With the influx of many a new player, and some returning as a result of the new Dota anime, along with the addition of the new hero Dawnbreaker, MGN has decided to offer those players a destination for Dota 2 content. This guide will aid those players in selecting a hero that will suit their playstyle, with a specific emphasis on easy-to-learn heroes.
These recommendations will be broken down into four archetypes so that you can decide which hero will suit you based on what you enjoy in playing in other similar styles of games. Those will include:
- DPS: Do you like to be the person or control the character capable of dishing out the hurt?
- CC: Do you like to be the type of player who’s helping the team through applying debuffs?
- Tank: Do you like to take the front line, aggro the mobs, and protect the allies?
- Healer: Do you like to play the supporting role and help keep your allies alive?
So, use this guide to aid you in selecting a hero for your (re)introduction to Dota 2. You’ll get the most out of your playing time in both successfully utilizing that hero and the enjoyment found in playing your role well.
DPS or ‘Damage per Second’ – These guys put on the hurt and get the big kills!
DPS Hero 1: Weaver. (1:12)
Weaver is great for new players because the bulk of your damage and kill potential can be easily obtained with armour reduction plus your passive ability, Germinate. Having fewer activities to worry about means that you can focus on your positioning and the timing of your engagements. Work towards items like Desolator Daedalus for damage, and Linkens Sphere and BKB for survivability.
DPS Hero 2: Phantom Assassin. (2:39)
Phantom Assassin is another hero that relies on passives and armour reduction to secure kills effectively and quickly. Hers is based on critical hits rather than the double attack of Weaver. The critical hits will surprise you and enemies alike with the depth of damage and the evaporating of their HP bars. The ultimate being a passive ability will also help you focus on the game unfolding rather than your abilities.
DPS Hero 3: Ursa. (3:19)
Ursa is one of the hardest carries available in Dota 2, and I don’t mean difficult but how hard you can pull the team along with you. Ursa needs a few items like Battlefury and BKB to be at his damaging best and not be CC’d a lot, but once you’ve gotten those items, you’re free to pounce and manfight to your content.
CC or ‘Crowd Control’ – These heroes are great at locking down the opponents!
CC Hero 1: Shadow Shaman. (4:23)
Shadow Shaman’s kit is designed to make you annoying. You’re getting the shackles to incapacitate a foe so that your teammates can secure the kill. You’re getting the snakes, which surround a foe, prevent their escape, and deal damage. SS has straightforward skills for CC lovers. He’s popular and great in the meta right now, so there are plenty of good examples!
CC Hero 2: Silencer. (5:07)
Silencer does what the name suggests, he silences foes. For new players looking to aggregate their enemy and stop them from using their abilities, Silencer is for you. He can build high-damage ranged attack builds or crowd control support builds. He’s flexible and his most damaging spell can be set to auto-cast. Auto-Cast means you’re focused on engagements and positioning rather than casting.
CC Hero 3: Bane. (6:09)
Bane’s kit is a little more intimidating than the first two options, but once you’ve wrapped your head around the first two, give Bane a try. His nightmare puts foes (and allies) asleep and transfers the debuff to those who wake them. Bane is free to whale on foes that he’s made fall asleep, without fear of waking them. His ultimate is why he makes the list – incapacitating foes and piercing spell immunity. There’s zero escape.
Tank – These heroes know how to take damage and love doing so!
Tank Hero 1: Dragon Knight. (6:44)
Dragon Knight’s kit might be simple, but it is extremely effective. His passive means that you’re going to be doing what you want – tanking. Dragon’s blood nets you a huge amount of bulk so that you can focus on getting in front of allies and protecting them by taking hits.
Tank Hero 2: Abaddon. (7:19)
All of Abaddon’s kit lends aid to your goal of tanking. You can protect yourself, and allies, and stay in the fight for as long as possible. Your ultimate will heal the damage you received and can be cast manually, but will automatically be cast once you reach low enough health. This will surprise any fellow new player and help you win fights without stressing on actives.
Tank Hero 3: Timbersaw. (7:48)
Timbersaw’s passive makes him bulkier each time he takes a hit. That is just as good as it sounds for a tanky hero. He’s extremely difficult to kill, especially early once he has a few points into his passive. He’s third on this list as his damaging abilities require some skill to land. But give him a try and you’ll be tanking hits upon hits.
Healer – You love refilling health bars and helping the team? These heroes do too.
Healer 1: Enchantress. (8:14)
The amount of healing that Enchantress can potentially output is insane if you invest heavily in her little sprite friends early, grab the shard for the constant sprites, and invest in items like Holy Locket and Mechanism. With the combination of the passive sprites and your items and abilities, you’re going to be everyone’s friend quickly.
Healer 2: Winter Wyvern. (8:40)
Winter Wyvern can save your bacon. Her healing ability can be amplified through talents. It will freeze allies in place, helping prevent further damage with its reduction benefit, and will heal them for the duration of the freeze. Invest in the freeze in talents and get big healing numbers. Simple.
Healer 3: Dazzle. (9:05)
Dazzle is in a great place for any New Player right now and he’s easy to play. His ultimate is effective and is a passive, meaning that you have one less active to worry about. And his healing also damages to boot. You can spread the plague to foes and spread the love to allies. They won’t want to mess with the voodoo.
Closing
That about wraps things up for our introduction to heroes for any new or returning Dota players. If you like those archetypes in other games, and are looking for heroes that will suit your playstyle will help you enjoy the game to its fullest potential, then stick with the guide and keep your eye out for more MGN Dota 2 content.
Next:
Slark – How to Dominate Guide – Dota 2
Credits
| Program | Founding Writers |
| Author | Luke Cowling |
| YouTuber | Luke Cowling |
| Publisher | MGN |
| Game | Dota 2 |