Dota 2 announced a new mode known as Ranked Matches with Roles. In this mode, players must first choose a role before searching for a game, and then follow that role by choosing the right hero that suits their game style. This game mode is perfect for players who want to hone their skills at the game further. It is the perfect chance for them to climb up the ranks and get into the competitive scene. 

5 roles, lanes, and positions

If you are going to play Dota 2, you need to know first that there are five roles, lanes, and positions to choose from. Before starting, try to at least have a clear concept of where you will put your hero when the game starts.

First off, there are 5 positions in Dota 2. Each position has its own roles and lanes. Position 1’s role is Carry, and its lane is Safelane. The Carry should farm items, level up fast so that they can carry their teammates. Position 2’s role is Mid Core, and its lane is Midlane. They are often seen fighting in midlanes and have the job to keep up the morale and give the team the boost that they need.

The role of Position 3 is Offlaner, and they go to the Offlane. It is important that they get the creeps first before the team’s foes do. They also have to stay there to fight off the enemy’s Safelane.

Position 4 is Semi-Support. They have two different lanes that they can go to, which are Offlane and Jungle. They are the ones called gankers, which means that they gang up on one lone player. They are also fast and can easily adapt to any lane, helping their teammates. Lastly, position 5’s role is Main-Support, and they go to Safelane. They mainly support the Carry, watching their back, pulling, and blocking their foes.

Just to add to your Dota 2 knowledge, there are other terms for Positions 4 and 5. They are also known as Soft Support and Hard Support, respectively.

Dota 2 gamers have fully distinct role play styles and tactics when it comes to matchmaking rank or MMR.

2 types of MMR roles

In MMR, there are two types: core and support. Core MMR are the first three roles mentioned above—Safe lane (pos 1), Mid Lane (pos 2), and Off Lane (pos 3). Support MMR are the last two roles, namely Soft Support (pos 4), and Hard Support (pos 5).

The difference between support and core is not about the item build, but the gold income. It depends on how much income the hero needs to be useful and which items they need to do their job.

Core types

A core hero is any hero who is not being played as a support (mid, carry offlane, possibly even jungle) who is actively getting the creeps.

Carry is typically the first position in the squad, i.e. the hero with the highest farm priority (although not mid). A carry is usually directed to the safelane.

Hard carry is more of a hero trait than a way a hero is played in any given game. It refers to heroes who are the strongest in the game when they have 6 slots filled with items. As a result, they are often seen as fairly weak laners.

Support types

Soft supports are known as just support. They are the ones who will make or buy items to help the team. Support must have the Vessel item for it has an offensive use. They also need to roam around the map because, in that way, they can help their teammates. They speed up the game by ganking their foes.

Hard supports are the most selfless when it comes to roles. Like soft support, their focus must be buying support items for their teammates. When they have 100g, they should buy items to help the team right away. Wards, smoke, arcane boots are some of the items that should be on their list. They stack jungle, heal their team, and, if the team needs it, they must sacrifice themselves.

Top 3 core heroes

Anti-Mage

What is great about Anti-Mage is that he can carry the game on his own. This makes him one of the game’s best late-game carries. What he only needs to do is to farm a lot, which is not an easy thing to do since there are your teammates and your foes fighting each other to farm. 

Most pro teams soon learned how to deal with this tricky hero. This meant that gamers needed to come up with a new way to use him.

Ember Spirit

Gamers, especially those who play Dota 2, know that in every season there are new updates. Ember Spirit is the one core hero who proved himself to truly go through a lot of changes over time. He has been the most practical hero who is versatile to use, may it be in a mid lane or as a carry. He has magical agility and is a hero who can adapt to any gameplay. 

Because he has gone through a lot, Ember Spirit turned into one of the strongest sorcerers of the game. His skills let him spin out of control and then go down on his foes by smashing them. Due to this fact, it led him to be nerfed for he is too powerful. However, others found a new way to use him again by trying many builds for him. 

Naga Siren

Naga Siren is the second most striking core hero for she is often seen in pro tournaments. 

Picking her as your hero would be a risky choice. Naga Siren is known to be hard to play with, and she is also easy to fight against. If you are lucky to pick her with no one to counter her with, she can truly squash your team’s foes. 

This is one of the reasons why pro gamers are often seen playing with this hero. There are certain ways on how to play this core, and the pros use this to their advantage. 

Top 3 support heroes

Rubick

Rubick is the most commonly used support, and he is highly effective in this meta. His abilities are mostly designed to gank the enemy more often. His epic ultimate, which takes spells from opposing heroes, has the power to quickly flip the tide of a team fight. He is the most effective weapon in a skilled player’s inventory.

His first ability allows him to disable and stun several foes. If the enemy team has low magic resistance, Fade Bolt is very effective. Rubick’s ability to cast spells stolen from an enemy carry makes him a truly great and fun character to play.

Warlock 

After a long period of time on the bench, Warlock is the best support. Warlock’s top focus is winning team fights. When it comes to team fights and helping his squad, he is the best support. When he casts his first ability, Fatal Bonds, he can deal a lot of harm to a lot of foes.

When needed, his second skill can either injure a foe or heal an ally. Upheaval is Warlock’s third skill, letting him slow his opponents in team battles. When he casts his Ultimate Chaotic offering, opponents in an AOE are stunned and a golem is formed. 

This hero can also be used to push towers. In the current meta, his talent tree is pretty lethal. On his own, a warlock wielding an Aghanim’s Scepter and a Refresher Orb is super powerful.

Grimstroke 

Grimstroke is both an offensive support and a nuker. This support is currently the Pro Scene’s favorite. His first skill, Stroke of Fate deals good harm while also slowing his rivals. Phantom’s Embrace summons a phantom that will cling on to an enemy for a set amount of time before returning to him. It does damage to the enemy and renews his skills. 

Ink Swell, his third ability, allows him to cloak an allied unit, increasing the ally’s movement speed. If there are enemies nearby, they will be stunned once it triggers. His ultimate will hold two opponents, preventing them from fleeing. Any ability thrown on the enemy will also be received by the other squad. The ability to silence, stun and distort the enemy Grimstroke is extremely useful in team battles.

Equipped with this knowledge about Dota 2, you should be able to take on your enemies and climb up in rank. It’s important to be up to date with the current meta so that you will always be a step ahead of your rivals.