▶️
Many hands make light work.
This article is badly written or needs more information. Please help the community by updating it. Read this formatting guide first.
Bad against...[]
- Abaddon can cast Aphotic Shield on any of his allies to immediately dispel Corrosive Haze and/or the stun and the slow components of Slithereen Crush.
- All of Slardar's debuffs are also removed if Abaddon's Borrowed Time triggers.
- Slardar does not do well against multiple targets, as his only way to damage multiple targets is Slithereen Crush.
- Fortune's End applies a basic dispel which can be used to dispel Corrosive Haze, or even Slardar's own Guardian Sprint.
- False Promise is able to dispel Corrosive Haze and Slithereen Crush stun/slow from any allies Oracle chooses to cast it on.
- Fate's Edict can also be cast on Slardar to prevent him from proccing his Bash of the Deep.
- Phantom Lancer's Doppelganger has a low cooldown and applies a basic dispel on PL, making it hard to keep Corrosive Haze on him.
- Phantom Lancer usually purchases Manta Style which provides another basic dispel to remove Corrosive Haze with.
- Besides Slithereen Crush, Slardar does not have another way to deal with illusions and has a low mana pool, which allows Phantom Lancer with Diffusal Blade to quickly build up illusions while draining Slardar's mana.
- Phantom Rush outruns Guardian Sprint, forcing Slardar to Blink away or use Slithereen Crush defensively to avoid being killed.
- Fire Spirits greatly reduces Slardar's already low starting attack speed (which Bash of the Deep relies on), making the laning phase very hard for him and discouraging Slardar from aggressively threatening lane kills.
- Supernova, ignoring Phoenix's lack of armor and Slardar's high damage single hits, is extremely hard for Slardar to take down on his own, especially after being hit by Fire Spirits.
- Icarus Dive is one of the longest distance escape spells in the game, and can help a good Phoenix escape from Slardar before he gets a Blink Dagger. However, the high cooldown means Phoenix is vulnerable to backstabs from any roamers after said spell is used.
- Slardar can interrupt an Icarus Dive from completing the flight with both of his stuns, however, likely leading to death if Supernova is on cooldown.
- A lot of the items a Phoenix builds throughout the game naturally counter Slardar. Shiva's Guard, Heaven's Halberd and Eul's Scepter of Divinity all stall Slardar's normal attacks in some way, while Spirit Vessel's percentage-based damage is good against his innate durability.
Others[]
- Medusa cares less than other heroes about armor reduction, since Mana Shield blocks 70% of all damage without taking armor/magic resistance into consideration. This makes 60% of your Corrosive Haze ineffective until Medusa's mana is drained.
- Terrorblade starts out with and gains a lot of armor from his agility growth. His illusions also make it difficult for Slardar to focus down the real Terrorblade.
- Tidehunter's Kraken Shell dispels Corrosive Haze and Bash of the Deep's stun if enough damage is taken. Anchor Smash and Kraken Shell's damage block also reduces Slardar's damage.
- Bloodseeker's Rupture forces Slardar to stay still during fights, preventing Slardar from using Guardian sprint to move in and out of fights. This takes away the ability to initiate and re-initiate with Slithereen Crush's low cooldown. Due to the increased move speed from Guardian Sprint, Slardar can lose health at about 160% the rate of normal heroes while under Rupture. Bloodseeker's Thirst also gives him enough move speed so that he's one of the few heroes who can outrun or catch up to a Slardar during Guardian Sprint.
- Phantom Assassin's Blur prevents Slardar gaining Bash of the Deep stacks
- Slardar relies on Blink Dagger initiation, so any illusion-based hero (especially with Radiance) can scout you out and/or cancel your blink.
- Illusion heroes like the aforementioned Phantom Lancer or Naga Siren, or heroes that tend to buy Manta Style, like Luna or Juggernaut, will give Slardar a hard time, as his damage is single-targeted.
Items[]
- Given that Slardar's damage output is entirely physical, there is almost nothing he can do when enemies activate Ghost Scepter.
- Shiva's Guard provides armor which helps against Slardar, while the passive attack slow also prevents him from attacking as often.
- Radiance, Butterfly, Heaven's Halberd, Solar Crest can reduce the value of your Corrosive Haze with constant misses and can be hard for Slardar to itemize against, requiring Black King Bar, Monkey King Bar or both. The same applies for his allies that want to take advantage of the armor reduction.
- Diffusal Blade can be a pain to deal with until Slardar gets a Black King Bar.
- Lotus Orb dispels and reflects Corrosive Haze back at Slardar if he tries to use it on a hero affected by it.
Good against...[]
- Slithereen Crush and Bash of the Deep deals physical damage, bypassing the magic resistance bonus from Counterspell
- Corrosize Haze significantly increases the damage dealt against Anti-Mage, and makes it harder for him to flee with Blink, although Anti-mage can block its casting with with Counterspell
- Bounty Hunter's Shadow Walk is rendered useless with Corrosive Haze and makes Bounty Hunter an easy target for Slardar and his team.
- Clinkz survivability depends entirely on Skeleton Walk. Corrosive Haze not only makes its invisibility useless, but also makes Clinkz even more vulnerable to physical damage.
- With armor items like Solar Crest or Assault Cuirass combined with Bash of the Deep, Slardar can easily tank the Duel, If not dueled himself, he can drop Legion Commander's armor during duel and/or buff his teammate and save them, leaving her only the choice of dueling supports which can also be saved with fast Blink into Slithereen Crush.
- Slardar is one of the few meele heroes who can lane against Ursa in the early game, out harassing him with Bash of the Deep, and running away from a bad engagement with Guardian Sprint
- Corrosize Haze can force Ursa to cast Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Enrage". defensively instead of offensively
- With Corrosize Haze, Slardar's team can quickly dispatch of Roshan, denying one of Ursa's greatest advantages
- While Slardar has Guardian Sprint activated, Rot cannot slow him and Meat Hook is easier to avoid.
- Slithereen Crush allows Slardar to interrupt Dismember at close range (when Slardar is not a target).
- Corrosive Haze reveals Pudge's location, making it very difficult for him to land hooks from the fog.
- Corrosive Haze makes Riki completely vulnerable to Slardar and his allies, as Riki has no easy way of dispelling it.
- Slardar's physical damage with Slithereen Crush and Bash of the Deep amplified by Corrosive Haze can easily kill Riki.
- Shadow Fiend, a normal Shadow Blade builder often relies on its invisibility to escape fights. Corrosive Haze reveals Shadow Fiend and also weakens his already low armor.
- Weaver relies on Shukuchi to escape and kite enemy heroes. Slardar's Corrosive Haze lowers armor and reveals Weaver, who is already a very frail target.
- Weaver usually builds Linken's Sphere, Corrosive Haze can be used to pop the spell block, additionally the level 25 undispellable talent will prevent Weaver from removing Corrosive Haze with Time Lapse, allowing allied heroes to use their abilities on Weaver.
- While Slardar has Guardian's Sprint activated, Powershot cannot slow him and is easier to avoid.
- Slithereen Crush and Bash of the Deep help Slardar put Windranger in place, even when she uses Windrun to escape.
- Corrosive Haze from Slardar is very effective against Windranger's already low armor. This becomes even worse if she has Aghanim's Scepter-upgraded Windrun, because it also reveals her position and allowing his allies to use their abilities on Windranger.
- Note that the invisibility provided by Aghanim's Scepter-upgraded Windrun is not broken upon attacking, casting abilities or using items, so it's vital to cast Corrosive Haze beforehand.
Others[]
- Invoker's Ghost Walk can be countered, however, Invoker could also use abilities like Tornado or Ice Wall to escape by other means.
- Nyx Assassin's Vendetta can be revealed easily by Corrosive Haze
- Crystal Maiden's already low armor and easily interruptible ultimate, Freezing Field can make Slardar her worst nightmare. Crystal Maiden also often builds Glimmer Cape which is revealed by Corrosive Haze.
- Mirana's ultimate Moonlight Shadow makes her and all her allies invisible for a duration. Corrosive Haze reveals invisibility, potentially rendering Moonlight Shadow useless.
Items[]
- Shadow Blade and its upgrade Silver Edge can be easily countered by Corrosive Haze's true sight.
- Slardar's Bash of the Deep pierces spell immunity so Black King Bar won't prevent the Bash.
- Linken's Sphere can be easily broken because Corrosive Haze has a shorter cooldown than Spellblock by 8 seconds (13-5).
Works well with...[]
- Corrosive Haze significantly increases the damage from Jinada.
- Bounty Hunter commonly builds Desolator as well, further amplifying physical damage done to the enemy.
- Track makes it easier for Slardar to target enemies with Corrosize Haze, and vice versa.
- Track's movement speed aura also allows Slardar to very easily catch up to enemies, especially with Guardian Sprint.
- Wave of Terror and Corrosive Haze used in tandem will drastically reduce the enemy's armor and amplify physical damage.
- Nether Swap is easier to cast with the vision provided by Corrosize Haze
- Shadow Fiend's passive Presence of the Dark Lord reduces armor to enemies around him, along with Corrosive Haze, Shadow Fiend, mainly being a basic attack hero, will easily be able to tear down foes.
- Combined with Alchemist's further armor reduction with Acid Spray and given the fact that his Unstable Concoction does physical damage, it can allow Alchemist to deal huge amounts of damage.
- Slardar's Guardian Sprint and Corrosive Haze makes him a great host for Infest.
- The slow of Stifling Dagger gives Slardar an easier time into rushing straight to his target with Guardian Sprint and cast Slithereen Crush right next to it.
- The global vision provided by Corrosive Haze allows Phantom Assassin to constantly throw Stifling Dagger at her target, even if the target tries to hide among the trees.
- Coup de Grace and Stifling Dagger does more damage with Corrosive Haze being cast on the target.
- In case both Phantom Assassin and Slardar are retreating or escaping, Slardar can use Guardian Sprint to make a quick escape, allowing Phantom Assassin to use Phantom Strike to hop in.
- Templar Assassin's Pure Damage basic attacks from Psi Blades is amplified greatly with the use of Corrosive Haze.
- Templar Assassin also commonly builds Desolator, which also reduces enemy armor.
- Templar Assassin's second ability, Meld reduces enemy armor as well.
Others[]
- Elder Titan's Natural Order leaves enemies near him at 0 armor. Corrosive Haze further decreases the enemies' armor, leaving them with a negative armor value, making them take amplified physical damage.
- Anti-Mage's Mana Break deals physical damage, in conjunction with Slardar's armor reduction, all of Anti-Mage's basic attacks will deal even more damage.
- Generally any hero who is reliant on physical damage/basic attack damage works well with Slardar because of Corrosive Haze.
- Generally any hero who benefits from the vision granted by Corrosive Haze, even if they don't deal physical damage, like Tinker.
