The Dota 2 Support role is arguably the most underrated role among the players. There is a general misconception that support Dota 2 players aren’t the winning condition in a match. After all, the carries in a match often are the ones that scale into late game, and their survival would result in the game’s victory.
Play strong when you are strong!
As such, the first tip to being a great Dota 2 support player is knowing when your hero is at their strongest. Every hero has its key timing when they get crucial skill at specific level to have that advantage. More often than not, Dota 2 support heroes have early timings to be at their most effective.
Supports are picked for many reasons, one of which is to be a great lane contributor. Whether it’s supplying your team carry with heals or harassing the opponent, the Dota 2 support heroes’ skills play a massive role in deciding such advantages. For instance, a Crystal Maiden as a hard support Dota 2 pick doesn’t scale well into the late game.
Crystal Maiden’s win rate and popularity as a Dota 2 best support pick
She’s not very mobile, vulnerable, and her channelling ultimate is easily stopped by stuns. However, a Level 2 CM can contest against any enemy hero, considering the nukes and disables of her Crystal Nova and Frost Bite. If the opponent isn’t careful and gets caught out, a little assist from CM’s carry could guarantee a kill.
Additionally, we could say the same for Lion, which is also popular among Dota 2 support heroes. Having two long-duration disables, Hex and Earth Spike, are great for chain-stuns. However, most proficient Dota 2 support players typically stuns the enemy before following up with Mana Drain. An opponent without mana means they don’t have any opportunities to kill your team.
Best Dota 2 Supports have efficient use skills
Sticking to the CM example. Most Dota 2 support players follow the usual item guide of picking tranquil boots immediately, which is not always right.
Especially in the safe lane, hard support Dota 2 players just aren’t doing enough to zone out the enemy offlaner. That occurs when a CM isn’t maximizing her mana availability to spam more skills because they rushed tranquil boots.
Sure, tranquil boot is a standard item for CM Dota 2 supports. However, rushing it quickly without picking up extra Clarity Potions indirectly limits your ability to harass. Picking up to 6 Enchanted Mangoes (only occupies 2 item slots) is another great alternative to lane sustainability. Besides providing an instant surge of mana for a skill, mangoes passively provide health regen, so CM can trade attacks with the enemies.
MANGOES! MANGOES! AND MORE MANGOES!
Did you know? Icefrog’s favorite fruit is the humble mango that does all sorts of wonders, such as health and mana regen at a bargain.
While there are many candidates that deserve the title of best Dota 2 heroes, one that has been very promising recently is Undying. And no, Undying is not a Dota 2 support hero that is strong in every phase of the game. If anything, an Undying quickly falls off in mid-game and can be in trouble if he isn’t careful.
9 Enchanted Mangoes in a good Undying Dota 2 Support player’s inventory
Instead, Undying’s true strength lies in his lane dominance. With the recent change to Undying’s Decay, which re-calibrates his health after the stolen Strength wears off. This means Undying doesn’t have healing concerns after using his skills and can benefit from the six Enchanted Mangoes build.
The objective is similar to any Dota 2 support hero, win the lane by zoning out the enemy. Undying is very effective at this if he lands his Decay accurately on the two enemy heroes and can do this consecutively. Then, it’s a matter of finding the right opportunity to drop the Tombstone when the enemy is too far from their tower to escape.
Undying’s skillsets are already sufficient to assert his lane dominance without any additional item, which many Dota 2 support players decide to opt for Orb of Corrosion. These are expensive items for a mere hard support Dota 2 player, so definitely not the best use of gold.
Three Dota 2 How To Support tips, which are relatively easy to follow is all you need. Any Dota 2 support player can go out there and be the best support in Dota 2 pubs.
Read next: Techies Ultimate Dota 2 Guide
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