Popular Dota 2 heroes by position: mid, carry, support, offlane, roamer

A Dota 2 player can choose from over 100 heroes. The list contains characters with a variety of characteristics, appearances and features that define the gameplay.

Depending on key qualities and characteristics, they may be better suited to fulfill a specific role on the battlefield. Let’s take a look at the key positions and Dota 2 heroes that often represent them.

Mid-lane (center lane)

At the beginning of the game, they often go to the central lane alone. The position is rich in experience, thanks to which you can quickly level up. Therefore, heroes who can gain maximum superiority due to skills that are pumped at a high level are preferred. Using these skills, the midlaner kills the enemy.

The list of popular heroes which are suitable for this position is as follows:

• Tinker. This hero has powerful attacking skills (Laser – the ability to target a unit, Heat-Seeking Missile – 2 homing missiles), is able to quickly clear an area of enemies (March of the Machines), due to the ultimate (Rearm) gets the ability to reset the cooldown every 2 seconds.
• Shadow Fiend. Effectively fights with Shadowraze, has a powerful ultimate called Requiem of Souls (non-targeted ability).
• Invoker. The character in Dota 2 with the most extensive arsenal of skills, in the right hands, he can turn the game around.

Carry (farm, safe lane)

Carry is a hero who is weak in the early stages. The potential of the character is revealed in the middle/end of the match in case of effective farm throughout the game. His strength directly depends on the items that he managed to acquire. If the right items are in the hands of a carry, he becomes one of the biggest threats on the battlefield.

Players usually choose:

• Anti Mage. With the help of Blink, he instantly moves around the battlefield, effective against magicians due to Mana Break, Counterspell and Mana Void.
• Slark. Drains the enemy’s power with Essence Shift (passive ability), avoids control and becomes unreachable for enemies in Shadow Dance.
• Juggernaut. Immune to magic while Blade Fury is active. When casting Omnislash, becomes invulnerable, dealing massive damage.
• Wraith King. Able to stun an opponent with Wraithfire Blast, deal damage with critical attacks from Mortal Strike, can regenerate health proportionally to damage dealt with Vampiric Aura and immediately revive upon death using Reincarnation.

Support

Support is strong in the early game with an effective array of abilities that deal damage, stun enemies, and slow them down. He needs only entry-level items to be useful. Therefore, he can give up farming in favor of other members of his team. A support needs a high mana pool.

Supports often pick:

• Witch doctor. Able to restore health of allies by activating Voodoo Restoration, can stun enemies and summon a deadly Death Ward totem.
• Lion. Stuns enemies with Earth Spike for almost 2 seconds, turns into a frog using Hex, destroys Finger of Death with his ultimate.
• Crystal Maiden. Freezes enemies with Frostbite, grants allies mana from Arcane Aura, can cause freezing rain with Freezing Field.

Offlane (hard, heavy lane)

This position is occupied by a character who is able to survive under the most difficult conditions. He will have to face (ideally create trouble) the enemy carry and support alone. His main qualities are high damage resistance (amount of health) and the ability to get away from the battle if he doesn’t want to participate in it.

Offlaners often choose:

• Centaur Warrunner. When attacking this hero, enemies take damage from Retaliate. The character is able to stun nearby heroes with Hoof Stomp, as well as speed up himself and allies with Stampede.
• Bristleback. One of the strongest «tanks» due to the Bristleback ability, which saves this hero from damage dealt from the back and responds to attacks with needles.
• Tidehunter. He has a thick skin (Kraken Shell) that blocks some of the damage, and the Ravage ultimate can be used to stun enemy heroes at a great distance from the character.

Roamer (roaming support)

The gameplay of Dota 2 in the position of a roamer is the most dynamic in the early/mid game. This hero is not tied to any of the lanes, freely moving between them. The goal is to find a vulnerable hero among the enemy characters and kill him with the help of allies. Such characters usually have the right skills for this and are not dependent on gold. The leveling of the hero occurs mainly due to the murders and his participation in them.

Popular roamers:

• Spirit Breaker. Using Charge of Darkness, he focuses on the targeted enemies and runs towards them at high speed, ignoring obstacles. Can stun the target with Nether Strike and deal a lot of damage.
• Bounty Hunter. He moves freely around the map and sets up ambushes thanks to invisibility from Shadow Walk. Marks an enemy with the Track ability, making them visible to all allies and increasing the reward for killing them.
• Pudge. Pulls the target towards itself with Meat Hook, then devours the victim with Dismember.

These are not all Dota 2 heroes. But, if you are new to the game, we recommend you to play for these characters at the beginning.