Dota – Why do they say a hero is strong in a certain lane in DoTA 2

dota-2

I've seen articles and videos saying a particular hero is strong on this lane (eg. Mid) and weak on another lane. Where do they base this from?

Best Answer

Note: Some in-game terminologies have been used in this answer. If you are new to dota 2 then please check out Fodder's answer first.

What this means is that a certain hero's skills synchronize well with him/her being played in that certain lane or it depends on their needs (farm - wise). Also in pro games their entire draft depends on the meta (usually).

For example, mid heroes can be of two types. A farming mid like invoker, dragon knight, tinker etc. or a gank oriented mid like Queen of pain, pudge etc.
Most heroes are played only in mid because they need the fast exp. growth.

Another important point is the farm position. What this means is which hero will need the most farm to be most effective.
Position 1: This is your safe lane carry.
Position 2: Mid Laner.
Position 3: Offlaner.
Position 4: Roaming Support.
Position 5: Another support.
Technically all heroes can be played at any position but most heroes usually have a fixed role in each meta.

The two most common ways of laning are, 2-1-2 and 1-1-3.

  • 2-1-2 Two people in offlane, one in mid and another 2 in safelane. You will see this kind of laning in pub matches especially in the lower tier. Here, position 1 and 5 are in safelane, position 2 in mid and position 3,4 in offlane.
  • 1-1-3 One offlane, one mid, and 3 in safe lane. Position 3 offlane, pos 2 mid and the rest in safelane. This is called having a trilane. You might also sometimes encounter an aggressive tri-lane which is basically 3 people in offlane.

Heroes like anti mage and spectre who need a lot of farm to be effective will be tough to play offlane or even mid. Also trying to carry with a support would be very difficult too.

Note: If you need more info just say so I'll add more.

Related Topic