Dota 2 Tier List
You’ve been spamming Dota for years. It’s your lifeblood – the thing that gets you through long workdays and boring weekends. You know every hero inside and out, their skills, strengths and weaknesses. But with constant patches and shifting metas, keeping track of the tier list is tough. That’s where this guide comes in. We’re breaking down the top picks for each role, analyzing recent buffs and nerfs, and ranking all 123 heroes from S-tier powerhouses to underwhelming F-tiers. Whether you’re a diehard Dota fanatic or just getting started, you need to know the best heroes. With this tier list, you’ll dominate your next match and instill fear in enemies as you single-handedly carry your team to victory with an S-tier mid. The power is yours.
Article content:
- Understanding the Dota 2 Tier List and Hero Rankings
- S Tier Heroes – The Most Powerful Picks in Dota 2
- A Tier Heroes – Strong Heroes for Ranked Play
- B Tier Heroes – Situationally Strong Picks
- C Tier Heroes – Weak Heroes to Avoid in Ranked
- Conclusion
- Discover Dota 2 with Duelmasters’ tournaments. Test your skills and win!
Understanding the Dota 2 Tier List and Hero Rankings
To understand Dota 2’s hero tier list, you first need to know how the heroes are ranked. Heroes in Dota 2 are ranked based on a few factors:
Popularity and Win Rate
The most popular and highest win rate heroes are usually considered top tier. These heroes tend to be versatile, easy to play, and fit well into many team compositions and strategies. Top tier heroes often get picked or banned frequently in pubs and pro games.
Strength in the Current Meta
The meta refers to the current popular strategies and hero picks in Dota 2. Heroes that synergize well with the meta and enable certain strategies tend to be ranked higher. The meta is always evolving, so hero tiers can change with each patch.
Skill Required
Heroes that are easy to play and master are often ranked higher, especially in lower skill brackets. More difficult heroes that require a lot of practice tend to be lower tier, as they can be less effective in the hands of inexperienced players.
Power Spikes
Heroes with strong power spikes, especially early in the game, are usually ranked higher. They can dominate their lane, get an early lead, and snowball to victory. Heroes with weaker early games that require a lot of farm to come online tend to be lower tier.
Of course, hero tiers are subjective, and in the right hands, any hero can be effective. But in general, higher tier heroes are popular, easier to play, and strong in the current meta. Keep these factors in mind when deciding which heroes you want to pick up and play. With practice, any hero can become top tier for you!
S Tier Heroes – The Most Powerful Picks in Dota 2
These heroes dominate Dota 2 right now and are always banned or picked in pro games. If you want to win your pub games, you can’t go wrong with one of these powerhouses.
Spectre
Spectre is one of the hardest late-game carries to deal with. Her Desolate ability lets her deal huge damage to isolated targets, while her Dispersion reduces the damage she takes and reflects it back to enemies. Once Spectre gets her Radiance and Heart, she becomes nearly unkillable. Focus on farming early and join fights with your ultimate, Haunt, to snowball into a monster.
Io
Io, the Wisp, is a popular competitive support that excels at saving allies and enabling hyper-aggressive plays. Io’s Relocate allows you to teleport an ally across the map, while Tether gives that ally bonus movement speed, health regen, and damage reduction. Wisp’s Spirits also deal surprising amounts of damage in the early game. Io requires coordination to play well, but in the right hands is nearly impossible to counter.
Monkey King
The Monkey King is one of the best midlaners and gankers in Dota 2. His Jingu Mastery gives him insane attack speed and lifesteal, allowing him to win almost any 1v1 matchup. MK’s tree dance lets him hop around the trees for surprise attacks and quick getaways. Once MK hits level 6, his ultimate Wukong’s Command creates a ring of clones that bash and crit enemies. With a fast Orchid or Echo Sabre, MK can snowball out of control before enemies have a chance to react.
Master one of these S tier heroes and you’ll be climbing MMR in no time. But be careful – with great power comes great responsibility! Your teammates will expect big plays.
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A Tier Heroes – Strong Heroes for Ranked Play
If you want to dominate in ranked Dota 2 matches, picking an A Tier hero is a great way to start. These heroes are considered top picks in the current meta and will give you an advantage over opponents.
Phantom Assassin
With her high burst damage and evasion, Phantom Assassin is always a threat. Her skill Blur makes her difficult to lock down, while her ultimate Coup de Grace can instantly delete squishy heroes. PA requires some farm to come online, but once she has a few core items she becomes nearly unstoppable.
Outworld Devourer
OD dishes out massive pure damage with his Arcane Orb, and his Astral Imprisonment provides control and setup. His ultimate Sanity’s Eclipse can turn teamfights with its high damage and low cooldown. OD does struggle against tanky lineups, but in the right game he can dominate from the mid lane.
Ursa
Ursa is one of the scariest heroes in the late game. His Fury Swipes makes him deal insane damage with each hit, while Enrage gives him a huge power spike. Once Ursa has Blink Dagger and Basher, he’s nearly impossible to escape. While kiting and disables can slow Ursa down, his damage output is unparalleled if he’s allowed to attack.
Legion Commander
LC is a versatile offlaner who can snowball out of control. Duel provides LC with bonus damage for defeating enemy heroes, and a Blink Dagger allows her to pick off lone targets. LC’s Press the Attack also makes her a formidable teammate, providing dispels, attack speed, and healing. A farmed LC with hundreds of Duel damage can easily carry her team to victory.
By selecting one of these A Tier heroes, you’ll have a strong pick that can dominate in any meta. Make sure to learn their power spikes, item builds, and counters to get the most out of them in your ranked Dota 2 games. With practice, these heroes can propel you to new heights on the ladder.
B Tier Heroes – Situationally Strong Picks
Brewmaster
One of the tankiest heroes in Dota 2, Brewmaster is a strong pick against lineups with lots of physical damage. His ultimate, Primal Split, lets him split into three elemental spirits—each with unique abilities. The earth spirit’s Stone Call slows enemies and reduces their armor, while the storm spirit’s Dispel Magic removes buffs. Brewmaster is weak against kiting and silences, though, so be careful picking him into mobile or caster-heavy teams.
Broodmother
Broodmother dominates lanes with her spiderlings and spin webs, making her an excellent space creator. She pushes extremely fast and can solo kill most heroes in the early game. However, Brood falls off hard in the late game and contributes little in teamfights. Only pick Brood if you plan to end the game early and the enemy has weak wave clear. Beware of AoE nukes, as they can wipe out Brood’s spider army quickly.
Centaur Warrunner
A durable initiator, Centaur Warrunner is a solid pick when your team needs a frontline tank. His ultimate, Stampede, lets your whole team charge into fights, engaging or disengaging as needed. Centaur’s Double Edge also deals heavy damage to enemies at the cost of some of his own health. However, Centaur relies heavily on his ultimate and provides little benefit when it’s on cooldown. He also struggles against kiting and has no real way to farm quickly, often relying on kills and assists for gold.
Lifestealer
Lifestealer is a formidable fighter who excels at taking down tanky enemy cores. His ultimate, Infest, lets him hide inside allied heroes or creeps, surprising enemies. Feast gives Lifestealer bonus health regeneration and lifesteal based on the enemy’s max health. However, Lifestealer is easily kited and controlled, and lacks reliable ways to farm or push out waves. He relies heavily on snowballing in the early game, so pick him only if you have good setup and lockdown on your team.
Overall, these heroes can be quite strong in the right situation, but require certain conditions to work well. Make sure to build your draft around them and play to their strengths for the best results. With team coordination, these situationally powerful picks can dominate their games.
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C Tier Heroes – Weak Heroes to Avoid in Ranked
Crystal Maiden
Crystal Maiden seems like an appealing support hero, with her global mana aura and powerful disabling spells. However, her atrociously low health pool and slow movement speed make her an easy target in team fights. She requires constant babysitting to avoid feeding the enemy team. Her spells also have long cooldowns, limiting their impact. Only pick Crystal Maiden if you have a well-coordinated team that can protect you.
Sniper
Sniper seems like the perfect low-risk, high-reward hero. You can sit back and pelt enemies from afar without much danger. The reality is Sniper crumbles under pressure and has no escape mechanisms. Any competent team will make a beeline for Sniper, quickly shutting him down. His lack of mobility also makes it difficult to rotate between lanes or join team fights. Sniper can be viable in lower ranks, but will struggle against experienced players.
Lifestealer
On paper, Lifestealer seems like an unstoppable tanky core hero. However, he has a weak laning phase and requires a lot of farm to come online. By the time Lifestealer has enough items to contribute in fights, the enemy team is often too far ahead. He lacks any disables or stuns, relying entirely on right-click damage. Kiting and disables absolutely destroy Lifestealer, and he provides little utility for his team. Only pick Lifestealer if you have a lineup that can compensate for his weaknesses.
In summary, think twice before picking Crystal Maiden, Sniper or Lifestealer in your ranked Dota 2 matches. They may seem appealing, but often end up liabilities for your team. Of course, in the right hands and with the right team composition, even the weakest heroes can find success. But when ranking heroes, it’s best to consider their overall impact and vulnerabilities. These three heroes end up in the C tier due to their various flaws and limitations.
Conclusion
That wraps up our tier list for the best Dota 2 heroes to play in 2024. We know these rankings will spark some debate among the Dota community, but that’s half the fun! The meta is always evolving in this game, so stay flexible and keep trying out new hero and item builds. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to find heroes that match your personal playstyle. With over 100 diverse heroes to choose from, you’re bound to find a few that just click. So get out there, try our suggestions, and see what works for you. The next big tournament and thrilling comeback could be just a few matches away!
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Discover Dota 2 with Duelmasters‘ tournaments. Test your skills and win!
Dota 2 is one of the biggest esports in the world, with major tournaments happening all year round. One of the best ways for new players to get into the competitive scene is by participating in smaller community tournaments.
Duelmasters hosts weekly Dota 2 tournaments for players of all skill levels.The casual tournaments are free to enter and have small prize pools, so they’re perfect for testing your skills in a competitive setting without too much pressure.
Learn the ropes
The casual cups are a great place to learn strategies and mechanics you can’t pick up in public matches. You’ll face opponents who play to win, so you’ll quickly figure out which heroes and tactics are most effective. Watching high-level players in the later rounds is also helpful for improving your own game.
Build your team
If you don’t have a dedicated team, the weekly cups are a chance to find like-minded players to team up with. Use the Duelmasters discord to connect with players in your region and form a team to enter the tournament. Building chemistry and learning to work together will make you much more formidable opponents.
Qualify for the monthly final
The top teams from each weekly cup qualify for a larger monthly final with a bigger prize pool. If your team does well in the weekly cups, you’ll get the opportunity to test yourselves against some of the best up-and-coming teams. Strong performances in the monthly finals could get your team noticed by organizations and sponsors.
Participating in Duelmasters’ Dota 2 cups is the perfect way for new players to gain experience in a competitive environment. Build your skills, form a team, and you could qualify for bigger events and start making a name for yourself in the Dota 2 scene.