Want To Destroy Your Foes In Dota 2? Pick These Carries To Get The Job Done
Dota 2 is one of the most profitable eSports around having boasted an impressive $25.5 million prize pool at The International 2018. So obviously all the young upstarts are wondering to themselves: “How can I get some of that fat stack of cash?” Well if the past few years of drafting recruitments by teams is anything to go by, you have to become a top carry online.
You may ask the question, though, “what are the best carries in Dota?” Well I’m glad you asked because that’s exactly the question I plan to answer with this top 10 list of the best hard carries in the game.
10. Lifestealer
Lifestealer is an immortal monster with the mind of a powerful wizard compelling his actions
Lifestealer is probably one of the heroes in the game that varies the most depending on the lineup. In some games he just won't get anything done but put him against the right lineup and get him a good start and he can barrel his way through the game with brute force.
He strives the best against strength-based lineups due to the percentage-based damage he does, which also allows him to pick off squishier heroes using Open Wounds to slow them down. He also boasts the unique ultimate that allows him to hide inside another friendly unit, either a hero or a creep, and burst out to surprise the enemy.
Lifestealer requires a good start to really get going, but if he has a good supporting lineup he can catch up pretty well when left alone
Lifestealer bursting out to surprise his enemies during a fight
Lifestealer killing the entire enemy team by himself
Watch: Miracle- Lifestealer RAMPAGE
9. Anti-Mage
A former monk, Anti-Mage has sworn to put an end to magic for what it has done to the people he cared about
For as long as I've been following the game, Anti-Mage has always been a solid pick that can run away with a game if given enough room. If the enemy lineup is mana intensive or they just have one or two strong intelligence heroes, Anti-Mage can just annihilate them using a combination of his Mana Break passive ability and his ultimate, Mana Void, which both allow him to damage enemies more depending on how much or how little mana they currently have.
However, he has the downside of needing a lot of farm time and room, so if the enemy team can snipe him out enough he can fall behind fast. He's on the list, though, because there hasn't really been a meta where Anti-Mage can't win games.
Anti-Mage using his ultimate to take down most of the enemy team
Anti-Mage pushing down a lane by himself after a team wipe
Watch: 1000 GPM Antimage by Black^ at TI8
8. Naga Siren
A member of the Slithereen race, Naga Siren has to atone for her shame of losing an ancient treasure
Naga Siren is a hero that is infamous among the player base. If a team has a Naga on it, then the entire makeup of the game changes. The seemingly endless number of illusions she can generate to push down lanes can be simply overwhelming. Naga is one of those heroes that represents an inevitability that you just have to go faster than to beat.
Naga strives against slower lineups and if the enemy team can't push your base too effectively, Naga can single-handedly get you back into the game, not to mention her ultimate, Song of the Siren, is one of the best at both initiating fights and escaping fights. Her downside is that if the enemy team can go faster than you she can end up being a detriment by taking up all the farm on the map, however if you have the lineup to support her Naga can present an inevitability that will be hard for slower lineups to stop.
Naga Siren using her ultimate to stop the fight in its tracks
Naga Siren demonstrating her late game damage potential
Watch: Arteezy Naga Siren 1 vs 5 Rampage!!
7. Troll Warlord
Banished from his clan and then slaughtering them, Troll Warlord has vowed to be an army of one
Troll Warlord only really does one thing, hit things fast and hard, but he does that one thing really well, . The only real tools he has to his name is his built-in stun, and his ability to naturally increase his own attack speed to improve his chances of stunning you. Like most hard carries of his ilk you’re going to need the right lineup to support him
If left alone, Troll can just steamroll through a lane with minimal effort, and if you build your lineup right that means that the rest of your team is accomplishing other objectives around the map. If you need a hero to hit things fast and hard, Troll is your guy.
I think every Dota play has found themselves dead to a Troll with minimal items more than once in their Dota career. They probably also have had that same Troll beat them down with more and weirder item decisions throughout that game, and that’s just the kind of power he brings to the table if he’s unanswered.
A farmed Troll Warlord pushing down the enemy base by himself
A late game Troll Warlord can do a good job picking off heroes
Watch: Double Rampage Quadruple Ultra Kill Troll Warlord
6. Gyrocopter
As a retired soldier, Aurel has dedicated the rest of his days to perfecting his Gyrocopter technology
Gyrocopter is like Anti-Mage in that there hasn't really been that many times where he was a bad pick, but what elevates him above Anti-Mage is a few simple things: he's versatile and doesn't need nearly as much farm to operate.
Gyro is one of the few hard carries in the game where the enemy can focus him down and deny him farm and he'll still be a problem in the late game just due to how his abilities operate and has a diverse amount of workable builds depending on the situation.
Gyrocopter’s ultimate can be used for fights, or just to push lanes down faster
Gyrocopter is infamous for building multiple Divine Rapiers, which can be picked up by the enemy after death
5. Faceless Void
Faceless Void is a being from another dimension who has appeared on the battlefield for unknown reasons
Faceless Void can somewhat be described as a bit of a glass cannon. He is a bit versatile in that he has multiple builds that he can work with, but in the end he has one plan: get the enemy in a Chronosphere and hit them until they die.
Void is an evasive carry which allows him to subsist on his own, not to mention he doesn't take a significant amount of farm to operate efficiently. His natural stun, Time Lock, makes for a great way to steal early kills that you otherwise wouldn’t have. Build up attack speed with him and the smaller supports will just crumble beneath him
Void works very well as a pick where you just don't know what else is good, and for that purpose he's very effective. His builds have a lot of versatility depending on the matchup, and even if you fall behind with him Chronosphere can still keep you relevant if you can place it right.
Faceless Void doing what he does best, casting his ultimate and beating down
Faceless Void using Chronosphere to split the enemy team during a fight
4. Terrorblade
A demon feared by other demons, Terrorblade broke out of a prison from Hell only to destroy all he could find
In a lot of ways, Terrorblade is similar to Naga Siren, but he speeds up the clock significantly compared to what Naga Siren is capable of. Terrorblade is a force that has to be addressed if you want to beat him, as there's very little you can do once he gets a couple of key items, unlike Naga who needs some very expensive items to operate at max capacity.
Terrorblade also has the fear of his ultimate to go against, which allows him to swap his own health with an enemy’s, so you have to directly address it if you even want to consider taking him down. He’s also one of the privileged few to have a second ability that could act as an ultimate in the form of Metamorphosis, which gives him big damage and makes up for his lack of range that his normal form brings.
His item builds allow you to go with safe damage, or if you’re far ahead you can try some fun gimmicks to beat down your opponent’s morale. Leave Terrorblade alone for too long and you may find yourself trapped in your base before you can even get going.
Terrorblade chasing down a poor Enchantress and Windrunner
Terrorblade is one of the heroes that can build up a small army of illusions
3. Juggernaut
The last survivor of the Isle of Masks, Juggernaut continues his people’s traditions as a swordsman
Juggernaut is a weird hero to describe, as most of what makes him good is just that he's efficient. He doesn't die super easily, has multiple ways to protect himself, and can kill you pretty fast. Like many of the other top carries he doesn't need that much to operate efficiently. His Blade Fury ability gives him an easy way to escape in both the early and late game as well, due to it making him immune to magic. His ultimate, Omnislash, is possibly the best single target spell in the game, but has a random element to it because it can jump to other enemies at random who are nearby.
Put a Sange and Yasha or a Diffusal Blade on him and he can take out even some of the tankiest heroes if he's not too far behind. He farms very efficiently, doesn't hog the map too much, can dish out a lot of damage, and has multiple viable builds for any particular situation. He's just purely efficient and can slot on to most lineups.
Juggernaut spinning away from a tricky situation
Juggernaut becomes unable to be targeted during Omnislash, which allows him to dive into the enemy’s base
2. Tiny
Tiny’s origins remain a mystery, but he continues to grow in size as he wanders the world
Tiny is a big rock man. He can hit you with a tree after mowing down a lane with it. He can then throw that tree at you if you try to run away. He probably outputs the most early damage out of any individual hero on this list and his early game prowess is nothing to scoff at.
Tiny is also astoundingly tanky and somewhat evasive due to his Toss ability, not to mention Avalanche being one of the more effective stuns in the game. He can also kill many heroes in the game at level 2 with just two abilities.
He also boasts the versatility that is needed in a top carry. Need to push down lanes, buy an Echo Sabre and get yourself double the effectiveness on your hits with the tree. Need to steal some quick kills, rush a Blink Dagger to surprise people into their own deaths.
Tiny is a big strong rock man and is always a problem in any game he appears in, so much so he is probably one of the most banned carries in the current meta game.
Tiny ready to rock Roshan
Tiny using his Toss ability to strand the enemy team on a cliff
Click 'Next Page' to reveal the number 1 Carry Hero
1. Phantom Lancer
Formerly a fisherman, Phantom Lancer bested a wizard who has bestowed him with the power of illusion
Phantom Lancer is not significantly better than Tiny, but he's got something that Tiny doesn't, he needs practically nothing to get going. Unlike every other carry on this list, Phantom Lancer can operate just by getting experience. His natural ability to generate illusions doing nothing but attack allows him to take over lanes early if you leave him alone. Sure, he wants a Diffusal Blade and other key items, and will get them eventually, but he doesn't need them and as a result you can organize your lineup to be relatively greedy and so you don't have to put all your eggs in one basket.
His item builds are somewhat linear, but at the same time they’re relatively cheap to build. He represents some of the best rushdown in the game when you combine his slow from Spirit Lance and his Phantom Rush skill. If you leave Phantom Lancer alone he can get out of control, but if you focus him down the rest of his team can push through for the victory.
A really good Phantom Lancer can effectively split a team using just his illusions.
Phantom Lancer’s ability to make illusions very quickly can cause anyone to get overwhelmed
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