Supporting in Dota 2 isn’t something many of us look forward to but with some heroes, it’s much more fun. Here are some of the best supports you’re glad to have on the team.
The Mistwoods Update dropped and now we’re stuck in an endless loop of constant updates to the Dota 2 client. In addition to that, there’s a Hoodwink in every game but we’re not talking about her in this article. Instead, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best supports.
Oracle
The Oracle is good at all stages of the game. He has access to a dispel from Level 1 that can be utilized both offensively and defensively and not a single other hero has that. At least not one that comes to mind. This allows Oracle to straight-up destroy heroes like Dark Seer while also being able to save a teammate from nasty debuffs.
Purifying Flames offers a burst of magic damage on a low cooldown that can give you some easy kills in the early game. False Promise can save an ally from certain death and sometimes even outheal the otherwise lethal damage. The only threat to it is Axe’s Culling Blade if you cast it below the threshold.
With the Mistwoods Update, Oracle received a rework on his Aghanim’s Scepter. Now it makes Fate’s Edict even better as once you have it, it won’t disarm allies or give enemies 100% magic resistance. Whether you’ll have the 4200 gold is a different question.
READ MORE: The Most Annoying Dota 2 Heroes to Play Against
Winter Wyvern
Wyvern isn’t that great in the early laning stages as she can mainly harass with her Winter’s Breath. On the plus side, WW can keep teammates alive versus bursts of physical damage (Omnislash) with her Cold Embrace.
You can still get kills with the right setup but the hero gets really scary in the late game. That’s when Winter’s Curse becomes a “free kill” button. It lasts for 5.5 seconds at max level and 7 seconds with the talent which is insane.
For an ability that can stun the entire enemy team and give you the numbers advantage, it sits on a fairly low cooldown of 90 seconds.
Lich
Much like Oracle and Winter Wyvern, Lich offers a good deal of defense and offense, focusing mainly on the latter. Frost Blast hurts a lot and Frost Shield will secure kills or save your teammate/tower/barracks.
With the Level 25 talent, he can even heal buildings. His Sinister Gaze can be used to cancel teleportation or set up for a combo, but the real deal is his ultimate, Chain Frost. Enemies wouldn’t want to be close to one another and it’s totally worth using it even on a single target since it has a low cooldown.
With the Mistwoods Update, Lich received Ice Spire with an Aghanim’s Shard. The new ability creates an icicle that slows nearby enemies by 20% and Chain Frost can bounce off it. Is it worth the 1400 gold? It’s too early to tell.
Disruptor
Disruptor has one of the highest damage Level 1 spells thanks to Thunder Strike. It deals periodic damage and it even got a Shard upgrade with patch 7.28. If you’re willing to spend 1400 gold, you’ll be able to cast it on allies, giving them brief bursts of move and attack speed while also damaging nearby enemies.
The hero’s most terrifying ability is probably Glimpse as you can bring back foes that thought they got away. It’s basically a death sentence for most heroes and to seal the deal, there’s Kinetic Field and Static Storm.
Field guarantees enemies won’t move away while Static Storm silences them for good. With an Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade, the silence turns into mute, effectively turning Disruptor's ultimate into an AoE Doom. What's there not to like?
Witch Doctor
The good doctor is pretty scary in the right hands and especially deadly when his lane partner has a way to deal burst damage. Paralyzing Cask can be used to initiate and Voodoo Restoration can sustain the team but the true terror lies in Maledict and Death Ward.
With Maledict, a small burst can go a long way as the damage builds up to bring enemies to their death. Death Ward is great in theory as the damage isn’t blocked by items like Vanguard but unless you have a BKB, it’s easy to interrupt it.
In the latest update, WD also received a Shard upgrade that effectively turns him into a killing machine. Voodoo Switcheroo is basically a second ultimate. It turns the doctor into a Death Ward that lasts for 2 seconds (the ward has -30 attack speed) but you can’t stop it or interrupt it in any way. Terrifying.
So who would you want by your side in a Dota 2 game? Make sure you know how your support works to time your abilities better!
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