NEVERMORE The Shadow Fiend DOTA 2 Hero Guide and Strategy

One of the most favorite and most prominent hero in DOTA is Nevermore the Shadow Fiend. Well, who doesn't know and who doesn't love this hero?

He is considered as a powerhouse and often times, he is the one carrying his team to victory. However, that doesn't mean that if you ho Shadow Fiend, you are ensured of a win every time.

Using Shadow Fiend in DOTA 2 needs a lot of practice. Yes, he is considered by many as the best farmer in the game but, it takes a lot of practice and knowledge to use his skills properly.

In addition to learning his skills, we also need to know the items we should pick on building first in a certain scenario as we all know that Shadow Fiend is a squishy hero (and this is the trade off for his superior damage) and, equipping him with the wrong items will be very costly and will often lead to a loss.

To help you resolve all that problems, I have decided to put up a guide here in Web Junkies that will help you understand more Shadow Fiend in DOTA 2. Do remember that this is only a guide though. Some points that I will mention here may differ from your own perspective and that is why I encourage you to share your points of view also by typing a few words on the comment box below.

Now, let us proceed to the Shadow Fiend DOTA 2 Guide...

Shadow Fiend can fill-in a lot of role in DOTA. He can be a ganker as his damage really outshines other heroes even at early levels. The logic is: High damage means faster way to kill which basically means more successful ganks. However, his damage depends mostly on his Shadowraze skill. You will need to hit at least 2 of them to do significant damage to the enemy. This needs a lot of practice by the way and if you are planning to use SF a lot in DOTA 2, then I suggest to practive using his Shadowraze skill as early as now.

Aside from being a ganker, he can also be the Carry of the team. SF can be a very deadly hero especially when he is fully equipped with his core and luxury items. Plus, the base damage and the damage you'll get from the acquired soul will be a very big boos on inflicting as much damage to the enemy as possible. In addition, Shadow Fiend has this scary ultimate which does a lot of damage to the enemy and slow them for a few seconds. The devastating power can become a turning point in battles if you land it correctly to all enemies during clashing.

However, don't every build Shadow Fiend as a Support or a Tank. SF is a squishy hero that he will be the worst tank in your team if you do build him as a Tank and, he has no staple DISABLE skills other than his ultimate (which has slow effect), which makes him a bad Support. Well, I know that you are well-educated in DOTA, and I think you won't do this mistake.

Shadowraze- Shadow Fiend razes the area in front of him, dealing damage to enemy units in an area.
Range: 200(Q) / 450(W) / 700(E)
Radius: 250
Damage: 75 / 150 / 225 / 300
Mana Cost: 75
Cooldown Time: 10 seconds

Comment: This skill is one of your main source of damage. Do take note that level 4 of this skill does 300 damage each. If you do manage to hit all three Shadowrazes, then that means that you will inflict 900 damage on the enemy. However, hitting this skill ain't easy. It takes a lot of practice and to be honest, I can only manage to hit 2 at average, even if I have been playing DOTA for 5 years. Well, I am not really a pro in DOTA but, I think I have enough experience to share something about this skill, concerning on how can you land at least two of them...

So, here's some tips on landing Shadowraze...

1. Know the range of the two Shadowraze- This is the most important part of making these three skill hit: KNOWING THE RANGE OF THE THREE.Well, we know that the closest Shadowraze is ranged at 200 while the farthest is ranged at 300 but, how do they really look like in reality?

To give a very brief insight of this skill in real play, you can check out the video below to find the exact range of the three razes in actual game. Oh yeah, the video isn't mine guys. Too lazy to make one so I just picked the most reliable videoon youtube, which shows you the range of Shadowraze



2. Prediction of Enemy Movement- This the hardest thing to do: predicting enemy movement. However, this is the most important part that you need to learn to make those Shadowrazes hit the enemy. It does need a lot of practice and I suggest that you start it now. Other DOTA players has this thing called as "Blind Raze" where you cast your Shadowraze like a Blind. You can watch an example of a Blindraze on the video below later.



3. Knowing what is Shadowraze- The thing that I almost forgot mentioning on how to land Shadowraze more often is to know the skill itself. Well, you won't be able to use it well if you don't know it well. Here the thing about Shadowraze: Aside from knowing that it has three ranges which is seen on the description below and, from the fact that it can deal 300 damage each, this skill is allocated on Q, W and E hotkey. Q has the closest range, W has the middle range while E has the farthest range amongst the three. In addition, the three Shadowraze doesn't share the same cooldown which means you can combo them well together. Also,    Shadowraze nukes in front of Shadow Fiend, meaning you need to be facing the target. And lastly, there is around a 0.5 second animation delay casting a Shadowraze so be wary of that.

Necromastery- Shadow Fiend steals the soul from units he kills, gaining bonus damage. If the killed unit is a hero, he gains 6 souls. On death, he releases half of them from bondage.
Maximum souls: 12 / 20 / 28 / 36
Bonus damage per soul: 2



Comment: In my opinion, this is the very first skill you must take to give you an edge against enemy players at early levels. Do remember that this skill has the ability to grant you souls, which then grants you bonus damage. How will you acquire these souls? Simple... Get kills from creeps or enemy heroes, and you'll get them! Also, you can get souls from denying your own creeps. Aside from your Shadowraze skill, this is the skill which is in passive form, which will keep you farming fast and getting your core items in a jiffy. In fact, this is one way of avoiding, spamming Shadowraze at early level. Nevermore has a low pool of MP and at early level, you need to conserve Shadowraze for killing heroes or killing a group of low-life creeps.

Presence of the Dark Lord- Shadow Fiend's presence reduces the armor of nearby enemies.
Radius: 900
Armor Reduction: 3/4/5/6




Comment: Yet another passive skill that grants negative armor debuff to enemies nearby. In my opinion, this skill is best taken when Necromastery and Shadowraze is at full level. In early fights, this passive may be a good pair to Necromastery but, sacrificing the damage you will inflict to enemies, coming from Shadowraze isn't really suggested. Oh by the way, this skill does stack with other armor reducing items, effects or even skills.

Requiem of Souls- Captured souls are released to deal massive damage, as well as slowing and reducing the attack damage of nearby enemy units. Requiem of Souls creates one wave of damage for every 2 souls stored by Necromastery. The closest enemy units are hit the hardest. Requiem has a 1 second cast time before it is activated. Also, the half the souls you lose on death are released in as if the spell was cast. Damage Radius: 1375 / 1425 / 1475
Damage Per Line: 80 / 120 / 160
Slow Radius: 700
Slow Duration: 5
Slow: 20%
Attack Damage Reduction: 50%
Mana Cost: 150 / 175 / 200
Cooldown Time: 120 / 110 / 100 (in seconds)
Comment: One of the best nuke skill I have seen and I have used so far in DOTA 2. Shadow Fiend really looks cool with this skill especially at clashing. The damage of Requiem of Soul is dependent on the number of souls you acquired from Necromastery. And yes, that is why Necromastery is really important and you should prioritize maxing that skill first. This skill explodes waves of damaging lines around Shadow Fiend with 1 line per two souls stored, for a total of 10 waves of lines. The skill lowers the movement speed and as well as the attack damage of the enemies withing the explosion but here's the catch: The skill has a 1 second casting time which basically means there's a chance that Requiem of Souls can be countered by a perfectly timed stun. Also, when you cast this skill while in Windwalk State, your invisibility will break but, the skill has little chance to be cancelled. So yeah, Shadow Blade is a good item for Shadow Fiend, for positioning and catching your enemy off guard with your ultimate.

I think I have covered everything about Shadow Fiend's ultimate and it don't need any further explaining but for those who are looking for some real time action on this skill, you can check out a few videos I have copied from youtube and embedded on this page to show you the desctructive power of Requiem of Souls.




The second video shows the change that has been made by the developer on Requiem of Souls at patch 6.75. As you can see, once you have successfully casted your ultimate then you have died, you will then release another wave of RoS. The damage dealt by this additional wave is half the amount of souls you have so yeah, it also can kill enemies especially those who are low in life.

Learning from the PROS

Here are other videos showing how good these two players are in controlling Shadow Fiend. And yeah, while watching, try to learn something from them on both using Shadowraze and Requiem of Soul. My idol, YaphetS is a pro himself and I think his the best Shadow Fiend user in DOTA. I tried to search some of his videos on youtube but it only give me a DOTA gameplay of SF. So, that is why these two are just the one's in here...



Skill Distribution Per Level

Level 1- Necromastery
Level 2- Shadowraze
Level 3- Shadowraze
Level 4- Necromastery
Level 5- Shadowraze
Level 6- Necromastery
Level 7- Shadowraze
Level 8- Necromastery
Level 9- Presence of the Dark Lord
Level 10- Requiem of Soul
Level 11- Requiem of Soul
Level 12- Presence of the Dark Lord
Level 13- Presence of the Dark Lord
Level 14- Stats
Level 15- Requiem of Souls
Level 16- Stats
Level 17- Stats
Level 18- Stats
Level 19- Stats
Level 20- Stats
Level 21- Stats
Level 22- Stats
Level 23- Stats
Level 24- Stats
Level 25- Stats

Recommended Item Build for Shadow Fiend

Now this is the hardest part of the guide and I think that we will differ in opinions with this one but hey, this is a guide remember.

Starting Items

1x Slipper of Agility



3x Ironwood Branch

3x Tango



1x Healing Salve


Now why the hell would I start up with this item and not go to Bottle? Anyway, I can afford it at the very start of the game. The key to Nevermore's farming at early game is his damage. Yes, you can do have Bottle at the very start of the game but for me, I prefer these items at the start of the game and I will just farm for Bottle. I have choose to have these item as at the very first, like you have notice earlier, I will be getting Necromastery at the very first. Slipper of Agility and as well as Iron Branch is one key of boosting my damage a bit to help me farm for soul fast and easy. In short, it will give me a decent damage to last hit enemy creeps or my own creeps. While the 3x Tango and 1x Healing Salve is purely for sustainability. At early game, you don't want to leave your lane (except you want to gank) as you will let the other hero have the advantage in terms of level. In times when your health is getting low, you can use Tango while if you need instant heal as your health is near death, then use Healing Salve. Just be sure that no one will attack you when you use Healing Salve as it will cancel the healing effect.

Core Items


Bottle- Now this is the key to winning battles at early game (when you have Necromastery at least at level 3 and Shadowraze at level 2). This will not only give you the sustainability that you need to be at lane always and not go back to town, but this also gives you the ability to gank efficiently. Why the heck would I be able to gank efficiently with this item?! RUNES BABY!

Now, let us pause discussing item builds first, and tackle the runes which will help us in battles. Here they are:

Haste - Provides a 100% bonus movement speed for 30 seconds. Maximum movement speed is 522. This rune isn't only useful to Shadow Fiend on escaping and chasing, it also provides great positioning to Shadow Fiend as, the more faster you move, the more quicker you can adjust your position and landing Shadowraze or your Requiem of Soul.

Invisibility - Grants invisibility for 45 seconds. This rune competes with haste for rank 1 in runes but after invisibility is gone, you can't chase if an enemy happens to get away. If there's one thing I can say about this rune, that is it provides Shadow Fiend that ability to surprise enemy in battles. You can set them up with your SS with this rune.

Regeneration - Regenerates 100hp/67mp per second for a total of 30 seconds. If you do take damage the regeneration buff will dispel. When you play Shadow Fiend, you will rarely go back to base with this rune as it will give you the instant health and mp you need to keep on battling. Plus with this rune, you can waste your mana clearing up creeps and farming more gold to get your items fast.

Double Damage- Buffs your hero and any illusions within 500 range 100% damage for 45 seconds. This only increases your base attack damage so bonus attack damage items like Monkey King Bar will not get the increase. Items like Butterfly that has +30 AGILITY will double with Shadow Fiend attack since AGILITY bonuses increase BASE damage.

Illusions - Creates two replicas with the current condition of yourself. So let's say you have 50% health, the illusions will also have the same amount. Each illusion takes 400% damage and deals 50% of the total damage you deal. The least useful out of the five runes. Does provide scouting information or get enemies to waste mana on it. Sometimes get the opposition to waste ultimates but that's a small chance. Also good when you want to push a lane and helps to last hit.

Now... back to the recommended items for Shadow Fiend...

Shadow Blade/Blink Dagger- Now this is fun to explain... Most of the time, people argue about what to go with: Shadow Blade or Blink Dagger. Personally, I would say that it depends on the situation and your preference. Let us list the advantage and disadvantage of both item first...


Shadow Blade


Advantages 
+30 Bonus Damage, +30 Attack Speed
Provides Shadow Walk an active invisibility and +150 bonus physical damage on next attack Movement speed is increased 20% when you're invisible.
Stronger escape tool than Blink Dagger.
Invisibility breaks after Requiem of Souls finishes cast.
You can do full damage with Requiem of Souls if you can stand directly above enemy
Easier to dodge projectiles than Blink Dagger

Disadvantages
Shadow Walk has a longer cooldown
Takes longer to get into a fight
Countered by Sentry Ward, Necronomicon, Gem of True Sight and Dust of Appearance
Chances to do full damage with Requiem of Souls are slim
850g more expensive than Blink Dagger Blink Dagger


Blink Dagger 


Advantages
Cost 2150g
Better Initiation
Instant Positioning
Jump through obstacles
Able to dodge projectiles if timed correctly
Shorter cooldown than Shadow Blade

Disadvantages
Provides zero stat boosts
Three second cooldown when you take damage
Harder to escape than with Shadow Blade
Radiance counters Blink Dagger hard if you're trying to escape Blink Dagger
Power Threads/Boots of Travel/Phase Boots- These are the boos which are recommended for Shadow Fiend. So, does this mean that I will take all three? LOL. No one does that and definitely NO. You just pick one depending on the situation. The Power Threads provides flexibility to your hero. Remember that you can switch this boots to INT, AGI or STR which gives you a bit of an advantage in a certain scenario whether you need, life, mana or a bit boost in damage.

On the other hand, in cases where you most need the ability to chase and escape, then Phase Boots is your item. Remember that this item provides a short movement speed increase and also, don't forget that this boots has an effect which enable you to move through creeps or what other call as anti-collision effect. Well, that doesn't include towers or trees but how I wish it can do that sort of stuff. ahaha. Anyway, one of the other advantage that you can benefit from this boots is positioning. Just like Rune of Haste, the faster your movement, the quicker you can position yourself and cast Shadowraze or Requiem of Soul.

Now the last Boots in the list is Boots of Travel. In most cases, I end up replacing Phase Boots or Power Threads with this boots at the late stages of the game, wherein you'll need the ability  of this item to teleport you to places you want to go. At late game, you'll need to free up that space in your stash where you always place your town portal, to put that item which gives more BANG to your Hero.

Core Option

Magic Wand- In times when the regen from Bottle don't suffice the HP and MP you need, then go get Magic Wand. But take note, it's only an option. If Bottle is enough, and you have enough money to buy your luxury item, then I suggest that you do buy them instead of sticking with another sustainability item.

Luxury Items



Manta Style- This will be a great item for Nevermore. Not only does it gives you the movement speed that you need (due to the Yasha effect), and not only for the damage it gives you, but also for the ability to dodge enemy attacks if you timed them well. Just check out the video below on how Manta Style helped the player dodge the bullet, killed the attacker and escaped while you are LOL on the enemy...

In addition to the great dodging ability, Manta Style will be very helpful in pushing lanes also. Remember that the Illusions of Manta Style will adapt the damage of Shadow Fiend and pushing lanes with Shadow Fiend in mid to late game will be be like a breeze with Manta Style.

Butterfly- Attack Speed, Dodge Rate and more damage? What more can you ask for? This item provides solid stats especially for Shadow Fiend. The increase in attack speed is really great but the dodge rate is the thing, which is why  I really like this item.


Situational Items


Black King Bar- An average DOTA 2 game will always have stunners or what we often call as disabler heroes which will definitely bother the casting of Nevermore's Requiem of Soul. If the situation gets more competitive and out of 10 times, you only landed your Requiem of Soul once successfully, then I think it's time to pick a Black King Bar my friend. This will be your source of protection for those skills that can cancel your Requiem of Soul

Linken's Sphere- You will definitely say the moment you see Linken Sphere, "I don't need this one!". But guys, here me out first before you decide to neglect this item. In DOTA 2, there are certain heroes that can override the effect of BKB. More specifically, skills like Batrider's Flaming Lasso and Beastmaster's Primal Roar can neglect the BKB's effect. If you have heroes like this on the opposing team, better to build Linken Sphere first and, if you there are average disablers and BKB overriders, then better pick both BKB and Linken Sphere for that extra protection. And besides, these two item doesn't only help as a protective measure for Shadow Fiend, it also boost his stats. So, it's really worth picking in situations like this!

Daedalus/Satanic/Eye of Skadi-  One of your main problem in late games is cutting down big chunks of life of the tanker hero like Centaur and Axe. As we all know, these two will have the most armor at the late stage of the game and, one way of bypassing the heavy armor is by landing critical hits with Daedalus. Another way of dealing with this hero is through kitting them with the help of Eye of Skadi. Both of them are melee range and you will have no problem in terms of killing them with your range. The only problem that I could think of in going with Eye of Skadi is if this two have Blink Dagger. So be wary of what they are doing at all times, especially in clashing. My basic rule in clashing with this hero is: DON'T SHOW UP UNTIL THEY SHOW UP! And lastly Satanic. The main key of buying this item is outsurviving these king of beefy heroes. With the sick Lifesteal that Satanic provides, I think you will have the a little bit of an edge against these tanking titans at the end.

Ethereal Blade- If enemy team has strong AUTO-ATTACKERS, I'd buy Ethereal Blade to survive attacks from heroes like Drow. Deals damage proportional to how much AGILITY Shadow Fiend has and sends both you and your target into an etherael state. In the etherael form, both you and your target unaffected by auto-attacks and take increased magical damage. A good combo against etherael'd enemies with Shadow Fiend is, Ethereal Blade -> Black King Bar -> get closer to etherael'd enemy -> Requiem of Souls -> Profit. It's a bit risky if you get Ethereal Blade when they have strong abilities like Lion's ultimate Finger of Death but that's why you activate Black King Bar before or after you've used it. Buying a Butterfly further increases your survivability and boosts the power of the e-blade.

Heart of Tarrasque- If things really get rough and you need extra boost in life, then HoT is the item you need. This item is really useful especially when you are facing a hero which has already brought a Butterfly. Probably, you will be defeated every time if you go toe-to-toe with enemies with Butterfly and, with evasive buffs like Mortred. The extra health and as well as the regen will be crucial in winning the battle against those certain heroes.

Monkey King Bar- Another way to win against heroes who already have bought butterfly is by buying MKB. Take note that this item has this so called Passive True Strike which prevents your attack from missing and, don't forget the mini stun it has.

Nevermore Shadow Fiend Game Strategies

Well, I am not really the best Shadow Fiend player out there in DOTA 2, but I will try to cover some basics information on how you should play Shadow Fiend.

First things first.... Let us talk about LANE-ing. The best lane for Shadow Fiend is on Middle Lane where he can farm easy with the help of runes. Be sure to talk to your team first and ask them that you will go on middle lane if you will pick Shadow Fiend. However, always be wary of your surroundings when you are at middle lane as Nevermore. YOU WILL BE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION once you go to middle lane and picked this hero. What can you do to avoid being a failure in MID? WARDS BABY! You can check out some of the spots that you must ward to help you not be gank every time and be wary of rune availability.

Your main goal in the early game is to farm for soul and farm for your core items. Pawn a bunch of creeps with your Shadowraze skill and if you have the chance, gank at top lane or at bot lane. If there's one advice I can give you at early stage of the game, that is CONTROLLING THE RUNES! The RUNES will be your best friend as Shadow Fiend, so pay attention to it every two minutes and of course, don't forget to ward the RUNE spot so it will be more easy for you to detect where is the rune at that current time.

At this stage of the game, you must already have your Core items like Shadow Blade/Blink Dagger, the boots that you prefer in that current situation and your bottle of course. In this stage, I prefer ganking with a team mate more preferably, those heroes with disables like slow and stuns. Remember that Nevermore hasn't got this much of a talent in Ganking solo (unless you are really good of course) as he has no stable disable skills. All he has is pure raw damage from his Shadowrazes and base damage. 

And last piece of advice, be CAREFUL at the middle stage of the game. When you fail to gank and fail to outfarm enemy heroes, there's a big chance that you will end up losing the game. GANK CAREFULLY AND FARM CAREFULLY. Anyway, you have escape mechanism at the moment with your Shadow Blade/Blink Dagger... USE THAT WISELY if you are in danger and, of course use it as often in Ganking enemy heroes.

As like any other heroes, at late game, your goal is to be the main carry of the team. You will be the one inflicting damage to the enemies in clash with your Shadowraze and Requiem of Soul and of course, with your base damage. At this part of the game, it's all about pushing, clashing and winning battles!

I strongly advised that you have Manta Style at this stage as like what I have said, not only that it will increase your stat, it will also give you more escape mechanism. 

DON'T GO ALONE! Be with an ally or more preferably, be with your team all the time. Also, learn to communicate well with the hero who will initiate clash or those heroes like Tide Hunter. Be sure to always take a look on what he/she is doing as remember, you will be the one taking a big chunk of life, of the opposing team's heroes, with your Requiem of Soul. 

So there you have it guys... This is my NEVERMORE The Shadow Fiend DOTA 2 Hero Guide and Strategy. For comments and suggestions on my guide, feel free to write a few words on the comment box below. And oh yeah! Before you leave, you can watch out a few videos of players, playing Nevermore The Shadow Fiend to get more tips on how to play this Shadow Fiend with style and finesse!

Thanks for your time and may you continue to support Web Junkies Blog!