Knowing about support role and the top 7 best soft support heroes

Knowing about support role and the top 7 best soft support heroes

Dota 2 players may often pick the carry roles, but everybody can agree that the support role is the essential part of the game. Heroes that take on this role are versatile when it comes to assisting in team fights and saving their allies. 

Read on to know more about the support role, its two different types, and the seven best support heroes.

Support Roles 

The two teams who battle it out to destroy each other’s Nexus are composed of 5 heroes each. These heroes correspond to 5 roles or positions. The support roles are positions 4 and 5; the soft and hard supports. 

• Position 4 (Soft support) – They are also known as junglers in Dota 2. They poke their heads into lanes to provide ganks and are in charge of pulling jungle creeps. The soft support also helps with lane control in the carry’s safe lane whenever possible. Soft supports have higher farm priority and are designed to be more item-dependent than hard supports. This is because items like Pipe of Insight, Blink Dagger, Force Staff, and others can drastically enhance their kits. 
• Position 5 (Hard supports) – They are heroes who are the least farm-dependent in the team. This role is often the team’s backbone, pooling resources by acquiring consumables for the carries and maintaining map control through warding and counter warding. 

Hard supports play a critical role when it comes to planning the outcome of fights and the entire game.

7 best soft support heroes

An excellent soft support must torment the enemy carry, make great plays in the mid-game, and help set their offlaner up for success. A good position-four player who can do all that while still scaling into a late-game threat can bring the team to victory. Here are the seven best soft support heroes that you can use in the game.

Chen

Chen is a jungling support who does not rely too much on items to make an impact on the game. His potential is immediately evident as he converts a neutral creep and goes first blood on an enemy who is unfamiliar with Chen’s skills.

Chen is an amazing support hero that can provide health regeneration to the whole team when it comes to sticky situations. He is a great initiator, and his versatility comes from his abilities that provide a significant amount of damage to opponents.

Disruptor

Intense spamming abilities make Disruptor a formidable opponent to face. His ultimate can provide him with some silence and burst damage that is effective when an enemy hero has crucial spells. 

Disruptor’s skill, Glimpse, is a game-changer used at the right moment by targeting an enemy hero who teleported to join in the fight. Glimpse is a spell that is all about timing. When timed right, it can make Disruptor the star of the game.

Dazzle

Another Dota 2 hero is great at lane pushing, team healing, and damage amplification. Dazzle allows the team’s carry to be more laidback when farming by providing passive and aggressive gameplay support. His other ability, Shallow Grave, affects dying companions’ health to last a few more seconds. This can turn the tides of the game, especially in crucial situations. 

This Dota 2 hero can be easily mastered but needs good timing when casting his Shallow Grace skill. Overall, Dazzle is a versatile support who does not rely much on items. 

Lion

Lion is a Dota 2 hero who can be a babysitter for the team carry but at the same time harass the other lanes. Although Lion is a hero who does not rely too much on items, he can still inflict burst damage, and good disables. 

His spell Mana Drain can deplete an enemy hero’s mana pool, making them ineffective in team fights. This also provides Lion with extra mana that can be used to amplify his abilities. His abilities also allow him to be a roaming support who can duo with another support from the team and create deadly roaming combinations. 

Earthshaker

One of Dota 2’s heroes who can impact the game, even on level one. With the proper positioning, Earthshaker can easily gank on opponents, and his skill ‘echo slam’ enables him to help spam abilities that deal continuous damage to enemy heroes. Other support players can maximise Earthshaker’s abilities to gank and seal an easy kill on the opposite team.

He is an excellent pick not only because his skills are not item-dependent but also because he can also provide a chain of stuns. 

Crystal Maiden

Crystal Maiden is one of the heroes who can replenish mana for herself and her comrades. Her two other skills are both disablers and damage dealers. Frozen Field allows her to slow down enemies long enough to turn the game in your team’s favour.

Overall, Crystal Maiden is a support-jungler who excels in both and can also be used as a semi-carry. 

Rubick

This Dota 2 hero is so versatile that he can literally copy an enemy hero’s ability. The highlight of Rubick’s ability is her ultimate Spell Steal, which can copy the target enemy’s casted spell. This skill allows her to adapt in fights, making her an effective support.

Basic tips of playing support

Now that we have covered the 7 best soft support heroes, here are a few tips to help you be more effective in the role:

• Pull when necessary – Pulling neutral creep camps so that they wind up cutting your oncoming creeps is the best way to provide your lane partner solo experience. When you pull, it aids in the re-establishment of creep equilibrium. It can be difficult for your core to score creep kills if your creep wave is pushed too far towards the opposing tier 1 tower.
• Keep an eagle eye – Keep an eye on sentry and observer wards because they are extremely important in Dota 2, and you cannot survive without them. Observer wards replenish every two minutes and 15 seconds. Sentry wards are replenished after 85 seconds. In the latest updates of the game, wards are now made free, so there is no excuse to not get them.
• Babysit your carry – Support roles must provide opportunities for other heroes to develop their characters and farm the items they need. The number one rule of support roles is to not take away gold and experience from your carry or mid-laner. In the first 20 to 30 minutes of the game, they need those things more. These carry heroes most of the time need babysitting because they cannot stand up to enemies alone, especially in the early game. Remember to always be by their side. 
• Torment your enemies – Support heroes cannot kill an opposing team’s core. What you can do is to make their jungling stressful by pulling the jungle creeps, stealing runes, and non-stop attacking. Doing this will delay their items and gold.
• Observe the timings – as a support role in Dota 2, you have more time in your hands to roam around the map and keep an eye on the enemy’s movements, especially on the laning stage. 

Factors like runes, shrines, camps of neutral creeps, and wards, etc., are all completed by the support. Take note of the things that are happening around you and keep your members updated on the events happening in the game through the allied chat.

Types of roles and the 5 best hard support heroes

The number of heroes available in Dota 2 is abundant. There are also various roles or positions that players can choose from. This article will discuss one of the roles known as hard support. Before we get into what hard support is, let us first find out the five roles or positions in Dota 2.

Types of roles

Every position requires its own set of responsibilities. There are factors expected of every role during the game and specific qualities and skills that you must possess when playing them. In order to contribute to the game, it is important to have basic knowledge of the positions played. Below is your guide in League of Legends’ gameplay roles.

Role 1 – The hard carry

In the team, the hard carry has the highest farm priority. This position is always present in a tri-lane in Dota 2 competitive games, with two allied heroes nearby to support and secure the hard carry’s early game farm. Hard carry heroes are more gold dependent than level-dependent due to the frequency of tri-lanes.

Usually, position 1 is filled by hard carry heroes unless the team implements a very aggressive pushing strategy. The hard carry’s goal is to stay alive and control the game’s flow in the early parts while securing as much farm as possible and then make smart decisions in the late game to survive and dominate fights.

Some heroes that fill this role are Phantom Lancer, Luna, and Lifestealer.

Role 2 – The solo, ganker or the semi-carry

A versatile position in terms of the role played for the team is role 2. They are usually seen in the middle lane. Heroes in this position are mainly gold and level-dependent. They are chosen for their mobility, ability to thrive in 1v1 situations, and ability to have a massive effect on other lanes via ganking or fast scaling into the mid-game.

The main goal of role 2 is to outlane the enemy team’s solo mid, allowing their team to gain an advantage in the mid-game through ganking and rune control or early solo farming to build a strong mid-game hero.

Examples of heroes that take on this position are Templar Assassin, Queen of Pain, Puck, Batrider, Magnus, and Brewmaster.

Role 3 – The offlaner or suicide solo

Often referred to as the suicide solo, this role can be played in two primary ways. The first is to go solo in the hard lane against an enemy’s defensive tri-lane. As the name suggests, going up one versus three in the hard lane is challenging, as the name implies. Therefore, the main goal in this situation is to survive, get experience, and farm whenever possible. 

In the early game, this position’s primary role is to avoid dying. Therefore heroes in this role are more level reliant than gold dependent. Heroes in this role usually have a strong set of escape or tank abilities, allowing them to survive in the harsh environment they are placed in. 

The second way to play role 3, commonly known as farming offlane, is to go solo in the safe lane against the hard lane of the other team while using an aggressive tri-lane. In this case, the heroes played in this role tend to match the position of semi-carry and benefit from a good farm.

A few of the heroes who can fill in the ‘suicide solo’ role are Clockwerk, Dark Seer, Bounty Hunter, Dark Seer, and Tidehunter.

Role 4  – The soft support or jungler

Role 4 takes on the jungle and roam the map to occasionally poke their head into lanes to perform ganks. Whenever possible, this role is also tasked to pull jungle creeps in order to maintain lane control in the carry’s lane. Role 4 players are more likely to execute kills in the early game and they are usually the key heroes who put pressure on the other team’s towers.

Some notable heroes that play as the soft support or jungler are Keeper of the Light, Nyx Assassin, Enigma, and Enchantress.

Role 5 – The hard support

An underrated but complex role, position 5 is the least farm-dependent role on the team. The position 5 player is often the team’s backbone, pooling resources by acquiring consumables for the carries and maintaining map control through warding and counter warding. In addition, out of all the roles in the early game, the heroes in positions 4 and 5 have the most impact. 

When it comes to planning the outcome of fights and the entire game, hard support, or position 5, plays a critical role. Furthermore, heroes who fit the hard support role are often capable of making a significant contribution to team fights or even protecting their allies.

5 best hard support heroes

Whether you’re playing in the depths of Herald Hell or the best of Dota 2 universe, you will find these finest hard supports at every rating. Below are the 5 best hard support heroes.

Lion

This hero is one of the most popular hard support choices in the game for one reason: he can make your laning phase a living nightmare. His arsenal transitions well into the mid-game, and he has a knack for the early game, setting up kills and bursting squishy targets.

Vengeful Spirit

Vengeful is a flexible hero who can fill almost any role, but her support gameplay is quite basic. Her magic missile is a dependable nuke that can be utilised to set up kills, thanks to its long stun duration. The wave of terror is a powerful early-game spell that makes dealing blows with opponent heroes a lot easier. Vengeful Spirit’s ultimate Nether Swap is beneficial for starting fights or rescuing teammates from dangerous situations, although it frequently results in sacrificing Venge’s life.

Grimstroke

Grimstroke is one of the best utility-heavy supports in Dota 2. He has a silence, a stun, and a slow in his arsenal. This hero has an ultimate ability that makes him a strong combination with any hero that has unit-target abilities. 

Warlock

Warlock is one of the more straightforward heroes to master in Dota 2. Although he lacks the lane dominance of some of the other heroes on this list, his early game sustain and team fight-oriented kit more than make up for it. Warlock’s Shadow Word is by far the strongest early-game sustain spell, and it can also be used offensively against opponents.

Warlock is a good fit for both pushing and team fight compositions since he is the easiest hero on the list to master and has one of the best initiation spells in the game.

Jakiro

This hero is a jack-of-all-trades. His dual breath is one of the finest early game nukes, in which he can push opponents out of the lane. Liquid Fire is another powerful spell in his arsenal, which he can utilise to annoy enemies and demolish towers quickly.Jakiro can control the tempo of team fights using stun Ice Path and his ultimate Macropyre, in addition to his excellent laning presence. Overall, Jakiro is a fantastic hero in Dota 2 who can fit into most lineups because of his versatility.

What you need to know about DOTA 2 dispels and status effects

Team fights are inevitable in DOTA 2. It is a way to secure lanes and establish better map control without further risks. Ambushes are also an effective tactic in the laning phase, reducing pressure on the carry when it comes to shoving minion waves. Both team fights and ambushes have one thing in common: the presence of initiators who will race to see who will land their crowd control abilities first before everybody else shows up.

Crowd control abilities come in many forms: there are those that stun opponents from moving, those that slow them down, or those that disable them from using their abilities, among others. Being struck with a crowd control ability may be annoying but it’s not the end of the world—DOTA 2 has heroes that possess the dispel feature, something that will get you back in the game even after being unable to fully control your hero for a while.

What is a dispel and how does it work?

Dispel is an ability several DOTA 2 heroes and items possess that enables heroes to get rid of certain effects that affect their movement or stats. These effects can either be positive (called buffs) or negative (called debuffs). 

If a hero or item uses a dispel on themselves and/or their allies, only the debuffs are removed. If the dispel is used on opponents, the buffs are removed and whatever debuffs they have will remain. There are three types of dispels:

• Basic dispels remove movement speed reduction effects as well as silencing effects where a hero is unable to use their abilities but can still move and attack normally.
• Strong dispels can do what basic dispels do and more. These kinds of dispels can remove stuns and grant immunity from opponents’ repositioning abilities. Strong dispels can only be applied to yourself and your allies.
• Death is the ultimate type of dispel. Dying removes all effects inflicted on a hero, regardless of whether it is a buff or debuff.

Here are some examples of abilities with dispel:

• Sven’s Storm Hammer has a basic dispel which activates before inflicting damage to a target and stunning surrounding enemies.
• Enchantress’ Enchant slows down allies but a basic dispel is applied afterwards.
• Legion Commander’s Press the Attack grants a strong dispel on allies in addition to a boosted attack speed and HP regeneration.
• Tidehunter’s Kraken Shell gives him a strong dispel once the damage he takes crosses a certain threshold.

Spell immunity

Spell immunity is considered by many players as a form of dispel but it is actually a status effect, much like stuns and slows, as it prevents delayed effects and damage from enemy abilities from activating or inflicting. What makes spell immunity comparable to dispels is that it prevents additional effects from happening in the first place.

Spell immunity is not absolute. There are abilities in DOTA 2 that defy spell immunity. It will be indicated at the description of the ability so read each one carefully.

Here are some examples of abilities which include spell immunity:

• Lifestealer’s Rage grants him spell immunity to himself in addition to a movement speed boost.
• Lion’s Mana Drain must be channelled in order to activate, but when it does, it grants him spell immunity while absorbing mana from opponents.
• Juggernaut’s Omnislash grants him spell immunity, among other things, while unleashing multiple attacks on surrounding enemy units.
• Huskar’s Life Break renders him immune to spells while leaping towards his target.

Cyclone

Cyclone is a status effect that lifts affected units into the air, spins them around, and disables them from moving and using their abilities. Cyclone can also be considered as a stun but units that are cycloned are invulnerable to attacks. There are only two heroes (Brewmaster and Invoker) and three items (Eul’s Sceptre of Divinity, Windwaker, and Stormcrafter) that can conjure cyclones.

Invulnerability

Invulnerability is a status effect where a hero becomes immune to attack damage and other effects. There are no abilities that solely grant invulnerability—it is presented as an additional effect instead.

Here are some examples of abilities that can render a hero invulnerable:

• Lifestealer’s Infest makes him invulnerable while possessing an enemy creep or neutral creep.
• Faceless Void’s Time Walk makes him invulnerable while the ability is in effect.
• Riki’s Tricks of the Trade makes him invulnerable while attacking enemies from behind.
• Phantom Lancer’s Doppelganger makes him invulnerable while he disappears to conjure illusions and clones of himself.

Just like spell immunity, invulnerability is not absolute as there are heroes that ignore this effect and inflict some debuffs onto heroes instead of just dealing damage. Make sure to study each  hero’s abilities to know which one can pierce through invulnerability.

Auras

Auras are like an area of effect ability with the conjurer at its centre and moves alongside the one who cast it. Aura abilities can either buff allies or debuff enemies with effects lasting for a short while after leaving the aura. Generally, auras cannot be dispelled and some of them might have special conditions to be met before activation. Make sure to read aura descriptions carefully so you can utilise them easily.

Here are some examples of aura abilities:

• Crystal Maiden’s Arcane Aura grants mana regeneration for herself and allies inside the aura she conjures.
• Visage’s Gravekeeper’s Cloak blocks damage to himself once per layer of cloak.
• Necrophos’ Heartstopper Aura whittles down the HP of opponents within the area of effect and provides healing to Necrophos for each enemy hero he kills.
• Windranger’s Windrun casts an aura that slows enemies down while providing a movement speed boost for herself.

Most support heroes in DOTA 2 use dispels to negate debuffs and counter it with debuffs of their own or use other abilities that are beneficial to allies. If you are a support player in this game, it will do you some good if you try to study each hero’s abilities well and time your spells so you can help your teammates better.

Offensive and defensive support heroes in DOTA 2

DOTA 2 is a much more challenging game where five players form a team and play different positions. One of these positions is the support whose responsibility is to keep watch of allied teammates wherever they are and buy items that will benefit the entire team. 

To fulfil this role properly, supports sometimes need to participate aggressively in team fights or purchase items that will boost their defensive stats and/or abilities to better buff their teammates. These strategies make supports be classified as either offensive or defensive.

Offensive supports

Offensive supports in DOTA 2 are usually the meta-relevant ones who can help the carry fight back during ganks and unexpected skirmishes. These supports dish out high damage but also dispel debuffs and/or buff up teammates. The survivability of offensive support heroes is enough for them to be called bruisers as well. Offensive support heroes are just as reliable in the frontlines as an offlaner who takes part in team fights. If you are interested in knowing which heroes are suited for this role, here are five suggestions:

• Dark Willow is most reliable in zoning enemies out using her first ability, Bramble Maze, and in roaming through her second ability, Shadow Realm. She can also cast crowd control abilities which are good for extending combos or disengaging. Adding to her offensive capabilities is her pet wisp Jex who can either harass enemies continuously or force them to retreat by being too intimidating.
• Io is a hero who specialises in teleportation and giving buffs and HP regeneration to teammates. It is one of the hardest heroes to learn in DOTA 2 but if you manage to get the hang of it, Io will prove to be extremely useful in team fights as it can also fight back through Spirits and Overcharge. Its teleportation ability is what makes Io difficult to master as it can be done to either back teammates up, disengage, or heal allies in the base.
• Lion is a squishy hero to be considered a support, but he helps his teammates using his crowd control ability Earth Spike and his second ability Hex which turns enemies into a harmless frog. If the carry doesn’t have enough damage yet, Lion can use his ultimate Finger of Death to deal the killing blow. His Mana Drain, meanwhile, reassures you that Lion will always have enough resources for his abilities.
• Elder Titan is a powerful disabler who can deal both physical and magic damage with the help of his Astral Spirit. He can further beat opponents down with his third ability, Natural Order, which lowers the armour and magic defence of nearby enemies. This hero can also dish out HP-based damage through his ultimate, Earth Splitter.
• Ogre Magi is the one best suited for the offensive support role. An expert in crowd control, burst damage, and buffs, you could never go wrong with picking him as your support hero. His Bloodlust and Fire Shield combo benefit nearby teammates by boosting movement speed and attack speed while minimising risks in team fights and dealing poke damage.

Defensive supports

Defensive supports in DOTA 2 focus more on being tougher than the rest of the heroes in the battlefield as they are expected to soak in most of the opponents’ attacks. These heroes also specialise in buffing allies and/or debuffing enemies during team fights as well as giving them shields or damage reduction effects. 

Defensive support heroes also purchase items that benefit the entire team, such as wards and gold and experience boosters. If you are interested in knowing which heroes are suited for this role, here are five suggestions:

• Tidehunter is an incredibly tough hero who specialises in dispelling and blocking enemy attacks. His third ability Anchor Smash also gives damage reduction aside from the usual damage towards enemies. His ultimate, Ravage, enables Tidehunter to stun enemies caught in his far-reaching tentacles, making him a reliable tank in team fights.
• Witch Doctor specialises in healing allies while cursing enemies. His Voodoo Restoration helps his teammates last longer in team fights as long as he has mana to spend while his Maledict serves as a backup damage dealer during team fights. When it comes to crowd control, meanwhile, Witch Doctor shines best when using his Paralysing Cask.
• Oracle is probably one of the best DOTA 2 heroes in terms of buffing and debuffing. Using his first ability Fortune’s End, Oracle can strip enemies of whatever is boosting their stats in addition to the rooting effect it gives. Meanwhile, Fate’s Edict grants 100% magic resistance to whoever is caught in it. His ultimate, False Promise, enables Oracle to manipulate an ally’s HP, delaying any damage or healing effects for later. Anyone affected by this ability is then free to go all out in team fights.
• Keeper of the Light is a popular support hero who uses light to blind enemies or reveal their location. His debuffing ability is Solar Bind which slows opponents down and reduces their magic resistance. Meanwhile, his Chakra Magic provides a mana regeneration for himself and his allies while also reducing the cooldown timers of unavailable abilities.
• Abaddon is a hero who specialises in healing and shielding his allies through his Mist Coil and Aphotic Shield. Meanwhile, he can also do some crowd control with his third ability, Curse of Avernus, slowing and potentially silencing enemies that were struck by his sword. Of course, Abaddon has an ability that will benefit himself to make him last longer in team fights: Borrowed Time converts the damage he will take into healing while also dispelling all debuffs on him.

Whatever category of support you use, proper timing and synergy should always be your top priority before starting a match. Make sure you study the abilities of the support hero you wish to use to maximise their potential instead of just splashing them in any lineup. Keep watch of the items you purchase as well to benefit your teammates in the long run.

Sources and classifications of damage dealt by heroes

Many are already familiar with Dota 2, especially fans and players alike. Published by Valve Corporation in 2013, Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena where players will battle it out to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus. 

Dota 2 has various kinds of heroes with different skills and abilities. Each hero can inflict massive damage when used right. Item builds, team strategies, and mastery of the hero’s abilities will all affect the tides of the game and how your team can win. 

This article will discuss the three damage sources in the game. There is also a list of heroes who can inflict these damages, boosters, damage classifications, manipulation, and negation.

Damage sources

Attacks, spells and even turrets can all cause damage in Dota 2. Generally, damage sources are divided into two categories: attack damage and spell damage. 

Attack damage

Attack damage refers to the amount of damage that a hero is shown to sustain from a normal attack. The sum of a unit’s main attack damage (white) and bonus attack damage is its total attack damage (green). The majority of attack damage is physical, although there are exceptions.

The overall damage of an attack is calculated using a variety of multipliers and numbers. Total attack damage refers to the amount of health a target loses as a result of the blow. Some on-hit effects are still considered to be part of attack damage even if they aren’t affected by the critical strikes, whereas others aren’t.

Spell damage

With some exceptions, spell damage is usually dealt in a separate instance from attack damage. This includes all abilities that deal magical, physical, or pure damage (including item abilities and attack modifiers). 

There are some skills that negate the two types of spell damage amplification, but those abilities can’t normally cast lifesteal. Both forms of spell damage amplifications have no effect on abilities with health manipulation abilities (Instant Kill, HP Removal, Delayed Damage, etc.).

Damage classifications

Damage classifications are used to categorise all types of damage in Dota 2. Physical, magical, and pure damage are the three main types of damage.

Physical damage

Unless otherwise specified, all attack damage from all units (including turrets) and certain skills inflicts physical damage. Armour and damage negations have an impact on a force’s total physical damage.

Instead of the usual magical damage, the following heroes have abilities (spells) that do physical damage:

• Witch Doctor – his Death Ward inflicts physical damage
• Slardar – Bash & Crush abilities are both physical
• Death Prophet – his Exorcism Ultimate is physical damage
• Dazzle – Poison or Wave can inflict physical damage; weave ult for armour reduction
• Alchemist – his Concoction Spell deals physical damage and the Acid Spray reduces armour deduction.
• Juggernaut – his Omni Slash Ultimate and his auto-attack slashes are physical
• Luna – when Glaives is in effect, her AOE is physical damage
• Leshrac – Diabolic Edict can inflict physical damage
• Beastmaster – his Wild axes can inflict physical damage
• Axe – his Counter Helix is physical damage
• Bristleback – Quill Spray inflicts physical damage
• Elder Titan –  Echo Stomp is physical damage, but Spirit damage is magical and Earth Splitter is half physical damage.
• Gyrocopter – when Flak cannon is in effect, AOE is physical damage
• Medusa – when Split Shot is in effect, Medusa’s AOE is physical damage

Magical damage

This damage naturally comes from abilities or spells, and the majority of the skills in the game deal with magic damage. It can be reduced by magic resistance and amplified with ethereal units.  

These are some of the heroes that can deal massive magic damage:

• Zeus – all Zeus abilities are magical type except for his third 
• Tinker – his ability ‘mark of the machines’ is magical damage
• Venomancer – his ultimate ‘poison nova’ has magical damage
• Necrophos – he has burst damage and inflicts magical damage per second
• Techies – ‘proximity mines’ can deal magical damage
• Meepo – in the late game, he can scale well with magical damage
• Invoker – like Meepo, he can scale well with magical damage in the late game

Here are some of the magic damage boosters:

• Ethereal blade –  40% increase magic damage on a single target
• Veil of discord- 25% increased magical damage in an area of effect
• Orchid malevolence: magic damage equals 30% of all damage inflicted in the previous 5 seconds at the end of the spell

Pure damage

Pure damage is a type of damage that is immune to armour or magic resistance, and magical damage amplification skills cannot amplify it. Pure damage mixes with skills that typically negate all incoming damage.

Below is a list of heroes with their abilities that deal pure damage:

• Pudge – Meat Hook
• Queen of Pain – Sonic Wave
• Silencer – GLaives of Wisdom
• Spectre – Desolate
• Spectre – Dispersion
• Templar Assassin – PSI Blades
• Bloodseeker – Blood Rite and Rupture
• Doom – Doom
• Enchantress – Impetus
• Enigma – Midnight pulse
• Omniknight – Purification
• Outworld Devourer – Arcane orb
• Phantom Assassin – Stifling
• Dagger Phoenix – Sun Ray

Below are two examples of items that boost pure damage:

• Orchid malevolence – incoming pure damage amplification, can be cast on enemies 
• Mask of Madness – incoming pure damage amplification, can be cast on self 

Note that magic resistance affects magic spell damage, physical spell damage affects armour, and pure damage is unaffected by either. Damage manipulation is based on all three. In the next topic, I will discuss damage manipulation and negation.

Damage manipulation

Damage manipulation is a technique that increases or decreases the value of the damage. Both the dealing unit (outgoing damage) and the receiving unit (incoming damage) can alter damage (incoming damage). 

The most prevalent damage manipulators are armour and magic resistance, which impact incoming physical and magical damage, respectively. There are two types of damage manipulation in Dota 2: incoming and outgoing. 

• Incoming damage – is the type of manipulation that causes the impaired unit to receive less or high damage
• Outgoing damage – the afflicted unit deals more or less damage due to outgoing damage manipulation

Damage Negation

Damage can be manipulated as well as negated in Dota 2. Even if the instance is still registered, damage negation prevents full instances of damage from causing damage on their targets. This indicates that if something reacts to damage without a minimum damage threshold, it will also react to negated damage.

The treasure system and how it works

Dota 2: The treasure system and how it works

Like any other online game, game developers add features to keep players interested. An example is the prizes that can be used to boost a character or an item.

In the vast world of Dota 2, these prizes are called treasures. Read to know more about the different types of treasures and how they work.

Treasures

Formerly known as treasure chests, treasures are tool items purchased from the store, received as dropped items, or acquired from unlocking a charm successfully. Treasures are based on a theme, be it a particular hero or an event. When the chest is opened, the player will receive one of the items listed in the description. It’s possible that some treasures can drop multiple items.

Treasures were first launched in May 2012, when the feature ‘store’ first opened in Dota 2. In its early launch, treasures were locked and could only be unlocked with treasure keys. In July 2015, most treasure keys were removed from the game.

Types of treasures

There are various types of treasures found in the shop or sometimes awarded to players who completed a mission or attended an event. These treasures range in their rarity and value. The rarer a treasure is, the higher possible value while others that are commonly attained may have a lower value compared to the former.

Here are the types of treasures found in Dota 2:

• Common 
• Uncommon
• Mythical
• Legendary
• Ancient 
• Immortal
• Arcana 

Dota 2’s treasure system

The treasure system allows players to always receive an item when they achieve a new level. After each matchmaking game, there is also a possibility to receive an item at random. Some treasures can only be attained during specific events, while some can be attained regularly. It all depends on what type of treasure it is.

Here’s a list of what you should know about the treasure system and how it works:

• Players can get new artefacts in Dota 2 mainly through treasures or buying skins.
• The game allows items to be transferred between accounts and exchanged, purchased, and sold.
• There are two drop lists for treasures: a standard drop list and a rare drop list.
• Most treasures have a very rare drop, which is usually a courier with amazing particle effects. These drops happen every 1-2% of the time.
• Items that are unboxed will not drop again until the full list has been dropped at least once, so you won’t get duplicates from the usual drop list.
• The rarity of an item still influences its drop chance; as a result, rare things may not drop until all of the other items have been unboxed.
• Unboxed treasures are not transferable or marketable for a week, although they can be gifted to a friend. However, extremely rare objects are exempted from this restriction.
• The future treasure openings will present random items from the droplist only after all standard items have been received.
• Dota Plus members can recycle treasure rewards into treasure fragments. Six treasure fragments can be combined to create a copy of the treasure, with an additional 2000 Dota shards.

History of Dota 2’s treasure system

Dota 2 has undergone numerous updates and changes. This includes the game’s features, including their treasure system. The first chest that could be purchased directly from the store and did not require a key to open was released in April 2014 by Valve Corporation, the company behind Dota 2. 

In June 2014, all chests requiring special keys were labelled as expired and removed. Those keys were used to unlock previously locked boxes. In August 2014, all remaining chests were recognised as expired and deleted. This is one of the last stages of the game’s shift to a keyless economy.

Now that we have discussed what treasures and how they work, find out the many variations of treasures below:

Examples of treasures in Dota 2

Several types of treasures have been included in the shop of Dota 2. Some are only available during an event, some are given for free, and others can be attained regularly.

Here are examples of the treasures that were awarded or purchased at the store:

• Golden Trove Carafe – This treasure has the same items as the Imbued Golden Trove Carafe 2017, but it is of normal quality. This treasure needs no seal or key as it is already unlocked and with every treasure opened, the player’s odds of acquiring this item increases.
• Treasure of the Crimson Witness 2017 – this treasure was received by players for witnessing First Blood at The International 2017, and no keys are needed to open it.
• Dotakin Emoticon Treasure – when you buy Dotakins from Secret Shop during The International 2017, you’ll get this item. There are ten emoticons in total.
• Trove Carafe – all of the items in this treasure are branded with The International 2019 and can be reused to earn points toward a bigger prize and other bonuses.
• Immortal Treasure II – the International 10 Battle Pass can be levelled to gain this treasure. In the armoury, you can recycle any four items from Immortal Treasure II to get a second Immortal Treasure II 2020 and a Rylai’s Battle Blessing.
• Trust of the Benefactor 2017 – this treasure is an Immortal item that cannot be traded or marketed through The International 2018 but can still be gifted once.
• Treasure of the Glacial Abyss – this treasure was created for Season 5 of the Dota Pit League. Keys are not needed to unlock this treasure. 10% of the proceeds of each sale contributes towards Dota Pit Season 5.
• Warhammer: Treasure of the Old World – An unlocked treasure and can be purchased in the store. This treasure contains things created in the Warhammer Fantasy universe’s aesthetic style. This treasure contains items that are identical to those found in Warhammer: Treasure of the Old World: Pre-Purchase, but with different colours and textures.
• Nested Treasure II – this treasure contains one of the many treasures published in 2015 and a chance to win a set redemption token that lets you claim any of the treasures’ sets.
• Fluttering Cache – To purchase this treasure, players must have a copy of the Fall Season Compendium 2015 and after December 31, 2015, it can be traded.
• Treasure of the Seer’s Eyeglass – This treasure consists of complete item sets. The Nanyang Dota 2 Championships was supported by those who purchased this.

Conclusion

The treasures listed above have their unique advantages for every players’ needs. They keep the game engaging and interesting. Understanding how they work will enhance your gameplay and boost your heroes and items.

Top ten best disablers in DOTA 2

In DOTA 2, there are several roles you can play to create the best five-man combination before going into the match. One of these roles is the disabler, the one responsible for casting crowd control abilities to either initiate team fights or back teammates up when the odds are against them. 

Just like other hero roles in DOTA 2, disablers exist in three different complexity levels but this article focuses on those heroes most players consider the most effective disabler in the game. If you are interested to know about such heroes, here are ten of them:

Winter Wyvern

Winter Wyvern is an extremely versatile DOTA 2 hero because she can be played in four different positions. Her specialty is freezing and later taunting her opponents across a wide range using her ultimate Winter’s Curse, but she can also slow down enemies, and heal and protect allies from physical damage. Being a Level 2 complexity hero, Winter Wyvern isn’t that hard to learn.

Earthshaker

Another Level 2 complexity disabler, mastering Earthshaker wouldn’t take much time. This hero is a master of crowd control chains through his Aftershock which grants him an additional stun every time he uses a skill. 

He can also either trap or zone out enemies with his Fissure, making him a reliable hero in team fights. If you equip Earthshaker with enough cooldown items, his crowd control chain becomes more spammable and could potentially dish out the longest stun-lock combo in the game.

Enigma

Enigma’s flexibility in positions can be seen when he is either played as a support or as an offlaner. He is usually picked against hero lineups with little to no mobility because his specialty is sucking enemies in through his Blackhole. 

Opponents caught up in this move will be left helpless as they are disabled from using any skills while Blackhole is active. Enigma has also proven himself useful in the early laning phase as he can manipulate minion waves with his abilities.

Disruptor

Disruptor is known as one of those disablers who has great potential to turn the tides in team fights. Players who use him know his main combo consists of combining Kinetic Field and Static Storm to trap enemies in silencing doom. Disruptor can also be used in ambushing enemies and scoring free hits for carries using his Thunder Strike.

Rubick

Rubick is one of the most contested heroes in DOTA 2 due to his ability to mimic any one of an opponent’s moves using his Spell Steal. Because of this, Rubick may as well have already cast a disable on the opponent’s team right before the match even started. If Rubick has been already picked up by the opposing team, you will be discouraged to pick a hero with a better movepool than him since he can always copy your moves anyway.

Treant Protector

One of the earliest heroes to be released in the first DOTA game, Treant Protector boasts five skills in his arsenal instead of the usual four. His specialty is slowing enemies down in team fights and in the laning phase as well as dealing poke damage for good measure. What makes him unique as a disabler is his ability to slow down the opponent’s map control maneuvers by healing allied towers.

Bane

A Level 3 complexity hero, Bane is quite hard to master but pro heroes who can control him well can significantly put opponents at a disadvantage through his ultimate Fiend’s Grip. He also has a unique crowd control ability of putting enemy units to sleep using his Nightmare. The sleep effect wears off when the enemy is attacked, but it is still an effective disable move.

Shadow Shaman

Another difficult disabler hero to get the hang of is Shadow Shaman but heroes who play against him might see him as annoying to deal with. Shadow Shaman currently boasts the longest disabling move in the game with his Shackles. Meanwhile, his Hex turns enemy heroes into chickens who move slowly on the battlefield and cannot cast skills. Both his Shackles and Hex are spammable skills, which is why Shadow Shaman is a pain in the neck as an enemy.

Puck

Puck’s flexibility is unique as she can either be used as a support or as a damage dealer. She can easily whittle down the opponent’s HP using her AOE ultimate Dream Coil but she can also use the mobility from her first and third skills to initiate team fights and reposition herself when necessary. Puck is quite the difficult hero to master but the payoff from this is her reliability in terms of base damage output.

Tidehunter

Disablers usually perform best when they are able to clump enemies together for a massive crowd control chain. To avoid these types of situations, opponents usually avoid fighting together at once and time their skills well for a counterattack. 

Tidehunter ignores all those positioning tactics using his Ravage, an ultra-wide range ultimate which can hit enemies a good distance from him as well as dealing long stuns in the process. Also, his Kraken Shell makes him one of the toughest DOTA 2 heroes.

If you are an experienced DOTA 2 player, you can pay less attention to the complexity of each hero on this list and just try them out straight away, but if you are a beginner player, you are free to practice each of these heroes first before heading to 5v5 matches. 

Remember that this list only shows the disablers that could give you a high chance of winning from the get-go or present an incredible comeback potential when your team is behind. Whatever the case may be, you should study each hero’s movepool and make sure you equip the right items to complement their abilities.

Summary of Team Spirit’s journey to becoming TI10 champions

The International 10 (TI10) ended in October 2021 with Team Spirit reigning as its champion. Their journey wasn’t easy as the competition was filled with the best Dota 2 teams around the world. If you are curious about what they had to go through then here’s their story starting from the bottom until they reach the top in 2021.

Starting from the bottom 

TI10 is filled with plenty of amazing teams around the world. The most formidable of which are team OG, Invictus Gaming, Evil Geniuses, and Fnatic. Team Spirit is an underdog compared to them. Before they became champions, this Russian team didn’t have an impressive run in the Dota 2 esports scene.

Although they seem small when compared to esports giants like the teams above, Team Spirit is actually a powerhouse in local Dota 2 tournaments. Prior to TI10, Team Spirit had a lacklustre run in the major leagues since they were founded in 2016. Nobody foresaw how much of a powerhouse they’d become until they scaled the tournament ladder all the way to the top. 

Group Stage: A bad first step but with a good momentum

What made Team Spirit have such a bad impression at the start of TI10 is their tense Grand Final at the Eastern Europe Qualifier with Team Empire. The 3-2 win was not a convincing note to start the Group Stage in TI10 where they also started on the wrong foot.

Team Spirit had the worst Group Stage start of the season. They faced both PSG.LGD and Team Secret where they lost 0-2 in both matches. Fortunately, it wasn’t the elimination round as Team Spirit was simply relegated to the bottom of Group B.

Team Spirit’s third match was with Elephant Gaming where they won 2-0 but they lost another 0-2 against Vici Gaming afterwards. Another loss would forfeit their chances in the season so they mustered all of their energy into defeating all three of their next opponents with a 2-0 lead. This raised their placement to 4th in Group B, putting them in the Upper Bracket.

Upper Bracket: High start but immediate loss

Team Spirit had a good run during the grouping stage but their momentum was cut at the first match in the main event. They matched against Invictus Gaming, one of the favourites in TI10. They managed to score 1 win but they lost in a 1-2 upset. This relegated them to the lower bracket where they had to continue the rest of the match starting at round 2. This was the last time that Team Spirit lost in the entire event. 

Lower Bracket: Fought giants to stay in the competition

Team Spirit found themselves in another do or die situation in the lower bracket. They also had tough competition such as Fnatic and two-time Ti champions, OG. On top of that, they also had to fight the three teams that dropped them to the lower bracket. 

In a surprising turn of events, Team Spirit made off with 2-0 wins against Fnatic and OG. They also won 2-1 against Virtus.pro whom they are facing for the first time in TI10. Team Spirit faced Invictus Gaming in round 5 and secured a satisfying revenge victory at 2-0 lead. 

The two teams that gave Team Spirit in the Group Stage fought in the Upper Bracket finals. PSG.LGD won 2-0, making Team Secret fight in the Lower Bracket finals. This is where Team Spirit got the rematch they wanted and won another decisive victory with 2-1. Team Spirit is on a winning streak on their way to their biggest challenge, the PSG.LGD.

Grand Finals: From the worst position to top place

PSG.LSD is a Chinese Dota 2 team that hasn’t won the TI10 but became a runner-up against OG in 2018. They are once again runner ups in 2021 but with a new set of members. Their roster includes Wang ‘Ame’ Chunyu in Position 1, Zhang ‘Faith_bian’ Ruida in Position 3, and Zhang ‘y`’ Yiping in Position 5 and acting captain. There is also Cheng ‘NothingToSay’ Jin Xiang in Position 2 and Zhao ‘XinQ’ Zixing in Position 4 who are loaned from Team EHOME. All of them joined the team in 2020 to represent PSG.LSD in TI10.

Team Spirit’s bearers of the champion’s title are also new members who joined the team in  2020. The team captain of the group is Yaroslav ‘Miposhka’ Naidenov in position 5 who joined the team in 2020 at the same time as three other members. Those are Illya ‘Yatoro’ Mulyarchuk in Position 1, Alexander ‘TORONTOTOKYO’ Khertek in Position 2, and Magomed ‘Collapse’ Khalilov in Position 3. The newest member is Miroslaw ‘Mira’ Kolpakov in Position 4 who joined in 2021. 

Team Spirit won the Grand Finals against PSG.LSD with 3-2 lead in a best of five matches. This turn of events gave the champions a poetic victory against their toughest rivals. It is also similar to how they won the Eastern Europe Qualifiers against Team Empire which made the event all the more exciting. Team Spirit beat the odds as they kept getting pushed down to the bottom of the team standings but they still pushed through all the way to the top. This year’s Dota 2 champion is the dark horse of the competition and they gave everyone an amazing show.With the TI10 over, it is time for esports teams to take a break once again. Some players have plans to celebrate the end of the season while others have plotted their course to winning the next TI. The next Dota 2 Pro Circuit will begin in the summer of 2022 which is a long time away from the end of TI10. Eastern Europe is likely to gain an extra seed thanks to Team Spirit but it’s too early for that decision. Stay tuned for more updates for the next season.