(pa)TROLLING your way to victory, an (in-depth) guide on Slardar

Introduction

Hello everyone! this is my first guide ever so please leave constructive criticisms in the comments! I am here to guide you to playing a better Slardar so that the deep ones will give you that nice promotion you so deserve ;)

Items

starting off, you'll want to take one Gauntlets of Strength one Stout Shield one Tango and one Iron Branch. A slightly different choice for the daring soldier is to substitue the tango for another gauntlet, but keep in mind this is only if you have a solid healing support in your lane, or if your just that much of a baller....

Once laning, it is important that you get your boots as soon as possible, so that your sprint will be that much more effective, trust me, it IS a massive speed boost, but sprint isn't enough to cover for lack of boots.

after you have gotten your boots, you now have the option of either finishing your urn, or building a Magic Wand and two bracers. I usually opt for the Urn of Shadows over the wand because the mana regen is something that Slardar sorely lacks, and can save many teammates lives during midgame. (Note, i do NOT reccomend buying an Urn if you know someone else on your team will get one, like Night Stalker, multiple urns make it difficult for both of you to have charges on it, and the charges are the main reason you are buying it)

After that, whether urn or wand, be certain to finish your Vanguard as the health and regen it offers are of the utmost importance on Slardar, as he is most effective when right up in his enemies' face. When you are done with vanguard (this is if you haven't already) finish your Power Treads.

After this it is time for the main pain on the train. armlet. this item gives you everything that you need, more damage, more attack speed, more armor, and more health regen. it's active makes you into a stun-locking ***** (more attacks mean more procs on bash) after you have completed this your core is done and its time to choose your situational items

For Situational items you really need to know what you're up against, if you're up against a team with heavy CC that tends to focus you, a Black King Bar is obviously the best choice. If the other team has poor cordination, low cc, or you are just ROFLstomping there faces, i would reccomend either a Mask of Madness to get the most out of your bash. if you are really, ultra, mega fed and want to become invicibru, choose a Heart of Tarrasque because now, you can keep your armlet on all the time! If you find your carries need a bit more attack speed, and your amplify damage isn't reducing quite enough armor (yeah right) then assault curi*** is your go-to item.

Blink dagger

This one gets it's own section, because i have noticed that many people think that a Blink Dagger is absolutely necessary on Slardar. while i do understand why this is seen as helpful, i do not believe that it is absolutely necessary. Blink Dagger is a fantastic item for initiators, true, but Slardar can get into position with relative ease thanks to sprint, so ultimately getting one is nothing more than a matter of personal preference, though i have found that, more often than not, sprint does the job well enough.

Skills

sprint
Key Bind: Q

Slardar moves significantly faster, but takes 15% bonus damage.
Duration: 20
Movement Speed Increase: 20% / 27% / 33% / 40%
Mana Cost: 50 Cooldown Time: 40

This is, in my opinion, the most versatile ability in the game. it can be used to initiate, gank, chase, escape, and basically get you somewhere in a hurry. the only skill that might edge this out in utility would be Blink

Slithereen Crush
Key Bind: W
Slams the ground, stunning and damaging nearby enemy land units.
Area: 350
Stun Duration: 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5
Damage: 50 / 100 / 150 / 200
Mana Cost: 80 / 95 / 105 / 115 Cooldown Time: 8

This. this is the ability that makes anyone on the other team think twice about getting near you or your friends. An aoe stun that deals 200 damage at level 4, eats squishies for breakfast.

bash
Key Bind: E
Increases the chance that an attack will do bonus damage and stun an enemy.
Stun Duration: 1 (2 on units)
Damage Bonus: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70
Chance: 10% / 15% / 20% / 25%

Effectively a free Skull Basher passive, not as reliable as Slithereen Crush, but when combined with armlet and Mask of Madness makes you a 1v1 nightmare.

amplify damage
Key Bind: R
Reduces enemy armor to amplify physical damage. Also reveals invisible enemies.
Range: 700
Duration: 25
Armor Reduction: 8 / 12 / 16
Mana Cost: 25 Cooldown Time: 10

Ahhhhh. The one they fear the most. notorious for its innate ability to turn anyone into a squishy food pile for you and your team. NEVER forget that it reveals invisible units too.

Skilling order

1

Slithereen Crush
2bash/sprint
3 Slithereen Crush
4sprint/bash
5 Slithereen Crush
6amplify damage
7 Slithereen Crush
8bash/sprint
9sprint/bash
10bash
11amplify damage
12bash
13sprint/bash
14sprint
15stats
16amplify damage
17-25 stats


The list on the left is if you do not expect to get ganked, poked too hard, or perform a gank for a while, whereas the right is if you DO plan on being ganked, harrased to death, or ganking frequently, giving priority to sprint, either way, max Slithereen Crush by level 7.

Pros / Cons

Pros:
+ is very strong throughout most of the game
+has a reliable, aoe stun
+ sprint is effectively a free haste rune when maxed out with boots
+ amplify damage
+ has an amazingly sexy voice ;D

Cons:

- can easily be harassed during lane
- Is completely melee (no ranged damageing abilities]
- His voice isn't quite as sexy as Sand King's

friends, foes, and food

Friends
anyone who has a good harrassing ability to discourage the enemy from harassing you. such as:
Zeus, Viper, Shadow Shaman, Lion, Lich, Kunkka, Leshrac and so on...



Foes
Anyone who has a good harassing ability like Zeus, Viper, Shadow Shaman, Lion... hey wait a second...


Food
For a soldier with hours like yours, you just gotta be starving after your shift, some of your favorite snacks are Bounty Hunter, Riki, Broodmother, Clinkz, Weaver
or anyone else who is heavily reliant on stealth to escape, (such as a Drow Ranger who uses her shadow blade frequently)

Conclusion

well folks, that's all i can really offer. I hope that this guide will help you like it has been helping me so far. best of luck to ya, and give that Sand King whatfor for daring to have a sexier voice than you! >:C