We take a look at some of the picks to avoid in the highest MMR brackets to help keep you climbing high.
Dota 2 is a game that consists of multiple MMR brackets. People who have smurf accounts know these brackets are almost different games. Both because people pick different heroes and because people do strange things. That’s why when it comes down to the meta heroes and what works best, we tend to look at the highest level of play — Divine and Immortal.
A quick glimpse at this bracket will show us that some heroes are way more successful than others. People who pick Lycan, Tinker, and Omniknight win most of their games, which explains why they have among the highest win rating. But the purpose of this article is to show you which are the least successful heroes in the highest MMR bracket. While this makes them picks to generally avoid, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick them ever. Instead you should be careful and only pick them against line ups where you know they’ll have the natural advantage.
Nature’s Prophet
Nature’s Prophet is one of the more interesting Dota 2 heroes because he can be played in various positions. There were times where people picked NP as a mid laner or an offlaner, but the hero can also be played as a carry or a position four support. Although he has a lot of utility, NP is really fragile. Especially compared to heroes with similar versatility, like Vengeful Spirit. The fact he doesn’t have any big team-fight spells is another thing that makes him less popular than others. Consequently, according to Dotabuff, NP only has around 43% win rating.
Doom
The second hero on the list might surprise some of you because Doom used to be one of the most dominant offlaners in Dota 2. Although the hero is pretty strong, his lack of armor makes him vulnerable. He is one of the faster-farming offlane heroes in the game, but this doesn’t make him good in the current meta because the enemy’s carry can basically have a free lane. This reflects on the hero’s popularity and makes him the second least successful right now.
Enchantress
Every Dota 2 fan knows that Enchantress can be an excellent hero, as long as she is good in the meta. Sadly, the current Dota 2 patch is not the best for her as she can’t do much against the high-damage dealers; especially Marci who definitely has a high presence in games. The latter is one of the hottest heroes right now, and she also happens to be one of the best against Enchantress.
Considering the fact that the hero has around a 2.40% pick rate, her 46% win rate shouldn’t come as a surprise. Enchantress is a fascinating Dota 2 hero that will definitely be the go-to option again in future patches. For now, it’s a hero that we don’t recommend getting if you want to gain MMR.
Morphling
This is probably the most surprising hero on this list because Morphling used to be a casual pick during TI 10 and other events. While it’s true that the hero can work in certain lineups, he’s definitely not as strong as he once was. This reflects on his win rating, which is around 46%.
Morphling is one of the heroes in Dota 2 who’s been through loads of changes over the years. He used to be paired with Earthshaker (some people continue to use this combo even today). But it seems like the current meta favors faster-farming heroes and those that don’t need tons of items to thrive. There are some exceptions, but Morphling is usually one of the heroes who needs at least a couple of items to shine.
Spectre
Another hero that will probably surprise most of you is Spectre. If you’ve watched some of the TI 10 matches, you already know this hero used to be the go-to option for many teams. Spectre’s new build that forces the hero to get an Aghanim’s Scepter as fast as possible allows it to be a lot more mobile and team-fight orientated. However, this comes at a price because the hero doesn’t do a lot of damage until it gets at least a couple of additional items.
The new item build may work in pro games, but Spectre is one of the worst heroes you can get when it comes down to pubs. She is one of the worst carries in the current patch with just a 5% pick rate and around a 45% win rate.
Terrorblade
It seems like there’s a trend where the most successful carry heroes in pro games are just not good in pubs. The third carry on our list, and another of the most unsuccessful heroes in the highest MMR brackets is Terrorblade. If you like the Chinese Dota 2 scene, you’ve probably seen this hero multiple times in the last couple of months because he is one of the most popular picks. TB is a late-game monster who can easily carry his team as long as he gets the needed items. This is where the hero’s flaws start showing up though, because the support players in most pub games can’t provide them with the needed help to get the right items. In other words, the enemy team does not allow TB to utilize his full potential.
Rubick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II4YogN7ZNI
The last hero we want to include on our list is Rubick; a popular support that gets picked a lot despite his low win rating. Rubick is a hero that can work really well, but only in certain situations. For example, he shines the most when the enemy team has important spells, such as Ravage, Black Hole, Reverse Polarity, and so on.
Unfortunately, if there are no such heroes, Rubick is just not as good as he once was. There are better support heroes to pick in the current meta like Skywrath Mage, reflecting on Rubick’s win rating, which sits at around 47.50%.