Everything you need to know about Dota 2 heroes

The gameplay of Dota 2 revolves around the hero picks and team compositions and it is therefore critical that you have a good understanding of which are the strongest Dota 2 heroes. Read on to find out more about how they work, and which are the best heroes in the game.

Dota 2 Heroes

Dota 2 is a real-time strategy video game created by Valve Corporation and distributed for free on Steam. This video game consists of characters called "Heroes". Each of these characters has different abilities and attributes. These are divided into three main types of attributes: strength, agility and intelligence.

Strength Heroes

These heroes differ from the others by their great ability to resist damage, they are mostly used as initiators and offlaners.

Agility Heroes

Agility heroes are usually selected to fulfill the role of carry, although there are also exceptions, such as Bounty Hunter who can play in the role of support.

Intelligence Heroes

These heroes have many support skills, which is why they are considered the best supports. Although there are also exceptions such as Storm Spirit and Invoker, who can be played mid as cores.

Which are the best Dota 2 heroes for beginners?

Though it can be an incredibly hard game to get into, the so-called “baby heroes” in Dota 2 offer a way for new players to come to grips with the game fairly quickly. Sniper and Drow Ranger are seen by many as the best Dota 2 new heroes to try. Other suggestions include Sven, Lich and Viper, with the latter also seen as one of the best Dota 2 safelane heroes.

According to stats by Dotabuff, Pudge is the most used hero in Dota 2 with a pick rate of 26.57% and a 50.02% win rate based on over 4,400,000 matches at the time of writing – though that’s certainly not a Dota 2 hero we’d recommend for newbies, he definitely should be one to consider once you get more familiar with the exciting world of the Radiant and the Dire.

Some of the other popular Dota 2 heroes are Phantom Assassin, Invoker and Juggernaut. They all serve as powerful options for a team composition and are always worth considering during the draft phase.

Is there a single best Dota 2 hero?

It would be a pretty boring game if there was a clear best choice in the drafting phase, and part of the beauty of Dota 2 is that the concept of the “best” hero and the “best” team keeps changing over time, especially after patches roll around. Still, Lycan stands out as the best hero to boost MMR with, according to most of the player base, with a set of mechanics that line up very well with the idea of scoring a string of wins in the server.

Of the Dota 2 support heroes, Bane stands out as such an option, and Snapfire is pegged as one of the best position 4 heroes in the game. Depending on the meta, very different heroes may become relevant but these are seen as somewhat evergreen choices by the community.

What are the Dota 2 positions called?

One way to categorize heroes in Dota 2 is by the positions you want to occupy with them in the team (and on the map). Based on this, there are five positions, and pro players are generally assigned to a specific role in the team. Here’s what they are known as:

Carry Heroes

Position 1 is the carry, generally played in the safelane (the long horizontal lane close to your towers – these two adjectives should tell you why it’s considered safer than the rest). The goal of a carry is to farm a lot in the early game so that they have enough resources to scale into a significant late-game threat. Anti-Mage and Luna are good examples of carry heroes in Dota 2.

Ganking Heroes

Position 2 is the solo, also known as the ganker, played in the middle lane alone for a strong 1v1 presence, going up against their opposing position 2 player to secure control. Position 2 heroes include Brewmaster, Puck and Batrider among many others.

Offlane Carry Heroes

Position 3 is the offlaner¸ playing in, you guessed it, the offlane where they compete for the hardest farm on the map. This role is usually played by heroes like Broodmother or Beastmaster.

Soft Support Heroes

Position 4 is known as the soft support or just support, with the aim of pulling creeps from the jungle and supporting other players to secure their lanes. These heroes often rotate around the map to create space for their cores. This leads to limited farm and resources, making good micro skills even more important than usual. Lina, Enigma and Chen are great examples of the best position 4 heroes.

Hard Support Heroes

Last but certainly not least, position 5 is known as the (hard) support, which, as the name suggests, is the most passive role in Dota 2 to play. It is also the glue that holds the rest of the team together, and the difference between a random pug squad and a real team often lies in the quality of their support. Their role is to make everyone else shine, using heroes like Rubick and Crystal Maiden to keep the game going.

Dota 2 New Heroes

In Dota 2 there have been many changes, improvements and updates to the game, including the addition of new heroes. Some were introduced at the largest event of Dota, The International (TI), and others were added every time a game update appeared. Here are some of the heroes who have been added to the list recently.

Grimstroke

Grimstroke is an intelligence hero who was introduced in The International 8 (TI8). This is a support hero, as he has abilities that incapacitate the enemy hero. In addition, his cast range allows him to harass and keep opponents out so that the allied carry can farm with ease.

Mars

Like Grimstroke, Mars was also featured in The International 8 (TI8). He is a strength hero that can be played as an offlaner, having great resistance and having passive abilities that allow him to resist damage. Mars also has powers that allow him to disable enemies and a strong teamfight ultimate.

Pangolier

In 2018 with patch 7.12, Pangolier made his appearance joining the long list of agility heroes. He can be played as an initiator due to his stun and mobility skills.

Void Spirit

This intelligence hero was introduced to the game in 2019 with update 7.23. Void Spirit has a lot of damage early in the game. He can play the roles of nuker and initiator, due to the great escape qualities it possesses.

Snapfire

Like Void Spirit, Snapfire was introduced to the game in 2019 with update 7.23. Snapfire is a strength hero that can be used as position 4 support and as an offlaner due to her strong early game. She is also very useful in teamfighting, because she has the ultimate "Mortimer's Kisses" that allows her to launch lava balls from long distances causing massive damage to enemies.

Hoodwink

Hoodwink is a ranged agility hero who was introduced to the game in December 2020, this hero can perform very well as roaming position 4 and also as an initiator. She is a strong disabler and is quite elusive due to her third skill. Even without any damage items, Hoodwink is capable of dealing massive amounts of damage with her skills.

Dawnbreaker

Dawnbreaker, is a melee strength hero that was recently introduced to the game with update 7.29. This heroine is usually played in the offlane, due to her high strength gain and healing abilities. She is considered one of the best new dota 2 female heroes.

Most used heroes in Dota 2 

In Dota, there are heroes that despite the updates are still strong and remain favorites for the players. These are the most popular ones:

Pudge

Pudge is a flagship hero in Dota 2, although in the beginning he was played in the midlane, over the years and updates his role in the game changed, now playing as offlane and roaming position 4. Currently his percentage of pick is 23.65% and his winning percentage is 54.51%  

Lion 

Lion is one of the oldest and most popular supports in the game because of his ability to disable and stun enemies. He is also very annoying in lane with its third ability "Mana Drain” which steals mana from the enemies leaving them unable to use their abilities. His pick percentage is 25.38% and his winning percentage is 49.55%.

Juggernaut

He is one of the strongest carries in the game and his ease of play makes him a fan favourite. Juggernaut can have an early and massive impact on the game with his first ability "Blade Fury." He can often easily kill enemy offlaners with this skill. Currently his pick percentage is 21.51% and his winning percentage is 50.85%.

Ogre Magi

This strength hero is among the most picked lately. Ogre Magi can generate pressure early in the game, being one of the most annoying heroes in the laning phase and very helpful when entering a teamfight. His pick percentage is 18.76% and his winning percentage is 52.80%.

Windranger

This hero can be played in the role of midlane, since she is a hero who generates a lot of pressure in lanes, has evasion, escape and has initiation potential. She is one of the most popular Dota 2 female heroes in the game and, despite all the updates, continues to be played in ranked games. Her pick percentage is 17.29% and her winning percentage is 52.80%.

There are many different Dota 2 heroes to try and their role in the meta keeps shifting over time. Make sure to try as many of them in various roles as possible so that you get a clearer picture of the full MOBA experience!