One reliable hero for every role in 7.25b

posted by Liightsdota,

Patches keep coming, and player numbers are increasing once again, bringing tougher competition and lots of volatility to your matches. Sometimes all you need is a little stability, and having a reliable hero in your hands can help bring that to your game. Given the recent move to hold ESL One Los Angeles online due to the global Covid-19 outbreak, organisers have done a wonderful job adapting to a quickly changing situation in order to bring us viewers high quality professional Dota. One major consequence of our new situation living under social isolation is that many people have additional free time to play and spectate the game. Indeed, this effect is seen prominently when looking at Dota’s concurrent player numbers, which are currently above what we saw during this year’s Winter Holidays.

Graph from Steam Charts

All of this means that there’s an abundance of games to be found across all skill levels, with the pros continually innovating in order to find the best heroes of the new patch. With everybody grinding lots of games, it’s important to give yourself every possible advantage and play a hero who makes life easy for you.

To that end, it’s important to look for heroes which boast solid win rates, while appearing frequently enough to ensure they’re not just a niche pick. Therefore today, we’ll examine one hero for each role that is thriving across a broad range of gameplay situations, and who will make a reliable choice (and good early pick) in any game of Dota.

Winter Wyvern Hard Support

Featuring one of the most versatile kits in all of Dota, it makes sense that Winter Wyvern has emerged as one of the premier hard support choices for the recent patch. Wyvern excels at securing her carry’s laning stage through the constant harassment applied by Arctic Burn and Splinter Blast. If the lane’s not going so well, it’s totally fine for your carry to retreat to your jungle while Wyvern takes some time to be greedy and defend the safe lane tier 1 tower. You’re one of the most effective supports in the game when given levels, as every spell provides so much utility.

Once the laning phase has dissolved into the midgame, Winter Wyvern is one of the best supports at split pushing effectively. Maxed out Splinter Blast shreds creeps from fog, and the ability to flee to the treeline at the first sign of danger with Arctic Burn means that all the pressure you’re applying comes virtually risk free. With that splitpush gold Wyvern’s itemization is very fluid, though usually she thrives with tools to land a better ultimate, like Aether Lens, Force Staff, or Blink Dagger.

Her spell which will vary the most in effectiveness from game to game is Cold Embrace. In games against physical damage lineups it will feel like invincibility, while against magic damage opponents it can effectively turn into a stun that can only be cast on teammates. Good timing and thinking critically about the magical threats on the opposing lineup will allow you to get the most from this ability. All this versatility makes Winter Wyvern one of the most reliable hard supports of Patch 7.25b, and you should feel confident first picking her in any game.

Clockwerk Support

Boasting one of the highest winrates of the patch and appearing very frequently, Clockwerk has emerged as one of the shining lights of 7.25b. Being the recipient of many small buffs since patch 7.21, the hero has finally hit critical mass where his numbers are just too good for him not to see play. Providing the flexibility of being either an offlaner or support during the drafting phase is just the cherry on top of this dominant hero.

Maroun 'Gh' Merhej of Nigma has been extremely successful in pro level pubs recently while spamming this hero as a support, while somewhat varying his build from game to game. For his Clockwerk Gh always starts itemizing with Tranquil Boots, a single Bracer, Magic Wand, and Wind Lace. From that point there is a lot of versatility, though the items making the most frequent appearances are Pipe of Insight and Force Staff.

This hero excels as a support due to the pressure he applies to the lane thanks to Battery Assault, as well as the fact he’s practically impossible to trade with due to his massive armour and health pool. Clockwerk is a huge imposition in a lane, and makes opponents think twice about approaching even a weak offlane partner for the Clock. His ability to secure ranged creeps with Rocket Flare, and the initiation and teamfight disruption he brings to later fights make him an invaluable asset for any team.

Centaur Warrunner Offlane

Centaur Warrunner remains one of the most consistent choices for the offlane in this metagame, and is the subject of one of the guides I wrote last month here on joinDOTA. The hero is still a fantastic choice, and much of his consistency is provided by his ability to lane against virtually any opponent in the game. Even the most severe of counterpicks like Monkey King, Razor and Ursa can be navigated effectively by a knowledgeable Centaur player. Should the lane appear unfavourable, Centaur is one of the best heroes for creep-cutting behind the opponent’s tier 1 or 2 tower.

Almost all matchups in the game are at least even lanes, which allows Centaur Warrunner to play much more aggressively to secure last hits with his massive base damage. While your stun provides lockdown and great damage in the lane, the real lion’s share of your damage output will be thanks to the active portion of Retaliate, which spikes your base damage when charges are consumed. This allows Centaur to go from the one retreating to the one chasing opponents off at the press of a button.

Should things not go according to plan, Centaur does a fantastic job of coming back from a lost laning phase, thanks to his ability to quickly jungle and shove waves. Even in the most unfortunate of games for you personally, Centaur always provides value to his team thanks to Stampede as well as Hoof Stomp. In that kind of situation, the key item to shoot for is either Crimson Guard or Pipe of Insight, in order to provide as much for your teammates as you can. In most games when things are even, you’ll benefit from picking up the Blink Dagger after your first big tank item in order to aid initiation.

Death Prophet Middle

Losing her midlane matchup to almost nobody, Death Prophet is the queen of consistency when it comes to middle in 7.25b. Spirit Siphon is your biggest tool in terms of bullying your lane opponent, and it’s recently reduced recharge rate will help you throughout the game. Crypt Swarm lets you secure every ranged creep in the laning phase, while also applying damage to all but the most conservative opponents.

When your opposing mid player inevitably becomes annoyed with your lane dominance, they will probably make a rotation to gank at sidelane between 6 and 12 minutes. This is a great opportunity for Death Prophet to use her ultimate and freely take the tier 1 mid tower. At best you’ll take their tower uncontested, opening up access to the opponents jungle. At worst, your pressure forces a rotation from one of their supports, alleviating pressure from your side lanes. Should that rotation happen, Spirit Siphon on multiple opponents makes you deceptively tanky and baits your enemies into an easy TP turnaround.

Boasting one of the most powerful Aghanims' Scepter upgrades in the game, as well as the ability to snowball off a good start to carry a game on her back, Death Prophet is a fantastic choice for almost any matchup in the mid lane. The only opposing mids that she struggles with are Medusa, Sniper and Broodmother. These heroes aren’t threatened by Spirit Siphon and can usually shove out the mid wave and just farm to outscale Death Prophet.

Wraith King Safe Lane

The way Wraith King is played has been somewhat adapted in response to the rework to Vampiric Aura which he received in patch 7.23. The Aura now provides attack damage as well as lifesteal, which has led to players choosing it with their first skillpoint to help with last hitting in lane. From there players have continued favouring the Aura more, with some of the most adventurous skipping Wraithfire Blast entirely until level 10. While this build allows you to farm extremely fast, it’s probably better in most games to opt to take a single point in your stun between levels 3 and 6.

This newfound focus on Vampiric Aura has bolstered his laning phase, allowing Wraith King and his partner to trade much more effectively. This hero’s real strength however comes from his ability to flashfarm faster than almost any other hero in Dota. The skeletons spawned by Mortal Strike are the key to his farming prowess, and with a little deliberate movement, you can control them while farming. Just as the camp is approaching death, move your hero along to the next camp and let your skeletons finish the first one. This gives your skeletons vision of the next camp you intend to take, and prevents them from running off and joining the crusade down middle lane.

When it comes to reliability in the carry position, it’s hard to argue against the room for error that Reincarnation offers you. By having that second life, it gives your teammates time to rotate and rescue you, no matter how deep you happened to be wandering at the time. This lenience on mistakes, combined with his consistent farming ability even in bad games, make Wraith King a great choice even in games that look very difficult.

I wish you consistency and growth in all your games on this patch, make sure to stay inside and play lots of Dota. Let me know how your experiences with these heroes have been lately!

Photo credit: Valve "Treasure of the Rotted Gallows"