In the fourth of this five part series, we take a look at the five best position 4 supports in pubs from the first month of Dota 2 patch 7.35.
We are about a month and a half into Dota 2 patch 7.35, and most players have become comfortable with the meta that has evolved around it. All the upcoming tournaments in the next two months – BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024, DreamLeague Season 22, ESL One Birmingham – will be played on patch 7.35.
We already took a look at the five best mid heroes, carries and offlaners of patch 7.35 in pubs. In the fourth part of this series, we look at what position 4 supports are being preferred by the high MMR players in pubs in their quest to reach the highest ranks in Dota 2.
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 7.35 only. The choice of heroes has been made from a combination of high pick rate and high win rate heroes.
Winter Wyvern (Pick rate: 10.15%, Win rate: 53.66%)
Winter Wyvern, like a lot of universal heroes, can double as a core or support. But the buffs she has been receiving since Dota 2 patch 7.34 are pushing her more towards being a support, with Cold Embrace and Winter’s Curse being two of her most buffed abilities in the last few months.
As a position 4 hero, Winter Wyvern is one of the quicker farmers because of Splinter Blast, and as the game wears on, can transition seamlessly into a fourth core. She is a great carrier of the new Mage Slayer, and if the game goes long enough, can use Parasma effectively too.
(taken from Dota 2 Wiki)
Vengeful Spirit (Pick rate: 9.20%, Win rate: 53.77%)
Vengeful Spirit was always on the fringes of the meta for the last few months, getting picked once in a while. Dota 2 patch 7.35 made Nether Swap into a nuke of sorts, as well as a better save for allies because of the barrier. She also is one of the best carriers of Solar Crest. A level 3 Nether Swap on an ally paired with the Solar Crest active Shine is an HP barrier of 850!
(taken from Dota 2 Wiki)
Hoodwink (Pick rate: 13.71%, Win rate: 50.91%)
Hoodwink is not just a popular position 4 support in the top tier of Dota 2 pubs right now, but she is also seeing high pick rates in the same role in professional games. Acorn Shot and Bushwhack damage both received buffs in Dota 2 patch 7.35. According to Dotabuff, Glepnir was Hoodwink’s second most popular item in pubs for the last month, which also got buffed in the last major patch (the buff was to Maelstrom). Mage Slayer has also started to become a regular choice in her item build. With Acorn Shot, she can get the Spell Damage reduction debuff (weirdly, also called Mage Slayer) onto multiple enemies.
(taken from Dotabuff)
Lion (Pick rate: 11.22%, Win rate: 50.69%)
Lion received a 75 cast range buff to Earth Spike in patch 7.34e, which already had him rise in the popularity ranks before the arrival of patch 7.35. But patch 7.35 propelled it further with Mana Drain buffed to deal damage, which was also an indirect buff to his Aghanim’s Shard. Not only is Shard Lion’s third most popular item in the last month, but according to Dotabuff, the item sees the second highest usage on Lion, lower only than Witch Doctor.
(taken from Dotabuff)
The Lion Aghanim’s Shard started off as a meme, but it has moved out of meme territory into an actual strong item. But if you haven’t seen one of the best Dota 2 meme videos ever created, you have to check this out!
Nyx Assassin (Pick rate: 7.27%, Win rate: 52.76%)
Over the last few patches, Nyx Assassin has been the recipient of all-round buffs. It has made him a viable position 2 and position 4 hero, but his stats stand out only as a position 4 hero. Nyx, like Lion, also counters two highly picked heroes in the meta, Medusa and Timbersaw. Even as a position 4 hero, his burst potential in the early to mid game is quite scary.
(taken from Dota 2 Wiki)
Honorable Mentions
Pugna (Pick rate: 4.90%, Win rate: 53.00%)
Shadow Shaman (Pick rate: 3.25%, Win rate: 52.83%)
In the next few days, we will look at the final piece of the top 5 heroes in pubs puzzle, which is hard supports. But there are a lot more professional games on the horizon, as BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 begins on the 4th of February. As more data on professional games becomes available, GosuGamers will also take a look at how the best teams in the world are thinking about the patch.
