Despite the huge influx of new players in 2020, it was certainly not Dota 2’s best year. Almost every LAN tournament was canceled indefinitely. And with the lack of such big events, Valve ended up releasing a number of updates that completely changed the game. One such update includes the Mistwoods Update that brought in a new hero, a bunch of changes to the items, and much more.
Nevertheless, with the drastic change in Dota 2’s meta, let’s now take a look over the currently dominant set of heroes. However, do bear in mind that the meta is subject to change with each future update.
Lycan
We will be starting off the list with a hero that stood the test of 2020 — Lycan. Interestingly, the character was also claimed to be the strongest carry at some point, pushing Valve devs to severely nerf the hero. But even then, players managed to utilize Lycan’s strengths in their games.
The hero stands at a mind-bogglingly high win rate of 59%, easily putting him above all other Divine/Immortal heroes. However, this certainly does not come as a surprise since Lycan has been a fan-favorite pick for quite some time. A high-DPS hero like Lycan is often not easy to maneuver. He requires exception unit control and game awareness to be played successfully. His playstyle requires the player to pressurize the enemy team as much as possible. Moreover, though he may have some mid-late game potential, Lycan’s main purpose is to hamper the enemy team’s progression in the early game only.
Broodmother
So, if you have been a die-hard Dota 2 fan since its release, you would definitely agree that Broodmother is the most annoying hero in Dota 2, period. Valve rarely buffs or nerfs the character, mainly because she is quite balanced. Then, what makes her the formidable foe she is? Well, it is the mere fact that she can dominate the mid-lane and rip through her enemies like nothing.
Furthermore, Broodmother’s most noticeable trait is her capability to snowball heroes throughout the game. Snowballing is a term that refers to a character dominating the fray with the bare minimum of items. And while that is possible, she requires impeccable unit control and game awareness to play this character to her full potential.
Nyx Assassin
Nyx Assassin did not get the same recognition before, especially in professional play. However, over time, Nyx Assassin has become possibly the best counter-pick to most intelligence-based characters. With the atrocious Mana Burn on his kit, Nyx Assassin is capable of controlling the flow of the mid lane.
Since the meta did not support characters with such playstyles, Nyx was rarely considered a worthy choice, especially with a stun that is difficult to connect.
Nevertheless, after the release of patch 7.28, intelligence-based heroes have become part of the meta now, especially invoker. Thus, having Nyx Assassin on your team won’t be that bad now, would it?
Beastmaster
The fourth entry on our list is Beastmaster— an off-laner capable of carrying the entire team single-handedly. His skillset depicts a clear portrayal of matchups against all kinds of enemies. Despite his need for early-game babysitting, Beastmaster is amongst the few that have little to no problems when clearing the jungle. This allows him to easily out-level his foes, and proceed ahead for different rotations.
Moving on, after acquiring his core kit, pushing tier one and tier two towers becomes relatively easy. Not only does he provide aggression, but he also offers to give decent map control.
However, if you’ve played Dota long enough, you’d know how difficult Beastmaster can be to master. Initially, he may seem like a straightforward character but there is definitely a lot to know before becoming a capable BM player. Hence, why not jump ingame and test your skills with BM right away? But, if you lack a decent MMR, you may want to consider looking into the Dota 2 accounts that Eldorado has to offer.
Razor
If you’re looking to become a 1v1 master in Dota, then you cannot go wrong by picking Razor. Taking a look at the former patches, it is evident that despite Razor’s lack of buffs, he is the go-to character for dictating any lane. Why you may ask? For several reasons.
The prime reason that makes Razor unbeatable is his Static Link. With this spell, Razor is able to steal damage from his foes and use it against them. Thus, laning against him is not only difficult but near impossible, especially for melee heroes.
Razor is a great counter-pick for mid-game matchups. Many players are seen to purchase items that enable them to participate in team-fights throughout the game. Nevertheless, Razor is not the best character by any means.
