The Best Dota 2 Heroes for Beginners

Dota 2, much like most MOBAs, can be an overwhelming experience for beginners.

Let’s face it, the process of learning how to play and counter dozens of characters is always a bit intimidating.

Don’t worry, though. We all start from somewhere. Besides, some heroes are much simpler than they look.

We’ve got a variety of options to suit your needs, and it won’t take you weeks to learn.

Some of these heroes are very powerful, and it won’t take much for you to use them effectively.

Abaddon

Abaddon is a Strength support hero that many players also dare to play as a carry.

His kit is easy to learn and use even if you don’t know much about him, which is why he’s great for players who are just starting to get used to Dota 2.

These are his skills:

• Mist Coil: damages an enemy or heals an ally at the cost of Abaddon’s own health. It’s important to manage your health when using this ability.
•  Aphotic Shield: creates a shield around an ally that absorbs damage and removes negative debuffs when it expires or is destroyed.
•  Curse of Avernus: passively slows enemies that Abaddon attacks and increases his attack speed.
•  Borrowed Time: makes Abaddon immune to most forms of damage. It also heals him for any damage he takes while it’s active.

To play Abaddon, you should focus on staying alive and protecting your allies with Aphotic Shield and Borrowed Time.

Abaddon is pretty much made to stay alive, so it won’t be that hard to be there for your carry in case you’re playing him as support.

Ogre Magi

Ogre Magi is great for beginners because he has a large amount of health and a very good level of defense. 

His skills are also easy to use, making him an easy to learn hero. 

Ogre Magi is a melee intelligence durable support hero that has an above-average HP pool thanks to his large base strength and subsequent growth.

His abilities are:

• Fireblast: This ability deals damage and stuns an enemy.
• Ignite: This ability slows an enemy and deals damage over time.
• Bloodlust: This ability increases the attack speed and movement speed of an ally.

Ogre Magi’s ultimate ability is Multicast, which gives his other abilities a chance to cast more often.

To play Ogre Magi, you should focus on using Fireblast and Ignite to control enemies while using Bloodlust to buff your allies.

Multicast will increase your chances of stunning enemies or slowing them down, so just think of it as a buff to your other abilities.

Silencer

Silencer is a ranged intelligence hero who can be played as a carry or support.

He enchants his glaives with his wisdom, dealing additional damage based on his Intelligence. Silencer temporarily steals his target’s Intelligence with each hit.

If Silencer kills an affected enemy hero, he permanently steals 2 Intelligence.

Silencer changes the dynamic of every battle when he shuts down the enemy’s ability to cast their spells.

Here are Silencer’s skills::

• Arcane Curse: Silencer curses the target area, causing enemies to take damage and become silenced. Each time an affected enemy casts a spell, the duration of the curse increases.
•  Glaives of Wisdom: Silencer enchants his glaives with his wisdom, dealing additional damage based on his Intelligence.
•  Last Word: Silencer stops all sound in the target area, causing damage and preventing affected enemies from casting spells.
•  Global Silence: Silencer stops all sound globally, preventing enemy heroes from casting spells.

Vengeful Spirit

Vengeful Spirit is an agility hero who excels at ambushing, disabling, and hunting down enemies from long range. 

She is one of the most complete supports in the game. One of her skills allows her to sacrifice herself to save a poorly positioned ally.

She also has the means to deal damage and inflict stun on her enemies.

Vengeful Spirit has four abilities:

• Magic Missile: fires a magic missile at an enemy unit, stunning and dealing damage.
• Wave of Terror: unleashes a wave of terror that deals damage to enemy units and reduces their armor.
• Vengeance Aura: Vengeful Spirit’s presence increases nearby friendly units’ physical damage.
• Nether Swap: Vengeful Spirit swaps positions with a target hero, ally or enemy.

Riki

Riki is a hero that can be played as a carry or a ganker. He is good for beginners because he has a simple playstyle and can be very effective in lower skill brackets.

• Smoke Screen: throws down a smoke bomb, silencing enemy units in an area while causing them to miss on most attacks. This ability can be used to initiate fights or to escape from them.
• Blink Strike: teleports Riki behind the target unit, momentarily slowing them and striking for bonus damage if it is an enemy unit. This ability can be used to chase down enemies or to escape from them.
• Tricks of the Trade: allows Riki to become invulnerable and attack all nearby enemies for a short period of time. This ability can be used to deal damage in team fights or to farm creeps.
• Cloak and Dagger: makes Riki invisible when he is not attacking or using abilities. This ability can be used to move around the map undetected and set up ganks on unsuspecting enemies.

To play Riki effectively, you should focus on farming early game and then use your invisibility to set up ganks on enemy heroes.

You should also try to use Smoke Screen and Blink Strike effectively in team fights to disable enemy heroes and deal damage.

Good players will always use wards against Riki, so it might be a good idea to learn how to counter-ward.

Sven

Sven is a strength hero who is known for his easy-to-use high damage output. He is also a great initiator and can help his team win team fights with his powerful abilities.

These are Sven’s four abilities:

• Storm Hammer: Sven unleashes his magical gauntlet that deals damage and stuns enemy units in a small area around the target.
•  Great Cleave: Sven’s attacks deal damage in a cone behind the target, allowing him to hit multiple enemies at once.
•  Warcry: Sven endows himself and allies around with additional armor, damage, and movement speed.
•  God’s Strength: when Sven’s ultimate is activated, he gains bonus damage for a short period of time.

Sven is not a complicated hero. Stun enemies, deal damage to them, use Warcry to stay alive

Lich

Lich is an Intelligence hero who attacks from long range and uses his abilities to slow down his enemies with his icy attacks. 

He also increases the defenses of his allies and serves as a great team battle ambusher with his powerful ultimate.

Lich has four abilities:

• Frost Blast: fires a frosty ball of death at an enemy unit, dealing damage and slowing them down.
• Frost Shield: applies a shield of magical ice around the target, reducing damage from attacks it takes. While the shield is active, icy magic will affect nearby enemy units and damage them.
• Sinister Gaze: forces an enemy unit to look into his eyes, stunning them and forcing them to move towards him.
• Chain Frost: unleashes a chain frost that bounces between enemy units, dealing damage and slowing them down.

Lich is a very effective and easy to play hero. Just poke and stun your enemies to prevent them from reaching your allies and force them to retreat.

His ult is especially scary when enemies are stunned or slowed really close to each other.

Ursa

Ursa is a popular agility hero because of how quickly he can delete an enemy, especially by teleporting on top of them out of nowhere with the right items.

These are Ursa’s abilities:

• Earthshock: causes significant damage and slows down enemies in a nearby area.
• Overpower: provides Ursa with increased attack speed for a short period.
• Fury Swipes: allow Ursa to deal more damage to the same enemy with consecutive attacks.
• Enrage: gives him the ability to dispel negative effects, resist disables, and reduce incoming damage.

To play Ursa effectively, you need to learn how to use his abilities strategically, but it honestly doesn’t take much.

Use Earthshock to slow down enemies, activate Enrage to reduce damage and resist disables, and utilize Fury Swipes to deal maximum damage.

Overpower can help you make quick work of opponents and buff your allies while debuffing your enemies.

Ursa is easy to play because of how straightforward his skills are. By mastering Ursa’s abilities and using them wisely, you can become a formidable force in Dota 2 and help your team win battles.

Bristleback

Bristleback is a strong laner and can easily bully his opponents out of the lane.

These are Bristleback’s abilities:

• Viscous Nasal Goo: Bristleback sprays a target with goo, slowing them down and reducing their armor.
•  Quill Spray: Bristleback releases a spray of quills that deal damage to all nearby enemies.
•  Bristleback: Bristleback’s passive ability reduces the damage he takes from the back and sides while increasing his movement speed.
•  Warpath: Bristleback gains increased movement speed and attack damage for each stack of Warpath he has.

During the early game, he’s a strong laner who can easily bully opponents out of the lane by using Viscous Nasal Goo to slow them down and reduce their armor.

In the mid-game, Bristleback shines in team fights, using his Bristleback ability to reduce damage taken from the back and sides while increasing movement speed. RAlso, Quill Spray is perfect for dealing damage to multiple enemies.

Sniper

Sniper is a ranged hero who can hit enemies from much further than expected. This carry is generally easier to play than most because your job is, basically, to stay away and shoot as much as you can.

These are Sniper’s four abilities:

• Shrapnel: launches a ball of shrapnel that showers the target area in explosive pellets. Enemies are subject to damage and slowed movement. Reveals the targeted area1.
• Headshot: increases his accuracy, giving him a chance to deal extra damage, and briefly knocks back his enemies. Headshots briefly slow enemy movement, and attack speed is slowed.
• Take Aim: Sniper’s rifle is equipped with a longer range than most heroes. Increases attack range by 100/200/300/4003.
• Assassinate: Sniper takes aim at an enemy unit and, after a short delay, fires a devastating shot that deals damage at long range4.

To play Sniper effectively, you should focus on using his abilities to control enemies while staying out of reach.

Use Shrapnel to slow down enemies and deal damage while using Headshot to knock them back and slow their movement speed. Use Take Aim to increase your attack and stay safe.

If an enemy tries to escape, that’s when you can go for Assassinate. Once Sniper locks on an enemy with his ult, they will just basically wait to get shot.