Saturday, July 5, 2008

Tips and Tricks: Shendelzare Silkwood, the Vengeful Spirit


1. Terror


With its short cooldown and very small mana cost, it can be spammed mid to late game while pushing. The short cooldown allows you to cast it every creep wave, potentially strengthening the pushing creep wave, building it up faster (by lessening the creep deaths in your favor), making the wave more powerful once it hits the enemy tower or creep-producing buildings. So while pushing with Venge, always cast Terror! What are you saving up mana for? By this time of the game, Venge has more than 500 mana to spare, more than enough to cast a Magic Missile (or two) and Swap then Teleport (Boots or Scroll), in case she is ambushed. Terror makes a big difference. Add up these “differences” per creep wave and your side actually gains a mightier push.


2. Nether Swap


Show Stopper: It is pretty common knowledge already that this spell is coupled with a mini-stun. But still, this fact is often neglected. Just to reiterate, you can prevent a Sand King earthquake with a simple swap. You can stop Voodoo Death Ward from spraying your allies with fire bolts, still with just a simple swap. You could do so many things that beat the usual Swap-Stun combo. But here are more tricks. If you are facing a Magnataur or an Earthshaker or any other Initiator Hero (those that blink or jump into the middle of combat then do their stuff), you can use swap to mess up their combos. All you need is excellent timing, which can be achieved with practice. When you Magnus or Lesale getting into position, Swap them off the area to disorient them and their allies. Stun the most alert of your foes then make your clean escape.

Swap can also go through BKB Avatar and Repel, so even though enemy turns Avatar on then start a channeling spell like Town Portal, Epicenter, Freezing Field or Death Ward, they can be cancelled.

Swap save: Nether Swap can also be used to save allies from danger. Never hesitate to pull a dying ally off the battlefield, especially if your health is still full. For example, your ally Sven has done his job. Two foes down, but his life is down to 200 and his Black King Bar Avatar has already worn off. A nice swap would not only save a teammate, but could lead to another kill for your team.

You may also save an ally by swapping away the enemy chasing them. For instances that you are behind enemy lines, you can swap your enemies back getting you near your allies for escort support.

Hero Separator: You can actually use swap as a surprise attack. At times when there are 2 enemies near each other, you can focus on the one with lower life by swapping the one with max life AWAY to reduce the chance of double teaming. You can also use this to gain to your enemy away from the range of your swap. swap the hero near him and focus on your target. You can also use your ally as a blink in target. For example, get Razor or Magina to chase the enemy and swap them to get your stun in range.

Anti-Blink: For those who doesnt consider blinking heroes worthy to swap, well this could be a way to change your minds. This is actually a strategy against blinking heroes, here's what you do: It is important that you use stun first. This will give you a few cheap shots against your enemy. As you may observe, blinking heroes have a 0.75 sec. channeling animation while Swap has 0.5 sec delay, therefore, as soon as you see the blinking animation start, use your Nether Swap. This will either cancel the blink and give you more time to damage the enemy for the next stun, or move your enemy back therefore causing him to blink right beside you w/c means more time to whack him to death.

AoE Saving: There are times that you can help your teammates by swapping the enemy, away from the crowd instead of into. For example, you won't be able to do anything to cancel once there is a Sand King sending seismic waves at your allies. However you can swap him (SK) away from everyone, therefore wasting the remaining pulses he has yet to release. You can also do this with other heroes such as Luna (Eclipse), Leshrac (Edict and Pulse Nova), Krobelus (Exorcism), etc.


3. Command Aura


Usually, this is forewent in place of Bonus Stats points during early to mid game. But we have to remember that during team pushes and clashes, the bonus damage from this might be more beneficial to the team than the measly hit and mana points added to her pool. But when? Well, if there are at least two normal attackers / damage dealers in the team, like Storm Spirit and Drow Ranger, Rikimaru and Slithice, it is advisable to get Command Aura in place of stats. The damage boost may not amount to much but may spell victory for the team, and not just for the survival of Silkwood, your precious hero.

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