Shadow Fiend Dota 2 guide

Author: Hawk Live LLC

Last updated: 05:47, 22.12.2025

The Infernal Collector gathers souls to become even more powerful. Very little is known about him, and those who learn more can no longer pass on this information to anyone else...

Nevermore, also known as Shadow Fiend, was a servant of Lucifer himself. He claimed the souls of all who fell into his possession. What happened next is known only to him. Having amassed an impressive collection of souls that fuel his power, Nevermore decided to overthrow the former ruler of Hell. However, he failed in this attempt and left the infernal domains of the seventh circle. But after some time, Lucifer himself, known as Doom, asked for Nevermore's help. Shadow Demon, wielding immense power from the outer world, came to Hell. By joining forces with Lucifer, Nevermore nearly vanquished the demon but couldn't fully consume its soul. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, he realized that a demon's soul grants much greater power than any other soul in his collection. He found a new purpose in existence. Descending into the Abyss, Nevermore began devouring demon souls and gained unprecedented power that completely transformed him.

Shadow Fiend Suitable Roles

Shadow Fiend possesses considerable power due to his unique abilities. Right from the first level, he can utilize close, medium, and long-range versions of the Shadowraze ability, making him an excellent midlaner. Typically, Shadow Fiend is chosen specifically for the mid lane. This allows him to quickly gather all the necessary items and farm as many souls as possible to increase his right-click damage. After winning the mid lane, ganking other lanes becomes easier due to higher levels and better attributes in the slots compared to other players.

Much less frequently, this hero is chosen as a Carry. When playing in this position, it's important to remember that your immense strength, backed by farm, will be crucial in pushing lanes and destroying the enemy throne. Unlike playing in the mid lane, as a Carry, it is not advisable to engage enemies at the early levels since you don't yet have the attributes in your arsenal that will help you emerge victorious.

There is a certain statistic regarding the win rates in different lanes, which looks as follows:

Shadow Fiend Abilities

This hero possesses six unique abilities, two of which are passive.

Shadowraze (Close, Medium, Far)

Right from the first level, you can use three active abilities called Shadowraze. Hitting an enemy hero deals a certain base damage, which can stack with subsequent hits and increase. Additionally, it applies a slight movement speed slow to the enemy.

Necromastery

Shadow Fiend collects the souls of slain enemies, granting him bonus attack damage. If Shadow Fiend is killed, the souls are released, and upon resurrection, he will have 30% fewer souls.

This ability is passive and can be upgraded with Aghanim's Scepter and Aghanim's Shard. The first allows Shadow Fiend to gather more souls, while the latter enables the use of one accumulated soul to deal critical damage and apply a fear effect for 0.4 seconds. Additionally, for each kill, Shadow Fiend now gains two souls instead of one.

Presence of the Dark Lord

Upon Shadow Fiend's presence on the battlefield, the armor of nearby enemy heroes is reduced by 2 for each killed enemy within the ability's radius.

This ability is passive (Aura).

Requiem of Souls

Shadow Fiend unleashes a massive wave of energy around himself. Enemies caught in the wave take damage and enter a state of fear for 2.15 seconds.

This ability is active and triggers automatically even after the hero's death, releasing souls and dealing damage.

Aghanim's Scepter allows the waves to return to the owner, restoring their health based on the damage dealt by the ability.

Shadow Fiend Talent tree

The Shadow Fiend talent tree itself:

Depending on the build you choose, the recommendations may vary, but the most common leveling scenario is as follows:

At level 10, take the left talent, which allows you to deal 25 additional damage to enemies.
At level 15, it is usually recommended to choose the right talent, which allows the passive aura to affect buildings and deal more damage by reducing tower armor.
At level 20, it is advised to select the left talent, as it adds an additional 0.25 seconds of fear to the existing 2.7 seconds after using the ultimate ability.
At level 25, it is desirable to also choose the left talent, which enables dealing more damage with the Shadowraze ability.

Shadow Fiend Counter Picks and Allies

Since Shadow Fiend is a mid-lane hero, it's difficult to determine which heroes he synergizes well with. This is mainly because he often has to hold the lane solo.

Heroes with stun abilities can create favorable conditions for easy kills in the mid lane. For example, Mirana. During the stun from her arrow, there is a chance to land all three Shadowraze abilities accurately, dealing a tremendous amount of damage and likely securing the kill.

Additionally, Shadow Fiend pairs well with a support hero who can provide health restoration. For instance, Dazzle. This is because Shadow Fiend lacks the ability to quickly disengage from fights, making additional health points valuable.

Regarding counters, there is even specific statistics indicating that Shadow Fiend is weak against heroes such as:

Broodmother. The likelihood of losing the lane is 65%.
Lina. The likelihood of losing the lane is 57%.
Clinkz. The likelihood of losing the lane is 56%.
Batrider. The likelihood of losing the lane is 54%.
Templar Assassin. The likelihood of losing the lane is 53%.
Zeus. The likelihood of losing the lane is 52%.
Terrorblade. The likelihood of losing the lane is 52%.
Luna. The likelihood of losing the lane is 51%.
Drow Ranger. The likelihood of losing the lane is 49%.
Phantom Lancer. The likelihood of losing the lane is 42%.

However, according to the statistics, Shadow Fiend is quite strong against heroes such as:

Anti-Mage. The likelihood of winning the lane is 54%.
Ember Spirit. The likelihood of winning the lane is 52%.
Grimstroke. The likelihood of winning the lane is 50%.
Necrophos. The likelihood of winning the lane is 49%.
Slark. The likelihood of winning the lane is 49%.
Meepo. The likelihood of winning the lane is 48%.
Bristleback. The likelihood of winning the lane is 47%.
Warlock. The likelihood of winning the lane is 47%.
Silencer. The likelihood of winning the lane is 46%.
Riki. The likelihood of winning the lane is 43%.

Shadow Fiend Builds for Different Positions

Currently, the most commonly used build for Shadow Fiend in the mid-lane position is as follows:

Start with a purchase of two Mango

Mangos. Between 1 and 4 minutes, acquire a Bottle

Bottle and

Boots of Speed. Before 5 minutes, obtain a

Belt of Strength and

Gloves of Haste. At the 5-minute mark, upgrade the boots to

Power Treads and set them to Agility. Before 10 minutes, buy

Blade of Alacrity and the recipe, resulting in

Dragon Lance, which increases the hero's attack range. By 15 minutes, it's possible to purchase

Magic Wand and

Wind Lace. After 15 minutes, complete the purchase of

Blitz Knuckles. It will be needed for building the Shadow Blade. Purchase the remaining components for the Shadow Blade:

Broadsword and

Shadow Amulet. By 20 minutes, it is advisable to buy

Crystalys and the recipe to create

Silver Edge, which allows for critical damage after using invisibility and disables the enemy's passive abilities for 4 seconds.

Aghanim's Shard enables the hero to deal more critical damage by consuming souls from the Necromastery ability. At 25 minutes, assemble

Hurricane Pike by buying

Force Staff and the recipe for the existing Dragon Lance. Now the hero can push themselves away at a greater distance and guarantee 5 attacks regardless of the distance. Before 30 minutes, it's possible to complete

Butterfly using

Quarterstaff,

Talisman of Evasion, and

Eaglesong. Now the hero can evade attacks. After

Butterfly, Satanic

Satanic can be built, which consists of

Claymore,

Morbid Mask, and Reaver

Reaver.

It is important to remember that this build can be adjusted depending on the situation, either by adding another item that you believe is more suitable or by altering the build sequence. Everything will be decided during the battle and depends on how well you hold the lane.

This purchase can also be adapted for other lanes. For example, while on the safe lane, the following items can be helpful:
Eul's Scepter of Divinity. This artifact is quite useful for Shadow Fiend as it lifts the enemy into the air, allowing you to cast your ultimate right beneath them. However, recently, this item has become less common in builds for the hero.
Desolator. An item that reduces the enemy's armor temporarily and grants +2 damage per killed enemy, with a maximum of 20 stacks.
Blink Dagger. An artifact that allows you to jump into the midst of battles and unleash a powerful cast.
Dragon Lance or Hurricane Pike for increased attack range.
Silver Edge to deliver devastating attacks after breaking invisibility.
Butterfly to increase agility and gain evasion capabilities.
Black King Bar in case you face a hero with significant magical damage on the lane.
Satanic. Since Shadow Fiend has good damage output from their attacks, using this item allows you to heal yourself significantly by dealing damage to the enemy.

Shadow Fiend Best Players

Referring to global statistics, the current top 10 players on Shadow Fiend are:

TSM FTX.Timado

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 1065. Win rate: 49%. KDA ratio: 3.19.

ChYuaN

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 272. Win rate: 71%. KDA ratio: 5.16.

Beastcoast.Chris Luck

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 823. Win rate: 51%. KDA ratio: 3.23.

SR.Arteezy

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 278. Win rate: 59%. KDA ratio: 2.68.

Fade away

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 1126. Win rate: 51%. KDA ratio: 3.74.

TSM FTX.Bryle

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 371. Win rate: 55%. KDA ratio: 3.91.

RNG.Setsu

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 524. Win rate: 50%. KDA ratio: 3.38.

EpilepticKid

Role: Core. Lanes: Mid and Safe Lane. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 653. Win rate: 46%. KDA ratio: 3.04.

W1sh-

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 402. Win rate: 56%. KDA ratio: 3.42.

VP.gpk~

Role: Core. Lane: Mid. Number of matches played on Shadow Fiend: 263. Win rate: 55%. KDA ratio: 4.6.

Popular Shadow Fiend Skins

Diabolical Fiend

The "Diabolical Fiend" set was released on June 3, 2016. The set includes Mythical-level items for the Head, Shoulders, and Arms slots. It also features a new loading screen from the set:

The set items alter the hero's model, adding new memorable elements:

Front view of the set on the hero

New ultimate animation

Eternal Harvest

The next set, "Eternal Harvest", was released on November 17, 2016. The set includes Mythical-level items for the Head, Shoulders, and Arms slots. It also features a new loading screen from the set:

The set items alter the hero's model, adding new memorable elements:

Front view of the set on the hero

Back view of the set on the hero

Souls Tyrant

The third set, "Souls Tyrant", with a similar rarity level, was released on July 12, 2019. The set includes items for the Head, Shoulders, and Arms slots. It also features a new loading screen from the set:

The set items alter the hero's model, adding new memorable elements:

Front view of the set on the hero

Back view of the set on the hero

Note: There are also sets with the rarity level Rare, such as "Fathomless Ravager" and "Twilight Effigy," but they are less popular.

Arms of Desolation

"Arms of Desolation" is an item that occupies the Arms slot. This equipment has the rarity of Immortal. The item changes the hero's animation while moving. You can see how Shadow Fiend's claws cut through the ground:

Front view of the set on the hero

Claw cuts

Demon Eater

But the most epic transformation is achieved with the "Demon Eater" Arcana. It was released on September 25, 2014. It occupies the Head slot. The Arcana dramatically changes the hero's appearance, in-game character icons, ability icons, and adds new animations and voice lines:

Front view of the set on the hero

Back view of the set on the hero

If you happen to like a specific item from different sets, you can also customize Shadow Fiend to your liking. For example, by combining the items from the Arcana "Demon Eater", Arms of Desolation, and Pauldrons of Eternal Harvest:

Conclusions about Shadow Fiend

In conclusion, it is worth noting that Shadow Fiend is one of the most popular heroes in Dota 2, possessing numerous unique abilities and capabilities. His fighting style revolves around dealing damage with souls that he collects by killing enemy units. This hero is an excellent choice for players who enjoy an aggressive playstyle and strive for rapid character development. However, to achieve success with Shadow Fiend, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the game mechanics and the ability to use his abilities correctly. Overall, Shadow Fiend is an interesting and powerful hero who can become a key player in a team and bring victory in battle.