Dota 2 hero tier list: Best meta picks in every position

If you’re trying to figure out which Dota 2 heroes you should be playing right now in the current meta, we’ve got you covered with some great recommendations for every position in this tier list. 

Dota 2 is a complex game with many heroes — 124 to be exact. Not only do they have different skills from each other, but they can also be itemized in different ways, making them suitable for multiple roles in different scenarios. Additionally, new heroes are often added to the roster with major patches.

Dota 2 is now playing on patch 7.35 and the Frostivus holiday event is underway until 11 January 2024.

The latest game update, 7.35b, arrived on 21 December 2023, to bring some balance to the meta just before the holidays.

Patch 7.35 has shaken things up a bit since ESL Kuala Lumpur, and a new meta is beginning to emerge for 2024.

Naturally, that means it’s important for Dota 2 players to stay updated about the in-meta heroes, as well as what makes them stronger than the others. To make that process easier for you, we’ve come up with a tier list of the best Dota 2 heroes in the current meta to help you make your way through the steep Rank leaderboards.

Additional reporting by Titas Khan and Eliana Bollati.

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Contents

• Dota 2 hero tier list: Best characters in each role
• Best Dota 2 heroes to use in every position
• Carry (Position 1)
• Mid-Lane (Position 2)
• Off-Lane (Position 3)
• Soft Support (Position 4)
• Hard Support (Position 5)

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Dota 2 hero tier list: Best characters in each role

Best Dota 2 heroes to use in every position

With over 124 heroes to choose from in an ever-changing meta, drafting the best possible hero for your team can be a little confusing. However, the list of heroes given above will definitely help you in making smart choices during the drafting stage.

Additionally, with the Valve cancelling the DPC after its 2023 season, things could look very different for the Dota 2 scene in 2024, but keeping up with the meta as it evolves through different regions and tournament circuits will be just as important to gaining MMR.

Let’s dive in and check out what makes these heroes stand out from the rest of the pool right now.

Carry (Position 1)

Spectre

Spectre continues her reign at the top of the ranks, maintaining her position as one of the most consistent carries this year. Be it her global presence from Haunt and Shadow Step or her insanely strong Spectral Dagger, it is nearly impossible for most heroes to escape Spectre on the battlefield.

Additionally, Spectre’s Dispersion ability makes her extremely sustainable even against high-damage heroes. On top of all these,  allows the hero to rapidly burst enemy heroes who are caught out of position. Considering all of these factors along with her current in-game win rate, Spectre can easily carry a team to victory in most scenarios.

Lone Druid

Lone Druid is making his way back into the meta as a very viable pick in the current patch, with over a 50% win rate in every lane. Back in patch 7.34 Lone Druid received a lot of skill reworks, most notably to his Spirit Bear, with stat improvements and its own Aghanim’s and Shards upgrades. On top of that, Spirit Link, Lone Druid’s ally-linking gives him the ability to provide a targeted ally with an attack and armor bonus, which can be a real boon when taking team fights. When used in tandem with True Form this can be absolutely devastating.

Lone Druid is also able to go deep into enemy jungle and escape using Savage Roar, allowing space to escape an enemy’s gank.

And if the game goes late, both Lone Druid and his bear have six item slots each — for a total of twelve items, that’s a lot of versatility.

Juggernaut

One of the trademark carry heroes in Dota 2 has returned to top form in the latest patch. Juggernaut is capable of snowballing games in your team’s favor from various unfavorable situations. Apart from dealing massive physical damage with his Blade Dance passive ability, Juggernaut’s Healing Ward can be an absolute game-changer in team fights.

However, what makes Juggernaut so strong in the current meta is his Blade Fury and Omnislash. While Blade Fury grants magic immunity to the hero, Omnislash makes him disappear from the field of battle altogether. Nevertheless, both of these abilities deal a huge chunk of damage to enemies caught under its effect while ensuring protection for Juggernaut.

Mid-Lane (Position 2)

Zeus

Zeus continues to be one of the strongest mid-lane heroes after the reworks and balancing changes in earlier updates, and in the current magic-focused meta, Zeus is extremely scary with his burst magic damage. Equipped with highly aggressive abilities like Arc Lightning and Lightning Bolt, he can deplete entire health pools of enemy heroes within a very short notice. Additionally, Thundergod’s Wrath is one of the strongest ultimate abilities in the game, dealing damage and revealing enemies across the entire map.

On top of his aggressive tools, Zeus is now also equipped with the Heavenly Jump ability which allows him to escape from enemy heroes on his tail. Other than his basic abilities, Zeus’ Aghanim upgrades are also arguably the strongest in the game, gaining Nimbus and Static Field to accompany his already aggressive arsenal makes him extremely strong in the current meta.

Viper

Averaging a 53% win rate, the latest patch has brought Viper back to the mid lane. Although patch 7.35b has brought some debuffs, he still packs plenty of punch with Poison Attack, although its Aghanim’s Shard Max Stacks have decreased by one. Viper is one of Dota 2’s tanky, but to be sure to put a point into Corrosive Skin early, to help handle any manfights under the mid towers.

He’ll also scale well into the mid-game as he’s capable of taking camps and farming jungle creeps with his Nethertoxin.

Viper’s ultimate Viper Strike, now also applies break, so it will remove a targeted enemy hero’s passive abilities, good to dispel innate health regen against hero’s like Bristleback.

Invoker

Regardless of the meta, Invoker is almost always on top in mid. Carl is one of the most challenging but rewarding heroes to master in Dota 2 because unlike other heroes, he isn’t limited to four abilities. Instead, he wields ten — all of which can be activated by meshing various spell components together.

Not only can he turn the tide of a team fight single-handedly by using Tornado, E.M.P, Chaos Meteor, and Defeaning Blast, but he can also solo kill enemies Cold Snap and Sun Strike while escaping with Ghost Walk. The options are endless.

Off-Lane (Position 3)

Abaddon

Abaddon was one of Patch 7.35’s biggest winners, and although he saw a few nerfs with the latest balance patch, he is still one of the strongest heroes in the meta right now.

The new item Khanda is enabling his Mist Coil to output massive amounts of damage. Plus his Aphotic Shield provides him great survivability in the laning stage before he gets his ultimate, Borrowed Time.

While Curse of Avernus makes him a solid pick in the off-lane, applying slow and silence to enemies and making it easy for him to run them down.

Axe

2023 has been a good year for Axe, despite having once lost his position as a notable off-laner except the iconic “CEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEB” moment, changes to his ultimate ability have brought him back to the limelight in the Dota 2 tier list. After the changes, Culling Blade now grants permanent bonus armor to the off-laner for each successful execution.

Additionally, his Battle Hunger ability was also reworked to allow Axe to be played in a more aggressive manner. However, both Counter Helix and Berserker’s Call remain unchanged and can be used to set up plays and ganks on unsuspecting enemy heroes.

Necrophos

Necrophos is yet another hero who has managed to stay consistent all year, but the current magic buffs are certainly helping him stay at the top. The earlier reworks to his ultimate, Reaper Scythe, now grant permanent health and mana regen to Necrophos every time an enemy dies to his ultimate — so he can snowball very easily.

Apart from that, the hero is a high-sustain hero, capable of healing his allies with Death Pulse. On top of these, Heartstopper Aura and Ghost Shroud are extremely effective team fight abilities that can swing the entire course of a match in your team’s favor.

Soft Support (Position 4)

Vengeful Spirit

Vengeful Spirit’s win rate is sitting relatively consistent this patch at 53%. She’s always been a great initiator in the soft support role thanks to her kit — between Nether Swap and Wave of Terror she provides a lot of lock down.

She’s also fantastic at enabling her team thanks to the buff from Vengeance Aura, while Magic Missile does provide her with a decent amount of harass through the early game.

Solar Crest is also very useful for Venge this patch, providing more buffs for her to dole out to teammates.

 

Warlock

Most people have been sleeping on Warlock, but this magic-heavy meta is allowing him to rise to the top of the ranks. Fatal Bonds now shares damage between six enemy units up to 28% with a level 10 talent. Pairing this with Upheaval and Chaotic Offering means Warlock’s able to initiate on an entire team — setting up the fight right for his allies.

While Shadow Word is the weakest tool in his kit, it does allow for some defensive plays along with Glimmer Cape and Force Staff, which should be standard items in his build.

Weaver

After a bit of a dip during the end of Patch 7.34’s run, Weaver has returned as a solid pick for soft support in the current meta. It’s all thanks to the level of utility offered by Shukuchi and the armor reduction along with the harassment potential of The Swarm and Geminate Attack.

The Swarm can also reveal invisible units after purchasing the Aghanim’s Shard. This can save you the trouble of buying sentry wards and dust in various instances. Also, when in doubt, don’t hesitate to use his ultimate, Time Lapse, to rewind time and escape from the enemy’s traps.

Hard Support (Position 5)

Tiny

The latest balance patch, 7.35b, was very kind to Tiny and players will be seeing a lot more of him in pubs because of it. The hero has seen buffs to his damage across all his skills. Avalanche and Toss both now cap out at 320 magical damage — great in the current meta.

His innate slow resistance and armor from Grow makes him an excellent initiator. While Tree Grab is great for denying enemy creeps in the laning phase.

Plus, when Tiny gets his Aghs he gets access to Tree Volley, which works similarly to Snapfire’s Ultimate, turning him into a ranged nuker before the team initiates.

 

Jakiro

The two-headed Dragon, Jakiro is a fairly versatile hard support, capable of ensuring a strong lane for their carry. The hero is equipped with various over-time nukes as well as slowing abilities that are extremely useful for setting up ganks.

Apart from stunning enemies with Ice Path, Jakiro can also slow enemy heroes with the help of Dual Breath. Additionally, while Liquid Fire makes for a great tool that reduces the enemy’s attack speed, Macropyre is one of the strongest team fight abilities in the game.

His Aghanim’s Shard, Liquid Frost, works perfectly in the current meta, providing a powerful debuff — enemies are slowed and dealt damage equal to 2% of their max health for the duration.

Treant Protector

Treant Protector has remained a strong pick as a hard support since TI12 due to the sheer brutality he offers in the laning phase. Leech Seed and Nature’s Grasp combined with his high right-click damage are the perfect harassing tools in the lane.

What’s more, Living Armor provides a heal and armor to any targeted ally on the map, regardless of their position. It can also heal towers. Last but not least, his ultimate, Overgrowth, is a wonderful asset in team fights that pierces through spell immunity.

That just about sums up our tier list of the best Dota 2 heroes in the current meta. There are many other candidates too. However, you can’t go wrong with the ones we’ve mentioned on this list — at least in most games.

Nevertheless, it’s also important to remember that you’ll need to itemize these heroes on a case-by-case basis, too. Subsequently, you can access the best community item guides in-game by clicking on the shop and picking one on the drop-down list.