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Chicken Fingers vs Mass Serpent Ward, Best Shadow Shaman Facet
Shadow Shaman is one lucky Dota 2 hero. He is one of the few that has multiple viable facets. Both Chicken Fingers and Mass Serpent Ward have a positive win rate, with less than 1% separating the two.
While both options are worth considering, in this article we will list the pros and cons of each, to help players on the fence make a decision.
The strengths and weakness of Chicken Fingers
There is a lot to like with Chicken Fingers. It's an extra disable, helps in the laning stage, and the name is pretty funny!
Let's start with the early-game. A one second hex on a fairly low cooldown allows Shadow Shaman to better trade with enemies. For a hero with incredibly high starting damage, this is a big boon for him.
Later one players can use Chicken Fingers after hexing an opponent and before using Shackles for an extra second of disable. It's not ultra impactful but it does help. Bonus points if you take the level 15 Hex Breaks talent. This facet also enables Shadow Shaman to ward-trap enemies, something impossible with Mass Serpent Ward.
The issue with Chicken Fingers is that Shadow Shaman doesn't want to be in range to right-click enemies. He'd rather be in a distance throwing out spells than waddling in to get a 1-second hex off.
And that's the main problem with Chicken Fingers. It becomes harder and harder to use as the game drags on, effectively becoming a dead facet past the 30-minute mark.
The strengths and weakness of Mass Serpent Ward
While Chicken Fingers is useful from the laning stage, Mass Serpent Ward only comes online at level six. But boy does it do a lot.
One of the problems with Shadow Shaman's ultimate is that each ward individually doesn't deal a whole lot of damage. They are also easily dealt with and once a few of them are killed, players can just ignore the rest.
But Mass Serpent Ward is impossible to ignore. It deals 20% more damage than a full volley of smaller Wards, and the damage doesn't decrease as it takes hits. It also takes 20 blows to die, so it's not feasible to focus it down in fights.
This gives Shadow Shaman an incredibly powerful ultimate, especially in team fights. Snakes can often be ignored, but a Mass Serpent Ward is simply too dangerous. It also scales well with his level 25 ultimate.
In the end, we believe both Shadow Shaman facets are viable, but our pick is Mass Serpent Ward to maximize your win rate. It makes the hero a much bigger presence in team fights, while also mowing down buildings faster.
READ MORE: Which Witch Doctor's Facet Is Better?
Featured Image Source: Valve
