Three heroes are dominating the professional arena of Dota 2 7.26

While pubs have always been dominated by heroes capable of summoning, the professional Dota 2 arena prioritized mobility in the draft in patch 7.26. Queen of Pain, Ember Spirit and Dragon Knight are the most important names in the pro-meta not because of their strength, but because these heroes can be effective in most positions in many different lanes.

QUEEN OF PAIN

One of the heroes that dominates the lane the most is Queen of Pain, a hero usually only used in mid. QoP has almost no countermeasures and the hero’s influence in the mid game is huge.

The writer feels that the strength in the laning phase has helped Queen of Pain to be tested in many lanes. Heroes like Centaur Warrunner, Mars, Underlord and other tank top heroes can be strong against most carries, but with QoP, they have to fall. The same can apply to most core position 1s.

By pushing heroes in the resource-priority lane, teams can easily gain an advantage in the mid-game, and in the current meta, that’s very important. From what we’ve seen in the pro arena, OQP is mainly used to ‘shut down’ important key heroes of the opponent and still contribute a huge amount of damage in teamfights with AOE skills. That way, QoP can become the dominant force of the map for quite some time, allowing her and her teammates to create space or start working towards the end of the game.

In some situations, when the QoP core is in trouble, the hero can switch to support position 4. While this is not ideal in pubs, we still believe that anything can work.

QOP stats according to Dotabuff page

EMBER SPIRIT

Mobility and versatility never go out of fashion. Ember Spirit has changed a lot since its appearance in Dota 2, but in the end, people feel that the hero is having a great time. Hero is not too strong in a certain direction, but very flexible in all situations. Both in terms of roles and lane, as well as how to build.

So are Ember Spirit’s physical damage and magic damage equally strong? The writer does not think so, the advantage that magic over physics is only a little. In certain games, there is a reason to get to the Desolator build early and then to Crystallis. However, in the current patch 7.26, in most games, going to Vessel (survival item) and then green stick, Blademail, Radiance or Scepter will bring better results.

Ember Spirit in position 3 still has a lot of pressure on the enemy team. You still have the Ember pick in the offlane, but it’s rarely part of any pro team’s initial plan, often used as a countermeasure when it comes to a change in the lineup of the pick. Therefore, don’t try it in pub if you don’t want to lose MMR.

Ember Spirit stats according to Dotabuff page

DRAGON KNIGHT

Dragon Knight was one of the least popular heroes in Dota a few years ago and the problem is not with his strength. Dragon Knight is too simple for most pub gamers.

Now that Dragon Knight has become one of the most important heroes in the pro meta, even pubs have started experimenting with the hero. Similar to QoP, the hero can be played in nearly any lane, and at least is not disadvantaged against the opponent. This is an extremely important factor in the professional arena, but it is also quite important in pubs, for example when you meet Brood in the lane, you need to consider.

So is this hero boring as the community always thinks? I don’t think so: recent hero changes make DK more fun to play. Dragon Knight was a force to be reckoned with in the late game and remains one of the heroes that have a lot of use in the early and mid game.

Currently, DK has found the aura inherent in pub matches. With only Blink and the help of support, Dragon Knight can start roaming around the map, pushing towers, getting kills and completing objectives. Make sure you adjust the build. If playing DK position 1 – most pro players in this position go to Shadow Blade instead of Blink for extra DPS.

DK stats according to Dotabuff page

EPILOGUE

The pro meta is completely different from pubs, but there’s still a lot to learn. To be able to climb the Dota 2 rank in this 7.26 patch, you must be flexible between the generals you are familiar with and the heroes that are dominating in the meta. While All Pick’s draft phase is currently very unlucky, being able to switch roles and lanes will be quite important to lead teams to victory.

For role/lane switching to be effective, you need to pick the right hero for that to happen. Or, you can focus on learning and practicing the three most important heroes of the pub meta: Lycan, Nature’s Prophet and Beastmaster. We will talk about these heroes in future articles.

According to dotabuff

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