We take a look at what position 4 supports are making waves in the meta evolving around Dota 2 patch 7.34.
In our exploration of the strong pub heroes of the current Dota 2 meta, we looked at the heroes that are dominating the mid lane, the best carries and offlaners. With the cores out of the way, we jump to the two support positions, and first up are the position 4 supports that have been strong contenders for the role since the release of Dota 2 patch 7.34.
The heroes have been picked as the best performing ones from the Divine and Immortal brackets. This data is as per Dotabuff and has been analyzed for the past month, so it well and truly reflects the games from patch 7.34 only. The choice of heroes has been made from a combination of high pick rate and high win rate heroes.
Treant Protector (Pick rate: 4.06%, Win rate: 56.49%)
Treant Protector was a very strong support towards the end of patch 7.32, but he saw a lot of nerfs thrown his way, which took him out of the meta for a good six months, including all of patch 7.33. But patch 7.34 and the first balance patch made players consider Rooftrellen again, and it seems he has really rooted himself in the meta. The last balance patch did nerf him a bit, but he continues to have a significantly above average win rate.
Treant is a versatile hero in the early game. The top three item builds for him – according to Dotabuff – max out three different skills. In an aggressive lane, Nature’s Grasp or Leech Seed can be prioritized. In a defensive lane, Living Armor can be maxed out, which then also proves a great line of defense against early pressure on tier 1 towers.
(taken from Dota 2 Wiki)
Vengeful Spirit (Pick rate: 11.96%, Win rate: 53.89%)
Vengeful Spirit had a massive case made for her when Wave of Terror started reducing total attack damage on a percentage basis after patch 7.34. It has the potential to cripple right click opposition heroes throughout the game. In addition to that, the Magic Missile stun duration was buffed by 0.3 seconds at each level in patch 7.34b, which solidified her place in the meta.
She has one of the best Aghanim’s Shard upgrades in the game, which was buffed by the increased duration as well. According to Dotabuff, Shard was the most used item on her in the past month. It helps to have a support with an amazing Shard in these times, because there is a high chance of getting that for free from the Tormentor at 20 minutes. That is the case for Treant Protector as well, who also had Aghanim’s Shard as his most popular item for the past month of pubs.
(taken from Dotabuff)
Nature’s Prophet (Pick rate: 9.17%, Win rate: 52.20%)
Nature’s Prophet is one of the most annoying supports to play against right now, thanks to Sprout doing damage. It’s small change that came along with Dota 2 patch 7.34, but it makes a huge difference in the laning stage, especially if you don’t have a Quelling Blade. The hero has the fourth highest level 1 damage of all intelligence heroes, and with a Blight Stone and Faerie Fire, he can just keep using Sprout and harassing heroes with his right click. As the game wears on, in typical Furion style, he gets a lot more farm than a typical support and transitions to a fourth core. To play him right as a support though, you have to prioritize items like Solar Crest, Aghanim’s Scepter and Scythe of Vyse, and stay away from Hand of Midas, Orchid Malevolence and the likes.
It seems like heroes associated with trees make great supports right now!
Invoker (Pick rate: 6.67%, Win rate: 55.73%)
Support Invokers (mostly position 4) are popular when the Quas-Wex build is favored in the meta, and that is the case right now for Invoker, even with recent nerfs to the Quas-Wex build. As a carry, Invoker can be a menace to play against in the lane with EMP, Tornado and Cold Snap. He also has more right click harass potential in lane ever since his switch from an Intelligence hero to a Universal hero in patch 7.34. And his most used item in the past month? You guessed it – Aghanim’s Shard! The EMP pull back makes it a strong Shard in team fights.
Bane (Pick rate: 1.85%, Win rate: 53.55%)
When debuff immunity was introduced to the game in Dota 2 patch 7.33, Brain Sap did not pierce it, but that was changed in patch 7.34. With an increase in base damage in patch 7.34c, Bane has the second highest attack damage at level 1 of all Universal heroes (first is Abaddon), and it increases by 5.2 with each level! With a Blight Stone and a few Iron Wood Branches, he can dish out a lot of right click damage in lane with the help of the Nightmare attack speed.
(taken from Dota 2 Wiki)
Honorable Mentions
Skywrath Mage (Pick rate: 10.03%, Win rate: 49.79%)
Spirit Breaker (Pick rate: 7.27%, Win rate: 50.67%)
Dark Willow (Pick rate: 6.88%, Win rate: 51.17%)
One name that has been in the best performing position 4 heroes for a while (nearly three years) is Mirana, which is absent here. The hero’s impact as a support, at least in pubs, is finally waning and new heroes are turning up in place of the old guard. The final piece of the top 5 heroes in pubs series will take a look at the best hard supports of the meta right now. There are a few overlaps with the position 4 heroes, but there are also a few new names.
