A Few Questions about DotA from a new player

Hey everyone,

I made a couple of threads on here in the past asking about a few hero types etc. and I've come back to ask more questions :D

After consulting with my Team, they need a support player which would be me but support is really meh with the heroes I've tried so far so I came here to ask a couple of things:

What really makes a support hero? I know it's kinda a hard question to answer lol but basically I like to play a support hero which is aggressive, kinda durable, good burst, cool-looking and carry potential, yet I haven't been able to yet find a hero with those attributes.

How necessary is a support to a team? I know that supports to the basics like ward coverage, monitoring the runes etc., and I know supports are successful it's just so often I find them so boring.

I've tried Treant Protector (possibly the most boring hero I've ever played - no offense intended to those who like him as I understand how strong he is), Crystal Maiden (pretty fun but feels really lack-lustre without team-mates, ie. very susceptible to getting insta-gibbed) and this kinda put me off, so all help would be appreciated, especially in the way of hero suggestion, whether there is a hero like that.

Many thanks,
FarTooDeadly.

TL;DR

How important is support to a team?
What defines a support hero?
Is there a hero which has the attributes which are in bold above?

Support heroes are very important to every team that wants be successful.

What really makes a support?
like you said, that is hard to answer but there are a few things:
- support heroes are item independant.
- support heroes have Crowd Control than the other hero types (stuns, slows etc.)
- they grant their teammates certain bonuses (for example Bonus Armor - Lich, Mana Regen Keeper of the Light / Crystal Maiden)

Lets consult Dota2wiki:




Since you are looking for a durable, good bursting and kinda aggressive support (lets put the 'cool looking' aside for now ;) ) i would say you should try Ogre Magi.

He has easily the highest Health Pool from all support, due to his high base Strength and Strength gain per level (freaking +3 streangth on an intelligence hero) therefor kinda durable.
(I think he is the only hero which secondary Attribute is higher than his primary attribute)

High burst potential -> Fireblast, Ignite, Multi Cast

Crowd Control with a stun -> Fireblast, Unrefined Fireblast(only with Aghanims Scepter)

Team-Support -> Bloodlust increases movement and attack speed -> good for chasing AND escaping


If I'm wrong in any way, please feel free to correct me :D

Question 1. A support is just as important as any other position on a team. THey are what buys the carry the room to farm up and carry late game, you can also roam and gank the others lanes. Supports dictate the pace of the game for the first 10-15 minutes along with the mid hero. A bad support means you dont know when ganks come and the mid cant get runes. It also allows for things such as an easy rosh snipe. The carry will also have little room and wont have much cs. In teamfights, they are responsible for disabling the key enemy heros.

Question 2. A support is a hero (typically inteligence) that can be level and item independent. Most inteligence heros fit this role as they have very good spells but wont scale into late game. As long as they arent out of position, they dont need much for items or levels as they only need a few levels in spells. Your goal is just to make sure everything is in order for the team in the early stages. Just be very careful of the enemy teams positioning (why wards are sooooo important). 20 minutes in, you might be walking around with boots, bracer and a magic stick but as long as youve been warding and dewarding, buying smokes, dusts etc, your doing your job right. Supports dont get enough highlight (coming form a support player)

Question 3. I also labeled whether they are a hard support or soft one (4 or 5)

Earthshaker-a good disabler but has mana problems and needs a blink dagger (4)

Sand King- A great ulti and stun but the stun is low range at lvls 1 and 2 and he needs a blink to ste up ulti in most cases has mana problems(4)

Tidehunter- a good -armor slow and great teamfight ulti but has mana problems and needs blink (4)

Undying- king of teamfights and trilane v trilanes, tombstone and his ulti are amazing spells in large fights. Decay is also great for survavbility (4 or 5)

Omniknight- Has mana problems but has a walking bkb and heal/nuke thats pure damage. Ulti is amazing with damage prevention and his aura is small but very useful. (4)

Ogre Magi- has a stun, slow and a AS/MS booster. 2nd highest EHP in game. Has some mana problems once ulti is scaled but has great synergy with some heros. (4 or 5)

Jakiro- Popular support, he has DoT spells and great range stun. However, he has a large cast animation on all spells but they are all AoE. Great defensive hero. (4 or 5 but normally 5)

Bane- Has a self heal/nuke thats pure damage. Nightmare is a grea set up spell and enfeeble is great all araound and helps prevent last hits. Fiends grip is a great disable that goes through magic immunity. Mana problems though. (tends to be 4 but can be 5)

Visage- Soul Assumption once you get charges is one of the highest damage nukes ingmae. Grave chill is a AS/MS slow thats nice and gravekeepers cloak provides him armor and magic resistance (he has really bad base armor). Familiars provide lots of dps and a stun but be careful, they are squishy and give 100 gold each. (4 or 5)

Your typical support wont have carry potential unless you go the support gyro, sven or naga which is pretty rare.

Visage is pretty a durable and aggressive hero that can potentially carry, though he's not really a pure support hero (and the Familiars take some practice to micro properly), and his Soul Assumption only deals the full burst in larger fights and trilanes.

Shadow Demon is also relatively durable and has a pretty interesting skillset, particularly Disruption. He scales well into late game and can deal a good amount of damage if you can set up the Shadow Poisons.

Dazzle is quite hard to kill and he rewards aggressive plays with his Shallow Grave. His Shadow Wave nuke is pretty situational, though and the precise timings on Shallow Grave and Weave require a lot of team coordination to make use of.

Tidehunter has decent burst from Anchor Smash and he's naturally tanky and aggressive. Might want another support to help with wards, though.

So what hero is a good starting point to learn the role from? Or is it just a matter of finding a hero I like and playing them?

Also about the carrying point I put in my list of attributes, are there actually any supports that are also capable of carrying? I know Necrolyte can but are there any others/is Necrolyte good?

Leshrac while not durable is an extremely good support. He also has above average movespeed, so you might want to give him a try.

Necrolyte and Silencer can both carry, although if you start as support you're behind the curve generally. Necro is very squishy to start with, but can be almost unkillable with the right equipment - unless mid he'll usually start slowly, but with levels can flash farm very fast to get his items and catch up. Great against high hp/tanky heroes, but no slow, stun (well his ulty does a bit, but that's not really the point) so kinda situational.

To find one you like, just play them and it will come to you as to which ones you like or are good with. Shadow Demon is one of my favorites but he isnt durable. I'd recommend Jakiro though as he is a good support and is durable.

I'd suggest trying Ogre Magi or Jakiro to start, they're both relatively straightforward and easy to use - I'd stay away from Visage unless you have good micro. Undying is a decent choice as well, but he's not exactly a support. Warlock is another good choice, but make sure you play him as a support - it's ridiculous how many players try to rush aghs refresher on him these days (it's a fine build, but should never come before the Mekansm/wards).

You'll notice that the overwhelming majority of true supports (which can be effective all game with boots/bracer/wand) will be very vulnerable to instagibbing and oftentimes next to useless without their team nearby - this is simply the reality of playing the support role.

Heroes like Earthshaker, Tidehunter etc. can be played as supports, but will struggle to reach their potential without certain items (such as blink dagger) which normally a support will never be able to afford. For your purposes though, they'll probably be a lot more enjoyable. Other options are a support-oriented Magnus, Windrunner, or Sand King.