What players buy
The items bought most in each of Valve’s four game stages
Public matches · each item’s own count
1stMost bought
238 buys
2ndSecond most
144 buys
3rdThird most
54 buys
4thFourth most
50 buys
5thFifth most
37 buysBy GamGem ResearchLast updated 22 Sept 2026
Slardar
Melee · Strength
- Win rate
- 50.1%
- Pick share
- 0.8%
- Matches
- 383,025
- Patch
- 7.41f
Draft coverage
BringsCarryDurableInitiatorDisablerEscape
NeedsSupportBurstTower damage
Recommendation
Pick
- The game is heading for 30–40 min — that is where this hero measures best, at 53.0% over 5,322 matches.
- You are playing around Herald — its strongest medal, 52.0% over 10,279 picks.
Avoid
- Mirana is on their side — this hero wins 32.3% of 65 matches against it.
- Phantom Lancer is on their side — this hero wins 36.8% of 57 matches against it.
- Crystal Maiden is on their side — this hero wins 41.3% of 104 matches against it.
238 buys144 buys54 buys50 buys37 buys
Skill Order
Which ability to max first, and where each point goes — what most league players on Slardar took at each level.
QGuardian Sprint
Slardar slithers ahead, moving significantly faster and passing through units.
No Target · Instant Cast
WSlithereen Crush
Slams the ground, leaving a puddle of water, and stunning and damaging nearby enemy units.
No Target · Physical damage
EBash of the Deep
After 3 attacks, your next attack will bash the target.
Passive · Physical damage
RCorrosive Haze
Reduces enemy armor to amplify physical damage and provides True Sight and vision of the targeted unit, revealing invisibility.
Unit TargetMax Order
WQE
Max W first, then Q, then E. Most took R at 6 / 13.
Level-up Order
- QGuardian Sprint
- WSlithereen Crush
- EBash of the Deep
- RCorrosive Haze
- TTalent
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QGuardian Sprint | Q | Q | Q | Q | ||||||||||||
| WSlithereen Crush | W | W | W | W | ||||||||||||
| EBash of the Deep | E | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
| RCorrosive Haze | R | R | ||||||||||||||
| TTalent | T | T |
Matchup map
How Slardar performs against every opponent with 30 or more counted games
117 opponents · public matches40%60%Slardar's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard
If this happens, use this
- They are running away
Something that holds them still, or closes the gap yourself. Matched on “slow”, “stun”.
- I am being jumped
A way out, a way to shrug the debuff, or something to eat the burst. Matched on “invisib”.
- Stay in lane
Healing, regeneration or lifesteal — not having to walk back. Matched on “regenerat”.
- See what is coming
Vision, or true sight against something invisible. Matched on “vision”, “true sight”, “reveal”.
By medal
- Herald52.0%10,279
- Guardian50.9%34,884
- Crusader50.7%57,615
- Archon50.3%78,192
- Legend49.9%80,182
- Ancient49.2%53,780
- Divine48.6%34,752
One count per medal, not one rate split across them; a medal with no counted matches is left out.
By match length
- 0–20 min47.8%3,822
- 20–30 min50.7%8,552
- 30–40 min53.0%5,322
- 40–50 min52.2%2,133
- 50 min +51.3%948
Bands under 120 matches are absent rather than shown small.
Learning Slardar
Abilities
Guardian Sprint
No Target · Instant CastSlardar slithers ahead, moving significantly faster and passing through units. Slardar has 100% slow resistance for the first 2.5s. The slow resistance gradually fades over the remaining sprint duration.
Slithereen Crush
No Target · Physical damageSlams the ground, leaving a puddle of water, and stunning and damaging nearby enemy units. After the stun, the affected units are slowed.
Bash of the Deep
Passive · Physical damageAfter 3 attacks, your next attack will bash the target.
Seaborn Sentinel
PassiveSlardar gains bonus movement speed, health regeneration, attack damage, and armor while in a puddle, trail, or river.
Corrosive Haze
Unit TargetReduces enemy armor to amplify physical damage and provides True Sight and vision of the targeted unit, revealing invisibility. The enemy unit leaves a trail of water behind it.
Base attributes
- Strength
- 21 +3.4
- Agility
- 17 +2.1
- Intelligence
- 15 +1.5
- Move · range
- 300 · 150
Talents
- 4Slithereen Crush CooldownCorrosive Haze Undispellable
- 3Slithereen Crush DamageSeaborn Sentinel Bonus Attack Damage
- 2+250 HealthCorrosive Haze Armor
- 1Guardian Sprint DurationBash of the Deep Damage
Aghanim’s Scepter
Changes Seaborn Sentinel
Provides additional HP Regen, Armor and Status Resistance while in a puddle, trail, or river. Increases puddle/trail radius by 75% and puddle/trail duration by 5s.
Aghanim’s Shard
Changes Slithereen Crush
Slithereen Crush now applies Corrosive Haze for a short time to units affected.
Sources
- Kit, talents and upgrades · mechanicalread 22 Sept 2026
Ability names, icons, behaviour, damage type and text, plus the Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard descriptions — as the game itself ships them. Nothing here was counted over matches.
- Win rate by medal · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The same hero at each of Valve’s eight medals, over 4,610,063 public matches. Each medal carries its own sample, because the eight buckets are nothing like the same size.
- Matchups and match length · counted, on a narrower windowread 16 Sept 2026
Win rate against each opponent and across five match-length bands. This channel reports far fewer games than the medal figures above: the median hero pairing is 51 matches and the largest on the whole roster is 707. Rows under 30 games are absent rather than shown small, and the ones that remain are ORDERED by a figure shrunk toward even by its own sample — the rate you see is the real one, the ranking is the careful one.
- What players build · countedread 15 Sept 2026
The five most common items in each of Valve’s four game stages, with each row’s own pick count.
- Skill order · counted, in league matchesread 3 Oct 2026
Where skill points go, read off every player's own learning order in premium and professional league matches on patches 7.41 and 7.40. Each level shows the ability most players took there and the share that did — a column only a third agree on is printed as a third, not as the rule. Heroes under 30 counted games show no path.
- Situation index · derived, and checkableread 22 Sept 2026
Each situation is a phrase match against Valve’s own ability text, and every row shows the phrases that matched. No win rate is attached, because nobody counts one per situation.
Mechanics are the ones Valve publishes for patch 7.41f. GamGem is not affiliated with or endorsed by Valve Corporation.