Shout out to anyone who plays hard support in Dota 2! This is for those of you who may be looking to make the switch or are new to the game.
Hard Support is one of the most challenging and underappreciated roles in Dota 2. You’re expected to play the macro game more than your other teammates, which means calling out smokes, ganks, stacks, pushes, and other decisions that make Dota such a complex game. If you’re playing such a crucial role, you’ll also need a high-impact hero to make plays happen.
Additionally, Hard Supports are expected to contribute to the team without gold and items, as these resources are reserved for the carries. The heroes on this list can play the map like no other hero in the game, enable their team, and become a massive nuisance for their enemies.
Crystal Maiden
For good reasons, Crystal Maiden is the first hero that comes to mind when thinking about the best Hard Support in Dota 2. Her level two power spike is one of the deadliest in the game and can easily secure kills with its damage and crowd control. Furthermore, Arcane Aura enables her whole team by constantly regenerating mana—a game-changer for nukers with mana issues like Tiny and Nyx Assassin.
Usually, Crystal Maiden buys whatever her team needs, like a Force Staff or Glimmer Cape. But sometimes, the enemy team doesn’t draft against her, and she can go ham with Freezing Field, winning the team fight on her own. And if the enemy team decides to prioritize her over her carries, then that’s a job well done for a Hard Support.
Mirana
Unlike the other heroes on this list, Mirana isn’t going to net you positive results without any practice. But if you take the time to become accurate with her arrows, flash farm like no other support, and itemize accordingly against the enemy team, then you can become one of the best Hard Supports in Dota 2. Outstanding player skill can shake up the meta, like how Sneyking proved it with Mirana during The International 2022.
Moonlight Shadow is undoubtedly one of the best abilities in the game. Turning all of your allies invisible can save your allies, surprise enemies, and confuse them in the middle of a team fight. As mentioned earlier, Mirana’s unique strength as a support is her potential to quickly steal farm away from her enemies through Sacred Arrow and Starstorm.
Silencer
Silencer is a high-priority Hard Support because of his ability to silence all enemies on the map, ruining their ganks, pushes, and team fights. Additionally, Silencer is great against heroes who rely on short cooldowns or chaining their skills, like Venomancer or Tinker, as Arcane Curse and Last Word punish their combo attempts.
Silencer can also scale into a semi-carry with Glaives of Wisdom, as the ability allows him to permanently steal Intelligence from killing enemy heroes. Silencer can make early leads feel irredeemable against Strength and Agility heroes because they’ll lose a big chunk of their overall mana each time they die.
Clockwerk
The armored Keen Folk excels at his one job: securing kills. Paired with a ranged carry, he commands respect in lane because one successful Power Cog elimination can snowball into a lost early game for the enemy. Clockwerk’s long-range ultimate is perfect for locking down key targets, especially when they lack mobility to escape.
Clockwerk’s Rocket Flare is an invaluable global ability that grants vision of that area. Combined with its short cooldown, it ensures you’ll always have an idea of the enemy’s plans. He’s one of the best Hard Supports because you’ll control vision and information.
Treant Protector
When you’re unsure about team compositions and enemy counters, Treant Protector is a consistently reliable pick. The hulking guardian is a force of nature during the laning phase when you take advantage of his hard-hitting attacks (the highest base attack in the game). Treant Protector is nigh impossible to trade against because his superior slows, sustain, and damage.
Treant Protector’s capacity to walk through trees lets you scout dangerous areas, collect information, and launch surprise attacks. Additionally, Living Armor’s ability to heal up towers is one of the best ways to halt split pushers from winning through attrition. It’s no wonder why Treant Protector has one of the highest pick and win rates in the current DPC season.
