As the name suggests, carry heroes carry the game on their backs, all the responsibilities of the game depend on them. You need a reliable and durable carry who can get you through the game without making you feel like a burden to the team. There exist a tremendous amount of carry heroes in the game, but not all of them are equal when it comes to their ability to solo carry and sustain themself in the later stages of the game. Some heroes excel at this but some crumble under high pressure. The right carry hero can swiftly turn the tide around and ensure nothing but pain for his opponents. 

With no dearth of carry heroes in the game, it can get quite hard to pick the right one in certain situations. Some carry heroes can dominate regardless of the matchup they’re put in while some only excel in certain niche matchups. We rank the Best 15 Carry Heroes of the Current Meta.

15. Phantom Assassin

The lethal and cutthroat damage of Phantom Assassin is often praised by many and feared by all. She is known to rip through her enemies like it's no big thing. Most heroes can’t survive the onslaught of Phantom Assassin due to her high physical damage right from the laning phase. The lack of mobility in enemy heroes makes it easy for Phantom Assassin to catch up to them and turn them into dust. She also farms extremely well due to her mobility. Her damage just gets out of hand in the late game as she acquires more items and gets more kills due to it.

Phantom Assassin can obliterate squishy supports in just a few hits. She is agile and silent in her moves, as an assassin generally is, while also being one of the most-played carry heroes in the game due to her ease of spells. Phantom Assassin has great base movement and attack speed, which is rarely found in a carry hero. Her spells may seem underwhelming in the early game but as she reaches the late-game mark, she can do a lot with just one Stifling Dagger. 

What makes Phantom Assassin a great carry hero? 

• Can destroy enemy supports with just one Stifiling Dagger.
• Is capable of dealing over 2k critical damage!
• Has great mobility with the Phantom Strike spell, which can be used both defensively and offensively.
• The Blur spell provides up to 50% evasion, which is a great spell in the early game.
• Can snowball and pressurize the enemy team just after a few kills.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Phantom Assassin

• Desolator - Provides increased damage along with armor corruption on physical attacks. It can also gain stacks and increased the mentioned perks with the increase in stacks. Desolator is ideal for Phantom Assassin to mow down the squishy enemies.
• Skull Basher - Provides a chance to Bash (Mini Stun) on physical attacks. It can further be upgraded into Abyssal Blade later on in the game.
• Satanic - Allows Phantom Assassin to lifesteal and sustain herself in teamfights. This item also dispels any negative buffs, quickly life-stealing from 0 to 100 in no time. 
• Butterfly - Provides Phantom Assassin with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes him untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
• Black King Bar - It provides spell immunity from all magic damage spells, making her invulnerable in the fight. It is always a top-priority item against magic damage heroes.
• Monkey King Bar - Provides increased physical damage and also provides a chance to true strike on attacks.

Phantom Assassin is strong against:

• Crystal Maiden - Crystal Maiden's low health pool and slow movement speed make her a tempting and easy target.
• Sniper - Sniper's lack of mobility and reliance on attack range makes him an easy target for Phantom Assassin to jump on.
• Anti-Mage - Blur makes Anti-Mage unable to deal significant damage to her.

Phantom Assassin is weak against

• Axe - Most of Axe's abilities pierce Black King Bar, allowing him to lock down Phantom Assassin at any time.
• Omniknight - Most of Axe's abilities pierce Black King Bar, allowing him to lock down Phantom Assassin at any time.
• Tinker - The blind from Laser can render Phantom Assassin useless if she is not protected by Black King Bar.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Phantom_Assassin

14. Chaos Knight

Nothing but incredible chaos ensues when this veteran of the countless battle of a thousand worlds steps foot into the battlefield. Chaos Knight is unbearably strong against most heroes due to the lack of AoE damage from them. He can mow down squishy support heroes and bully them out of the lane during the laning phase, only to decimate them effortlessly in the late game. There are very few heroes that can give him a run for his money in the early game, which he can also negate by getting a Black King Bar. Chaos Knight can eventually turn the tides in the late game and destroys squishy heroes in no time with his high physical damage along with his illusions.

Undoubtedly, Chaos Knight is slow in the farming department but he makes it up for by being extremely team fight-reliant with the help of his phantasms. His stun followed by Reality Rift can bring down even the mightiest of enemies within no time. CK is extremely tanky and is only threatened by multiple heroes at once. CK can snowball easily if he manages to get a few kills in the early game. He can also sustain himself in team fights due to his naturally high armor and HP. 

What makes Chaos Knight a great carry hero? 

• Great against heroes that can’t clear illusions
• Squishy heroes, especially support heroes stand no chance if CK corners them
• Great from the laning phase due to high HP and armor
• Can frontline well if he has enough farm and levels.
• Chaos Knight is exceptional as a crowd control hero as he can also intimidate other heroes with his immense toolkit,

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Chaos Knight

• Armlet of Mordiggian - Provides increased HP and damage, and is toggleable. CK benefits highly from this toggleable HP mechanic against most enemies due to the latter’s high magical burst damage.
• Black King Bar - It provides CK with spell immunity from all enemy magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is always a top priority item against magic damage-dealing heroes.
• Manta Style - Can work in tandem with Reality Rift, exceptional to push lanes and dispel spells
• Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed while reducing the same for enemies in an AoE.
• Eye of Skadi - It reduces HP regen and healing upon physical attacks from CK. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to CK. 
• Echo Sabre - It provides insane stats along with increased damage and attack speed. It is an essential item that is built in the early game of Chaos Knight.

Chaos Knight is strong against

• Bane - Phantasm's illusions make it difficult for Bane to target Chaos Knight with Nightmare, Enfeeble, and Fiend's Grip.
• Bounty Hunter - Bounty Hunter is fragile and can easily be killed by Chaos Knight and Phantasm's illusions.
• Disruptor - Disruptor's lack of mobility, combined with his lack of innate defense, sets him up for a Reality Rift and a beatdown by Chaos Knight and his illusions.

Chaos Knight is weak against

• Tidehunter - Ravage damages and disables Chaos Knight and his illusions.
• Winter Wyvern - Winter's Curse turns Phantasm illusions against Chaos Knight or a teammate.
• Phantom Lancer - Juxtapose allows Phantom Lancer to overwhelm Chaos Knight due to his single-target abilities. While Doppelganger can be used to dodge Chaos Bolt.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos_Knight

13. Juggernaut

Juggernaut, the masked Samurai is a deadly hero that is best left untamed. It is impossible to control him if he unleashes his wrath upon his feeble foes. Juggernaut fares exceptionally well against squishy heroes, and some are undoubtedly squishy even in the late game. One single Omnislash is all it takes for Juggernaut to demolish his foes. On top of that, he also fares well against the mightiest of heroes right from the laning stage, as he can essentially dodge their magic damage by just using Blade Fury which makes him immune to magic damage.

Juggernaut can also control the tempo with his ultimate. He can also farm quickly and be more dominant in the mid and late games, whereas most heroes fall off after the mid-game. He is also known as one of the most flexible heroes in the game in terms of item and skill builds, allowing him to alter his builds accordingly. The majority of the carry heroes can’t go head-to-head in the late game against Juggernaut, as this matchup is rarely in their favor.

What makes Juggernaut a great carry hero? 

• Blade Fury ability makes him magic immune from most spells.
• Healing Ward allows him and his allies to heal during team fights.
• Great base movement speed, armor, and attack speed.
• Immense flexibility in builds (i.e. various builds like the Maelstorm build, Diffusal build, etc.)
• Both Aghanim Sceptre and Shard are useful as they provide great buffs for the Omnislash ultimate.
• Great talent tree that scales well with items.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Juggernaut 

• Diffusal Blade - Slows down enemies by 100% upon casting and physical attack. It also burns their mana, making them useless as they are unable to cast any spells. 
• Sange and Yasha - Provide decent stats, agility, strength, and physical damage. SnY also provides status resistance and increased movement speed, making Juggernaut swift and stronger against enemies.
• Aghanim’s Scepter - Grants Swiftslash ability, which is essentially a mini Omnislash, dealing the same amount of damage as the ultimate.
• Aghanim’s Shard - Allows Juggernaut to perform instant physical attacks under the Bladefury duration, along with increasing his movement speed.
• Butterfly - Provides Juggernaut with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes him untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
• Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Juggernaut. 

Juggernaut is strong against

• Invoker - Juggernaut's instant spell immunity from Blade Fury. helps him dodge all of Invoker's magic spell combos.
• Templar Assassin - Blade Fury's damage over time dispels Refraction almost instantly.
• Keeper of the Light - Juggernaut's Healing Ward keeps his team healthy even when pushing against Keeper of the Light's Illuminate.

Juggernaut is weak against

• Axe - Axe is a common Blade Mail and Blink Dagger carrier making him a very big potential threat before Juggernaut gets his items.
• Chaos Knight - Phantasm illusions can tank Omnislash.
• Mars - Bulwark mitigates Omnislash which deals physical damage, severely reducing its damage.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Juggernaut

12. Sven

Sven, the rogue knight is known as a deadly carry hero due to the ungodly physical damage that he dishes out. There are no way enemies escape the devastating damage being dealt by Sven as the latter can lock them down or charge at them with his increased movement speed. Sven is capable of dominating the battlefield all by himself! The items only supplement his abilities and enhance his presence during team fights. Sven is rarely seen in pubs, but he is picked frequently in pro games.

There are various reasons why Sven is on this list. He has it all, the toolkit to lock down and dominate even the mightiest of enemies along with ways to farm and acquire more items as the game progresses. Sven can easily fight an entire team all by himself if he has the levels and the items to back him up. A late-game Sven is nothing short of a nightmare for the weak enemy team. Sven is an effective hero who can face multiple heroes at once without faltering so easily.

What makes Sven a great carry hero? 

• Sven can 1 hit kill squishy heroes, hence is a threat to most supports in the mid-game.
• Aghanim’s Scepter allows him to pounce on enemy heroes and stun them at the same time, a great gap closer.
• His cleave his great with God’s Strength which can mow down heroes easily.
• Amazingly high base armor, making him survive physical attacks right from the laning phase.
• His AoE stun, Storm Hammer, is a useful crowd-control spell.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Sven

• Echo Sabre - Provides great stat gain along with immense damage and attack speed.
• Assault Cuirass - Immense armor gain also reduces enemy armor at the same time
• Daedalus - Provides immense critical damage upon physical attacks
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity, making you invulnerable in the fight against the onslaught of enemies
• Bloodthorn - Can silence enemies and turn them into rubbles in no time. Disabling enemies ensures they have minimal impact on the fights

Sven is strong against

• Broodother - Great Cleave clears Spiderlings quickly to increase gold income.
• Meepo - Cleave will devastate Meepo's clones. Against a closely packed group, Sven does not even need to target the clone with the lowest health.
• Phantom Lancer - Storm Hammer's AoE stun will hit Phantom Lancer and his illusions.

Sven is weak against

• Razor - Static Link saps Sven's insane attack damage and goes through Black King Bar.
• Clockwerk - Power Cogs greatly limits Sven's positioning, potentially wasting the duration of Black King Bar in a team fight.
• Templar Assassin - Sven has no easy way to burn Refraction charges and needs help from teammates to kill TA successfully.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/razor

11. Spectre

Spectre is nothing short of a nightmare if you face her on the enemy team. She knows her way around catching heroes off-guard, especially catching them when they least expect it. Spectre is highly devastating due to her mobility which allows her to escape or initiate the teamfights. Her high damage is amplified when she catches enemy heroes all by themselves, which never ends well for them! Haunt is an excellent spell that has great potential to cause deep wounds in the enemy gameplay, the global presence of this hero puts her so high on this list. 

Spectre does not even need different items to have an impact on the game. Spectre relies more on levels, which allow her to deal more damage, and is also highly team-fight-oriented. She may lack in the farming department in the early game but it's the kills and ganks which reward her with gold, making her devastating in the late game. Her late-game potential to quickly solo kill enemies from anywhere on the map is unmatched by any other carry in the game.

What makes Spectre a great carry hero? 

• Global presence with her ultimate, which allows her to hunt squishy heroes and mow them down if they’re alone on the map.
• She can withstand her ground during teamfights with her high HP.
• Extremely lethal spells can be devastating from the early levels.
• She also has extremely high base damage and armor

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Spectre

• Blademail - Reflects enemy damage upon activation.
• Radiance - Burn damage prevents enemies from blinking away, and can also be useful in pushing lanes.
• Diffusal Blade - Slows down enemies by 100% upon casting and physical attack. It also burns their mana and dispels any buffs that they may have.
• Manta Style - On usage, it creates two illusions of Spectre, allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times them right. It is exceptional to push lanes effortlessly and dispel spells.
• Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Spectre.
• Abyssal Blade - Upon cast, it stuns the targetted hero for 2 seconds. Can be used to quickly lock down enemies after using ultimate, allowing you to beat them down with physical damage.

Spectre is strong against:

• Ancient Apparition - As Ancient Apparition likes to stay far away from the fight to get full effectiveness from Ice Blast, he is a very good target for a Haunt gank.
• Sniper - Spectre can reach him easily in the backlines with Spectral Dagger or teleport to him with Haunt.
• Earthshaker - Spectre can use Haunt to intercept and disrupt Earthshaker's initiation attempts.

Spectre is weak against:

• Dawnbreaker - Spectre has no innate disables or silence to stop any of Dawnbreaker's abilities
• Doom - Doom makes Spectre less disruptive. Combined with Aghanim's Scepter, it will disable Spectre’s passive skills, reducing her potential in teamfights.
• Lion - Hex and Mana Drain can be used to immediately destroy Spectre's illusion when she Haunts. 

 https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Spectre

10. Lifestealer

The lethal Lifestealer is an immensely devastating hero to play against in the current meta as his ungodly damage can rip you apart within no time. He is undoubtedly a deadly force to be reckoned with. His strength ruptures even the most meta. Lifestealer is a hard-carry hero, and he is quite good at carrying the team on his back, especially if he is playing against squishy heroes. His items supplement his toolkit, making it worse for his enemies to have any impact (if at all) against him. 

Lifestealer can completely negate enemy magic damage with his Rage, making him invulnerable against spell-casting magic-based heroes in teamfights. Lifestealer mainly relies on kills to get gold, making him a fight-oriented hero, as with the right items he can obliterate the enemy team and turn their ashes into dust. Lifestealer undoubtedly deals high damage from the early game, and he keeps up this momentum through the late game as he acquires more items that fuel his mania.

What makes Lifestealer a great carry hero? 

• Has immense lifesteal (duh) from physical attacks, which allows him to sustain his ground in teamfights.
• Rage provides decent magic immunity which helps him in teamfights.
• He can escape or initiate with his Infest, allowing him that extra mobility and initiation.
• High base damage and armor along with movement speed.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Lifestealer 

• Armlet of Mordiggian - Provides increased HP and damage, and is toggleable. Lifestealer benefits highly from this toggleable HP mechanic.
• Desolator - Provides increased damage along with armor corruption on physical attacks. It can also gain stacks and increased the mentioned perks with the increase in stacks. Desolator is ideal to mow down the squishy supports.
• Skull Basher - Provides a chance to Bash (Mini Stun) on physical attacks. It can further be upgraded into Abyssal Blade later on in the game.
• Sange and Yasha - Provide decent stats, agility, strength, and physical damage. SnY also provides status resistance and increased movement speed, making Lifestealer fast and stronger than his carry counterpart.
• Assault Cuirass - Increases armor and attack speed while reducing the same for enemies in an AoE.

Lifestealer is strong against:

• Tinker - Lifestealer's Rage makes him immune to all of Tinker's damage and debuffs.
• Invoker - Rage protects Lifestealer nearly from all of Invoker's spells.
• Silencer - If Lifestealer can Infest himself on any unit, he can avoid being affected by Global Silence.

Lifestealer is weak against:

• Ancient Apparition - Ice Blast prevents Lifestealer from life-stealing and healing with Infest in fights.
• Beastmaster - Primal Roar pierces Rage and can disable Lifestealer in fights.
• Ursa - Lifestealer can't fight Ursa at any stage of the game because of his high physical damage with Fury Swipes and Overpower.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Lifestealer

9. Ursa

Ursa is one of the most played carry heroes in the current meta, the ferocious bear is known for his ability to jungle smoothly and slays Roshan alone. He can also rip through squishy heroes and supports within no time! His Fury Swipes stack up quickly, combined with his second spell, Overpower, make him deal high amounts of physical damage right from the early game. Ursa’s ultimate, Enrage, makes him take less damage from magic spells, making him slightly invulnerable in teamfights along with granting him immense status reduction.

Ursa does not rely much on items, as his spells deal enough damage to rip his foes apart. But buying an early Morbid mask allows him to sustain in lane and turn around a fight swiftly coupled with his ultimate. Ursa almost always purchases a Black King Bar due to his poor natural magic resistance, and doing so against spell-casting heroes is a no-brainer. Most carry heroes stand no chance if Ursa has a smooth early game

What makes Ursa a great carry hero? 

• Menace against squishy heroes.
• Less reliable on items, more reliable on abilities.
• Can easily secure Roshan alone, gaining the Aegis of Immortality quite early on in the game.
• His ultimate makes him take 80% less damage and provides 50% status resistance.
• Aghanim Scepter allows him to use his ultimate even when stunned or silenced, dispelling the enemy spells.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Ursa 

• Blink Dagger - Great for gap closing or initiating, allows Ursa to both escape or get on top of enemies, especially ranged enemies.    
• Diffusal Blade - Slows down enemies by 100% upon casting and physical attack. It also burns his mana, making him useless as he is unable to cast any spells. 
• Satanic - Provides increased lifesteal on physical attacks upon activation, also provides basic dispel from the latter.
• Black King Bar - It provides spell immunity from all of the enemy's magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is always a top-priority item.
• Skull Basher - Provides a chance to Mini Stun on physical attacks. It can further be upgraded into Abyssal Blade later on in the game.

Ursa is strong against

• Timbersaw - Timbersaw's physical survivability revolves around Reactive Armor, which is largely ignored by Fury Swipes due to the extreme amounts of damage it does in very few numbers of attacks.
• Pudge - Low armor and lack of escape make Pudge vulnerable to Ursa, especially when he gets his Blink Dagger.
• Medusa - With no escape mechanism and a slow movement speed, getting jumped on by Ursa usually spells a quick end for Medusa in the early game.

Ursa is weak against

• Lion - Lion has two low cast point disables (Hex and Earth Spike) to control Ursa before he buys  Black King Bar.
• Viper - Nethertoxin breaks Fury Swipes, making Viper a decent counter to Ursa in a laning stage.
• Shadow Demon - Shadow Demon's Demonic Purge renders Ursa useless even through Black King Bar as it slows him, continually purges his Overpower charges, and can not be dispelled by Ursa's Enrage.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Ursa 

8. Naga Siren

Not even the water gods can handle the havoc of this breathtaking siren. Naga emerges from the deep seas as a beautiful yet threatening entity whose voice can cure the worst diseases! She deals some heavy physical damage right off the get-go, her looks can deceive you! Along with her damage, she can also lock enemies down with her net or the ultimate. You may pierce the ultimate with BKB, but with her Aghanim’s Scepter, you can’t pierce the net! She can pin you down and rip you into pieces with the assistance of her mirror illusions.

  The devastating force of Naga Siren is felt from the mid-game as she acquires certain items which help her farm quickly as well as stand her ground, making her tanky. Naga indeed requires more of her items to have an impact, but when she does acquire those items, there is no way you can put an end to her destruction. She cuts deep and drowns her enemies with her Rip Tide. 

What makes Naga Siren a great carry hero? 

• Great late-game hero, who can rip through most enemies with the immense lockdown.
• Immense disable and crowd control potential with Song of the Siren
• Fares well in the laning stage due to multiple illusions helping her farm.
• She can also split push with her mirror illusions, while she farms away securely in the jungle.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Naga Siren

• Diffusal Blade - Slows down enemies by 100% upon casting and physical attack. It also burns their mana, making them useless as they are unable to cast any spells. 
• Butterfly - Provides Naga with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes her untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
• Manta Style - Creates two illusions of Naga Siren on usage, also allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times it right. It can also be used to split push lanes and farm efficiently.
• Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Naga Siren.
• Heart of Tarrasque - Provides increased health regen along with HP. Makes Naga highly tanky in the later stages of the game.

Naga Siren is strong against:

• Sniper - Ensnare with her attacks allows Naga Siren to gank Sniper easily, while Rip Tide removes Sniper's very little armor.
• Lone Druid - Unless Lone Druid purchases a Black King Bar for his Spirit Bear, Ensnare will easily kite the Bear.
• Omniknight - Song of the Siren will waste Guardian Angel.

Naga Siren is weak against:

• Earthshaker - Earthshaker's strong AoE abilities can clear Naga Siren's illusions, or at least make it easier to distinguish the real one by the damage they take.
• Lion - Both Hex and Mana Drain destroy Naga Siren's illusions in an instant, making it hard to team fight or push against a team with Lion. If Lion chooses the AoE effect talent for Hex or the shard for multi-target Mana Drain, it can negate her pushing potential entirely.
• Snapfire - Mortimer Kisses can make quick work of Naga Siren's illusions.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/nagasiren

7. Slark

The slippery Slark is a mighty carry hero, he has the potential to decimate enemies right from the laning stage. People laud (and also are annoyed at) his survivability. He is extremely stealthy and is known to pounce from any direction! He performs well against the squishy and low armor heroes, but can also do wonders against high HP heroes as he can steal more agility from them! The increased agility makes it easy for him to deal damage during teamfights and mow his foes down. He can easily pounce away from enemies and disengage from the fight with the help of Shadow Dance. Other carries may farm comparatively faster than Slark but in the late game they eventually fall off as they aren’t as durable as the Slark.

Slark is a slippery carry hero due to the items he builds, which makes it hard for enemies to lock him down. Also, items like Diffusal Blade makes him immensely strong as it causes enemies to lose mana while crippling his movement speed and also dealing high damage with the help of Sange and Yasha. He can also purge off various debuffs, which may allow him to turn the tides effectively in his favor in the team fight. Slark leaves no stone unturned as he wreaks havoc on the enemy team with his six-slot farm.

What makes Slark a great carry hero? 

• Slark can purge off spells, making him hard to lock down during teamfights.
• Can steal enemy agility thanks to his passive.
• Immense movement speed and mobility with Pounce
• Shadow Dance grants immense survivability as well as HP regen, allowing Slark to teamfight easily.
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard grant him increased survivability as well as harass potential

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Slark

• Silver Edge - Provides invisibility which can be used to escape or set up on enemies
• Aghanim’s Scepter - Increases Pounce distance by a huge margin, also providing him two charges of the same
• Eye of Skadi - Great for reducing enemy regen while also providing stats and increased HP.
• Butterfly - Provides increased evasion, agility, and movement speed.
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity against all magic damage spells.

Slark is strong against

• Arc Warden - Flux is dispelled by Dark Pact.
• Luna - Luna's lack of mobility and escape abilities makes her easy to gank for Slark.
• Sniper - Sniper hugely lacks mobility and escape abilities so he is an easy target for ganks from Slark.

Slark is weak against:

• Ancient Apparition - Ice Blast stops Shadow Dance's passive health regeneration, even when Slark is not in vision.
• Meepo - Earthbind and Poof will still hit Slark in Shadow Dance.
• Axe - Berserker's Call forces Slark to attack him, even during Shadow Dance.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Slark

 

6. Anti-Mage

Anti-Mage and his hatred for the arcane arts are unmatchable. He has what you need to counter all intelligence-based spell-casting heroes, Mana Break and Mana Void. An early-game AM can effortlessly decimate enemy mana and make them retreat to base or waste gold to compensate. This will slow down their farm while AM is known to farm at a faster pace, allowing him to get ahead in the net worth within no time.

Something is soothing about witnessing a fully farmed Anti-Mage beat down his enemies with the help of Mana Void. He can essentially one-shot the entire enemy team if he catches them lacking in the mana department. Most carry heroes tend to lose tempo in the late game while Anti-Mage only does swimmingly there. Magic and spell-casting heroes stand no chance when a six-slotted AM pounces on them thanks to Blink and decimates them within no time.

What makes Anti-Mage a great carry hero? 

• Can escape or initiate fights with Blink spell.
• Counterspell allows Anti-Mage to reflect spells and acts as a safety barrier in teamfights, while also making him take less magic damage.
• Mana Void and Mana Break work extremely well against spell-casting intelligence heroes, making it quite hard for them to stand their ground in teamfights.
• He can split-push well and has immense mobility, allowing him to rat towers if needed.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Anti-Mage

• Battlefury - Provides cleave on physical attacks which can be essential to split push and farm quickly
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity from all enemy magic damage spells, making him invulnerable in the fight. It is always a top priority, as most seasoned players prefer to purchase the BKB right after the Battlefury
• Manta Style - Creates two illusions of AM on usage, also allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times it right. It can also be used to split push lanes and farm efficiently.
• Abyssal Blade - Upon cast, it stuns the targetted hero for 2 seconds. Can be used to quickly lock down enemies after blinking on top of them, allowing you to beat them down with the physical damage
• Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to AM.

Anti-Mage is strong against:

• Medusa - Anti-Mage easily destroys Mana Shield with Mana Break, especially once he has Manta Style.
• Ogre Magi - Ogre only deals magical damage, which Anti-Mage is exceptionally resistant to due to Counterspell.
• Rubick - Mana Break quickly eats away at Rubick's low mana pool, preventing Spell Steal abilities from triggering.

Anti-Mage is weak against:

• Disruptor - Static Storm stops Anti-Mage from Blinking.
• Grimstroke - A combination of Soulbind and Phantom's Embrace can prevent Anti-Mage from casting spells.
• Meepo - Multiple Earthbinds allow Meepo to lock down Anti-Mage almost indefinitely.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/anti-mage

5. Morphling

Morphling is quite a lethal hero, which most people find hard to counter. As boring or complex as Morph may appear, he is quite impressive right from the laning phase and stays relevant throughout the late game. Most people shy away from Morphling due to the complex nature of his abilities, but if you can master him, there is no way your enemies can have an upper hand! Morphling is a nuisance to enemy supports due to the infamous “shotgun” combo. Mastering Morphling requires quick decision-making skills, which only come with time and experience. 

Morphling can be an excellent addition to the team if you want a carry that can fight from the get-go and is tanky. His physical damage ensures he can mow down enemies while also staying tanky enough with Attribute Shift. Everyone knows about the infamous Shotgun combo, which takes just two clicks to bring down the venomous beast. In the late game, enemies struggle hard to match Morphling’s pace as their damage simply isn’t enough to cause a dent in Morphling’s health pool (courtesy of Attribute Shift) Morph (the ultimate) can be used to give enemies a taste of their own medicine and have them taken out from teamfights.

What makes Morphling a great carry hero? 

• Can “Shotgun” enemy heroes with the Adaptive Strike ability and Ethereal Blade.
• Morph allows him to turn into enemy heroes (or allies if you purchase the Aghanim Scepter), which can often lead to deadly combos or allow him to escape team fights.
• Can easily survive a long team fight with the Attribute Shift ability.
• Attribute Shift ability makes him either gain strength or agility, both can be useful depending on the situation.
• Impressive level 1 attributes and stats, allows him to be extremely sustainable in the laning phase.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Morphling 

• Ethereal Blade - Can essentially “shotgun” squishy enemies with the E-Blade and Adaptive Strike
• Dragon Lance - Provides Increased attack range and immense stats, extremely helpful in the early game.
• Linken’s Sphere - Great spell block which blocks single-targeted spells and items
• Satanic - Can quickly heal up on physical attacks upon activation, also provides basic dispel from the latter.
• Butterfly - Provides Morphling with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes him untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.

Morphling is strong against:

• Lifestealer - Lifestealer is a great target for Morphling to use Morph, as he can use Rage to gain spell immunity and a movement speed boost.
• Bloodseeker - Morphling can escape from Rupture using Waveform.
• Phantom Assassin - Morphling's naturally high armor thanks to his high agility makes it hard for Phantom Assassin to take him down with Coup de Grace.

Morphling is weak against:

• Earth Spirit - Geomagnetic Grip is not blocked by Linken's Sphere and can silence Morphling, preventing Morphling from using Waveform or Attribute Shift to escape from ganks.
• Ancient Apparition - Ice Blast stops Attribute Shift (Strength Gain) from recovering additional health, and using it will even bring Morphling closer to the shatter threshold.
• Skywrath Mage - Ancient Seal prevents Morphling from using any of his skills, giving Skywrath Mage and his team ample time to burst Morphling down.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Morphling 

4. Faceless Void

Not all can master Faceless Void the way he has mastered manipulating time. His ultimate can quickly turn the game around for good or for worse! The hero requires immense practice and patience. The time-bending Faceless Void is a hot commodity in the recent patches and this was quite evident during the recent International. He has a high pick rate due to his ability to catch multiple nimble heroes. Faceless Void is a highly lethal hero in the late game against most enemies due to his high damage and crowd control potential. His mid-game potential is unmatched because all he needs to brawl is his ultimate and a few items.

Most carry heroes can’t match Void’s efficient and fast-paced farming skills. The latter works best if paired with heroes that supplement his Chronosphere ultimate ex. Kunkka, Invoker, Skywrath Mage. His late-game potential allows him to essentially 1v5 enemy heroes if he is farmed enough. There is no way you can escape the wrath of the mighty Faceless Void in the late game!

What makes Faceless Void a great carry hero? 

• Mobility with Time Walk and Reverse Time Walk ability. (Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade)
• Chronosphere ultimate stops all TPs and reveals invisible heroes.
• The Time Dilation ability prevents the enemies to cast spells for a certain period depending on the cooldown and the level of the ability.
• Time Lock passive bashes and stuns a target while dealing increased damage per bash, this can turn deadly if combined with a Monkey King Bar or other damage items.
• Aghanim’s Scepter allows him to all bash units and heroes in his path while using the Time Walkability.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Faceless Void

• Shadow Blade - Provides invisibility upon cast which can be used to escape or set up on enemies.
• Monkey King Bar - Gives increased physical damage and also provides a chance to truly strike on physical attacks.
• Butterfly - Provides Faceless Void with increased evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes him untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
• Eye of Skadi - It reduces HP regen and healing upon physical attacks from the Void. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Faceless Void. 
• Satanic - Allows Faceless Void to lifesteal and sustain himself in teamfights. This item also dispels any negative buffs, quickly life-stealing from 0 to 100 in no time. 

Faceless Void is strong against:

• Lifestealer - Chronosphere provides an excellent lockdown against Rage.
• Juggernaut - Faceless Void can Time Walk out of the range of Omnislash at all points of the game and with ease.
• Anti-Mage - Time Dilation while Blink and Counterspell are on cooldown will make these abilities unusable for a long time, shutting down his mobility and defensiveness.

Faceless Void is weak against:

• Chaos Knight - Faceless Void's lack of strong area-of-effect spells makes it difficult for him to fight against Chaos Knight and his Phantasms.
• Monkey King - Monkey King’s clones from Wukong’s Command and Aghanim’s Scepter are immune to Chronosphere, so it is a very bad idea to Chronosphere Monkey King with his clones around.
• Nightstalker - Crippling Fear can silence Faceless Void for a long time, preventing him from using his Time Walk and Chronosphere.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Faceless_Void

3. Luna

The Moon rider herself! Luna is essentially a beginner-friendly hero, but we frequently see it getting picked in both pub and pro games. The reason is her quick farming abilities and massive AoE damage output. If you want a high-damage dealing carry hero, then who is better than Luna? The moon rider can squash enemies within no time. Laning can be difficult for Luna, but she can always fall back on the jungle to farm with the help of her Moon Glaives and decent early-game damage. Luna is an optimal pick if you want to deal hybrid damage as her ultimate Eclipse deals an ungodly amount of magical damage which supplements her physical damage.

The prime reason to pick Luna is her quick farming abilities and massive AoE damage output which turn enemies into dust in no time. Most carry heroes farm relatively slower and also find it difficult to catch up against Luna if the game progresses over 40 minutes. The moon rider, on the other hand, offers tremendous wave clearance, which returns her a great deal of gold, she is known to farm and split push faster. Luna can be picked alongside massive crowd-control heroes allowing them to have an edge over their frail opponents.

What makes Luna a great carry hero? 

• Lunar Blessing ability offers increased night vision and bonus damage for allies.
• Immense farming potential thanks to the Moon Glaives passive.
• Usually known for hitting the item timings early due to her incredible farming speed.
• Higher armor and HP for an agility hero.
• Eclipse deals magic damage, which is essential for heroes with high armor/HP.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Luna

• Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Luna.
• Satanic - Provides increased lifesteal on physical attacks upon activation and also provides basic dispel from the latter.
• Black King Bar - Provides spell immunity, making you invulnerable in the fight against magic spells.
• Butterfly - Increases evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes Terrorblade untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
• Manta Style - Creates two illusions of Luna on usage, also allowing her to dispel certain spells or dodge if she times it right. It can also be used to split push lanes and farm efficiently.
• Hurricane Pike - Allows Luna to close the gap and deal immense damage to enemies, also provides decent stats 

Luna is strong against:

• Winter Wyvern - Cold Embrace is no salvation against Lucent Beam and Eclipse.
• Riki - Luna can push very fast with Moon Glaives, which is something Riki cannot deal with well.
• Arc Warden - Luna's Moon Glaives allow her to clear Arc Warden's Tempest Double.

Luna is weak against:

• Sniper - Sniper usually sits at the back and it's hard for Luna to get close to him to attack.
• Broodmother - Broodmother can knock down towers in the early game quickly, and limit Luna's farming space.
• Zeus - His highly damaging nuke spells with low cooldowns are not something Luna wants to go against.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/luna 

2. Terrorblade

Terrorblade fills every hero with dread due to his immense physical damage and team fight potential. This is the reason why he is so high on this list. Terrorblade is extremely powerful throughout the game as he essentially has two ultimates, Metamorphosis and Sunder. Both of these can turn the tides around within no time. Terrorblade also has various skill builds that he can opt for depending on the matchups he is facing, making him an extremely relevant and flexible hero. Though his early game can be slow, he can quickly split push, and farm the jungle with the help of his illusions.

Terorrblade can turn the game around with one successful team fight. Having great level-1 stats and attack speed drives his farm exponentially. The extreme power of Sunder is not to be underestimated, as it can decimate Viper within no time. Terrorblade has insane early-game potential regarding farming. His mirror illusions can push lanes comfortably as he farms the jungle, surpassing the enemy carry’s net worth by a mile. 

What makes Terrorblade a great carry hero? 

• Can farm efficiently with the Illusions generated from Conjure Image ability.
• Sunder makes him unstoppable if used at the right time.
• Level 25 provides the option of reducing the Sunder cooldown, which is immensely useful in the late game, not only to save yourself but to save your allies as well.
• He can also split push with his illusions while he farms at a different location on the map.
• He can teamfight right from the early game, unlike other carry heroes who take an eternity to come online.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Terrorblade 

• Manta Style - Creates two illusions of Terrorblade on usage, also allowing him to dispel certain spells or dodge if he times it right. It can also be used to split push lanes and farm efficiently.
• Eye of Skadi - Reduces regen and healing upon physical attacks. It helps reduce enemy regen. Eye of Skadi also provides increased stats and HP to Terrorblade.
• Diffusal Blade - Slows down enemies by 100% upon casting and physical attack. It also burns their mana, making them useless as they are unable to cast any spells. 
• Satanic - Provides increased lifesteal on physical attacks upon activation, also provides basic dispel from the latter.
• Monkey King Bar - Provides increased physical damage as well as a high chance to true strike from the same.
• Butterfly - Increases evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes Terrorblade untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.

Terrorblade is strong against:

• Ancient Apparition - Sunder is not affected by Ice Blast and will still swap health with any target as usual.
• Anti-Mage - Reflection's illusion carries Mana Break as well, making it useful to use against him.
• Wraith King - Wraith King is not good against illusion-based heroes as he has no AoE form abilities to deal with Terrorblade's Illusions.

Terrorblade is weak against:

• Sven - Great Cleave with God's Strength clears Terrorblade's illusions quickly.
• Skywrath Mage - Ancient Seal can prevent Terrorblade from casting Sunder.
• Outworld Destroyer - Arcane Orb deals pure damage against the real Terrorblade, bypassing his high base armor.

https://dota2.fandom.com/wiki/Terrorblade

 

1. Drow Ranger 

There are various reasons why Drow Ranger is number one on this list! The skilled markswoman is very precise and deadly. Her cool and calm demeanor is highly deceiving due to her lethal force on the battlefield. Drow might be a slow laner but her late-game potential is unmatched. She can deal heavy damage with just a few items in her inventory! She can destroy enemies effortlessly as she acquires items and gains levels. Having a high attack range provides her with an edge over her foes.

Drow has spells that allow her to farm while also shielding her from the enemy onslaught with the help of Gust. The silence is incredible and significant enough that spell caster heroes don’t dare to face her in the teamfights let alone the laning phase. Her damage only increases as the game progresses, making it worse for the enemy carry as most carries fall off in the later stages as they can’t deal enough damage. Drow on the other hand can deal incredible damage and stands her ground as she does that!

What makes Drow Ranger the best carry hero on this list? 

• High physical damage output right from the laning phase.
• Can slow down heroes and cripple their movement speed
• She can create distance or disable enemies with the help of Gust, which allows her to act offensive or defensive depending upon the situation. 
• She can also mow down towers and squishy enemy heroes easily with her ultimate.
• Fares extremely well in the laning stage and isn’t threatened easily by multiple heroes.
• She is relevant even in the later stages of the game.

Top 5 Best Endgame items for Drow Ranger

• Hurricane Pike - Allows her to close the gap and deal immense damage to enemies, also provides decent stats and increases attack range
• Silver Edge - Provides invisibility and damage on the first hit, which can be used to escape or set up on enemy heroes. The first hit also applies break which essentially disables any passive abilities the targetted enemy has.
• Satanic - Provides increased lifesteal on physical attacks upon activation, also provides basic dispel from the latter.
• Butterfly - Increases evasion, agility, and movement speed. Butterfly essentially makes Drow untouchable in the late game due to the high miss chance and physical damage.
• Mana Style - Creates two illusions of Drow on usage, also allowing her to dispel certain spells or dodge if she times it right. It can also be used to split push lanes and farm efficiently.

Drow Ranger is strong against:

• Juggernaut - Drow Ranger can use Gust to push back Juggernaut and deal loads of physical damage before he can get in range to use Omnislash or Blade Fury.
• Weaver - A well-timed Gust will prevent Weaver from escaping, and a silenced Weaver usually dies very quickly.
• Anti-Mage - None of Anti-Mage's skills are that effective against Drow Ranger. Gust prevents him from Blinking in or out, Counterspell is useless against Drow's physical damage, and as she usually doesn't have a high mana pool, Mana Break and Mana Void don't do much either.

Drow Ranger is weak against:

• Axe - Berserker's Call forces Drow Ranger to attack Axe up close, disabling her Marksmanship bonus.
• Slark - A well-timed Dark Pact can dispel Frost Arrows and Gust, letting Slark engage and escape freely.
• Tusk - Snowball and Ice Shards keep Drow Ranger down and prevent her from running away.

https://www.dota2.com/hero/drowranger

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