Slithice, the Naga Siren: Skills and Item Build Guide — DotA 1

Slithice, the Naga Siren, is a highly versatile and dominant Agility-based carry in DotA 1, widely feared for her unparalleled lane control, swift flash-farming capabilities, and exceptional battlefield-resetting utility. Boasting high base armor, swift movement speed, and massive Agility growth, she naturally scales into a formidable late-game threat. Armed with the ability to summon mirror images, lock down evasive targets, and lull entire enemy teams to sleep, Slithice commands the tempo of any match with absolute poise and strategic dominance.


Base Stats & Attributes

Hero Attributes

Attribute Base Value Growth (per level)
Strength 22 +2.8
Agility 21 +3.5
Intelligence 21 +2.0

Statistics & Mechanics

Statistic Value Mechanic Value
Damage 44-46 Base HP Regen 0.75/s
HP 640 HP Regen +2.95/s
MP 302 MP Regen +1.06/s
Armor 6 Turn Rate 0.5
Move Speed 330 Base Attack Time (BAT) 1.7
Attack Range 150 (melee) Attack Animations 0.5 / 0.5

Hero Skills Breakdown

1. Mirror Image

Confuses the enemy by summoning duplicate illusions of Slithice. These copies can attack to deal a fraction of the hero's baseline damage while taking amplified damage from hostile sources.

  • Illusion Quantity: 3 Illusions
  • Illusion Damage Taken: 350% normal damage
  • Illusion Duration: 26 seconds
Level Illusion Damage Dealt % Cooldown Manacost
1 25% 40 sec 70
2 30% 36 sec 85
3 35% 32 sec 100
4 40% 28 sec 115

2. Ensnare

Entraps a targeted enemy unit in a heavy net, completely pinning them to the ground and rendering them unable to move.

  • Effect Type: Roots the target (disables physical movement and certain movement-based active skills).
  • Targeting: Single Unit
Level Ensnare Duration Cooldown Manacost
1 2 seconds 14 sec 70
2 3 seconds 14 sec 80
3 4 seconds 14 sec 90
4 5 seconds 14 sec 100

3. Rip Tide

The Naga Siren and her active images have a passive chance on each basic attack to slam nearby units with a crushing wave of water, dealing magical damage and eroding the targets' armor.

  • Damage Type: Magical
  • Trigger Chance: 17% on attack
  • Area of Effect (AoE): 300
  • Armor Reduction Duration: 4 seconds
Level Magical Damage Target Armor Reduction Cooldown Manacost
1 30 -2 Passive 0
2 40 -4 Passive 0
3 50 -6 Passive 0
4 60 -8 Passive 0

4. Song of the Siren

Releases an ethereal, captivating melody in a broad area surrounding Slithice that instantly puts all nearby enemy units to sleep. Affected targets remain sleeping as long as they stay within the siren's range of influence. Affected enemies will awaken immediately if Slithice moves too far away from them or when the melody concludes. The caster can choose to cut the melody short at any moment.

  • Cast Time: 1.0 seconds
  • Duration: 7 seconds
  • Sleep Mechanic: Affected targets are rendered invulnerable for the duration of the sleep.
  • Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade: Heals nearby allied units for a percentage of their maximum health pool per second until the song is over.
Level Area of Effect (AoE) Scepter Allied Heal per Second Cooldown Manacost
1 1000 10% Max HP 160 sec 150
2 1200 10% Max HP 120 sec 175
3 1400 10% Max HP 80 sec 200

Item Build Guide

Phase Recommended Items Strategic Purpose
Early Game Power Treads, Quelling Blade, Wraith Band, Magic Wand Grants raw attributes to beef up her illusions, aids in secure last-hitting, and provides crucial early-game health/mana regeneration.
Core Items Diffusal Blade, Manta Style, Radiance Radiance enables incredible split-push and farming speed via illusions. Diffusal Blade causes all illusions to burn enemy mana, and Manta Style adds even more images to overwhelm opponents.
Late Game Heart of Tarrasque, Butterfly, Eye of Skadi Heart makes your illusions incredibly tanky. Butterfly boosts evasion and attack speed, while Skadi provides massive stat scaling and a powerful movement slow.

Quick Gameplay Tips

  • Maximize Rip Tide via Illusions: Since Rip Tide has a 17% trigger chance on attack and has no cooldown, attacking a single target simultaneously with your Mirror Image clones dramatically increases the likelihood of a proc. Use your illusions grouped up to quickly shred an enemy's armor before delivering your main physical blows.
  • Flawless Disengagement or Setup: Song of the Siren is the ultimate escape and counter-initiation tool. If a team fight goes poorly, activate the song to sleep the enemy team, allowing your allies to safely escape. Alternatively, use the sleep to position your team perfectly around invulnerable enemies, and deactivate the song manually to setup instantaneous AoE combos (like Tidehunter's Ravage).
  • Ensnaring Spell-Immune Targets: Ensnare is a projectile root that successfully pierces magic immunity. Use this to freeze highly mobile spell-immune heroes or to cancel channeling abilities (such as Town Portal Scrolls) even if the target is under the effects of Black King Bar.