Iwrote this guide because I have played Silencer for leagues, and I knowexactly how to play him. He also has a great model, and he is also agreat DPSer. Last, he can get a lot of damage with just a few low-costdamage items./ r0 T, K2 d1 y  q1 Y
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I base the layout on the colors of centaur, which is red and yellow.' {6 g: t# _$ M  E5 c

2. Introduction to Nortrom, the Silencer

Stats and Storyline: f5 H. T; u$ r) I$ W
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Pros and Cons8 k6 y/ T! d; L1 M
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Pro 

• Great DPS abilities
• Can mess up lots of combos
• Can take down heroes really fast
• Great last hitting abilities
• High base damage
• Can turn the tide of a battle with a single spell

• Slow MS
• Needs a tank in team battles
• Low HP
• Huge target in team fights
• No ganking power

3. Hero Skills


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[C]urse of the Silent" I) O' o6 s8 U& _! t, O0 l" G8 w
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Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. The target will lose hpand mana per second until it casts a spell. Lasts 10 seconds.8 W/ r: y) V6 Y5 Q5 Q
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Level 1 - 10hp/5mana per second. (105 mana cost;25 second cooldown)
Level 2 - 20hp/10mana per second. (115 mana cost;25 second cooldown)( L0 l- c- B+ z, T% Y& g8 Q
Level 3 - 30hp/15mana per second. (125 mana cost;25 second cooldown)% t( R0 r' b8 {1 x
Level 4 - 40hp/20mana per second. (135 mana cost;25 second cooldown)
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This skill isn't a good skill as it is easily countered. 
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Glaives of [W]isdom
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Nortrom's Glaives are enchanted by his experience in magic. If he killsa hero, he will permanently steal 1 intelligence from it.; c& l6 p! y) i5 H. p

Level 1 - Deals 15% of your intelligence in bonus damage. (15 mana cost;3 second cooldown)/ \% s4 ?5 {% D( l
Level 2 - Deals 30% of your intelligence in bonus damage. (15 mana cost;2 second cooldown)
Level 3 - Deals 45% of your intelligence in bonus damage. (15 mana cost;1 second cooldown), A8 x1 P0 w( X- [. ?$ m2 u
Level 4 - Deals 60% of your intelligence in bonus damage. (15 mana cost;0 second cooldown)5 j8 f  Z& u6 Z, u8 P0 g

This is what makes Silencer such a good lane controller as well as DPS hero. This is a really great skill for Nortrom. 2 A6 E! r- w& ~4 ]6 T2 p
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Last Word: ~# k3 C9 K! {1 ~4 `4 D2 z

Causes any unit under the effect of this aura to become silenced after it finishes casting a spell. Has a 700 AOE.5 r) e) {) c. K, |# q" W

Level 1 second.; w  N  h9 s! A  v
Level 2 seconds.! T! E2 e, D. w& i. E5 Z4 r
Level 3 seconds.
Level 4 seconds. , R! n6 Q% `- V0 p

This is a really helpful skill in stopping people from pulling offtheir combos. Keep note that Last Word can be countered by a bit ofanimation canceling. 

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Global Sil[e]nce

Stops all enemies on the map from casting spells.4 P6 M; C$ }% ]8 u! a9 x3 L
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Level 1 - Lasts 3 seconds. (250 mana cost;120 second cooldown)
Level 2 - Lasts 4 seconds. (350 mana cost;120 second cooldown)* Q) {# q7 ]: b- ^0 ^: {. F
Level 3 - Lasts 5 seconds. (450 mana cost;120 second cooldown)* j# r+ O: t+ p; I2 V

This skill can really turn the tide of the battle if you use it exactly at the right time.

4. Skill Build

Level 1 - Glaives of Wisdom
Level 2 - Stats; k, R" G' q) X, ~7 G( e4 `, x  p
Level 3 - Glaives of Wisdom7 R3 T! [5 t- J
Level 4 - Stats0 `) f$ q; }- L
Level 5 - Glaives of Wisdom/ \- u+ \9 C( ^  Q; z/ y0 v
Level 6 - Global Silence0 D/ T# [8 q8 D" F: N
Level 7 - Glaives of Wisdom0 z8 x' o8 D9 o! `* K
Level 8-10 - Stats
Level 11 - Global Silence
Level 12-15 - Last Word' {2 f1 Q# u$ j
Level 16 - Global Silence
Level 17-21 - Stats5 _5 `: d& m" T8 _
Level 22-25 - Curse of the Silent  \" w& [0 p3 }# g, j
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Skill Build Explanation

Glaives of Wisdom should be the first skill maxed as it is Silencer'sbread and butter skill for lane control, because it ignores armor, itadds a good amount of damage to your attacks, and its an arrow spell,meaning that it ignores creep aggro whenever you attack an enemy hero.

I pick stats over last word because stats solve Silencer's HP problem,because you really won't be facing any chain nukers. The reason forthis is that you should be against someone with arrow spells orspammers, instead of chain nukers. You really shouldn't be ganking atthis stage, meaning you will hardly ever be in the 700 AoE of the spellbecause you will be farming.
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Global Silence at level 6 is somewhat debatable, but I like to get itthere. It has so many uses, like saving someone, saving your self, andsetting up kills for both you and your allies, which is why I believeit's a very good choice to get it as soon as possible

Last Word at levels 12-15 is good because you need it to be level 4 bythe time you start helping out in team battles, because 1 or 2 secondsof Silence may be good, but it's still really short.1 {; q/ p) v( m, t( p4 F
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I choose not to get Curse of the Silent because it is so easilycountered. Even Viper can counter it, and it does minimal damage anyway.

5. Item Build
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Primary Build9 o- ]9 ^' C, I4 ^
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2x Mantle

2x Branch7 Z  Y' m# u! b0 C
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2x Tango

Boots of Speed
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3x Null Talismans/ t3 K4 p9 l; [% j+ k
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Power Treads2 i0 T( V) S$ z; h' G' @5 O. }8 c7 o

Necromonicon 3

Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse


Primary Build Core Items

Choose this build in most situations, except when you already have too many books.. R$ N, S+ B7 N9 F3 t8 q


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Null Talismans% n) l2 w$ g3 j2 M
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Nulls give you added harassment power, with a damage boost to yourGlaives because of the added intelligence that Null Talismans offer.They also add some HP. Null Talismans also make it easier to farm,because it makes your last hitting much easier.



Power Treads$ C8 c2 v% t2 w- K3 n
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Treads give you exactly what you need early game. It gives you extraharassment power with extra attack speed to go with your boosteddamage. The reason Treads are better than BoT is because Silencer needsthe extra attack speed to do some extra damage, and trying to farm 2200gold can really slow him down.
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Necronomicon
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This item is exactly what Silencer needs early game. A nice boost toyour intelligence as well as your HP, and it gives you two powerfulNecromonicon summons. The strength really helps you out staying alive,and the intelligence boosts both your damage and your Glaive damage,which makes this item extremely powerful. The Mana Burn offered by thesummon is very powerful as well along with the endurance aura and thedamage you take when you kill the melee summon. All in all a very gooditem on Silencer. Just make sure you don't die trying to control thesummons. Just give them one command and then use Silencer, don't worrytoo much about using the summons. All you have to do is click attackand Mana Burn and that's it.9 f0 D% K9 a+ g1 r8 H
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Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse# P+ B/ y7 ?. j& o
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This item is a great item for Silencer because it further boosts hisdamaging ability. It gives him +60 damage, and even more damage to yourGliaves. Also, the hex is infinitely useful in team battles. An allaround great item for Silencer.

Alternative Item Build

Choose this build when you already have enough Books on your team., O0 w* x4 @( V1 {0 m+ u+ B
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2x Mantle
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2x Branch8 d% b- y1 U! c/ w- i
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2x Tango

Boots of Speed

3x Null Talismans
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Power Treads; ^/ V+ H' ~! T( g% s- F
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Optional: 8 p6 ]: N: @* H8 l
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Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse
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Eye of Skadi) f7 Y/ j8 o4 J5 {
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Secondary Build Core Items

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Null Talismans* t5 ^  r# v$ g: \2 h3 F% q

Nulls give you added harassment power, with a damage boost to yourGlaives because of the added intelligence that Null Talismans offer.They also add some HP. Null Talismans also make it easier to farm,because it makes your last hitting much easier.


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Power Treads

Treads give you exactly what you need early game. It gives you extraharassment power with extra attack speed to go with your boosteddamage. The reason Treads are better than BoT is because Silencer needsthe extra attack speed to do some extra damage, and trying to farm 2200gold can really slow him down.
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Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse

This item is a great item for Silencer because it further boosts hisdamaging ability. It gives him +60 damage, and even more damage to yourGlaives. Also, the hex is infinitely useful in team battles. An allaround great item for Silencer." [, {7 `9 ^8 w4 L( w6 r6 ?. Z) z

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Blink Dagger

This item is great for Silencer when you don't have Book because it's agreat escape mechanism when you don't have much life. It also helps youfinish off heroes that get away with 1 hit left. It also helps youBlink + Guinsoo which is great for team fights and ganks. Just overalla great item for Silencer when you don't have HP., v  ?" ~9 X/ L

Possible Items Afterwards


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Eye of Skadi9 h3 y5 U% E/ F! D

Great item to get after the Primary build. Gives you great offense and defense for reasons stated above.4 v8 {5 r8 t( h! P2 q, I2 E
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Heart of Tarrasque( Z+ ?4 N; E1 x) V6 J. S

This item is good for Silencer if you are having troubles staying alivein team battles, and you desperately need HP. If you don't and arefarming well, Skadi is a much better choice. It gives you tons of extraHP, as well as HP regeneration. This allows you to stay alive and winbattles, and then after being able to push because of regenerating yourHP. Heart is a really good item for Silencer. However if it's disablesthat are getting to you get Black King Bar, if it is much of anythingelse, get Heart.
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Assault Cuirass' q+ D! |3 ?' ^, m+ c
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Assault is a really great boost for Silencer to both his damage and hissurvivability, and that is why I get it on Silencer. Not to mention itreally helps out the team. You already have tons of damage fromGuinsoo, so what's next to get? Of course attack speed, so the attackspeed it offers comes in handy. Also, Silencer has relatively lowarmor, so the boost to armor that Assault Cuirass gives is godly forSilencer. Also, the -armor aura is a really good damage boost to youand your team, and it also gives your allies armor and attack speed,while costing only a little more than Butterfly, making it a muchbetter choice than Butterfly.
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Black King Bar9 k  U7 K: B" k
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This item is great on Silencer if you are getting focused withdisables, because BKB gives you a 10 second immunity to both nukes anddisables. This means 10 seconds of throwing out your constant DPS,which is really good on Silencer. Although Heart gives a nice boost toyour HP, you can't do much if you are constantly Cycloned, Imprisoned,Disabled, etc.
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Items to Avoid


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Dagon3 u& F0 O( n  ?) a3 a
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This item seems good for Silencer in theory, as it gives Silencer addedintelligence, and adds to his Glaive damage, but it makes him into aganker, something that you do not want Silencer to be. Silencer ismeant to farm most of the game, and then own late game, instead ofrunning around and ganking.


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Aghanim's Scepter5 |  v: g; t2 s. h# C

Although this item is pretty good on Nortrom, it simply does notcompare with Guinsoo in terms of DPS, and it doesn't compare with Heartin terms of survivability, not to mention that Silencer can't make fulluse of this item. Although Silencer needs HP, 500 isn't enough, andalthough he needs intelligence, the +30 intelligence doesn't comparewith Guinsoo's +35 damage along with +25 intelligence, and the extra500 mana will be wasted, because Nortrom can't make use of the extramana that Aghanim's gives.

Team battles are the thing that is the most important part of thisstage of the game, so when they occur be ready. Your job in teambattles is to simply do damage while staying alive, and throwing out agood Global Silence. Basically, your job is to throw out a GlobalSilence at the start allowing your casters to use their spells. Next,you have to target their biggest threat. Get your allies to disable himfor you to kill, or you can hex him, allowing you to strike him todeath. Go for the easiest to kill first. Remember, you are looking forlow HP high armor heroes, because Glaives go through armor. Simply takedown everyone on their team with your awesome DPS, while your teamhelps you get off disables and destroy the enemy team. And remember tonot rush in to the midst of the battle just to get Last Word. Just dowhat you normally would, which is stay back and Glaive the enemies todeath.