If you’re trying to figure out which Dota 2 heroes you should be playing right now in the current meta, we’ve got you covered with some great recommendations for every position in this tier list.
Dota 2 is a complex game with many heroes — 123 to be exact. Not only do they have different skills from each other, but they can also be itemized in different ways, making them suitable for multiple roles in different scenarios.
What’s more, the meta is always changing. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to trends shaped by patches and professional players that ultimately become the optimal way to play the game. This includes what heroes to pick and how to itemize them.
Naturally, that means it’s important for Dota 2 players to know what heroes are currently strong in the meta, and why. To make that process easier for you, we’ve come up with a tier list of the best Dota 2 heroes in the current meta.
Additional reporting by Titas Khan.
Contents
- Dota 2 hero tier list: Best characters in each role
- Best Dota 2 heroes to use in every position
- Carry (Position 1)
- Mid-Lane (Position 2)
- Off-Lane (Position 3)
- Soft Support (Position 4)
- Hard Support (Position 5)
The Dota 2 tier list is always evolving, with some heroes becoming better than others after every new patch.
Dota 2 hero tier list: Best characters in each role
Carry | Mid-Lane | Off-Lane | Soft Support | Hard Support |
Spectre | Zeus | Mars | Skywrath Mage | Ogre Magi |
Ursa | Puck | Axe | Mirana | Jakiro |
Juggernaut | Invoker | Necrophos | Weaver | Treant Protector |
Best Dota 2 heroes to use in every position
With over 123 heroes to choose from in an ever-changing meta, drafting the best possible hero for your team can be a little confusing. However, the list of heroes given above will definitely help you in making smart choices during the drafting stage.
Having said that, let’s dive in and check out what makes these heroes stand out from the rest of the pool.
Carry (Position 1)
Spectre
After being a fairly average hero for a couple of patches, Spectre has once again returned to strike fear in her enemy’s heart. Be it her global presence from Haunt and Shadow Step or her insanely strong Spectral Dagger, it is nearly impossible for most heroes to escape Spectre in the battlefield.
Additionally, Spectre’s Dispersion ability makes her extremely sustainable even against high-damage heroes. On top of all these, Desolate allows the hero to rapidly burst enemy heroes who are caught out of position. Considering all of these factors along with her current in-game win rate, Spectre can easily carry a team to victory in most scenarios.
Ursa
A powerful carry hero regardless of the meta, Ursa is one of the most intimidating heroes in the game. Thanks to Overpower and Fury Swipes, which work together to provide stronger and faster attacks with each successive strike, he can mow down foes in no time.
That’s not all, though. Ursa is also mobile thanks to Earthshock, which includes a leap in addition to the damage and slow. If you add a Blink Dagger in the mix, his mobility is off the charts. Plus, the damage reduction from Enrage is your saving grace when in doubt.
Juggernaut
One of the trademark carry heroes in Dota 2, Juggernaut is capable of snowballing games in your team’s favor from various unfavorable situations. Apart from dealing massive physical damage with his Blade Dance passive ability, Juggernaut’s Healing Ward can be an absolute game-changer in team fights.
However, what makes Juggernaut so strong in the current meta is his Blade Fury and Omnislash. While Blade Fury grants magic immunity to the hero, Omnislash makes him disappear from the field of battle altogether. Nevertheless, both of these abilities deal a huge chunk of damage to enemies caught under its effect while ensuring protection for Juggernaut.
Mid-Lane (Position 2)
Zeus
Definitely one of the strongest mid-lane heroes after the reworks and balancing changes in recent updates, Zeus can be extremely scary when he begins to deal insane bursts of magic damage. Equipped with highly aggressive abilities like Arc Lightning and Lightning Bolt, he can deplete entire health pools of enemy heroes within a very short notice. Additionally, Thundergod’s Wrath is one of the strongest ultimate abilities in the game, dealing damage and revealing enemies across the entire map.
On top of his aggressive tools, Zeus is now also equipped with the Heavenly Jump ability which allows him to escape from enemy heroes on his tail. Other than his basic abilities, Zeus’ Aghanim upgrades are also arguably the strongest in the game, gaining Nimbus and Static Field to accompany his already aggressive arsenal makes him extremely strong in the current meta.
Puck
One of the most elusive heroes in the game, Puck has always been a fairly steady pick for the mid-lane irrespective of the meta. However, the 7.31d patch has ensured that Puck becomes one of the game’s highest pick/ban heroes. Equipped with three abilities that allow her to escape enemy ganks, Illusory Orb, Waning Rift, and Phase Shift are all fairly low cooldown abilities, making it extremely difficult for enemy heroes to lock down on this pesky menace.
Other than his abilities, Puck also features some insane talents that can be combined perfectly with Dream Coil to wipe out the entire enemy team when used effectively. The fact that the hero can be played both as a spell-caster, as well as a right-click damage dealer, makes Puck an extremely strong choice in the current meta.
Invoker
Invoker is one of the most challenging but rewarding heroes to master in Dota 2 because unlike other heroes, he isn’t limited to four abilities. Instead, he wields ten — all of which can be activated by meshing various spell components together.
Not only can he turn the tide of a team fight single-handedly by using Tornado, E.M.P, Chaos Meteor, and Defeaning Blast, but he can also solo kill enemies Cold Snap and Sun Strike while escaping with Ghost Walk. The options are endless.
Off-Lane (Position 3)
Mars
A fairly new addition to the game, Mars is one of the strongest off-lane heroes in Dota 2. The hero features some extremely aggressive abilities in the form of Spear of Mars, God’s Rebuke, and even his ultimate ability, Arena of Blood. However, Mars is not entirely an offensive hero and can be extremely strong even in defensive scenarios.
Apart from his Bulwark which can attract enemy projectiles to protect your allies, each of Mars’ other abilities can be extremely useful for counter-initiating an enemy gank or even simply pushing the enemy away while your team avoids the unfavorable circumstance with ease.
Axe
Despite having lost his position as a notable off-laner except the iconic “CEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEB” moment, the recent changes to his ultimate ability have brought Axe back to the limelight in the Dota 2 tier list. After the changes, Culling Blade now grants permanent bonus armor to the off-laner for each successful execution.
Additionally, his Battle Hunger ability was also reworked to allow Axe to be played in a more aggressive manner. However, both Counter Helix and Berserker’s Call remain unchanged and can be used to set up plays and ganks on unsuspecting enemy heroes.
Necrophos
Necrophos is yet another hero who managed to burst into this tier list following a rework to their ultimate ability. Instead of altering the affected hero’s death timer, Reaper’s Scythe now grants permanent health and mana regen to Necrophos every time an enemy dies to his ultimate.
Apart from that, the hero is a high-sustain hero, capable of healing his allies with Death Pulse. On top of these, Heartstopper Aura and Ghost Shroud are extremely effective team fight abilities that can swing the entire course of a match in your team’s favor.
Soft Support (Position 4)
Skywrath Mage
Skywrath Mage is a menace. He has a long-range nuke, Arcane Bolt, that pairs with a slow, Concussive Shot. He also has a silence that increases magic damage, Ancient Seal, which makes his ultimate, Mystic Flare, insanely strong.
The constant spam of all of these abilities makes him a powerful asset in the lane, and a hero that is capable of exploding even the hardiest carries — as long as they’re rooted or stunned, which can be done with a Rod of Atos.
Mirana
Mirana has always been one of the most popular heroes in Dota 2. She’s a solid choice in the soft support role right now due to how well she can roam around the map and snipe enemies with Sacred Arrow. You can also use Starstorm on stunned enemies to deal massive bursts of magic damage.
Ideally, you want to coordinate with teammates and use the arrow to follow up with another stun. That way, you can reliably hit it at maximum distance, making it more effective. Feel free to Leap in and out of battle too when harassing enemies, and use her ultimate, Moonlight Shadow, to initiate ganks and help allies escape from messy situations.
Weaver
Weaver has wound up being an extremely potent soft support hero in the current meta. It’s all thanks to the level of utility offered by Shukuchi and the armor reduction along with the harassment potential of The Swarm and Geminate Attack.
The Swarm can also reveal invisible units after purchasing the Aghanim’s Shard. This can save you the trouble of buying sentry wards and dust in various instances. Also, when in doubt, don’t hesitate to use his ultimate, Time Lapse, to rewind time and escape from the enemy’s traps.
Hard Support (Position 5)
Ogre Magi
Ogre Magi is the hottest hard support hero in the current meta right now. In addition to having a damage-over-time spell in the form of Ignite, a single-targeted stun with Fireblast, and an attack-speed buff for his cores with Bloodlust, he also has high base-regen, making him a solid harasser in the lane.
His best asset though is his ultimate, Multicast, which allows him to proc any one of those spells multiple times depending on how lucky the player gets. Hand of Midas, Scythe of Vyse, Dagon, Rod of Atos and other point-target equipment are good combinations with the hero’s ultimate.
Jakiro
The two-headed Dragon, Jakiro is a fairly versatile hard support, capable of ensuring a strong lane for their carry. The hero is equipped with various over-time nukes as well as slowing abilities that are extremely useful for setting up ganks.
Apart from stunning enemies with Ice Path, Jakiro can also slow enemy heroes with the help of Dual Breath. Additionally, while Liquid Fire makes for a great tool that reduces the enemy’s attack speed, Macropyre is one of the strongest team fight abilities in the game.
Treant Protector
Treant Protector is a strong pick as a hard support right now due to the sheer brutality he offers in the laning phase. Leech Seed and Nature’s Grasp combined with his high right-click damage are the perfect harassing tools in the lane.
What’s more, Living Armor provides a heal and armor to any targeted ally on the map, regardless of their position. It can also heal towers. Last but not least, his ultimate, Overgrowth, is a wonderful asset in team fights that pierces through spell immunity.
The Dota 2 hero tier list is determined by what pro players are doing in their games.
That just about sums up our tier list of the best Dota 2 heroes in the current meta. There are many other candidates too. However, you can’t go wrong with the ones we’ve mentioned on this list — at least in most games.
Nevertheless, it’s also important to remember that you’ll need to itemize these heroes on a case-by-case basis, too. Subsequently, you can access the best community item guides in-game by clicking on the shop and picking one on the drop-down list.
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