Dota 2 7.22: Understanding the meta for top supports position 5

Position 5 heroes are the backbone of teams. They often take the sacrifice position: receive the least gold and have to give experience points to teammates. However, the influence of supports does not stop at the first 15 minutes of the game.

The current meta focuses on active gameplay. Because of that, it’s hard to pick greedy heroes in position 5. Supports need to support lane, have teamfight potential or push lane, before reaching level 10.

In this article, we will look at the three most successful position 5 support heroes in the meta of high ranked pub matches and analyze how to promote them.

CHEN

Chen is rarely a popular hero in pubs. Part of that is because Chen requires high skills, in addition you have to understand the map as well as be good at the microphone. Currently, it seems that the skill gap between good and bad Chen has narrowed a lot.

Chen in the laning phase needs to have a flexible playstyle. Heroes still need to go into the jungle to collect creeps, but most will stay in lane, playing passively if possible. Divine Favor is usually maxed out or leveled 3 while your position 1 carry needs to be taken care of. It also helps increase lane turret to balance the game. For some heroes, Divine Favor can help them level up early to enter the jungle.

When playing with cores that can take care of themselves, along with active fighting style, Chen is completely free to enter the jungle and max Holy Persuasion first to increase the number of troops for himself, as well as their strength. . The bonus movement speed for ‘creep dominated’ in patch 7.22 also makes chen’s army more effective in every way: Centaur stuns, Hellbear slows or deals bonus damage to any creeps.

As a result, we have a versatile hero that can go from weak/balanced to beneficial lane support. Of course, staying in the lane is still the optimal goal, but most good Dota players already know how to assess the situation to make reasonable decisions.

WARLOCK

There is no need to introduce too much about Warlock. This hero is quite good in the laning phase. At the present time, players usually start to raise the maximum Fatal Bonds. Thanks to that, Warlock also gradually brings more damage.

Warlock seems more suitable in a defensive position, when combined with a greedy core. If Warlock wants to be the tool to win teamfight, the hero needs to max Fatal Bonds first, which means Upheaval won’t be raised or only one or two points. That limits Warlock’s ability to play aggressive early game.

After that, using his ultimate to buy an extra second for the team and then launching Fatal Bonds is what Warlock really needs to do. Note that you need to throw the Golem if the team is initiating a teamfight to save the situation. Even if it only stuns through BKB for a second, it can make a difference for teammates to use escape moves or pop BKB and turn the tide.

CRYSTAL MAIDEN

Another unexpected name to appear on this list, Crystal Maiden is currently third on the list of most successful position 5 supports. The buffs CM gets in 7.22 are quite interesting – the hero’s attack speed is increased, while the attack time is increased faster, allowing CM to become more effective at harassing or winning creeps.

Is that what brought the hero back into the meta? Not really, but it certainly plays a big part. Another big reason is that current core strengths are always thirsty for mana. Arcane Aura allows teammates to continuously cast Storm Hammer or Wraithfire Blast for more pressure in lane, increasing gank potential.

This hero is still very weak and slow, but if you know your position and continuously cast spells, CM can be useful for a very long time. Make sure you get the level 10 talent to increase the cast range and remember to max Aura first. Maybe some games, when prioritizing Crystal Nova, it will bring the necessary initiative, but in general, Aura is still safe, especially when your team relies heavily on mana.

EPILOGUE

Two of the three successful heroes on this list really surprised many players. Chen used to have a win rate of just 42% in pubs, and is still the top pick in the pro scene. Let’s hope that Chen’s skill gap in pubs has shortened, and it’s not because the hero is ‘faulty’.

Crystal Maiden is a hero for you to try. Hero is not only highly effective at high pub rank, but also easy to use his skill set: CM’s win rate is actually higher in low rank. In addition, Crystal Maiden is also best for you to practice choosing positions as well as practice skills when playing other support heroes. CM is one of the slowest and least health heroes in the game and unless you want to die constantly, you have to develop better support habits. Remember, if you’re playing core, you’re playing an action RPG. And support is playing survival horror game.