Dota 2 Basics

In Dota 2, every player has a role. These roles are called positions, numbered from Position 1 to Position 5. Each position has a different responsibility, gold priority, and playstyle. Knowing your role helps your team work better and helps you enjoy the game more.

Position 1 – Carry Main Job: Deal the most damage and win the game in the late game.

Responsibilities:

• Farm creeps to gain gold
• Avoid unnecessary fights early
• Become the strongest hero in the late game
• Deal high damage in team fights

Beginner Tip: Focus on last-hitting creeps and staying alive, farm the jungles if there are no creeps in the lane.

Position 2 – Midlaner

Main Job: Control the game tempo and make plays early.

The Midlaner plays alone in the middle lane and usually gains levels faster. This role is responsible for ganking, helping other lanes, and applying pressure early.

Responsibilities:

• Win or hold the mid lane
• Gain fast levels and gold
• Help side lanes by ganking
• Create space for the carry

Beginner Tip: Watch the minimap and rotate when enemies are overextended gain control of the runes also.

Position 3 – Offlaner Main Job: Be tanky, start fights, and disrupt the enemy team.

The Offlaner plays in the hard lane and often faces the enemy Carry. This role focuses on survivability, team fights, and crowd control.

Responsibilities:

• Pressure the enemy carry
• Initiate team fights
• Absorb damage for the team
• Build utility or tank items

Beginner Tip: Focus on getting much more EXP in the offlane and do not get killed always. If you're against 2v1, or 3v1 match up just hide beside the trees to leech EXP of the creeps in the lane.

Position 4 – Soft Support

Main Job: Support lanes while making plays across the map. Controlling Runes or visiting runes every Even number of the minute mark, 6 min, 8 min, etc.

The Soft Support is flexible and active. This role helps the Offlaner early, then roams to assist other lanes with ganks and vision.

Responsibilities:

• Help the offlane early game
• Roam and gank
• Place wards and dewards
• Provide utility and crowd control

Beginner Tip: Always look for opportunities to help other lanes. Don't forget to visit mid and time it well for the Rune spawn.

Position 5 – Hard Support

Main Job: Protect the team and support the Carry. Buy Salve, Tangoes, and wards.

The Hard Support sacrifices gold and farm to help the team. This role focuses on warding, healing, saving allies, and lane control.

Responsibilities:

• Support and protect the carry
• Buy wards and detection
• Heal or save teammates
• Control the lane early game

Beginner Tip: Fully support your carry do not last hit creeps. Try to harass enemy heroes and tank for your carry in the laning stage.

Carry Role: The one who will carry the team to victory. Farms and gains gold to get winning items.

• Last hitting

When killing creeps you must time it well at the lowest possible health to get the gold and exp off of it.

Beginner tip: Try practicing in your last hitting playing bot matches or normal matches.

• Early Itemization

• ITEM A 1 set of tangoes 2 Iron Branches 1 circlet 1 quelling blade

• ITEM B 1 Magic Wand 2 Iron Branch

Pro tip: After getting the bounty runes buy 1 set of tango and deliver it to you using the courier.

• Item Timings

Depending on the hero you've used if you have a BKB timing and 1 good farming item like Mjolnir, or Battlefury is that you can join team fights then farm again in the jungle or creep waves if your BKB is on cooldown.

Pro tip: Flash farm the creep wave. Kill every creeps as fast as you can.

• Creep Equilibrium Control

This means in laning stage you do not always attack creeps. You would want the creeps to be sitting outside the attack range of your safelane tower. You do not push your creeps towards the enemy offlane tower. This will help you have a good safe laning stage and for the offlane enemy to have a hard time.

Try not attacking always your creeps but instead just wait it out to have lowest HP possible to last hit. Also don't forget to deny creeps.

• Maximize your mana

Don't be afraid to cast spells on enemy offlane or their soft support. If you have a low mana cost spell then use it. Also you can use spells to last hit your creeps if you're having a hard time last hitting in the lane.

• Prioritize killing the Ranged Creep.

Always look for ways to kill the range creep. Do not kill it right away if it has not reached to the lowest possible health for last hitting. This creep offers Big EXP and Big Gold so you need to always take your chance to kill this creep.

Beginner Friendly Heroes to Pick:

• Sven
• Phantom Assassin
• Juggernaut
• Drow Ranger