The best Dota 2 heroes for beginners to help you get used to the game

Dota 2 is one of the best and at the same time one of the hardest games in the MOBA genre, particularly for newcomers. The large amount of heroes, their skills and the strategies often leave those who are even starting their journey deeply puzzled. However, having selected the correct hero in your debut games could immensely make the process easier and would enable you to get the fundamentals of game mechanics and team play as well much more quickly. This guide gives a breakdown of basic heroes for different positions ranging from carry to support that are suitable for a beginner. They have uncomplicated powers that will enhance the enjoyment of your gaming while helping you to sharpen your skills.

Best Carry for Beginners in Dota 2

First position or carry is a type of hero that is played on the safe lane. Early on it is the role of a carry player to farm as much as possible which means during Early Game, they must refrain from dying as it’s an unnecessary risk or fights (unless the ultimate is a strong impact one, for example, Faceless Void’s Chronosphere, in such cases, the carry would engage the fights in every 2-3 minutes). But from the heroes that are listed here, mostly the beginners should try to eliminate engaging with enemies while they are farming unless they can assure that they would get a kill.

Lifestealer

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You are lucky, as of now, Lifestealer is one of the easier carries that players in the competitive scene are able to play and have a very good performance with.

This hero is very simple, has two passive abilities, magic resistance built in, has an ultimate that you probably only will have to use 1 or 2 times in a game. Because of his passive lifesteal which ameliorate his lane existence, the Lifestealer can either go overly aggressive on farming creeps or starve for last hits. In case the initial game phase does not go good for you, you will always be able to rely on your lifesteal to assist you, in addition to this you can also retreat to the jungle.

Phantom Assassin

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One thing about the Phantom Assassin is that she can destroy any enemy. She has decent agility so she has a lot of armor, combines that with an ultimate which allows her to score critical hits that deal an amazing amount of damage and she has evasion built in too. If she can quick blink into a spot and take the life out of the target you do not need to think about positioning or movement anymore.

Juggernaut

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The last hero on the list must be Juggernaut, which in my opinion is one of the easier carries in this list. You last hit the creeps, you kill off the enemy heroes or if you do not manage to do any of those, the ultimate is there to support and help as it is also able to deal a great amount of damage while making you immune to any ability or attack from enemies.

He does also have a passive that allows for critical strike damage along with an active that allows him to regen health quickly and resist magic.

Best Midlaners for Beginners in Dota 2

Generally, midlaners have a higher skill compared to simply carry heroes, the control over the mid lane allows for a higher level of game influence. Mid heroes are like support heroes or egos as they require far more experience than high amounts of gold during the game. The purpose of a mid hero is to get to level six, unlock get their first ultimate spell and start utilizing the spells to help win the game at level 6. They do take runes and help in ganking but only if necessary as they are mobile and do not stick to a single lane alone.

Sniper

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Sniper is an easy to play hero who possesses an extreme amount of damage dealing capabilities. Time it right and you will have no other weapon than your biggest advantage which is your range . It can at times be difficult to aim, that’s why strategy is required when aiming at moving objects. In any case, Snipers do not like being shot at or being close to the range of the enemies.

Due to the use of Shrapnel and his passive skill that adds additional damage, Sniper is able to come back from the poor performance in the laning phase.

Dragon Knight

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Dragon Knight at one point in time was one of the heroes included in the tutorial of Dota 2 vide game and that was simply due to him being easy to pick.

He has a brutal approach as well as a very straightforward approach. For example, if the meta is favorable, Dragon Knight can be picked as a carry or put in other roles. His playstyle may be the easiest in the entire game: just kill the creeps on the lane that is hard to lose. He gets leveled in his stuns as well as his basic survivability powers and fire blasts. His special ability allows him to turn into a huge fire-breathing dragon and attack with great strength. Towers can be easily taken down with this ability.

Viper

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Viper is a character that is frequently scoffed at, often times unnecessarily so, as he is powerful mid especially for newcomers. His mana pool is small, hence abilities inspiring spam would fail him, but viper would be able to overpower the lane given sound and rational use of the mana resources.

His Nethertoxin ability stands out thanks to its periodic damage alongside disabling passives of enemies, let alone the ultimate that is viper strike which solely at the first level does 400+ damage and has the ability to slow down the target.

Best Offlaners for Beginners in Dota 2

In contrast to carry role or mid-laner roles, off-laners require less gold and xp to prove effective. The items that they tend to buy in the majority of cases help in control of opponents or provide useful team auras. Offlaners are a bit more versatile since they can also assume other roles in tandem with their farm or in other scenarios wherein they might have to play as a carry or even a support. But remember you're the wall of the team and the primary aggressor.

Wraith King

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Wraith King is quite the overwhelming champion who requires little skill and is very easy to learn, but at the same time has great survivability and good farming during the game. His passives make critical strikes land on the target making it easier to kill both support heroes and carry heroes. Buy a Blink Dagger, jump to death, and inflict damage!

Wraith King has two active abilities: a stun and a skeleton farmer, along with an ultimate that makes him immortal and gives him a lot of space to make mistakes. He can farm in the jungle, or he can just push the lanes out. He can be built into a tank with great melee damage, or he can be built to do damage as a carry hero.

Bristleback

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Wraith King is captivating and simple for a newcomer to understand as he does not require one to put in the extra effort instead, one just has to stand back and easily farm. He also passive crits as well which would allow you to slaughter enemies on the battlefield even supports and carries. One can get a Blink Dagger, jump in the middle of all the enemies and enjoy dealing damage without such a worry.

Wraith King has multiple additionals, “stun” which he can cast, and “skeletons’ which are strong farmers, there is also an ultimate that allows him to be resurrected. He would be able to dominate every single lane and from there he could start jungling and would have no minus. He is a brilliant build both as a tank or as a carry doing heaps of damage.

Legion Commander

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Legion Commander is a strong pick that can harass the enemy in the lane as well thanks to her clear attack animation, heal, and vampirism. Her deadly combination is very straightforward, just get a buff on your attack and carry out a Duel with the enemy. When enlisted to fight, she tacks on damage to her every counter while receiving some herself due to her passive ability being activated. If there are missing players on the enemy team that can use game breaking abilities or get out via items, you can easily land kills in Duels with little assistance from allies early on which just serves to raise your permanent attack damage further. Dominating Duels and using this alter to farm is what helps her thrive.

Best Semi-Supports for Beginners in Dota 2

Semi-supports are versatile heroes who have different responsibilities based on the strategy. As the game progresses, a “four” can also turn into a highly functional secondary damage contributor extending support to the carry or midlaner. You usually pick a position four, which is the hard lane but it is not a restriction. Always remember to help your teammates: save the midlaner from being ganked, gank their midlaner, control runes, stack creeps, and die to secure objectives when needed.

Venomancer

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Venomancer is pretty easy to learn, he has great slows from his abilities and he also has a pretty decent ultimate which can turn teamfights around. With him, you don’t have to do a lot, just use your ultimate as many enemies as possible during the fight and afterwards, it is fine even if you have to die especially when you possess an Aghanim’s Scepter, which allows the use of your ultimate’s effects after dying.

Farm using Plague Wards and at around mid game, you will become quite terrifying in teamfights with all your skills.

Ogre Magi

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First Off Ogre Magi has a passive ability, three active skills, good health, and has good healing capabilities. You act as a good tank on the lane, buffing your teams with Bloodlust on the other hand. In the further course of the game, you can acquire great control items such as the Scythe of Vyse and Ethereal Blade.

One of the many appealing aspects in this game for players is the potential to cast upto three spells during a single activation of your ultimate’s Multicast which is reliant on luck.

Jakiro

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Jakiro is a quite durable and flexible hero, who can deal an astonishing amount of damage but, he has some negative side. He's relatively quite slow when moving about or trying to cast spells, which makes it difficult for him to escape. His single target spells on the other hand are quite devastating and can wipe entire lanes out and allow him to constantly apply pressure with them.

At level three he can deal damage worth two thousand, however he does possess the right kind of zoning spells which one can use to bully out foes or lockdown an area that in itself is his greatest advantage.

Best Full Supports for Beginners in Dota 2

Fives , ‘supports’ or full supports, have a critical role in the success of a team, right from the start of the match in which they provide their team with items such as wards, dusts and smokes when required.

Lich

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Lich has quite a number of abilities which include dealing damage, slows, control and ally buffs but they can all be traced back to a few abilities that are quite simple but useful. Lich can be a game changer with the right kind of setup as he can deal a lot of damage in the early game but his usefulness does not wear off after that. Use your mana wisely as it tends to run out rather quickly.

Crystal Maiden

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As for the positioning, Crystal Maiden becomes helpful to the whole team via her ultimate passive ability which is mana regeneration, although she is quite weak and slow. She is great in using her abilities to slow and freeze enemies. Frozen fights are great, but it’s the time to go in with your game shattering ultimate if the conditions set are good.

Lion Credit: Valve Corporation

Among the supports Lion has the highest amount of crowd control and damage. He’s a bit more challenging but still easy for beginners. With two crowd control abilities, he forces the opponent to stay put for a few seconds which are enough for a kill secure. His ultimate does a whopping 600 damage once it lands on level 1 but at higher levels damages more if properly used after the target perishes.

The best heroes table for beginners in Dota 2

Conclusion

Like most multiplayer online battle arenas, winning in Dota 2 is not only hinged on your capabilities but also on the correct on selecting heroes that fit your role. Hopefully this listing of heroes in this guide will serve as a good point of reference for any player attempting to get into the game. You don’t need to worry about underperforming with these heroes in any role you choose as you will be able to play with confidence on the battlefield and ease yourself into playing Dota 2 smoothly.