SLARK The LurKer

Slark - Murloc Nightcrawler

Hero Intro
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...
Stats

Affiliation: Scourge	Damage: 48 - 56
Armor: 1.94	Movespeed: 305
Sight Range: 1800 / 1800	Attack Range: 128 (melee)

Skill Info:

Dark Pact:

Dark Pact

Slark calls upon deities of the swamps to seal a dark pact. Sacrificing some of his lifeblood, Slark is redeemed of all negative effects.

Skill Info
Level	Mana	Damage/Effect	Duration	Cooldown
Level 1	55	75 total damage, removes buffs	2 Second Delay	9 Second Cooldown
Level 2	50	150 total damage, removes buffs	2 Second Delay	8 Second Cooldown
Level 3	45	225 total damage, removes buffs	2 Second Delay	7 Second Cooldown
Level 4	40	300 total damage, removes buffs	2 Second Delay	6 Second Cooldown

Pounce:

Pounce on cent

Surges directly forward and latches on to the first hero he hits, binding it with chains of darkness.

Skill Info
Level	Mana	Damage/Effect	Duration	Cooldown
Level 1	75	70 damage	3.5 Second	20 Second Cooldown
Level 2	75	140 damage	3.5 Second	16 Second Cooldown
Level 3	75	210 damage	3.5 Second	12 Second Cooldown
Level 5	75	280 damage	3.5 Second	8 Second Cooldown

Pounce distance

Essence Shift:

Reciting ancient Nightcrawler incantations, Slark enchants his blade to steal the power and courage from his enemies.

Skill Info
Level	Mana	Damage/Effect	Duration	Cooldown
Level 1	N/A	Steals 1 of each attribute	15 Second	0.4 Second Cooldown
Level 2	N/A	Steals 1 of each attribute	30 Second	0.35 Second Cooldown
Level 3	N/A	Steals 1 of each attribute	60 Second	0.3 Second Cooldown
Level 4	N/A	Steals 1 of each attribute	120 Second	0.25 Second Cooldown

Shadow Dance:

Skill look

Covers himself with a dark smoke, he becomes invisible and does not reveal himself while attacking or casting spells. Also passively provides bonuses when Murloc Nightcrawler cannot be seen by the enemy.

Skill Info
Level	Mana	Damage/Effect	Duration	Cooldown
Level 1	120	Invisibility on cast, +30% movement speed and +3% HP regeneration when not visible	5.5 Second	25 Second Cooldown
Level 2	120	Invisibility on cast, +35% movement speed and +5% HP regeneration when not visible	5.5 Second	25 Second Cooldown
Level 3	120	Invisibility on cast, +40% movement speed and +7% HP regeneration when not visible	5.5 Second	25 Second Cooldown

Skill Build:

1: Pounce

2: Dark Pact

3: Dark Pact

4: Essence Shift

5: Pounce

6: Shadow Dance

7: Dark Pact

8: Dark Pact

9: Essence Shift

10: Pounce

11: Shadow Dance

12: Essence Shift

13: Essence Shift

14: Pounce

15: Stats

16: Shadow Dance

Early Game Items:

You take the branches for a Good Game and a later Magic Stick, while the Shield protects you against early harassment and improves your lasthitting. The heals are necessary in non-public. Feel free to exchange the branch/heal with 1 or 2 clarities if necessary. Competitive games don't require heals as you would rather go with a babysitter with extra heals or a healing spell.

The moment you use your heals(trust me, you WILL), get your hands on the Magic Wand and 1-2 Wraiths. Don't take any more Wraiths as you will have issues with your inventory space. The Magic Wand solves your mana problems while the Wraiths provide a cheap bonus.

Boots Choice

The next Item you're going to get are the Power Treads, all pieces of which can be bought in the side shop. 

We choose these as Slark desperately needs attack speed and stats to do what he does best. Set them according to your needs. In a majority of cases, strength is the best option.

Core item and orb choice discussion

Sange & Yasha or Diffusal Blade

Pin-down items. These 2 items fit to the largest amount of situations. Both orbs are equally good for him.

S&Y is known to be a pretty mediocre item but Essence Shift makes it actually worth it on him and make the maim almost reliable. Also, both Yasha and Sange increase his offensive and defensive potential at the same time.

The Diffusal Blade on the other hand quickly burns the target's mana, often rendering your foe unable to use their escape skill.(e.g. Blink)

S&Y follows the rule of "hit and run", while Diffusal Blade follows the rule of "kill before they kill you". The slow from Purge is comparable to that you gain via Maim, with the difference that Purge is instantaneous, removes buffs and is ranged BUT it is limited to a cooldown and charges, while S&Y lacks the above pro's but it's more reliable as a general slow. Bear in mind the lack of survivability on Diffusal Blade. Depends what you need, really.

When to choose which, then? Diffusal Blade is suggested for competitive games where mana is key and the Purge could be helpful to your allies and as a counter versus summons. Additionally, you are more quickly fit for team battles do to your offensive potential. S&Y on the other hand works great as a whole rather than in parts, so it is suggested for pubs where you got more time to farm.

How about other orbs?

Helm of the Dominator/Satanic and Eye of Skadi

Carry items. HotD and Satanic is especially effective versus hard carries. Feel free to use Dominate of HotD for more ganking options. The minus of HotD/Satanic lies in the mediocrity of HotD in midlate game until you get Satanic, making you resolve to other items and your allies for your all-round potential in that time.

Skadi on the other hand is a luxurious alternative to S&Y so if you can farm it up, there is no orb superior to it. The minus here is the cost.

Mjollnir and Desolator

Glass Cannon Items. You gain no direct survivability whatsoever through them and only Mjollnir is situational due to Static shield's use - use if applicable(e.g. Axe in your team). Thus Desolator is the weakest option due to bad build-up and no survival boost.

Verdict: Take a pin-down orb if you can rely on your team for your survival. Carry items are better when you can't rely on your team or when you got sufficient environment to farm uninterrupted for a period. Glass Cannon items are not recommended, but remain situational, should you encounter such a rare situation in which those items would be useful.

Note: I am NOT REJECTING those orbs. I just picked the most all-round options suitable for the most occasions. Feel free to adjust your orb item to your needs if necessary.

Follow-ups

Armlet of Mordiggian

If you feel you need extra protection against physical or/and burst damage, get this. This item is not rushed as your low HP doesn't support the degen by then yet. It's just too risky.

Black King's Bar

A must in any game where nukes/disables are dominant. It allows you to continue attacking - something you do. The Hp/damage bonus is also really nice.

Hood/Pipe/Vanguard

These three items are highly recommended to take in situations in which you don't have the proper healing/protective support from your allies. Just one of them will suffice, depending on the enemy lineup - you want to take the Hood against magic-damage based lineups, while Vanguard against physical-damage based lineups. A pipe is a late-game luxury and a fancy addition versus AoE lineups.

Manta Style

For burst-damage and pushing line-ups. An Armlet is recommended for a boosted effect, as the strength passes to images. The stolen agility passes to images but they don't steal stats by themselves. As its cooldown is 50 seconds, use it in battle first time for burst damage and after 50 seconds use it for the "charged" images.

Cranium Basher

While it is unwise to get this item without a proper HP and attack speed boost, the item finds its use should you require another disable midlate-game.

Luxuries

Assault Cuirass, Butterfly and Orchid Malevolence

After Buriza, Assault Cuirass provides you great EHP, attack speed and a nice desolator-like effect. Being a late-game item, being a siege machine is useful. Butterfly serves as an overkill vs DPS carries option. Orchid Malevolence is your ultimate ganking/burst-damage option. It's up to you.

Rejected Items

Mask of Madness

The only orb I highly discourage, the 30% increased damage against you and the mediocrity of other gains make this item a no-no. You got the second smallest strength out of all heroes and even a few seconds of berserk in a team fight could be perilous for you and using MoM without Berserk is a pure waste of money. In short - you're too paper to use this. Some people might advise Dark Pact's removal of debuffs/stuns/disables is enough to consider MoM. Even if you're lucky to negate a certain portion of a disable, you won't escape massive nukes. Additionally, the self-damage of Dark Pact is amplified.

Heart of Tarrasque

It's not worth the effort(3200 is a bit hard to farm) and the 8 seconds delay makes the additional regen not too useful. Your ultimate is enough for regen while other items can be served for HP which are cheaper and better in building up.

Vladimir's Offering

Best served on a teammate. You don't have the time nor the money nor the item space(!) to invest in something that can be replaced by something more useful. You don't need lifesteal to survive, all you need is to be able to get away enough to get the proper regeneration. Use your skills, not your muscles, broadly speaking.

Radiance

Sparkles won't make your death any prettier. You just won't live enough to use it.