What are the best Dota 2 heroes for beginners? There are, at the time of writing, 113 heroes in Dota 2. But choosing the right one, or the right combination of them for your team, can often be the difference between winning and losing, or at the very least, between struggling and cruising.
Want to start with the absolute basics? Here's how to play Dota 2.
All of the heroes can play a very specific role and some of them can be played in multiple roles, sometimes within the same game and it is important to understand what these roles are and how they interact with each other. But it is equally as important to realise that a hero’s role should inform how your play them and the items you purchase.
Dota 2 roles
Carry
The damage-dealing nucleus of a team, the carry is often viewed as the most important and generally difficult role to play.
Support
The role of the support is to aid and protect the carry in the early game, as well as to ensure that the team has enough vision over the map to safely move around without fear of getting ganked.
Jungler
The early game is all about farming for gold and there’s hordes of it to be prised from the cold, dead hands of the various creeps scattered about the jungle, which makes up most of the space in-between the lanes. Because these creeps respawn at regular intervals and because there is limited farming to be had in the lanes, a team will sometimes pick a jungler who can exclusively farm the jungle creeps.
Solo
Each team should have at least one lane which is occupied by a lone hero. If a team has a jungler then they will most likely have two heroes going solo. Because of this, it is difficult to talk about it as one single role so it has been divided up into two sub-roles.
Dota 2 Roster
Every time your hero levels up, you will be allowed to select an ability or a ‘hero talent’ to level up as well. Knowing what these abilities do and which ones are most useful can be the key to having a good early game. There are three attributes in Dota 2: strength, agility, and intelligence. Each of these govern certain aspects of your hero, such as HP (strength), mana (intelligence), and attack speed (agility). However, a hero’s damage output is determined by their ‘primary attribute’ which differs from hero to hero. If given the choice, this is the attribute you should focus on boosting. This is normally achieved by purchasing items, but which items should you buy? Which abilities should you choose?
It is often easy to start out by picking a support hero and, indeed, if it is your first game, we heartily recommend you try a support out first. The reason for this is that it can be difficult to acquire gold in Dota 2 and supports do not rely on lots of gold to be useful. You can also get a feel for the game whilst assisting other, perhaps more experienced players. It is inadvisable to try jungling until you are more experienced at the game. Jungling can be very difficult as there are no friendly creeps or towers to protect you and you will often find yourself being stalked and killed by stealthy enemy heroes. For this reason, we have suggested only one jungler as being suitable for beginners.
Dota 2 Solo/Carry heroes
Sniper
Role: Solo/Carry (Ranged)
Primary Attribute: Agility
Shrapnel
Launches a ball of shrapnel that showers the targeted area in pellets. Enemies caught within it take damage and are slowed.
Use shrapnel to farm creeps or to discourage enemies from walking into an area. This ability is often taken first since it's useful when you can’t get close enough with your main attack.
Headshot
Sniper increases his accuracy, giving him a chance to deal
extra damage and briefly stop the movements of his enemies.
This is a passive ability which gives you a 40% chance to momentarily stun an enemy. Obviously, the faster you attack, the more useful this ability becomes.
Take Aim
Extends the attack range of Sniper's rifle.
The more levels you take in this passive ability the longer the range of Sniper’s main attack will become. At level 2 it will allow you to out-range enemy towers.
Assassinate
Sniper locks onto a target enemy unit and, after 2 seconds, fires a devastating shot.
This ability has a low cooldown and a huge cast range. Use it to finish off fleeing enemies or to lend aid in a fight when you are too far away to engage with your main attack.
Sniper can be played as a solo or as a core. You can start off by taking Shrapnel to help you farm or, if you’re feeling brave, by getting a level in Headshot. Ultimately, you want to become a glass cannon, so focus on building up your ‘attack speed’ and ‘damage’. Sniper is also killed quite easily, so building items that will help you escape can be quite sensible. Take Assassinate as soon as you can and then use it to finish off fleeing foes.
Suggested Items:
Power Treads
Activate Power Treads and switch them to green in order to gain a boost to your agility.
Shadow Blade
Activating Shadow Blade will enable you to become invisible. This is great for escaping a fight or sneaking up on an enemy. It also increases your attack damage and attack speed.
Dragon Lance
This will increase your attack range even further, allowing you to stand far away from any danger while eroding your enemies’ health.
Maelstrom
This item is great for pushing lanes as it gives your attacks a chance
to create a chain of lightning which bounces to other nearby enemies.
It also upgrades your attack damage and attack speed.
Aghanim’s Scepter
This will upgrade your Assassinate ability, allowing you to cast it on multiple heroes, causing critical damage. At this point you become extremely lethal.
Sven
Role: Carry (Melee)
Primary Attribute: Strength
Storm Hammer
Sven unleashes his magical gauntlet that deals damage and stuns enemy units.
Use this ability to initiate a fight by stunning the most dangerous enemy. It can also be used to help you run away should you start losing a fight.
Great Cleave
Sven strikes with great force, cleaving all nearby enemy units with his attack.
Cleave makes your attacks have a knock-on effect on other enemies. This is great for pushing lanes or farming the jungle as well as damaging the whole team during large-scale fights.
Warcry
Sven's Warcry heartens his allies for battle, increasing their movement speed and armor.
By activating this before every fight, you ensure that both yourself and your team have a huge defensive advantage for the first eight seconds.
God’s Strength
Sven channels his rogue strength, granting bonus damage for 25 seconds.
When fully levelled up, this ability adds a temporary 200% extra to your damage output. This means you can easily kill an enemy in two to three hits.
Sven can do a lot of damage, and he can hold his own in a fight. Focus on levelling up your Storm Hammer and Warcry during the early game so that you can easily fend off any players who try to disrupt your farming. Once you’ve got a few items it’s time to start bullying the weaker enemy heroes. Throw your Storm Hammer at them and then activate God’s Strength to rip them to shreds. Rinse and repeat.
Suggested Items:
Power Treads
Activate Power Treads and switch them to red in order to gain a boost to your strength.
Black King Bar
Not only does BKB boost your strength and attack damage, but activating it will make you invulnerable to many magical attacks and disables. This item is usually purchased first.
Mask of Madness
This item gives you 15% lifesteal, allowing you to gain health by
dealing damage. This will enable you to stay in lane and farm without having to retreat. It can also be activated to increase attack speed.
Blink Dagger
When activated, Blink Dagger allows you to teleport over a short distance. This allows you to surprise enemies by following it up with your Storm Hammer.
Heart of Tarrasque
Massive strength boost, massive health boost, massive damage boost. Buying this effectively turns your God’s Strength into a ‘win game’ button.
Viper
Role: Solo Mid/Carry
Primary Attribute: Agility
Poison Attack
Intensifies Viper's venom, adding an effect to his normal attack that slows attack and movement speed while dealing damage over time.
Very useful for chasing down enemies; right-click the ability icon to have it auto-cast.
Nethertoxin
Nethertoxin causes Viper's normal attack to deal bonus damage to units based on how much health they are missing. The bonus damage doubles for each 20% of health missing from the target.
Translation: The bloodier the target, the deadlier the Viper.
Corrosive Skin
Viper exudes an infectious toxin that damages and slows any enemy that damages it in a 1400 radius.
This passive ability makes it very risky for enemy heroes to chase you. It will often be the only thing keeping you alive during team fights.
Viper Strike
Viper slows the targeted enemy unit's movement and attack speed while also dealing poison damage over time.
Cast this on an enemy and then blast them down with Poison Attack to immediately remove them from any fight.
Viper is one of the best gankers in the game. Both taking damage from and giving damage to him will slow an enemy, often leaving them with no choice but to stand and fight to the death... usually their death. He is, however, very reliant on farming because he needs certain items to be useful. He also drops off a little in the late game so if you pick him you should focus on pushing towers and winning as quickly as possible. Start off by taking alternating levels in Nether Toxin and Poison Attack. Take Viper Strike to level 6 and you’re ready to gank.
Suggested Items:
Power Treads
Activate Power Treads and switch them to green in order to gain a boost to your agility.
Shadow Blade
Increasing your attack speed and turning you invisible, Shadow Blade
is a must-have if you intend to focus on ganking.
Dragon Lance
As well as increasing your attack speed and damage output, this will enable you to attack from further away, allowing you to more easily close the gap between yourself and the enemy.
Manta Style
Manta provides a whole host of attribute increases and when cast will create two illusions of Viper. It’s great for pushing towers and blasting down enemies.
Monkey King Bar
MKB has a chance to mini-stun an enemy, making Viper even more
of a nightmare to escape from. It also boosts your attack damage.
Windranger
Role: Solo Off Lane/Mid
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
Shackleshot
Shackles the target to an enemy unit or tree in a line directly behind it.
Always try to line this up with either another enemy or a tree. Doing this will increase the duration of the shackle, allowing you more time to escape or to finish off your victim.
Powershot
Windranger charges her bow for up to 1 second for a single powerful shot, which deals more damage the longer it is charged.
Try to follow up a Shackle Shot with this ability. Afterwards the enemy is usually quite low on HP and will probably be easy to finish off.
Windrun
Increases movement speed and adds evasion from all physical attacks, while slowing movement of nearby enemies.
This is basically your means of escape. Because you’ll often be solo in the off lane it is important to take at least one level in Windrun.
Focus Fire
Windranger channels the wind to gain 500 additional attack speed against a single enemy unit or structure.
Use this on a stunned enemy to kill them quickly or on an enemy tower to chip it down.
Despite being an Intelligence hero, Windranger plays a lot more like an Agility hero in the sense that you will want to build her for attack speed and damage. Take Windrun first so that you have a means of escape and then get a level in Shackleshot so that you have even more potential for escape. After this, level up Powershot and use it to harass enemy heroes and farm the creeps in your lane. Once you get Focus Fire you can start destroying the enemy tower and get into other lanes to help push/gank.
Suggested Items:
Phase Boots
These boots give you a bonus to attack damage and can be activated for a short but substantial boost in movement speed.
Force Staff
This is very useful for getting into dangerous positions in order to fire off your Shackle Shot. It also doesn’t hurt to be able to push yourself
or an ally away from danger.
Aghanim’s Scepter
As well as massive attribute increases, Aghanim’s Scepter will increase the potency of your Focus Fire, making you extremely lethal to both heroes and towers.
Orchid Malevolence
This will increase your mana, attack damage, and attack speed. It can also be cast on an enemy to silence them, stopping them from being able to cast magic.
Linken’s Sphere
This item gives huge attribute bonuses and will periodically block an incoming enemy spell or disable. Only buy this if the enemy has a lot of spell casters.
Dota 2 support heroes
Ogre Magi
Role: Support (Melee)
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
Fireblast
Blasts an enemy unit with a wave of fire, dealing damage and stunning the target.
The burst damage and stun from Fireblast is a great way to start a fight or to stop a threat in its tracks. Use it to help your carry win fights.
Ignite
Drenches a target in volatile chemicals, causing it to burst into flames. The target is in immense pain, taking damage and moving more slowly.
This really slows down an enemy. Use it to stop them from escaping or to harass them during the early game.
Bloodlust
Incites a frenzy in a friendly unit, increasing its movement speed and attack speed. Can be cast on towers.
If you have enough mana, you should be casting this whenever possible. The attack and movement speed boost it gives will make your team mates un-escapable.
Multicast
Enables Ogre Magi to cast spells multiple times with each use.
Fully levelled up, Multicast gives you a chance to cast each of your abilities four times. This means that, if you’re lucky, you can kill an enemy with one Fireblast.
Unrefined Fireblast
Blasts an enemy unit with a wave of fire, dealing damage and stunning the target.
This can only be gained by purchasing an Aghanim’s Scepter. It works like a standard Fireblast but costs 60% of all your remaining mana, so use it last.
Ogre Magi is a very tough support who has both powerful abilities and the capacity to trade blows with enemy heroes. Help the carry to farm in the early game by using your abilities to fend off enemy heroes. When it’s time to start fighting, initiate with your Fireblast before casting Bloodlust on an ally. Then simply bash the enemy to death. You can use Ignite to to slow down any fleeing foes, as well as using it to simply aid in the fight. Level up Multicast whenever you can to make your other abilities more powerful.
Suggested Items:
Arcane Boots
Activate the Arcane Boots to gain a mana boost for your allies and yourself. You’ll need these because your spells cost a lot of mana.
Mekansm
Use Mekansm (pronounced mechanism) any time you start to lose a team fight. It will boost the HP of all allies in range.
Aghanim’s Scepter
As well as a huge attribute boost, this item will give you a whole new ability in the form of Unrefined Fireblast. This is considered a key item on Ogre Magi because you now have two stuns which deal huge damage.
Force Staff
Force Staff boosts your intelligence and health regeneration. But when you use it you can push an ally, enemy, or yourself in the direction they are currently facing. Use it to help catch a fleeing enemy or aid the escape of a fleeing ally.
Scythe of Vyse
Often referred to as ‘the sheep stick’. This item can be cast on an enemy to turn them into a harmless sheep or pig for 3.5 seconds.
It also gives a large attribute and mana regeneration boost.
Crystal Maiden
Crystal Nova
A burst of damaging frost slows enemy movement and attack rate in the targeted area.
While fairly weak, this can be useful for finishing off enemies or slowing them down. Try to hit as many of them as possible with it to get the most out of it.
Frostbite
Encases an enemy unit in ice, prohibiting movement and attack, while dealing damage.
Comparatively, this deals more damage than Crystal Nova and will hold an enemy in place, allowing your carry to finish them off. It can also be used to farm jungle creeps.
Arcane Aura
Gives additional mana regeneration to all friendly units on the map.
This is so useful, especially in the early game when most heroes struggle for mana. It also means your team won’t have to purchase mana regeneration items.
Freezing Field
Surrounds Crystal Maiden with random icy explosions that slow enemies and deal massive damage.
The sheer range and length of this ability can be enough to kill an entire enemy team. Moving or doing anything at all whilst channelling it will cancel it, so position yourself where the enemy can’t stun you.
Crystal Maiden is an extremely versatile support who can comfortably be played as a pure support or as a frontline fighter. Always take Frostbite first as it will enable you to get early ganks on enemy heroes. Take Arcane Aura second to ensure that you can keep using Frostbite whenever you need to. After that, take a level in Crystal Nova and just use it to slow down enemies whilst levelling up Arcane Aura and Frostbite as they are much more useful. Take Freezing Field as soon as possible. It is one of the most powerful abilities in the entire game and most of your strategy will be based around choosing when and where to cast it.
Suggested Items:
Tranquil Boots
We’ve got the mana regeneration covered by your Arcane Aura and purchasing Tranquil Boots will take care the health side of things.
If you are low on HP, simply stay out of the fight until these kick in.
Eul’s Scepter of Divinity
The Intelligence boost from Eul’s will increase your pool of mana
and a little extra movement speed. Use it on yourself or an ally to make them temporarily invulnerable or on an enemy to move them.
Glimmer Cape
This item turns you invisible and can be used during your Freezing Field. If you keep getting killed whilst casting Freezing Field then this might be a cheap solution.
Black King Bar
Similarly, BKB will stop enemies from being able to stun you out of
your Freezing Field. Unfortunately, it's rather expensive and should only be purchased if you’ve managed to farm a lot.
Aghanim’s Scepter
Purchasing this will enable your Freezing Field to auto-cast Frostbite
on any enemy who lingers within it for too long. As you can probably imagine that’s a pretty powerful upgrade.
Jungle
Axe
Role: Jungler (Melee)
Primary Attribute: Strength
Berserker’s Call
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him, while he gains bonus armor.
Use this to force enemies to attack you, allowing your allies to freely kill them while you tank the damage.
Battle Hunger
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to be slowed and take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends.
This can be used to finish off a fleeing foe, or to kill a particularly tanky jungle creep.
Counter Helix
When attacked, Axe performs a helix counter attack, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.
The more enemies there are attacking you, the more often this ability will cast itself. When combined with Berserker’s Call
it turns you into a swirling mass of death.
Culling Blade
Axe spots a weakness and strikes, instantly killing an enemy unit with low health, or dealing moderate damage otherwise. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset.
Use this on any enemy with very low health to quickly finish them off and gain a movement speed bonus.
Jungling is inadvisable for new players, but if you find yourself needing to jungle, Axe is by far the easiest hero to do it with. Always at the heart of the combat, Axe’s Counter Helix gets more useful the more enemies are attacking him. You ideally want to be as aggressive as possible, within reason. Level up Counter Helix to ensure you can quickly kill jungle creeps but take a level in both Berserker’s Call and Battle Hunger. At level 6 take Culling Blade but try to stay in the jungle until you have at least your boots and your Blink Dagger. At this point, use the Blink Dagger to teleport into a group of enemy heroes and then cast Berserker’s Call. Sit back and watch the destruction unfold.
Suggested Items:
Power Treads
Activate Power Treads and switch them to red in order to gain a boost to your strength.
Blink Dagger
There is no point picking Axe unless you get this item. Use it to blink into fights and then follow it with Berserker’s Call to force enemies to fight you.
Blade Mail
This gives a great armor and damage boost, but its real use comes
when you activate it, causing all physical enemy attacks to be
reflected back onto them. Use it after casting Berserker’s Call.
Vanguard
Vanguard gives you a flat boost to your HP and health regeneration, allowing you to survive your suicidal leaps into the crowds of enemies.
Assault Cuirass
Yet more armor and attack speed will allow you to survive longer and kill quicker. This also provides an aura, granting the same benefits to nearby allies.
Your Turn to Pick
That’s your lot. If you really are new, it’s probably best for you to figure out which hero you want to try your hand at and then play a few bot games against the A.I. When you do decide to finally play with other people remember that your pick needs to synergise with your team. For example, if the team already has four carry heroes, pick a support. Similarly, don’t fill your team with weak support heroes and get pulverised in every team fight. But most importantly, remember to have fun, be friendly and cooperate with your teammates. Focus on expanding your repertoire of heroes and you’ll find that Dota 2 becomes an incredibly compelling experience when you can competently play over a hundred different heroes. Trying to out-pick your enemy before the game even begins is a big part of what makes the game so much fun. Good luck!
Source:https://www.pcgamesn.com/
Want to start with the absolute basics? Here's how to play Dota 2.
All of the heroes can play a very specific role and some of them can be played in multiple roles, sometimes within the same game and it is important to understand what these roles are and how they interact with each other. But it is equally as important to realise that a hero’s role should inform how your play them and the items you purchase.
Dota 2 roles
Carry
The damage-dealing nucleus of a team, the carry is often viewed as the most important and generally difficult role to play.
Support
The role of the support is to aid and protect the carry in the early game, as well as to ensure that the team has enough vision over the map to safely move around without fear of getting ganked.
Jungler
The early game is all about farming for gold and there’s hordes of it to be prised from the cold, dead hands of the various creeps scattered about the jungle, which makes up most of the space in-between the lanes. Because these creeps respawn at regular intervals and because there is limited farming to be had in the lanes, a team will sometimes pick a jungler who can exclusively farm the jungle creeps.
Solo
Each team should have at least one lane which is occupied by a lone hero. If a team has a jungler then they will most likely have two heroes going solo. Because of this, it is difficult to talk about it as one single role so it has been divided up into two sub-roles.
- Solo Mid heroes occupy the middle lane. Because the space between the opposing mid towers is fairly short, these heroes don’t need to worry too much about escaping any ganks and will often focus on farming creeps and trading blows.
- Solo Off-Lane heroes tend to be the most difficult and frustrating heroes to play. Off-laners usually have a lot of speed and their early-game abilities tend to be escape mechanics such as fast sprints, invulnerability, or the ability to teleport over short distances.
Dota 2 Roster
Every time your hero levels up, you will be allowed to select an ability or a ‘hero talent’ to level up as well. Knowing what these abilities do and which ones are most useful can be the key to having a good early game. There are three attributes in Dota 2: strength, agility, and intelligence. Each of these govern certain aspects of your hero, such as HP (strength), mana (intelligence), and attack speed (agility). However, a hero’s damage output is determined by their ‘primary attribute’ which differs from hero to hero. If given the choice, this is the attribute you should focus on boosting. This is normally achieved by purchasing items, but which items should you buy? Which abilities should you choose?
It is often easy to start out by picking a support hero and, indeed, if it is your first game, we heartily recommend you try a support out first. The reason for this is that it can be difficult to acquire gold in Dota 2 and supports do not rely on lots of gold to be useful. You can also get a feel for the game whilst assisting other, perhaps more experienced players. It is inadvisable to try jungling until you are more experienced at the game. Jungling can be very difficult as there are no friendly creeps or towers to protect you and you will often find yourself being stalked and killed by stealthy enemy heroes. For this reason, we have suggested only one jungler as being suitable for beginners.
Dota 2 Solo/Carry heroes
Sniper
Primary Attribute: Agility
ShrapnelLaunches a ball of shrapnel that showers the targeted area in pellets. Enemies caught within it take damage and are slowed.
Use shrapnel to farm creeps or to discourage enemies from walking into an area. This ability is often taken first since it's useful when you can’t get close enough with your main attack.
HeadshotSniper increases his accuracy, giving him a chance to deal
extra damage and briefly stop the movements of his enemies.
This is a passive ability which gives you a 40% chance to momentarily stun an enemy. Obviously, the faster you attack, the more useful this ability becomes.
Take AimExtends the attack range of Sniper's rifle.
The more levels you take in this passive ability the longer the range of Sniper’s main attack will become. At level 2 it will allow you to out-range enemy towers.
AssassinateSniper locks onto a target enemy unit and, after 2 seconds, fires a devastating shot.
This ability has a low cooldown and a huge cast range. Use it to finish off fleeing enemies or to lend aid in a fight when you are too far away to engage with your main attack.
Sniper can be played as a solo or as a core. You can start off by taking Shrapnel to help you farm or, if you’re feeling brave, by getting a level in Headshot. Ultimately, you want to become a glass cannon, so focus on building up your ‘attack speed’ and ‘damage’. Sniper is also killed quite easily, so building items that will help you escape can be quite sensible. Take Assassinate as soon as you can and then use it to finish off fleeing foes.
Suggested Items:
Power Treads Activate Power Treads and switch them to green in order to gain a boost to your agility.
Shadow BladeActivating Shadow Blade will enable you to become invisible. This is great for escaping a fight or sneaking up on an enemy. It also increases your attack damage and attack speed.
Dragon LanceThis will increase your attack range even further, allowing you to stand far away from any danger while eroding your enemies’ health.
MaelstromThis item is great for pushing lanes as it gives your attacks a chance
to create a chain of lightning which bounces to other nearby enemies.
It also upgrades your attack damage and attack speed.
Aghanim’s ScepterThis will upgrade your Assassinate ability, allowing you to cast it on multiple heroes, causing critical damage. At this point you become extremely lethal.
Sven
Primary Attribute: Strength
Storm HammerSven unleashes his magical gauntlet that deals damage and stuns enemy units.
Use this ability to initiate a fight by stunning the most dangerous enemy. It can also be used to help you run away should you start losing a fight.
Great CleaveSven strikes with great force, cleaving all nearby enemy units with his attack.
Cleave makes your attacks have a knock-on effect on other enemies. This is great for pushing lanes or farming the jungle as well as damaging the whole team during large-scale fights.
WarcrySven's Warcry heartens his allies for battle, increasing their movement speed and armor.
By activating this before every fight, you ensure that both yourself and your team have a huge defensive advantage for the first eight seconds.
God’s Strength
Sven channels his rogue strength, granting bonus damage for 25 seconds.When fully levelled up, this ability adds a temporary 200% extra to your damage output. This means you can easily kill an enemy in two to three hits.
Sven can do a lot of damage, and he can hold his own in a fight. Focus on levelling up your Storm Hammer and Warcry during the early game so that you can easily fend off any players who try to disrupt your farming. Once you’ve got a few items it’s time to start bullying the weaker enemy heroes. Throw your Storm Hammer at them and then activate God’s Strength to rip them to shreds. Rinse and repeat.
Suggested Items:
Power TreadsActivate Power Treads and switch them to red in order to gain a boost to your strength.
Black King BarNot only does BKB boost your strength and attack damage, but activating it will make you invulnerable to many magical attacks and disables. This item is usually purchased first.
Mask of MadnessThis item gives you 15% lifesteal, allowing you to gain health by
dealing damage. This will enable you to stay in lane and farm without having to retreat. It can also be activated to increase attack speed.
Blink DaggerWhen activated, Blink Dagger allows you to teleport over a short distance. This allows you to surprise enemies by following it up with your Storm Hammer.
Heart of TarrasqueMassive strength boost, massive health boost, massive damage boost. Buying this effectively turns your God’s Strength into a ‘win game’ button.
Viper
Primary Attribute: Agility
Poison AttackIntensifies Viper's venom, adding an effect to his normal attack that slows attack and movement speed while dealing damage over time.
Very useful for chasing down enemies; right-click the ability icon to have it auto-cast.
Nethertoxin
Nethertoxin causes Viper's normal attack to deal bonus damage to units based on how much health they are missing. The bonus damage doubles for each 20% of health missing from the target.
Translation: The bloodier the target, the deadlier the Viper.
Corrosive SkinViper exudes an infectious toxin that damages and slows any enemy that damages it in a 1400 radius.
This passive ability makes it very risky for enemy heroes to chase you. It will often be the only thing keeping you alive during team fights.
Viper StrikeViper slows the targeted enemy unit's movement and attack speed while also dealing poison damage over time.
Cast this on an enemy and then blast them down with Poison Attack to immediately remove them from any fight.
Viper is one of the best gankers in the game. Both taking damage from and giving damage to him will slow an enemy, often leaving them with no choice but to stand and fight to the death... usually their death. He is, however, very reliant on farming because he needs certain items to be useful. He also drops off a little in the late game so if you pick him you should focus on pushing towers and winning as quickly as possible. Start off by taking alternating levels in Nether Toxin and Poison Attack. Take Viper Strike to level 6 and you’re ready to gank.
Suggested Items:
Power TreadsActivate Power Treads and switch them to green in order to gain a boost to your agility.
Shadow BladeIncreasing your attack speed and turning you invisible, Shadow Blade
is a must-have if you intend to focus on ganking.
Dragon LanceAs well as increasing your attack speed and damage output, this will enable you to attack from further away, allowing you to more easily close the gap between yourself and the enemy.
Manta StyleManta provides a whole host of attribute increases and when cast will create two illusions of Viper. It’s great for pushing towers and blasting down enemies.
Monkey King BarMKB has a chance to mini-stun an enemy, making Viper even more
of a nightmare to escape from. It also boosts your attack damage.
Windranger
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
ShackleshotShackles the target to an enemy unit or tree in a line directly behind it.
Always try to line this up with either another enemy or a tree. Doing this will increase the duration of the shackle, allowing you more time to escape or to finish off your victim.
Powershot
Windranger charges her bow for up to 1 second for a single powerful shot, which deals more damage the longer it is charged.Try to follow up a Shackle Shot with this ability. Afterwards the enemy is usually quite low on HP and will probably be easy to finish off.
WindrunIncreases movement speed and adds evasion from all physical attacks, while slowing movement of nearby enemies.
This is basically your means of escape. Because you’ll often be solo in the off lane it is important to take at least one level in Windrun.
Focus Fire
Windranger channels the wind to gain 500 additional attack speed against a single enemy unit or structure.
Use this on a stunned enemy to kill them quickly or on an enemy tower to chip it down.
Despite being an Intelligence hero, Windranger plays a lot more like an Agility hero in the sense that you will want to build her for attack speed and damage. Take Windrun first so that you have a means of escape and then get a level in Shackleshot so that you have even more potential for escape. After this, level up Powershot and use it to harass enemy heroes and farm the creeps in your lane. Once you get Focus Fire you can start destroying the enemy tower and get into other lanes to help push/gank.
Suggested Items:
Phase BootsThese boots give you a bonus to attack damage and can be activated for a short but substantial boost in movement speed.
Force StaffThis is very useful for getting into dangerous positions in order to fire off your Shackle Shot. It also doesn’t hurt to be able to push yourself
or an ally away from danger.
Aghanim’s ScepterAs well as massive attribute increases, Aghanim’s Scepter will increase the potency of your Focus Fire, making you extremely lethal to both heroes and towers.
Orchid MalevolenceThis will increase your mana, attack damage, and attack speed. It can also be cast on an enemy to silence them, stopping them from being able to cast magic.
Linken’s Sphere
This item gives huge attribute bonuses and will periodically block an incoming enemy spell or disable. Only buy this if the enemy has a lot of spell casters.Dota 2 support heroes
Ogre Magi
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
Fireblast
Blasts an enemy unit with a wave of fire, dealing damage and stunning the target.The burst damage and stun from Fireblast is a great way to start a fight or to stop a threat in its tracks. Use it to help your carry win fights.
IgniteDrenches a target in volatile chemicals, causing it to burst into flames. The target is in immense pain, taking damage and moving more slowly.
This really slows down an enemy. Use it to stop them from escaping or to harass them during the early game.
BloodlustIncites a frenzy in a friendly unit, increasing its movement speed and attack speed. Can be cast on towers.
If you have enough mana, you should be casting this whenever possible. The attack and movement speed boost it gives will make your team mates un-escapable.
MulticastEnables Ogre Magi to cast spells multiple times with each use.
Fully levelled up, Multicast gives you a chance to cast each of your abilities four times. This means that, if you’re lucky, you can kill an enemy with one Fireblast.
Unrefined Fireblast
Blasts an enemy unit with a wave of fire, dealing damage and stunning the target.This can only be gained by purchasing an Aghanim’s Scepter. It works like a standard Fireblast but costs 60% of all your remaining mana, so use it last.
Ogre Magi is a very tough support who has both powerful abilities and the capacity to trade blows with enemy heroes. Help the carry to farm in the early game by using your abilities to fend off enemy heroes. When it’s time to start fighting, initiate with your Fireblast before casting Bloodlust on an ally. Then simply bash the enemy to death. You can use Ignite to to slow down any fleeing foes, as well as using it to simply aid in the fight. Level up Multicast whenever you can to make your other abilities more powerful.
Suggested Items:
Arcane BootsActivate the Arcane Boots to gain a mana boost for your allies and yourself. You’ll need these because your spells cost a lot of mana.
MekansmUse Mekansm (pronounced mechanism) any time you start to lose a team fight. It will boost the HP of all allies in range.
Aghanim’s Scepter
As well as a huge attribute boost, this item will give you a whole new ability in the form of Unrefined Fireblast. This is considered a key item on Ogre Magi because you now have two stuns which deal huge damage.Force Staff
Force Staff boosts your intelligence and health regeneration. But when you use it you can push an ally, enemy, or yourself in the direction they are currently facing. Use it to help catch a fleeing enemy or aid the escape of a fleeing ally.Scythe of Vyse
Often referred to as ‘the sheep stick’. This item can be cast on an enemy to turn them into a harmless sheep or pig for 3.5 seconds.It also gives a large attribute and mana regeneration boost.
Crystal Maiden
Role: Support (Ranged)
Primary Attribute: IntelligenceCrystal Nova
A burst of damaging frost slows enemy movement and attack rate in the targeted area.While fairly weak, this can be useful for finishing off enemies or slowing them down. Try to hit as many of them as possible with it to get the most out of it.
Frostbite
Encases an enemy unit in ice, prohibiting movement and attack, while dealing damage.Comparatively, this deals more damage than Crystal Nova and will hold an enemy in place, allowing your carry to finish them off. It can also be used to farm jungle creeps.
Arcane Aura
Gives additional mana regeneration to all friendly units on the map.This is so useful, especially in the early game when most heroes struggle for mana. It also means your team won’t have to purchase mana regeneration items.
Freezing Field
Surrounds Crystal Maiden with random icy explosions that slow enemies and deal massive damage.The sheer range and length of this ability can be enough to kill an entire enemy team. Moving or doing anything at all whilst channelling it will cancel it, so position yourself where the enemy can’t stun you.
Crystal Maiden is an extremely versatile support who can comfortably be played as a pure support or as a frontline fighter. Always take Frostbite first as it will enable you to get early ganks on enemy heroes. Take Arcane Aura second to ensure that you can keep using Frostbite whenever you need to. After that, take a level in Crystal Nova and just use it to slow down enemies whilst levelling up Arcane Aura and Frostbite as they are much more useful. Take Freezing Field as soon as possible. It is one of the most powerful abilities in the entire game and most of your strategy will be based around choosing when and where to cast it.
Suggested Items:
Tranquil Boots
We’ve got the mana regeneration covered by your Arcane Aura and purchasing Tranquil Boots will take care the health side of things.If you are low on HP, simply stay out of the fight until these kick in.
Eul’s Scepter of Divinity
The Intelligence boost from Eul’s will increase your pool of manaand a little extra movement speed. Use it on yourself or an ally to make them temporarily invulnerable or on an enemy to move them.
Glimmer Cape
This item turns you invisible and can be used during your Freezing Field. If you keep getting killed whilst casting Freezing Field then this might be a cheap solution.Black King Bar
Similarly, BKB will stop enemies from being able to stun you out ofyour Freezing Field. Unfortunately, it's rather expensive and should only be purchased if you’ve managed to farm a lot.
Aghanim’s ScepterPurchasing this will enable your Freezing Field to auto-cast Frostbite
on any enemy who lingers within it for too long. As you can probably imagine that’s a pretty powerful upgrade.
Jungle
Axe
Primary Attribute: Strength
Berserker’s Call
Axe taunts nearby enemy units, forcing them to attack him, while he gains bonus armor.Use this to force enemies to attack you, allowing your allies to freely kill them while you tank the damage.
Battle Hunger
Enrages an enemy unit, causing it to be slowed and take damage over time until it kills another unit or the duration ends.This can be used to finish off a fleeing foe, or to kill a particularly tanky jungle creep.
Counter Helix
When attacked, Axe performs a helix counter attack, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.The more enemies there are attacking you, the more often this ability will cast itself. When combined with Berserker’s Call
it turns you into a swirling mass of death.
Culling Blade
Axe spots a weakness and strikes, instantly killing an enemy unit with low health, or dealing moderate damage otherwise. When an enemy hero is killed with Culling Blade, its cooldown is reset.Use this on any enemy with very low health to quickly finish them off and gain a movement speed bonus.
Jungling is inadvisable for new players, but if you find yourself needing to jungle, Axe is by far the easiest hero to do it with. Always at the heart of the combat, Axe’s Counter Helix gets more useful the more enemies are attacking him. You ideally want to be as aggressive as possible, within reason. Level up Counter Helix to ensure you can quickly kill jungle creeps but take a level in both Berserker’s Call and Battle Hunger. At level 6 take Culling Blade but try to stay in the jungle until you have at least your boots and your Blink Dagger. At this point, use the Blink Dagger to teleport into a group of enemy heroes and then cast Berserker’s Call. Sit back and watch the destruction unfold.
Suggested Items:
Power Treads
Activate Power Treads and switch them to red in order to gain a boost to your strength.Blink Dagger
There is no point picking Axe unless you get this item. Use it to blink into fights and then follow it with Berserker’s Call to force enemies to fight you.Blade Mail
This gives a great armor and damage boost, but its real use comeswhen you activate it, causing all physical enemy attacks to be
reflected back onto them. Use it after casting Berserker’s Call.
Vanguard
Vanguard gives you a flat boost to your HP and health regeneration, allowing you to survive your suicidal leaps into the crowds of enemies.Assault Cuirass
Yet more armor and attack speed will allow you to survive longer and kill quicker. This also provides an aura, granting the same benefits to nearby allies.Your Turn to Pick
That’s your lot. If you really are new, it’s probably best for you to figure out which hero you want to try your hand at and then play a few bot games against the A.I. When you do decide to finally play with other people remember that your pick needs to synergise with your team. For example, if the team already has four carry heroes, pick a support. Similarly, don’t fill your team with weak support heroes and get pulverised in every team fight. But most importantly, remember to have fun, be friendly and cooperate with your teammates. Focus on expanding your repertoire of heroes and you’ll find that Dota 2 becomes an incredibly compelling experience when you can competently play over a hundred different heroes. Trying to out-pick your enemy before the game even begins is a big part of what makes the game so much fun. Good luck!
Source:https://www.pcgamesn.com/
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