The best Dota 2 heroes for beginners

Dota 2 promo
Image credit: Valve Corporation

Dota 2 has the fame of a very complex game that requires hundreds of hours to really get into. Check out some of the most beginner-friendly heroes you can pick.

Dota 2 fans have been asking for a better tutorial for quite some time now. Shockingly, there isn’t one as Valve remains silent on the matter. Your only choice as a beginner is to look for guidance elsewhere. That’s why today we’ve prepared a list which includes some of the most beginner-friendly heroes. With them, you’ll be able to focus more on learning the general basics of the game. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Wraith King

Dota 2 wraith king
Image credit: Valve Corporation

We’re starting the list with the one true king. He used to be known as Skeleton King in the original Dota but he became Wraith King (WK) at some point in Dota 2 (Valve wanted to avoid a fight with Blizzard). With the 2020 Battle Pass, he can once again turn into his old bony self. WK’s abilities are straight to the point and fairly simple, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad:

He has three passives (two if you consider the active on his critical which you’d be using once a minute at best. With Wraith King, you have built-in sustain through Vampiric Aura, a solid critical strike and an ultimate which can bring you back to 100% health and mana. You can also spawn skeletons which will help you clear camps and push lanes. Let’s not forget the skill that you’ll be using the most – Wraithfire Blast. It has a low cooldown, it stuns, it slows and forces spawned skeletons to focus that target. What’s not to like?

WK’s only obvious weakness is mana burn, but if you’re truly playing against other beginners, you won’t have to worry about that. You can play him in pretty much every role there is, but we suggest you start in the safe lane (that’s top if you’re Dire and bottom if Radiant).

Dragon Knight

Dragon knight dota 2
Image credit: Valve Corporation

Another melee hero... or is it? From Level 6 onward, you’ll become ranged for half the time (in theory). Dragon Knight’s passive grants him insane amounts of regen and armor in the early game which makes him almost impervious to physical damage. He has a built-in stun and an area of effect with Breathe Fire which also reduced incoming physical damage.

With only magic damage to fear, you’ll often have to go for Hood of Defiance or Black King Bar. His ultimate makes him much more of a threat, as Level 6 allows you to take a tower with Corrosive Breath. Level 2 of your ultimate grants you a splash attack and Level 3 adds a freezing effect to it.

Dragon Knight is most often seen as a pick for the mid or offlane.

Juggernaut

Juggernaut dota 2
Image credit: Valve Corporation

The poster boy of Dota 2 has always been a solid pick. He hits fast, he moves fast and he hits hard. Juggernaut has early kill potential with his Bladefury and it’ll often give you the first blood of the match. Not only that but it also makes you immune to magic. Note that during Bladefury, you can still do regular attacks, but they won’t do any damage. Any procs like Maelstrom, Mjollnir, Abyssal Blade or Basher will still occur, though.

Healing Ward can sustain you even against the toughest of matchups in the laning phase. The ability can also turn the tide of a team fight if you don’t let the ward die fast. His critical is great in any stage of the game, but it might mess up your last hits early on so be cautious when pushing. Last but not least is his ultimate, Omnislash. It can deal a lot of damage to a single target, so make sure there’s no creep wave around when you use it. You can also go for Aghanim’s Scepter to get access to a gap closer with Swiftslash (a shorter version of Omnislash which also has a much lower cooldown).

You can pick Jugger for safe or mid and in rare cases – the offlane.

Ursa

Ursa dota 2
Image credit: Valve Corporation

This next hero is literally a bear. Naturally, Ursa can tear to shreds anyone who’s close enough. Your Q is a gap closer on a short cooldown which also applies a slow. The scariest part of Ursa is the combination between his passive Fury Swipes and Overpower. The latter allows you to land a set amount of attacks with insane speed, while Fury Swipes increases the damage of each consecutive hit.

This combo allows you to easily take out Roshan early in the game, which secures an advantage for your team and an extra life for you. Just don’t make it too obvious. Then there’s his ultimate, Enrage. It reduces all damage taken by 80% and halves the duration of all debuffs. This makes it easy for you to initiate a fight and more often than not – get out alive.

Ursa is most suited for the safe lane, but can also be used to counter a slow and vulnerable hero on mid or a melee carry in the offlane.

That concludes our list. Go give it a try and make share some feedback on how it went. Expect more guides and tips on Dota 2 and check out EarlyGame for more news and videos. Speaking of videos, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit that bell button, so you don't miss a thing.

Tasho Tashev

Law graduate from Sofia University turned gaming journalist. Gaming has always been a passion of mine since I was a kid (shocker I know) so it was only a matter of time before I started writing about it. My high-school...