Carelessly running around and ganking enemy heroes is among the most enjoyable things to do in Dota 2.
Roaming is risky in Dota, but it can be very beneficial for both you and your team if done correctly. Not every Dota 2 Hero has the toolkit required to roam effectively. This list will present the top 10 best roamers in Dota 2 and why I believe they deserve a spot on this list.
10. Clockwerk
Rattletrap, the Clockwerk
Clockwerk's Hookshot is excellent at initiating on unsuspecting heroes from great distances. Its cast range is 3000 at the max level, making it a perfect spell for ganking. Once Clockwerk initiates with Hookshot, he can use Power Cogs and Battery Assault to secure an easy kill. This makes Clockwerk great at roaming as he can just walk mid and Hookshot in on the enemy midlaner.
Why Clockwerk is great for Roaming:
- High base movement speed at 310.
- Battery assault is a stun that functions more like a slow.
- Can scout out potential ganks with his Rocket Flare.
- One of the longest initiation distances in the game.
- His Power Cogs lock enemies into place.
Strong against:
- Heroes with long cast animations - Clockwerk's Battery Assault prevents enemies from using spells that have long cast animations, such as Earthshaker's Fissure.
- Heroes that hide among the trees - Heroes such as Tinker and Monkey King can be easily spotted by Clockwerk's Rocket Flare.
Weak against:
- Anyone with a blink - Heroes with blink abilities can easily escape Clockwerk's Power Cogs
- Illusions - Clockwerk has no way to deal with an abundance of illusions.
9. Queen of Pain
Akasha, the Queen of Pain
Queen of Pain is primarily played as a carry, but she can dominate as a roaming support in the right hands. Her Shadow Strike is a devastating slow that punishes out of position heroes. She can use her Blink ability to initiate ganks. After blinking in, she can slow them with her Shadow Strike, then quickly burst the enemy down with her Scream of Pain.
Why Queen of Pain is great for Roaming:
- Her ultimate pierces magic resistance.
- She has one of the best blinks in the game.
- Has huge burst potential.
- Queen of Pain's Shadow Strike is a 15 second slow.
- All of her non-ultimate spells have low cooldowns.
Strong against:
- Illusions - Queen of Pain has two powerful AoE spells.
- Heroes that like to be low HP - Heroes such as Morphling and Huskar love to stay at low HP, and Queen of Pain can easily burst them down before they can react.
Weak against:
- Roots and stuns- Roots disable her blink, and being a squishy hero, she can easily get bursted down during this time.
- Blade mail- If Queen of Pain blinks in and tries to burst a hero with Blade Mail, she will often kill herself instead.
8. EarthShaker
Raigor Stonehoof, the Earthshaker
Earthshaker's primary ability, Fissure, can be used to create a wall between the enemy and their escape route. If you gank the mid lane with a perfectly placed fissure, the enemy midlaner can't retreat. This forces them to run towards you and your teammate, resulting in an easy kill.
Why Earthshaker is great for Roaming:
- His Fissure can block off an enemy’s retreat.
- Great at initiating.
- Has some of the best stuns in the game.
- Can burst down heroes with his Enchant Totem.
- Echo Slam works great on heroes standing in lane among a creep wave.
Strong against:
- Summons and illusions - Earthshakers Echo Slam does more damage based on the number of enemies it hits.
- Channeling spells - Fissure is a disable with a range of 1400. This can be used to disable channeling spells from a safe distance.
Weak against:
- Damage over time spells - These spells prevent Earthshaker from initiating with a Blink Dagger.
- Spell immunity - If Earthshaker can't stun an enemy, he will usually die to them unless he has a Force Staff or EULs.
7. Chen
Chen, the Holy Knight
Chen is slightly different from the others on this list, as he is very reliant on jungle creeps. Chen can control multiple jungle creeps and use their abilities to wreak havoc on an enemy's lane. Most of the creeps Chen can control have powerful disables, making him a great ganker. And if you use Smoke of Deceit on you and your creeps, the enemies won't know what hit them until it's too late.
Why Chen is great for Roaming:
- Has a global healing spell.
- A ton of disables with jungle creeps.
- Can Push a lane quickly after a successful gank.
- Naturally proficient at jungling.
- Decent base movement speed with 300.
Strong against:
- Heroes with summons - Chen can take control of many enemy units.
- Enemies without burst damage - If Chen can keep his creeps alive for long enough, they can overwhelm the enemies.
Weak against:
- Cleave - Any cleave ability will make quick work of Chen's creeps.
- Heroes that one shot creeps - Heroes such as Doom, Mirana, Clinkz, and Lifestealer can instantly kill one of Chen's creeps.
6. Bounty Hunter
Gondar, the Bounty Hunter
Invisibility is incredibly powerful against certain opponents. Enemies in low-MMR games often don't buy any True Sight at all. You can use this to your advantage by sneaking up on enemies and bursting them down with your critical strike ability.
Why Bounty Hunter is great for Roaming:
- He has a built-in invisibility spell.
- Bounty Hunter has increased night vision.
- His Track ability gives him increased movement speed.
- Significant burst damage with Jinada and Shuriken Toss.
- His level 10 talent, +20 movement speed, is perfect for roaming.
Strong against:
- Invisibility heroes - Bounty Hunter's Track provides True Sight.
- Junglers - Bounty Hunter can go invisible and soak XP from enemy junglers, or even kill them if he has enough damage.
Weak against:
- True Sight - Any items or abilities that provide True Sight counters Bounty Hunter's Shadow Walk hard.
5. Tusk
Ymir, the Tusk
Tusk, like Earthshaker, can prevent an enemy's escape by blocking off their escape route. This is done with is Ice Path. While the enemy is helplessly blocked off, Tusk can use his Snowball to close the gap between himself and the enemy. Once next to the enemy, he can use his Tag team to slow them and his Walrus PUNCH! to finish them off. If you snowball hard enough, pun intended, your Walrus PUNCH! becomes such a powerful punch that would even make Saitama from One Punch Man jealous.
Why Tusk is great for Roaming:
- Great mobility with his Snowball.
- His Ice Shards can block an enemy's escape.
- High base movement speed.
- Tusk's Tag Team slows enemy movement speed by 75%.
- He has insane burst damage with his Walrus PUNCH!.
Strong against:
- Squishy heroes - His Walrus PUNCH! can decimate low HP heroes.
- Heroes that lack mobility - Tusk's Ice Shards are very powerful at locking down an enemy if they don't have a Force Staff or Blink.
Weak against:
- Durable Heroes - Tanky Heroes won't die to Tusk's initiation.
- Force Staff - This item alone completely negates Tusk's Ice Shards.
4. Mirana
Mirana, the Princess of the Moon
Mirana excels at lurking out of vision and launching Sacred Arrows at her enemies. Her arrow can be thrown from a distance of up to 3000 and stuns the enemy for a ridiculous amount of time. With the stun timer increasing alongside the distance traveled. After landing an arrow, Mirana can quickly leap in and burst an enemy down with her Starstorm.
Why Mirana is great for Roaming:
- Super long-range stun.
- Has an invisibility spell.
- Can follow up her Sacred Arrow with a Leap to get on top of the stunned enemy.
- Starstorm gives her decent burst damage.
- Isn't very dependent on items.
Strong against:
- Slow heroes - Mirana can easily land arrows on slow-moving heroes.
- Squishy heroes - Heroes with low HP are more likely to be burst down while affected by Mirana's stun.
Weak against:
- True Sight - True Sight gives vision of Mirana and her team while under Moonlight Shadow.
- Roots - Roots prevent Mirana from leaping away from danger.
3. Spirit breaker
Barathrum, the Spirit Breaker
Spirit breaker is the king of initiation with his charge of darkness. He can get from one lane to another in seconds. And if you're lucky enough, you can stun-lock a hero for an absurd amount of time with your Greater Bash ability. He is also incredibly hard to kill with his increased status resistance from Bulldoze.
Why Spirit Breaker is great for Roaming:
- He can cast his Charge ability from anywhere on the map.
- Can get from one lane to another insanely fast.
- Has a bash that can hinder an enemy from escaping.
- He isn't dependant on items.
- His Bulldoze gives him increased movement speed and status resistance.
Strong against:
- Spell immune heroes - Both his Bash and his Nether Strike pierces spell immunity.
- Blink heroes - Heroes can’t blink away from Spirit Breaker while he is charging.
- Invisibility - Charge of Darkness gives Spirit Breaker vision of a hero that goes invisible while he's being charged.
Weak against:
- 5v5 team fights - If the enemy groups up and plays together, Spirit Breaker has trouble finding a purpose.
- Bad RNG - If you’re unlucky and can’t Bash, you will most likely fail the gank.
2. Earth Spirit
Kaolin, the Earth Spirit
Earth Spirit is a hero that takes some time to get used to. He can be daunting at first, but if you can master his complex mechanics, he can be the best roamer in the game. His rolling boulder gives him incredible mobility to initiate ganks from far distances. He's also equipped with a slow and a silence to further lock down fleeing enemies. And his ultimate, Magnetize, can deal massive magic damage to the enemies you disable.
Why Earth spirit is great for Roaming:
- Great mobility with his Roll ability.
- Low cooldowns on all of his spells.
- Has multiple disables that are great for ganking.
- He isn't dependent on items.
- Does great burst damage.
Strong against:
- Channeling abilities - Earth spirit has multiple ways to interrupt enemy channeling abilities.
- Squishy heroes - Earth spirit's Magnetize does massive magic damage.
Weak against:
- Roots - Earth Spirit’s primary mobility spell, Rolling Boulder, gets disabled if he is rooted.
- Black King Bar - Any hero that builds Black King Bar against Earth Spirit is immune to all of his spells.
1. Pudge
Pudge, the Butcher
As many of you know, Pudge is a noob magnet. He's easy to play, but I'd argue he's quite hard to master. He can easily dominate any match where the enemies neglect their minimap. If the enemies don't know where you are, any lane is vulnerable to your deadly Hook. He also gains bonus stats from each kill, making ganking very beneficial for Pudge.
Why Pudge is great for Roaming:
- Doesn't rely on items to be effective.
- Has a powerful slow that is perfect for ganking.
- Pudge's hook can pull enemies out of the safety of their lane with his hook.
- His Flesh Heap passive encourages him to gank.
- His spells have low cooldowns.
Strong against:
- Positioning based heroes - Pudge can use his hook to displace heroes that rely on positioning.
- Magic damage heroes - Pudge's Flesh Heap gives him excellent magic resistance.
Weak against:
- Fast heroes - Pudge is one of the slowest heroes in the game, and has trouble catching up to heroes if he misses his hook.
- Physical damage - Pudge has very low base armor, making him weak against any physical damage.
