Shadow Blade is often considered to be one of the most popular items in Dota 2, we look at some of the heroes who usually purchase it.
Dota 2 is a MOBA where heroes can choose from a wide range of items. Some of them work only in certain scenarios, whereas others are good in all kinds of situations. Some people may disagree, but we think that Shadow Blade belongs in the second category. This is an item that any hero can purchase and make it work, as long as he needs invisibility.
Although this item is versatile, it is not that popular in pro games because every good team has some kind of detection. However, we can often see it on heroes that need to initiate a team fight, such as Magnus, Enigma, etc.
Despite the fact that this item is not that big in pro games, it has more than enough fans in pubs. Many heroes always purchase this item because it drastically enhances their impact on the game. Shadow Blade is cheap, which means people can get it early on and use it to snowball. With that being said, here’s the most famous heroes in Dota 2 that use this item.
Shadow Fiend
Despite the fact that most SF players prefer to focus on magical damage, others rely on the hero’s right-click potential. That’s why they often purchase Shadow Blade as one of the first items in pubs. Since SF is one of the fastest farming mid laners in Dota 2, he can get this item in less than 12 minutes. It allows him to become invisible, which means he can gank and escape tricky situations. Moreover, Shadow Blade gives the hero extra damage on his first attack after becoming invisible, which means he can easily kill almost every hero in the game in a matter of seconds.
Like any other hero on this list, SF has to be careful not to get caught with things, such as Sentry Wards, Dust, or Gem. Once that happens, he will most likely die because he does not have an escape mechanism. That’s one of the reasons why many Shadow Fiend players purchase items, such as Black King Bar.
Spirit Breaker
The second hero that purchases this item a lot, especially in the current patch, is Spirit Breaker. This hero has become the go-to option for many pro teams, which means he is also popular in PUBS. Spirit Breaker has always been a pub stomper because he can charge heroes and dive under towers even if he doesn’t have any items. This makes him ideal when paired with aggressive mid laners, such as Queen of Pain and Storm Spirit.
Usually, Spirit Breaker has to purchase items that allow him to be tanky. However, most people want to do as much damage as possible, so they buy Shadow Blade. With that being said, SB does not farm fast, so he needs to snowball to purchase this item. Fortunately, this is not that difficult, considering he can kill almost every hero in the early game.
Slark
It is safe to say that Slark is one of the most annoying heroes in the game, especially once he hits level six. Besides the fact that he can do tons of damage, he is one of the few heroes that becomes stronger the longer the team fight lasts. Furthermore, the hero is incredibly hard to kill.
All those facts make Slark one of the heroes that almost always gets Shadow Balde. This item makes Slark capable of ambushing his opponents and escaping from danger without wasting his ultimate. The fact that he has Dark Pact means that he can remove Dust’s effect and use Shadow Blade to escape.
Another interesting that about Slark and SB is that this item activates his ultimate. This means he gains additional movement speed and insane HP regeneration.
Sniper
Sniper is a hero that is known for two things – doing a lot of damage and being extremely fragile. People purchase items such as Desolator, Monkey King Bar, Butterfly, and more to utilize his potential. They allow him to utilize his damage capabilities but don’t provide any survivability. That’s one of the reasons why Sniper players often get Shadow Blade and even update it to Silver Edge. Although this item doesn’t provide a lot of stats, it helps Sniper run when needed.
Drow Ranger
Drow Ranger is very similar to Sniper when it comes down to the damage output and survivability. That’s one of the reasons why the two heroes share a lot of items, including Shadow Blade. The main difference is that Drow is usually a carry, whereas Sniper takes the mid-lane.
Even though Drow Ranger can use SB defensively, many people use it as an initiation tool. The hero has a lot of range, which allows is to attack and kite her enemies.
Legion Commander
Legion Commanded is one of the heroes in Dota 2 that needs a good position to be effective. That’s why most people who pick this hero purchase Blink Dagger. The latter allows them to jump and use Duel on their preferred target.
Even though Blink Dagger is the better option for LC, there are cases where the hero is more effective with a Shadow Blade. Consequently, this item also has many fans among LC players.
The big advantage of using Shadow Blade is the bonus damage that LC. This should help the hero win the duel and get the permanent bonus.
Kunkka
This is undoubtedly the most versatile hero on this list, at least when it comes down to items. Kunkka is one of the names in Dota 2 that can purchase almost any item and make it work. Some people are fans of things like Radiance, Heaven’s Halberd, and Heart of Tarrasque. On the other hand, others prefer to utilize the hero’s excellent right-click damage and Tiderbringer. That’s why they purchase items like Daedalus and Shadow Blade. The latter can do wonders if Kunkka hits all enemy heroes and lands a critical strike. No wonder the hero has a cosmetic item called Shadow Blade.