With 2024 peeking just over the horizon, we decided to look at the top 5 most picked heroes in Dota 2 the past 12 months
It’s been more than ten years since Dota 2 came out of beta. But despite its age, it’s still the most popular Multiplayer game available on Steam. So, What’s so special about it?
Answer: The heroes!
Dota 2 is a MOBA that gives you access to more than 100 heroes that you can play with right from the get-go. Each of these heroes is completely unique, with their strengths and weaknesses.
However, no matter how fun and exciting each hero is, when you dig deep, you’ll see that a few of them seem to get picked more often than others. While it doesn’t exactly define the meta, it certainly shows how some heroes in the game truly won the hearts of the players.
With that in mind, let’s talk about the five most picked heroes in the game and what they have to offer in Dota 2.
5 Most Picked Heroes in Dota 2 2023
Here are the five heroes that are picked the most in Dota 2 at all skill brackets:
1. Pudge:
Oi, Fresh Meat! Even for people who haven’t played the game, this is an iconic voice line. And it belongs to none other than Pudge, the butcher!
Pudge has always been a popular hero, even before Dendi started landing hooks left and right at TI 1 and 2. Over time, as more players started getting into the game, the hero’s popularity kept rising.
This hero has a lot to offer. With the right items, he can turn into a real beefy boy, and his passive “Fresh Meat,” which gives him bonus strength for every enemy hero that dies within 1600 range, also makes him tankier as the game advances.
He also has a BKB-piercing ultimate ability, “Devour,” which does damage based on his strength, and an AOE slow/damage-dealing ability, “Rot.”
But the real bread and butter of the hero is his “Meat Hook” ability that allows you to pull the enemy hero towards you if you manage to land it. With a good laning partner, Pudge can absolutely decimate the lane. No wonder this hero is played the most in Dota 2!
2. Witch Doctor:
At the second spot, we have the Witch Doctor. Ever since the patch 7.34, Witch Doctor got hit with multiple buffs to his abilities, making him an extremely popular pick for all brackets.
He might not be as flashy or as tanky as Pudge, but when push comes to shove, he can dish out a world of damage with his “Maledict” and “Death Ward” combo.
He also has a control spell called “Paralyzing Cask,” where he hurls a cask that bounces between units, stunning them. Finally, his healing spell, “Voodoo Restoration,” is a toggle ability that restores a set amount of HP in an AOE around him.
All these abilities make the Witch Doctor a strong hero as a support. In The International 2023, Nouns picked him as an Offlane, where Moo dominated the entire game.
3. Legion Commander
There are few heroes in Dota 2 that scale as well into the late game as Legion Commander. As an offlane hero, she is the most popular one in most skill brackets.
Legion Commander is a fast, tanky hero and has a good bit of team fight, heal, and dispel with her abilities “Overwhelming Odds” and “Press the Attack.” Her passive ability, “Moment of Courage,” gives her a chance to counterattack an enemy attack, dealing damage and lifesteal, which lets her sustain the planning phase of the game pretty easily.
But what makes Legion Commander such a huge threat to the enemy is her ultimate ability, “Duel.” Using this ability on an enemy hero forces both you and the enemy hero to target one another. Legion can use her “Overwhelming Odds” ability during the ability, but the enemy hero is essentially muted.
If one of the heroes dies during the duel, the surviving hero gets bonus damage. Legion Commander can stack up on duel wins and become a true late-game monster.
4. Sniper
Sniper is another extremely popular hero in all brackets, and why wouldn’t it be? He’s a ranged hero who can hit enemies from a massive range, has an excellent BAT(Base Attack Time), and, with the right items, can dish out damage like no tomorrow.
His spells are also pretty straightforward, making him one of the easiest heroes to play for a newcomer to the game.
Sniper’s first spell, “Shrapnel,” is an AOE ability that, when cast, gives you vision over the targeted area and also slows and damages any enemy units or heroes caught in it. He has two passive spells: “Headshot,” which has a chance to proc movement slow and bonus damage on hit, and “Take Aim,” which gives him extra attack range per level.
Finally, his ultimate “Assassinate” lets you fire a projectile from a massive distance that deals huge damage to the target. Because of his simple design, Sniper is the go-to hero for many Dota 2 players.
5. Lion
At the 5th place in terms of most played Dota 2 heroes of 2023, we have another support hero, Lion. If dealing massive damage to a target while offering plenty of control over the battlefield is what you want, then Lion is the perfect hero for you!
Because of the recent buffs to the hero in 7.35, where they added a damaged element to “Mana Drain,” Lion has become a top pick in all skill brackets. Before the patch, this ability would only drain mana from the enemy hero. But now, you also deal 100% of the mana drained as damage to health, making him a pretty impressive lane dominator.
His other two spells: “Earth Spike” and “Hex,” are also amazing as initiating or controlling spells. With a Blink Dagger, Lion can hold off a target until his team catches up to him.
And let’s not forget his nuke – the Finger of Death. It’s a single-target spell that deals massive magic damage to the enemy hero. You can also buy the Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade, which adds a small AOE to the spell.
So if you’re looking to grind some MMR, Lion is an amazing support to learn and master.
Looking Ahead
Each Dota 2 hero is unique, offering something new and exciting to the player. And while the most-picked heroes don’t necessarily paint the whole picture of the meta, it gives you an insight into which heroes the players love to play most.
Hopefully, looking ahead to 2024, we will have many new heroes to play around with as we step into the new year. We know you’re just as excited as we are!