It is said that Dota 2 heroes are truly overpowered. In the sense that whatever you might pick, there’s always something that your opponents may like to counter you. Of course, that’s a gaming ideal and probably the goal of IceFrog, the designer of Dota 2. But in reality, each patch has its meta.
The notion of meta refers to the recurring patterns that lead to success. These patterns can involve timings, specific heroes, hero combinations, items, and other factors. Less than one month after the release of a new Dota 2 patch, professional players already know what works best and why.
Right now, there are Dota 2 heroes that get picked very frequently at all competitive levels and have high win rates. This suggests that those heroes tend to work better than others.
Best Dota 2 Heroes to Pick or Ban in the Current Meta (patch 7.32c)
Each of us has a set of favorite heroes. When we don’t know what to pick, we choose one of those heroes simply because they feel more familiar. We understand their timings, strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. So we like them, regardless of the meta.
Most heroes excel at one or two things. It can be magic damage, physical damage, killing jungle creeps quickly, casting spells that pierce spell immunity or reveal invisible units, stunning enemies, dealing damage using basic attacks, movement speed, and so on.
When you decide what hero to pick, ask yourself this question: what does my team lack against the enemy lineup? What will win us the game?
Some enemy heroes may have powerful right clicks or might be influential in team fights. So you might decide to pick a hero that disengages with ease by blinking away. Others have a global presence, so you might want to find a way to counter that strategy. No matter what you choose to pick or ban, do it purposefully. Because you can’t have everything.
Here are some of the best heroes to ban right now:
Bounty Hunter
This hero will ruin your team all game. In the early game, his Jinada will make it hard for any melee hero to stay in lane because he’ll deal massive damage every several seconds and steal a portion of your gold.
Bounty Hunter tracks enemy units and slows enemies with some of his abilities, so you can no longer run away once you get tagged. You need to stand and fight. This allows the enemy team to encircle you quickly, which means that other heroes from BH’s team, such as the enemy carry, can jump in with a Blink Dagger and quickly deal damage.
Nyx Assassin
In the current patch, Nyx is another enemy hero you don’t want to play against. All he needs is a pair of Arcane boots and a Blink Dagger. If his team is competent, he will create numerous situations in which one more of your teammates will get killed.
This support hero can also be played with a Spirit Vessel and will prevent you from healing while stunning you for several seconds. To protect yourself from him, you’ll need to buy numerous sentry wards and waste a lot of gold. All of these things make playing against Nyx annoying.
Marci
Marci is one of the high-damage heroes who can kill you with almost no items. Her E gives her lots of bonus damage, so even if she’s played as complex support, she’ll still destroy you with her ultimate.
In the new patch, Marci is considered the strongest hero, which is why she gets banned or picked in every game at the professional level. With only Phase boots and a Black King Bar, she will deal high amounts of damage and escape.
Batrider
Batrider is not that hard to counter, but if he gets a good start, the game is practically over for your team because his item build includes Boots of Travel. He’ll play like a Tinker and create multiple kill opportunities all over the map until you no longer have where to farm safely.
Among the heroes that you should pick in the current meta, these are probably the best:
Slark
Slark has been buffed repeatedly over the last few patches, and now he’s a complete monster. All you need to do to succeed with him is to buy a pair of Power Treads, a Diffusal Blade, and an Aghanim’s Scepter. And you’re so survivable that you rarely die, especially if you know how to position yourself during fights.
The longer the game goes, the easier it is to win with Slark, even against some of the best late-game carries. After the 30-minute mark, team fights can last for 30-60 seconds, which is an enormous amount of time when you’re playing Slark.
They are the best heroes against our tanks, with high HP and no stuns. If you can attack for 5 seconds, you’ve already amassed around 15 stacks, translating into 45 agility and lots of armor. Every successful Pounce gives you 3 more stacks or nine skills, followed by additional attacks. The goal is to constantly go in and out of the fight until you’re unstoppable.
Morphling
Viper
Viper feels good to play because he’s hard to kill and has an easy laning stage. By the time you’re level 4, nobody wants to farm near you. With just a few abilities, you will inflict lots of damage and slow movement speed considerably. This makes melee carriers avoid you until around the 25-minute mark.
