Slark
Little known to the inhabitants of the dry world, Dark Reef is a sunken prison where the worst of the sea-bred are sent for crimes against their fellows. It is a razor barbed warren full of murderous slithereen, treacherous Deep Ones, sociopathic meranths. In this dim labyrinth, patrolled by eels and guarded by enormous anemones, only the vicious survive. Pitched into Dark Reef for crimes unknown, Slark spent half a lifetime without kin or kindness, trusting no one, surviving through a combination of stealth and ruthlessness, keeping his thoughts and his plans to himself. When the infamous Dark Reef Dozen plotted their ill-fated breakout, they kept their plans a perfect secret, murdering anyone who could have put the pieces together--but somehow Slark discovered their scheme and made a place for himself in it. Ten of the Dozen died in the escape attempt, and two were captured, hauled ba…
Hero lore
Little known to the inhabitants of the dry world, Dark Reef is a sunken prison where the worst of the sea-bred are sent for crimes against their fellows. It is a razor barbed warren full of murderous slithereen, treacherous Deep Ones, sociopathic meranths. In this dim labyrinth, patrolled by eels and guarded by enormous anemones, only the vicious survive. Pitched into Dark Reef for crimes unknown, Slark spent half a lifetime without kin or kindness, trusting no one, surviving through a combination of stealth and ruthlessness, keeping his thoughts and his plans to himself. When the infamous Dark Reef Dozen plotted their ill-fated breakout, they kept their plans a perfect secret, murdering anyone who could have put the pieces together--but somehow Slark discovered their scheme and made a place for himself in it. Ten of the Dozen died in the escape attempt, and two were captured, hauled ba…
Compact stat and ability fields shown here were checked against patch 7.41e where this model represents the changed field. Talents and full mechanics remain in the official notes.
Slark abilities
After a short delay, Slark sacrifices some of his life blood, purging most negative debuffs and dealing damage to enemy units around him and to himself. Slark only takes 30% of the damage. DISPEL TYPE: Strong Dispel
Slark leaps forward, leashing and applying Essence Shift stacks to the first hero he connects. That unit can only move a limited distance away from Slark's landing position.
Slark slices the target with his salty shiv, stealing a portion of the target's movement speed, Health Regen and Health Restoration. These effects stack independently.
Creates a cloud at the target location. All allies inside the radius are hidden and affected by Shadow Dance.
Slark steals the life essence of enemy heroes with his attacks, draining 1 of each of their attributes and converting them to bonus 3 Agility. If Slark kills an affected enemy hero, he permanently steals 1 Agility.
When not visible to the enemy team, Slark passively gains bonus movement speed and health regeneration. If Slark is damaged by a neutral unit, the passive movement and health regeneration bonuses are lost for 2 seconds. When activated, Slark hides himself in…
Popular items by game phase
OpenDota professional-match aggregate as of Jul 21, 2026, 9:50 PM UTC. Popularity rows are independent phase totals, not a coherent build, sequence, or win-rate advice.
Starting
6 items- 1
Iron Branch187 selections · 32.9% - 2
Tango81 selections · 14.2% - 3
Quelling Blade74 selections · 13% - 4
Magic Stick66 selections · 11.6% - 5
Faerie Fire61 selections · 10.7% - 6
Circlet50 selections · 8.8%
Early
6 items- 1
Boots of Speed97 selections · 28.6% - 2
Power Treads93 selections · 27.4% - 3
Blade of Alacrity51 selections · 15% - 4
Wraith Band24 selections · 7.1% - 5
Bracer18 selections · 5.3% - 6
Void Stone13 selections · 3.8%
Mid
6 items- 1
Ogre Axe84 selections · 12.5% - 2Blade of Alacrity82 selections · 12.2%
- 3
Diffusal Blade71 selections · 10.5% - 4
Staff of Wizardry50 selections · 7.4% - 5
Point Booster49 selections · 7.3% - 6
Aghanim's Scepter37 selections · 5.5%
Late
6 items- 1
Ultimate Orb34 selections · 12.5% - 2
Eaglesong26 selections · 9.6% - 3Aghanim's Scepter23 selections · 8.5%
- 4
Black King Bar23 selections · 8.5% - 5
Disperser20 selections · 7.4% - 6
Demon Edge15 selections · 5.5%
More heroes to explore
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Slark — frequently asked
What are Slark's abilities in Dota 2?
Slark's abilities are Dark Pact, Pounce, Saltwater Shiv, Depth Shroud, Essence Shift, Shadow Dance. It is a Agility melee hero played as Carry, Escape, Disabler.
What is Slark's primary attribute?
Slark is a Agility hero, starting with 20 strength (+2.1/lvl), 21 agility (+1.5/lvl) and 16 intelligence (+1.9/lvl), and a base move speed of 300.
What do the popular Slark item phases mean?
The saved OpenDota aggregate is dated 2026-07-22. The phase lists summarize professional-match item popularity; they are not one coherent build, a recommended sequence, or win-rate advice.