Guide to Shadow Fiend - the most extravagant core in patch 7.32c

The pantheon of iconic characters in Dota saved a slot for Shadow Fiend, also known as Nevermore. It holds its position for a reason – it has grown its roots deeply into the Dota ecosystem.

SF is a rather unique character in Dota 2 matches. Its authenticity amounts to game design of the character.

Shadow Fiend is a classic murderer capable of spreading damage at all stages of the game. Moreover, he does it in any situation: let it be a hopelessly lost map or a game with absolute domination.

The demon’s game design and structure are very simple, and the character is user-friendly, however, it is not that easy. Not everyone can master Shadow Fiend and make the most of him.

In this guide we will try to catch the philosophy of the game on the character and achieve the maximum of his potential.

Shadow Fiend’s Abilities

Shadow Fiend’s abilities is a point where you either fall in love with the character, or get away from him. The thing is the game design of the character we were talking about above.

Shadow Fiend has enough abilities uncommon for Dota.

• Shadowraze [Q], [W], [E] is the only active (non-ultimative) and main ability including three variant in itself. It damages AOE.

These variants do not differ in anything apart from the distance of its application. While leveling-up Shadowraze, only its damage increases which also happens if there is an addition to Spell Amplification.

Shadowraze is a stumbling block for any kind of Shadow Fiend (we’ll talk about them below). They enable pushing the lanes farming packs of creeps, hold the forest and damage enemies. The latter will please Dota-2 fans in patch 7.32: thanks to the passive parameter of stacking + a new for the patch slowing down effect make Shadowraze a deadly weapon after the second hit into an enemy character

• Necromastery [D] is the first out of two passive abilities. It sucks in souls of fallen enemies converting them into additional damage (each soul brings +2 damage, the maximum number is 20)

Necromastery’s ability is a second showpiece of SF. It helps the character to put on critical mass which consequently enables damage with auto-attacks.

The spell has another “sub-spell”. If the character dies, he releases 40% of the collected souls with the help of the upgraded Requiem of Souls [R].

• Presence of the Dark Lord [F] is the second passive and most rude spell of Shadow Fiend. It gives aura that reduces armor to humanoids in the radius of 1,200 units (does not affect building without talent)
• Requiem of Souls [R] is the ultimate ability of Shadow Fiend. It releases the collected with the help of Necromastery [D] converting them into blast waves. Each collected soul triggers one wave.

The ultimate Shadow Fiend, thanks to the passive patch, imposes frightening effects for each caught wave (the character may be attacked by 20 waves simultaneously), and also debuff for reduction of fightback magic.

The ult SF can run two functions at the same time: the first and banal is fast damage, and the second, less obvious, is zoning of the enemy. Smart usage of the ultimate helps Shadow Fiend to destroy almost any character alone at early stages, and at further stages of the game to control positioning of the team. Besides, the build we will talk about later enables kills at late stages of the game.

SF’s talents

Dota 2’s talents are not overrated. In the case of SF, they do not play a key role (the gameplay is tied with attributes) but they contribute to building.

Magical build upgrades:

• Level 10. +25 to the damage from [Q], [W], [E].
• Level 15. +100 to the damage from Shadowraze [Q], [W], [E].
• Level 20. +0.4 seconds from Requiem of Souls [R].
• Level 25. -5 seconds to recharge Shadowraze [Q], [W], [E].

Physical build upgrades:

• Level 10. + 25 to the attack speed
• Level 15. + Presence of The Dark Lord [F] affects buildings
• Level 20. + 3 to the damage for a soul for Necromastery [D]
• Level 25. Shadowraze [Q], [W], [E] gives attack damage

You can take a closer look at a talent of level 15. Additional 100 damage for Shadowraze is influential in both magic build and physical purchase. Anyway, armor aura for buildings will be strong in both variants.

Shadow Fiend Attributes

Let us observe two variants of assembly to the style of usage of SF: physical and magical. The difference is dramatic.

Through physics:

If you are in mid, buy Bottle. Key items will be Magic Stick + Power Treads. Then we get a huge room for imagination.

In the mid game we choose Dragon Lance/Shadow Blade/Mask of Madness/Sange and Yasha + BKB. Black King Bar is a key item for the middle of the game. You can add Aghanim Shard, but you should not rush it to BKB.

Do not combine transitional items in one build, you risk not having enough time to recollect with heavier items.

In the lengthy stage of the game if you have Shadow Blade, you should upgrade it to Silver Edge, and Dragon Lance to Hurricane Pike, and after that obtain Butterfly/Monkey King Bar/Eye of Skadi/Skadi/Daedalus (if not Silver Edge).

There are neutral items that will fit: Paladin Sword, Elven Tunic, Titan Silver and others.

Magic:

In magic build, play mid. Bottle + Magic Stick remain, then you buy a boot that does not upgrade to purchasing Eul. After buying “winds”, you take Boots of Travel and Blink Dagger. Buy it depending on the situation as usually it is difficult without it.

The lengthy stage of the game requires Arcane Blink + Refresher. If possible, get Aghanim Scepter that is eaten with the help of Aghanim Blessing and take Scythe of Wise/Shiva/Octarine Core depending on the situation.

Matchups for Shadow Fiend in the mid

Loosely speaking, it doesn’t matter to Shadow Fiend who they are standing against. It is because of the powerful nuke and massive speed of the farm. If you are doing poorly, you should head to the forest where SF can catch the lost tempo.

Matchups are subjective, so they may seem to be not so relevant. However, Shadow Fiend really struggles with characters with high magic resistance, characters that can cut or break the distance of those who have evades.

How to win Shadow Fiend in Dota 2

The recipe of success while playing Shadow Fiend is control of the mana, constant harass with coils while playing on the lane at initial stages and insolence. Yes, the final criteria is essential while playing with the character.

Physical build is easier to do. Our best friends are automatic attacks and closer to the late game you can start using upgraded coils in case if you choose this talent. The ultimate ability is used for controlling the position and if it is necessary to save a teammate/yourself.

Magical build is more demanding of skills. Insolence is not going anywhere, it is supported by timing, and they differ at various stages of the game. After the acquisition of Arcane Blink, they change dramatically and now we have to pay more attention to them.

The play style is simple in understanding and at first it is difficult to perform. We fight ONLY if there are combinations Blink + Eul + Requiem of Souls [R] + Shadowraze [Q], [W], [E]. For saving performance, you should add BKB BEFORE Blink Dagger. In the late game, this combination should be accompanied by Refresher and thanks to the speed of the cast from the buff and cut animation of Arcane Blink, we do two ults without losing time and extra body movements.

Note: always control THE DIRECTION the character is looking in. It is vital, especially for newbies.

Who will teach us to play with Shadow Fiend in Dota 2?

The father of Shadow Fiend in the ancient time was Yamateeh, but it was long time ago. Now we should take a peek at Paparazzi and early Miracle. However, experience is the best teacher. Playing matchups at any lane, you will come to an understanding the basics of SF, and later you will learn more about special features of the character.