Dota 2: Destroying the Mid Lane with Shadow Fiend

Want to dominate the mid lane with Shadow Fiend? Let’s take a look at a few things that you can do to take the game.

Let’s face it, mid lane is one of the most interesting places to be when it comes down to Dota 2. Until Valve decided to update their matchmaking options, people were constantly fighting for the mid lane. Although this isn’t entirely true, this is probably the most important lane when it comes down to determining the outcome of the game. Every meta is different, but the mid lane is always a battlefield between some of the best players in the world.

Speaking of metas, every patch has its heroes that are significantly stronger than others. Nevertheless, there are a few options that seem to fit almost all the time, and one of them is Shadow Fiend. This is one of the heroes that is often called the king of mid lane, and for a reason. SF is among the few names in Dota 2 that can completely dominate his lane, as long as he knows what he’s doing.

Despite his strong points, Shadow Fiend is one of the heroes in Dota 2 that is difficult to master. The fact that the hero requires a higher skill cap scares some players from utilizing his potential, but this doesn’t mean he is not a monster. Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to make the most while playing.

You need to secure loads of creeps

Shadow Fiend is one of the heroes that benefit a lot from securing last hits. In fact, the first couple of creep waves are usually crucial because they allow the hero to build enough damage so he can dominate the late. Of course, this is only important if you decide to level Necromastery instead of Shadowraze.

Unlike other mid laners, Shadow Fiend is definitely one of the heroes that are greedy. He needs a lot of items in order to be effective, which is why farming is really important. Once SF reaches level three, he should try to farm the lane, as well as the side camps. This will give him an even bigger advantage over the enemy midlaner.

Take advantage of razes as often as possible

One of the many things that differentiate Shadow Fiend from his opponents is the fact that he can do a lot of damage with his spells. As soon as SF hits level three, his Shadow Razes are capable of doing insane amounts of damage when stacked. This causes the enemy hero to use a lot of gold for regen, which means you will slow his item progression.

Another thing that makes the razes so powerful is that you can push the entire wave in one second. This means you can farm the neutral camp and secure map advantage, which is extremely important for SF. Don’t forget that he is one of the most fragile heroes in Dota 2, which means he needs to be in a position that would allow him to escape.

Your attack is your best form of defense

As mentioned above, Shadow Fiend’s main problem is the fact that he is extremely fragile. Nearly every gank results in a kill, which means that the hero requires some kind of babysitting. Usually, this comes in the form of a ward that is placed in the mid lane.

Whether you have wards or not, there is a good chance that the enemy team will try to gank you. If that’s the case, you have to do everything in your power to kill at least one of the heroes. Shadow Fiend is one of the few names in Dota 2 that can actually kill the heroes that gank him. Landing three Shadowrazes plus a couple of right-clicks should be enough to bring down at least one of the gankers.

Normally, most Shadow Fiend players prefer to level the hero’s ultimate once they hit level 9 because this allows them to do the most damage. Although this is usually a good idea, sometimes, it is better to skill up the ultimate earlier. This will allow you to use it while being ganked and cast at least two razes after that. Depending on the situation, this may even lead to a double kill.

Decide which build you want to go for

Like we’ve already said — Shadow Fiend is one of the few heroes in Dota 2 that is capable of doing both physical and magical damage. This means that you have the uneasy task to choose which build to go for. Both have them have their pros and cons, so you have to decide which one works better for the specific situation.

People who focus on the build that does magical damage need to get items, such as Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, Aghanim’s Scepter, Boots of Travel, Refresher Orb, and more. This will allow SF to do insane amounts of damage with his ultimate and razes, but it won’t make him a powerful right-clicker.

Sometimes, having a right-clicking Shadow Fiend is definitely better because the hero can easily one-shot most support heroes during the late game. Those who want to utilize SF’s right-click potential need to focus on things, such as Shadow Blade, Desolator, Butterfly, Black King Bar, Daedalus, Monkey King Bar, and Eye of Skadi.

The main problem with this item build is that SF needs more farms to be effective. Needless to say, this isn’t always possible, especially if the hero plays alongside hard carries, such as Medusa or Anti-Mage.