Top 5 hard supports in the current Dota 2 meta
With Dota 2’s 7.27 patch, we have said goodbye to the notorious Zoo meta. The days of Lycans rushing Necronomicon and demolishing your base in a blink of an eye seem long gone, as Dota’s meta has switched to a more teamfight oriented ordeal.
The game has slowed down immensely both due to structure changes (with Tier 2 towers being nigh-unkillable in the early-to-mid game and Outposts requiring the taking of Tier 2 towers to convert), and the abundance of gold on the map.
With such a metagame in place, support heroes with strong laning capabilities and big teamfight effectiveness have become the gold standard.
Jakiro
Jakiro can be viewed as a jack-of-all-trades. He has one of the best early game nukes in Dual Breath, which he can use to bully opponents out of the lane. Another strong spell in his kit is Liquid Fire, which he can use to harass enemies and make short work out of towers.
Apart from his strong laning presence, Jakiro can control the tempo of teamfights with his long-range AOE stun Ice Path and ultimate Macropyre. Although he somewhat drops off in late-game, Jakiro’s talents give him a lot to look forward to once he reaches level 25.
All in all, Jakiro is a great pick that can be incorporated into almost any lineup due to his versatility.
Winter Wyvern
Wyvern is hands down one of the best defensive supports you can pick in the current meta. Her Splinter Blast is a spell that cements her as one of the best early laners in the game. It can be used for harassing, farming, or just enables Wyvern to defend towers on her own.
Her ultimate Winter’s Curse, along with Cold Embrace, is one of the best counters to physical damage cores in the game. Winter’s Curse can be used to change the tides of a bad teamfight in the blink of an eye but should be used cautiously as it can disrupt your team’s perfectly set-up teamfight.
Vengeful Spirit
Although Vengeful is a versatile hero that can be played in nearly every role, her support gameplay is pretty straightforward.
Her Magic Missile is a reliable nuke with good stun duration that can be used to set up kills. Wave of Terror is an often overlooked spell that makes trading blows with enemy heroes much easier during early game. Vengeful’s ultimate Nether Swap is good for either initiating fights or getting allies out of sticky situations, sacrificing Venge’s life in the process more often than not.
It should be noted that Vengeful is one of the best counters to channeling spells such as Enigma’s Black Hole or Crystal Maiden’s Freezing Field.
Warlock
Warlock is one of the easier heroes to master in Dota. Although he lacks the lane presence some of the other heroes on this list possess, he more than makes up for it with his early game sustain and teamfight oriented kit.
One of the few position five supports that scales well over time, Warlock is heavily dependent on his ultimate Chaotic Offering. Shadow Word is hands down the best sustain spell during the early-game and can be used offensively on enemies as well.
Being the easiest hero to master on this list and with one of the best initiation spells in the game, Warlock is a good fit with both pushing and teamfight compositions.
Lich
Lich is the most versatile laners in the game currently. A hero that is capable both offensively and defensively, he has all the tools needed to make his opponents early game a living hell.
Frost Blast is one of the best early game harras tools due to its low cooldown, and coupled with Frost Shield gives Lich almost unparalleled level two kill potential. Frost Shield is one of the best two-way spells in the game, as it protects your carry but also damages and makes it hard for fleeing enemies to get away.
Sinister Gaze is an instant disable that works very well versus highly mobile heroes, and can be used both offensively and defensively.
With a bit of luck, Chain Frost is an ultimate that can make or break teamfights, and always makes ganking Lich a precarious task if you’re trying to overwhelm him with numbers.
