Melee heroes attack from close range, some of them which have longer weapons attack from a little bit far, others who don't have any, stomp the enemy’s head with their fists. All of the abilities and item builds help them to get close to their enemies to dish out damage, if not played properly most of these heroes are easily kited and can be frustrating to play. Some of the best carry heroes are from the melee class because it is easier to farm and play as a melee hero.
The best melee heroes that you can play to wreck hard are:
10) Pangolier
Nice meeting you!
Pangolier is an agility hero that is highly mobile and aggressive, this hero is always ready to fight with his low cooldown spells pangolier is often played at a position that let him farm his early items for advantage. Pangolier is a hard hero to play and requires precise knowledge about his spells and positioning as he is weak with a low hp pool.
With Lucky shot pangolier flips a coin and let the gods of luck decide his fate, lucky shot grants a chance to slow, reduce armor and disarm the enemy, it has a 17% chance to slow movement speed for 35% reduce armor by 6 and disarm the enemy for 5 seconds at max. This ability comes in play with his other abilities, lucky shot gives pangolier a fighting chance when he is fighting someone one on one, if it procs at the best moment then it is game over for the enemy.
With swashbuckle pangolier slides to a direction and land a couple of hits at once, it is hard to use and require practice, lucky shot is applicable during swashbuckle as they are normal hits and can proc effects like from lucky shot or maelstrom and basher etc. Diffusal blade can also come in handy if you are up against intelligence heroes to burn their mana at once, Swashbuckle can also be used to escape.
Pangoliers jump using shield crash and slams the ground in front of him dealing 300 damage and getting 18% damage reduction per enemy hero hit with shield crash, it can also be used during rolling thunder and can help pangolier to scale hills and trees.
Rolling thunder allows pangolier to curl himself into a ball that is spell-immune and launch himself into the direction he is facing, during this pango has decreased ability to turn and if hit against a wall or hill will reverse his direction.
Why Pangolier is a great hero:
- Easy to farm, harass with swashbuckle and lucky shot.
- Shield crash allows pango to deal extra damage during rolling thunder.
- His ultimate makes him spell immune.
9) Axe
You get Nothing GOOD DAY SIR!
Axe is a strength hero that is mostly played as an offlaner and provides initiation, tanking abilities for his team. Even Though Axe is a melee hero he is also a counter to melee heroes, with berserker's call and counter helix axe can destroy a team that has 3-4 melee heroes.
Berserker's call allows Axe to taunt his enemies forcing them to attack Axe, during this Axe gains bonus armor of 30 becoming even more tankier than before, counter helix is also applied during this with more targets attacking Axe more damage he deals. The range is quite low however blink dagger helps with that.
Counter helix; when attacked by an enemy unit or neutral creep Axe has a 20% chance to spin and deal 180 pure damage that goes through spell immunity that means it works against BKB also. Counter helix is very useful to farm early game jungle and to cut creep waves behind towers, taking towers and farm early game.
Battle Hunger when cast on an enemy slows its movement speed and deals damage over its duration about 40 damage for 12 seconds of time, Axe also gains 12% bonus movement speed for the duration. Enemy can dispel this by killing another unit ( creep/hero). Battle hunger is great to harass support heroes in the lane causing them to buy healing items often.
With culling blade Axe can instantly kill an enemy hero if its health is at 450 or lower, Axe and his allies within the range get bonus movement and attack speed, If Axe kills an enemy instantly the cooldown for his ultimate resets allowing him to go at it again.
Why Axe is a great hero:
- Can flash farm with counter helix.
- Can start initiation with blink dagger and berserker's call catching at least 2-3 enemies at once.
- Can instantly kill an enemy within the health threshold.
8) Monkey king
Bow to your KING!.
Monkey king is an agility hero that is played either at mid lane or at safelane, monkey king has one of the highest attack range in melee heroes with his staff hitting from a far, having high damage and instant lifesteal makes monkey king a force to be reckoned with, however MK is a hard hero to play with tree jumping, scouting and his initiation can be tough to pull off.
With jingu mastery if monkey king hit the same hero for 4 consecutive hits he gains bonus attack damage of 130 and lifesteal of 60% per hit for the next 4 hits, hits after the charge is activated can be used on anyone only the hits needed for the charge have to be on the same hero. You can harass enemy heroes in the lane with this causing them to stay back and keep their distance until your charge duration ends.
Monkey king slams the ground in front of him stunning and damaging the enemy heroes in relation to his own damage, Boundless strike allows monkey king to flash farm enemy creep waves, Jingu mastery can be used in boundless strike allows it to deal bonus damage of the charged attack of jingu mastery, boundless strike deals 225% critical damage and stuns for 1.6 seconds.
With tree jump MK jumps on the trees scouting and gains another ability primal spring that allows monkey king to jump to an area around the tree dealing 350 damage at max and slows movement speed if units in the area for 80%. If monkey king falls from the tree because of a spell or someone cuts the tree he is stunned for 4 seconds.
Monkey king' ultimate allows him to initiate the battle, wukong's command makes a couple of rings around MK in a large area, with this MK gains bonus damage and soldiers in the ring, any enemy from outside that tries to enter the ring gets hit by these soldiers, the rings last for 12 seconds, this ability can be used while using tree jump.
Why Monkey king is a great hero:
- Flash farm with boundless strike and jingu mastery.
- Can scout with tree jump and shapeshift with mischief.
- Can initiate with tree jump and wukong's command.
7) Mars
Make Way for the GOD!.
Mars is an intense and aggressive melee hero that controls the battlefield with impassable terrain and stuns. Mars is played as an offlaner with tank/initiator/damage dealing build, he is mobile in the build category and can allow the player to be a little flexible on what to build for this hero, everything works for him but a couple of damaging items can certainly help.
Mars throws his spear at an enemy dealing 325 damage, each enemy hero that is hit with the spear is damaged however the first hero is skewered and gets a knock back, however if the skewered target hits a tree or a cliff he is stunned for 2.8 seconds. Spear of mars also works in his ultimate impaling the target in the walls of his arena.
Mars smashes his enemies with god's rebuke damaging and pushing them back, it deals damage in critical relation to Mars's own damage, that is why a desolator or such is built for mars, increased damage with 270% critical smash deals a lot of damage to the enemies. With only a cooldown of 10 seconds you can spam this in the lane to push people back when they try to deny or take a creep.
With Bulwark Mars gains a passive ability that reduces the incoming damage from the front and sides, from the front it reduces 70% incoming damage and from the sides it reduces 35% damage. Bulwark also has an active state that can be toggled during which Mars is unable to attack with his shield in front of him and is not able to turn back until untoggled, it also redirects 70% aimed at your allies towards you, taking a hit for your teammate.
His ultimate allows Mars to make an Arena and catch enemy heroes within it that are unable to escape, if they try to escape they are pushed back by the arena walls and receive damage, spear of mars can be used to pin enemy to the arena wall for bonus damage.
Why Mars is a great hero:
- Can flash farm and harass with god's rebuke, also can one shot support heroes with the right build.
- Arena can catch the whole enemy team for a massacre.
- You can take hits for your teammates.
6) Ursa
Im here for you ROSHAN!.
Ursa is a fierce and dangerous bear that can dish out insane amounts of damage in a few seconds. Increased attack damage with consecutive hits this hero can bring down the biggest of behemoths in a matter of seconds. Ursa is mostly played as a carry in the safelane and is the fastest roshan killer in the game.
Ursa claws dig deeper in his enemies with fury swipes. With consecutive hits to the same target ursa's attack damage increases with every hit, about 36 damage increased per hit with this he can literally kill any hero in the game no matter the early or late game.
Overpowers grants ursa maximum attack speed for 6 of next hits, fury swipes work with overpower allows him to deal insane damage in just 6 hits. With only a cooldown of 9 seconds you can spam this in the lane killing most heroes in one go, this also helps with any lifesteal or other items that procs any effects.
Earthshock allows Ursa to leap forward and slam the ground dealing 225 damage and slowing the targets for 40% of their movement speeds, earthshock is great when a target is escaping or you just want to get into the battle and wreak havoc. It is also great to flash farm enemy creep waves.
With Enrage Ursa goes into a frenzy and removes any debuffs that are applied on him, also getting 80% damage reduction from enemies and 50% status resistance. This allows ursa to be sustainable during the battle and deal damage for a long time.
Why Ursa is a great hero:
- High damage equals easy farm and increased damage per hit can easily kill heroes.
- Can sustain in battle with his ultimate.
- Can chase down enemies with earthshock.
5) Slardar
I can see you.
Slardar is a strength hero that is mostly played as an offlaner or as a carry, this hero provides insane ganking and scout potential, every third hit bashing the enemy hero and dealing extra damage makes an opportunity for a kill, with one of the highest movement speed because of his spell this hero can cover distance easily and can catch enemies off guard.
Slardar slithers around the enemies with his guardian sprint granting him 40% bonus movement speed it also allows slardar to phase through his enemies like phase boots, slardar also gains an extra 25% movement speed when he is in a river. This ability allows slardar to initiate with increased movement speed or run when in a pinch.
With slithereen crush Slardar slams the ground and stuns enemies around him dealing 260 damage and also slowing their movement and attack speed for a duration, with only a 8 seconds of cooldown this spell creates kill and gank opportunity every time it is off cooldown. Early game ganks are important and Slardar easily provides them in large quantities.
Slardar after his third attack bashes the enemy on his fourth one dealing 200 damage at max and it deals double damage against creeps. Unlike monkey king slardar can charge his fourth hit by hitting anyone it does not have to be the same target, like slardar can hit creeps for three hits and hit the enemy hero for the fourth one stunning and dealing damage. Combine this with his slithereen crush, enemies remain stunned for a long time.
Why slardar is a great hero:
- Early game gank potential.
- Decreasing the enemy armor with his ultimate also applies a debuff because of which enemy is visible everywhere on the map even if it is an invisible hero.
4) Dragon knight
Can't kill this knight.
Dragon knight is a strength hero that is mostly played at mid-lane, this hero can provide initiation, tank and can deal insane damage to not only heroes but buildings as well, also he can turn into a ranged hero with his ultimate.
Dragon knight breathes fire at enemies with his ability "breath fire" that burns and deals 300 damage also it reduces the enemy attack damage by 25%. With only a cooldown of 11 seconds you can spam this spell in the mid lane to reduce enemy's damage and deny their creeps, it can also be used to flash farm creep waves.
With dragon tail, dragon knight stuns an enemy unit with his shield for 3.25 seconds dealing 160 damage, even if the damage is low 3.25 seconds is a lot for your team to gather and kill the target. Dragon knight can use dragon tail to initiate the battle or stops enemy heroes in the lane from farming as it has only 16 seconds of cooldown at first level.
Dragon blood makes dragon knight one of the toughest heroes in the game with increased hp regen of 16 and increased armor of 12, with this people normally don't bother fighting or jumping first on dragon knight they kill his teammates first as they are easier to deal with, however during this time dragon knight can dish out damage using breath fire and dragon form.
With the Elder dragon form dragon knight turns into a fierce dragon gaining ranged attack and increased range for his dragon tail, there is a different dragon at each level of his ultimate.
1- Green dragon : grants corrosive attack dealing poison damage to enemies and buildings.
2-Red dragon : grants splash attack that deals damage in an area whenever dragon knight attacks and also adds corrosive attack into it.
3-Blue dragon : grants frost breath, slows movement and attack speed by 40% of enemies hit by splash attacks and also adds corrosive attack into it.
Why Dragon knight is a great hero:
- Allows flash farms with dragon form and building damage.
- Can initiate with a dragon tail.
- Hard to kill.
3) Alchemist
All this gold and no brains.
Alchemist is a strength hero that is played at mid or safelane, Alchemist farms the fastest in the game with gold he earns increasing per creep/hero killed, also getting bonus gold from bounty runes this hero gets mid game items at an early 13-14 minute mark.
Acid spray helps Alchemist flash farm the enemy creep waves, Alchemist throws acidic spray in an aoe that deals damage over its duration, it is useful for neutral/creep farming. Acid spray works well with his gold earning capabilities, killing creeps faster means he earns a lot of gold from a single creep wave than any hero would normally.
Greevil's greed grants alchemist a duration of 26 seconds after he kills an enemy unit during this he gets stacks that increase gold he earns with 3 extra gold per creep and goes upto 24 gold per kill. With right camp stacking and flash farming this hero can get six slots in about 20-25 minutes.
Alchemist brews up a concoction ( unstable concoction) for about 5 seconds within which if he throws it at an enemy hero it deals 400 damage and stuns for 4 seconds at max channeling. If the alchemist does not throw it he will blow himself up dealing damage to himself and stunning. This spell can be used to initiate a battle or to harass in lane.
Chemical rage allows alchemist to go in a frenzy gaining 100 health regen and 60 bonus speed it also reduces his attack time 1.1 meaning it increases his attack speed significantly, during this Alchemist is hard to kill and to deal with, it can be used in early game to jungle and to fight in mid to late game, only thing that can be a danger to this is spirit vessel.
Why Alchemist is a great hero:
- Farms the fastest.
- Can easily farm with acid spray.
- Extra bonus gold per creep killed.
- Aghanim scepter that allows him to grant any ally the sceptre ability.
2) Clockwerk
Beep boop beep.
Clockwerk is a strength hero that is mostly played as a soft support but sometimes it can also be played as an offlaner, Clockwerk provides much needed gank potential and initiation for the team in early to late game, this hero scales well also, with low cooldown abilities made to do battle this hero is a great roamer and one of the most fun heroes to play. The amount of nukes and disable this hero has can cause chaos in the enemy’s formations.
Battery assault helps clockwerk to get close and be on the target and try to disable it for a duration, clockwerk starts discharging small shrapnels at nearby enemy heroes that deal damage and mini stun them, it deals 95 damage per shrapnel for 10 seconds at max, combine this with his cog ability and when a hero is stuck in cogs battery assault can destroy anyone.
Clockwerk makes a barrier around him in a circle with 8 power cogs any nearby unit is gets stuck with clockwerk in that circle and if any enemy tries to come close they are damaged for 275 and lose their mana of about 140, enemy heroes can destroy these cogs with 2 hits however clockwerk can destroy them with only 1 hit, Power cogs are good to trap and disable the hero that is causing the most trouble keeping it away from the battle or disabling it for the duration of the battle.
Clockwerk can throw a rocket flare anywhere on the map dealing 200 damage and scouting the area around where the rocket hits, this spell is not usually used to deal damage but to scout the area like checking the roshan or enemy jungle, basically finding enemies when they are not visible on the mini map.
With hookshot Clockwerk fires a hook that if hits the enemy unit deals 275 damage and stuns them for 2 seconds, any enemy hero in the way also gets damaged. Hookshot is used to initiate the battle or to catch a running prey, Clockwerk combos with hookshot into power cogs with battery assault combine this with spirit vessel or urn and you can solo kill most support heroes in early-mid game. Hookshot can also be used to creep and ally heroes, great to escape when you are in a pinch.
Why Clockwerk is a great hero:
- Early game ganking potential.
- Can solo kill with hookshot combo.
- One of the best initiators in the game.
1) Sven
The Rogue Knight!.
Sven is a strength hero that is played mostly at safelane, he is a semi-carry hero and can provide utility even without items however he is also one of the heroes that has highest physical raw damage output because of his ultimate, just straight up killing heroes left and right with 2-3 hits, Sven can also provide early lane kills with his stun, increased armor and movement speed with his warcry. As any melee hero his weakness is getting kitted, people often run when they see heroes like this so it is good to always buy blink dagger or items of that sort.
Storm Hammer; Sven throws his magical gauntlet that deals magical damage and stuns anyone in the area around where gauntlet is thrown, it deals 320 damage and stuns for about 2 seconds, storm hammer in the early game is often used to keep the lane in check or to find opportunities in the lane to get some early kills. Aghanim’s sceptre is applicable on this ability allows sven to travel with the gauntlet like superman, in that case the need of blink dagger lessens quite a bit.
Sven also has built in battlefury, his ability Great cleave grants him 90% cleave as against to 70% of battlefury’s cleave, it helps sven to flash farm enemy creep waves and also to damage all heroes at once that are stunned by the storm hammer, pair this with his ultimate sven can solo kill the enemy team.
Sven’s warcry increases movement speed of him and his teammates also increasing armor by 15, this is great when going in a battle or running away.
God’s strength is the main point of sven, it grants sven 200% attack damage for 40 seconds, that is a lot of damage, in the early game especially when heroes have low hp pools sven can shred them into pieces , he can take towers in a couple of seconds or even take roshan, god’s strength is mostly used when a battle is starting or to take big ancient creeps.
Why sven is a great hero:
- His ultimate gives him one of the highest damage buffs in the game.
- Aghanim’s sceptre that allows him to travel with his stun.
- Great cleave makes it easier to farm enemy waves.
You may also be interested in:
- [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Carry Heroes That Wreck Hard!
- Top 10 Best Mid Heroes of Dota 2
- Top 10 Best Support Heroes of Dota 2
- In-game Best Settings for an Advantage in Dota 2
- Top 10 Best Offlane Heroes in Dota 2
- [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Agility Heroes That Wreck Hard!
- [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Junglers That Wreck Hard!
- [Top 10] Dota 2 Best Aghanim Upgrades That Are OP
These are Top 10 dota 2 best Melee heroes that wreck hard!Let us know about your heroes and what do you guys play in the Melee Class in the comments below!
