Maiden - Rylai
+ 
Earthshaker - Raigor Stonehoof
+ 
Lich - Ethreain
+ Demon Witch - 
Lion
+ 
Shadow Shaman - Rhasta
+ Windrunner - Lyralei
+ 
Witch Doctor - Zharvakko
+ 
Treant Protector - Rooftrellen
+ 
Batrider - Jin'zakk
+ 
Pudge - Butcher
+ 
Enigma - Darchrow
The first ingredient to making 'Slark and Chips' is VISION, as an assassin you revel in stealth. More importantly though, shutting down a Nightcrawler requires you to take his food away, in this sense any IMAGE hero can easily void you.
FOES:
x 
Templar Assassin - Lanaya
x 
Spectre - Mercurial
x 
Beastmaster - Karroch
x 
Night Stalker - Balanar
x 
Bloodseeker - Strygwyr
x 
Bounty Hunter - Gondar
x Doom Bringer - Lucifer
x 
Slardar - Slithereen Guard
x 
Spirit Breaker - Barathrum
x 
Brewmaster - Mangix
x 
Chaos Knight - Nessaj
x 
Meepo - Geomancer
x 
Naga Siren - Slithice
x 
Phantom Lancer - Azwraith
x 
Shadow Demon - Eredar
x Soul Keeper - Terrorblade
These guides are somewhat time consuming to produce, and most of them do lack some at the moment, but for the most part I believe they provide enough information to play properly with the given hero. Even though the guide is still UNFINISHED, I still need feedback on how to better it. The item build and such is always up for change, and your opinion is wanted as long as it's not something that smashes the entire guide because you don't like a little detail. Please keep in mind: if you have the time to read this guide and vote on it then you should have a sufficient amount of time to comment what pleased or displeased you.
TLDR:
Please take the time to provide feedback.
What can I change? What areas need improvement? Is the guide visually unappealing?
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