The Sound of Silence

Hero Description

From Playdota

Changes (Starting with 6.76)

6.76 -
From Playdota:

Introduction

In 6.76 Silencer had a few big changes made to his kit, I have updated it.


If you have stumbled across this guide there is a very slight chance you want to learn how to play Silencer. While I am not an expert on him by any means, the play style I use has brought me victory so I figure I'll give my two cents on him and see what happens.

Silencer is an extremely fun hero to play, and if you can get the kills, a good carry and a fantastic hero in team fights. While he isn't a beastly powerhouse early game, if you play your cards right and harass, you can grab kills in the laning phase. Once you start racking up assists and kills, your Glaives of Wisdom helps stacks your int and you can start throwing kitchen sinks. Not to mention he has two silences, making him a force to be reckoned with against many heroes. As well as Global Silence can essentially decide a team fight if used effectively.

Lingo

AA- Autoattacks
CC- Crowd control; any kind of disable that would otherwise not let you control your character
Debuff - A hindering effect on your character, like a damage over time or mana drain
Poking - Not engaging an enemy, but "poking" them with spells to whittle away HP or mana; Same as harassing.

Stats

Starting Stats

Strength 17 + 2.2/level
Agility 16 + 2.1/level
Intelligence 21 + 2.5/level

Basic Stats

Damage - 43 - 57
Range - 600
Armor - 1.24 Base
Movement Speed - 300

Pros and Cons

Pros
AA modifier and Int Steal with Glaives of Wisdom
Strong counterpick to intelligence heroes
Can control the flow of team fights
Force the enemy to cast spells or waste them
Still a presence even if underfarmed/leveled
FUN.


Cons
No chasing power
Item and kill dependent
Silences don't mean much to heroes who rely on autoattacks
Ultimate can be hard to time and use correctly
Not Anti-Mage

Abilities

Description: Curses the target area, causing enemy units to take damage and lose mana until they cast a spell.


Level 1: 20 Damage and 8 Mana per second, 6 second duration
Level 2: 35 Damage and 16 Mana per second, 6 second duration
Level 3: 50 Damage and 24 Mana per second, 6 second duration
Level 4: 65 Damage and 32 Mana per second, 6 second duration
Mana Cost - 75 / 95 / 115 / 135
Cooldown - 20 / 18 / 16 / 14
Radius: 350
Range: 800

I used to take this at level one to harass, however with the remake of Last Word, this takes a back seat for a few levels; it still has the same use in lane, and combined with Last Word is fantastic in lane. If one (or both) of your enemies take a passive skill for their first point, there is no way to get this off, and it will do the full 100 damage and 50 mana drain. Even though this is not a spamable skill, and does cost a fair amount to cast, by the time you are able to start poking more, the enemy will have little mana, from either having to the debuff run its course, or casting to get it off! In lane using this in tandem with Last Word is highly fun and allows you to go toe to toe early game, just watch your mana.

Later in the game, this skill serves the same function, to get rid of the enemy's mana before they get the chance to cast it, or force them to use a spell they were saving to get rid of the debuff. In conjunction with Last Word, it can force casters to back off early in fights, and lets you deal with AA heroes a little easier.


Description: Silencer enchants his glaives with his wisdom, dealing additional damage based on his Intelligence. If an enemy hero dies while in range of Glaives of Wisdom, Silencer will permanently steal 2 Intelligence from that hero.

Percent Intelligence to Damage:
Level 1: 30%
Level 2: 40%
Level 3: 50%
Level 4: 75%
Mana Cost - 15 per hit
No Cooldown

As a reference, this is the description for intelligence -
Intelligence:
- Each point increases damage by 1
- Each point increases mana by 13
- Each point increases mana-regen by .04

***THIS SKILL CAN BE SET AUTO-CAST***
Even though you CAN auto-cast this, until you have a sizable mana pool, I would avoid it as it is an easy way to burn all of your mana very quickly. I take this at level 2 and then max it after level 6, as it is the source of Silencer's damage mid/late game. The easiest way to explain the use of this skill is to split it between early, mid, and late game.
Early Game - Use this to harass melee champions that try and go in for creep kills, or as a counter harass skill against ranged characters. Even though you don't have a lot of intelligence or a good ratio on the skill, it will still do a fair amount of damage. Throwing Last Word and a Glaives of Wisdom is a bit of damage and gives you a bit of dominance in lane.
Mid Game - Once you have a large enough mana pool, or you opt for an early void stone, you can leave this on auto-cast most of the time, but you will still want to watch your mana, as an ult, E, and then a few auto attacks with W on will leave you empty. In terms of damage, you should have W at max rank, and this will start to hit harder and harder the more items and kills/assists you get. If your team is losing team fights, try and pick off individuals that are out of position, because if you can get a sizable portion of intelligence, you can very nearly carry team fights.
Late Game - You can just leave it on indefinitely. If your team is winning, you should be amassing a pretty portion of your enemies intelligence, and you can throw your glaives and let them run in terror. If you are losing, at this point a comeback might be difficult, but again if you can catch a few people off guard and build more intelligence, you will be able to further direct team fights.


New Skill Description - Targets an enemy unit placing a debuff on it. While the debuff is active, casting any spell causes the target to become silenced and take damage. If the duration of the debuff runs out without the target casting a spell, it will still take damage and be silenced but also be disarmed.

Note: You have basic vision over the last word target while the initial buff is on them

Debuff Duration - 5 Seconds
Silence / Disarm Duration -
Level 1: 3
Level 2: 4
Level 3: 5
Level 4: 6
Radius: 750


Alright so this skill got a bit of a makeover and it is fantastic. Even though the intelligence steal moved to Glaives of Wisdom, the new Last Word gives Silencer some power to deal with more auto-attack oriented Heroes as well as his usual Intelligence heroes, which was something he lacked before. As with Curse of the Silent, if you're facing an AA hero early game, and they do take a passive first point, have some fun, watch your mana, but this skill makes harassing even easier than before, considering if it pops because of no spell cast they can't farm or engage you for 5 seconds anyway. If you're facing an Int hero in lane, this and Curse of the Silent shut them down pretty well.

The reason I bumped this skill ahead of Curse of the Silent in terms of when to max it, is because I believe it's got more utility now, considering it now has a chance to disarm along with a guaranteed silence. Since this skill now silences and deals damage on spell cast as well as if a spell is not cast, you can throw this on an enemy hero with Curse of the Silent and watch their mana disappear, and it allows you to control the lane easier, and makes Intelligence heroes even more of a joke.




Description: Silencer stops all sound, preventing enemy heroes on the map from casting spells.

Duration:
Level 1: 4
Level 2: 5
Level 3: 6

Silencer's trademark skill, this silences all enemies on the map for a short amount of time. When used correctly, this can completely turn the tables in a team fight, or save an ally, or grab a kill. In terms of when to use it, it all depends on the situation.

-In general, if you're engaging in a team fight, try and use it the moment after the initial CC wears off from your enemies, as if they are CC'd

AND silenced, by the time the CC wears off, your silence will have too.
+An exception, if it's a single target suppression, akin to Shadow Shaman's Shackles, it would be reasonable to cast it at the same time to help disable the other 4.

-If you are being taken by surprise, use it to turn the tides, which is usually as soon as possible, or if it something like an

Earthshaker Q, use it immediately after to try and control the damage done, and if needed escape.

-If you see an ally, or you yourself, are trying to catch a runner, save your silence (if it is worth it) for when you know they are going to try and disable you to get away.

-If an ally (or you) is caught out of position, your ult can easily save their life, allowing them a 3 second window to make their escape (usually) CC free

Overall, however, this skill just take practice to learn when is the best time to use it, and under what circumstances.

Item Build

The item build I use is centered around getting as much intelligence from items while still remaining durable enough to not get squashed by a stiff breeze.

In terms of laning, Silencer works as a duo partner or a solo mid character, because of his kit he can go against a variety of lane matchups and still hold his own. His Q and W allow for harass and counter harass against both melee and ranged characters, and drain them of mana, letting you either keep them off creeps or taking more for yourself.

Starter Items -
[] Tango - 90g
[] Circlet - 185g
[] Mantle of Intelligence - 150g
[] Mantle of Intelligence - 150g
** If no one else buys one, Animal Courier - 170g, instead of the second Mantle of Intelligence. **

This is my typical starter build, this gives enough intelligence to start effectively poking as I hit level 2, and the tangos suffice for sustain. If you know you are going to be bullied in lane, you can sacrifice the second mantle to buy a more defensive item, or more Tangos, etc.
The reason I do not buy any branches is because the circlet and 2 mantles will build into two null talismans.
The downside to this set of starting items is that Silencer has a low base attack damage, and so last hitting may be difficult at first, but once you get W and a little more mana, you can use W conservatively to help last hit if needed.

--Manage your mana!!
If you can manage your mana well in the early phase, mana potions are rarely needed, and if they are, just have the courier send them up to you with your next purchase.

Early Game -
[] Null Talisman - 505g
[] Null Talisman - 505g
[] Power Treads - 1450g
[] Town Portal Scroll - 135g <-- Always have one on you!

If your support was supportive and bought an Animal Courier, then your first big purchase should be the two Null Talisman, as these will give you a nice boost both damage and lane sustain. Alongside this, you can also buy any potions you need. My next purchase is typically Boots of Speed followed by the other items required to make Power Treads.

--If you are losing your lane and unable to fight back, a Bottle is never a bad purchase. Another option is to rush straight to a Mekansm instead of one or both of the talismans, and then continue with the regular build.
Don't forget to ward as needed!

Core -
[] Mekansm - 2306g
[] Force Staff - 2350g
[] Scythe of Vyse - 5675g

These three items are what I consider the best items on Silencer.
- The Mekansm gives enough durability to survive fights and close encounters with the heal and it's passive, and it is my first core item purchase. I get it before the other two items because it gives me a "safety net" in case something goes awry.
- Force Staff At first I passed over this item because I didn't realize the potential it has on Silencer. This really gives Silencer the ability to get people to stay in his range, or escape theirs, which was one thing Silencer was missing.
- The Scythe of Vyse is the probably the best item you can buy for Silencer. It has a large amount of intelligence, mana regen, and gives Silencer another way to make someone stay put. Late game, Silencer has about enough damage to take down some targets during the hex.

Once I've completed Mekansm, I build immediately towards a Force Staff, as in the mid game this is an invaluable item for grabbing kills, or saving your ***. After I have those two done, assuming the game isn't done, I build Void Stone or Mystic Staff first. The Void Stone if there is more fighting going on, and less down time, and the ]Mystic Staff if it is a fairly boring game and I can just farm.

Orchid Malevolence

Orchid Malevolence - 5025g: This item when used correctly on silencer is fantastic. If say a support grabs a Mekansm early on, then ignore it unless you're getting slapped. Buy this instead. This combined with his kit quiets and enemy down for a silly amount of time.

Luxury/Situational Items

Just a quick rundown on some situational items, I won't cover everything because 1) I don't have sufficient experience with every single useful item on Silencer, and 2) There are so many unique situations that it would go on forever covering all the items you could use.

So, some basic ones.

Offensive Items -

Eul's Scepter of Divinity - 2800g: This is a good item to build after your core is complete. It gives nice stats and the tornado is handy.
Rod of Atos - 3100g: If you're facing a team where a Force Staff AND a Scythe of Vyseisn't enough for them to stay where you want them. This is a nice offensive item to take as well.
Dagon - 2850g Total: I wouldn't advocate buying this unless you have like billions of unspent gold and nothing to buy, its a decent, (very) late game item.
Defensive Items -

Shiva's Guard - 4700g: This is a great item if you have someone who sticks to you and refuses to leave.
Black King Bar - 3900g: While this is more of a pure tank item than a defensive item, it's a great choice if you're getting hammered by CC or nukes.
Linken's Sphere - 5175g: This is a great item against a character like Zeus or anyone who has a single target nuke and it is causing problems. I would take this over a BKB if it was only one character causing problems.

Lane Matchups and Recommendations

This section will be under constant construction as I will be adding to it when needed.

Riki - This guy is a pain in the ***. The Smoke Screen he throws down when engaging makes your Glaives of Wisdom not apply on hit, so fighting him one versus one is pretty much out of the question. Against him a Shiva's Guard and Force Staff to just keep him off of you until you can get assistance or escape is probably your best bet. A Gem of True Sight, if you can afford it and also aren't dying a lot, can help.
AVOID FIGHTING THEM ALONE

Meepo - **** this guy too...sometimes. If he gets the jump on your it's a little hard to gain the upper hand, but if you can get your Q and E off on him before he Poofs or pops Divided We Stand, you can take him down fairly safely if youve got the damage output, the key is to either get him low or dead by the time your silence wears off. Don't engage him when he has his clones, that is a terrible idea.

Anti-Mage - Early game, he is not a problem, if he gets near you, Glaives of Wisdom and Last Word make him turn around and leave. As the game progresses, if you were able to shut him down in lane, he isn't too much of a problem, but if he does get farm or out lane you, be careful because Anti-Mage likes to do that mana steal thing too. Like any other carry, just be cautious and gaige whether you can engage him safely or not. A Mekanism helps survive his onslaught if you do happen to get stuck against him.

In general, depending on your laning partner, the lane matchup, whether youre mid, and so on, you can change the order of the few few skill levels, taking more points in Curse of the Silent over Last Word, or taking Glaives of Wisdom and Last Word at first and second level and then proceeding to kick their face in. Just adapt and play smart and you will be fine.
With that skill order in mind it helps to take a point in Glaives of Wisdom at level one and then continue skilling into Last Word afterwards, as I have been told and I have noticed, helps with early game farm.

Updates

I will update this guide when I have time, which is sparse lately, but I will do my best to keep updated and update this guide accordingly

I will also post any future changes to Silencer and this guide, from 2/2/2012 onward.

2/3 - Added Force Staff to core, removed Dagon, various cleanups
10/8 - More champion lineups
10/26 - Guide is under construction for 6.76 changes
11/17 - Mostly updated for 6.76, still editing for cohesion, however it is good to go for use.

End

Please leave feedback! I would love to see what you think so I can help improve this guide.

Thank you and enjoy!