Which heroes are most powerful in the mid lane?
Mid is one of the most important roles in DotA 2; the rotations and kills coming from this hero in the laning phase set the pace for the entire game. Often, if a mid can secure a kill on their opponent early, it creates an unstoppable amount of momentum for them that snowballs into easier ganks, pushes, and teamfights for their whole team.
But what hero to pick? Of course, the meta can depend on what skill bracket you’re in, as well as the hero choices of your allies and enemies. This list of ten mid heroes is a good start when deciding with which hero you’ll crush your opponents.
10. Dazzle
Dazzle the Shadow Priest, most commonly known for his abilities as a healer and support, has been played for the past year or so as a snowballing lane pusher and mid hero. With three very useful spells and an ultimate ability that lowers his cooldowns, Dazzle can be very difficult to counter for most mid heroes.
What makes Dazzle Great for Mid and Roaming Kills:
Constant damage and lane control: Shadow Wave is one of the best spells for early laning, giving Dazzle the ability to heal himself and his creeps while nuking the enemy hero and getting last hits. Melee heroes are almost always lose against Dazzle, taking all the damage from every E he casts. Ranged heroes fare a little better, but he can still man up against them with his Poison Touch spell.
Teamfight and map presence: Dazzle is more of a booster to his allies than an assassin himself, lacking any stun or reliable nuke. That being said, he can easily push out mid to give himself room to camp a side lane and let his teammates start the fight, while his damage-over-time and sustain abilities wear his opponents down to a not-so-shallow grave. The new dispel on his Aghanims is very helpful for team fights as well.
Dazzle is Strong Against:
Brewmaster
Necrophos
Ember Spirit
Dazzle is Weak Against:
Morphling
Outworld Devourer
Silencer
How to play Mid Dazzle Like a Pro:
Ana's Mid Dazzle
9. Gyrocopter
With a wide variety of weapons in his arsenal, capable of dishing out magical and physical damage at any range, Gyrocopter is a beast in the mid lane. Gyro is often played as a safe lane carry, but his versatility and pure kill potential definitely earn him a spot in the top ten mid heroes for kills.
What Makes Gyrocopter Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Immense Damage: With four levels in Rocket Barrage, Gyro can potentially dish out 660 magic damage to a single target every 5.5 seconds, and that’s just one of four damage-dealing spells. There are few, if any, heroes with the damage potential of this hero that also scale into the late-game as well as he does.
Base Hero: Speaking of late-game, Gyrocopter is one of the best base heroes in the game. His stat gain, 3.6 in Agi and more than 2 in Str and Int, would be more than enough to support this claim. However, he also has a crazy 315 movement speed (great for ganking), with a fast attack rate and a decent 5 armor at level 1. Add his deadly arsenal of abilities, and Gyro has what it takes to not only steamroll his lane but carry his team singlehandedly through the endgame.
Gyrocopter is Strong Against:
Most illusion carries - Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight, Terrorblade
Meepo
Undying
Gyrocopter is Weak Against:
Timbersaw
Lifestealer
Juggernaut
How To Play Mid Gyrocopter Like a Pro:
Matumbaman's Mid Gyrocopter
8. Skywrath Mage
Raining heavenly retribution from the skies, Skywrath is a great choice for snuffing the lights out of any squishy hero you face in mid. He is not a difficult hero to play, but still very satisfying when pulling off a combo on an unsuspecting enemy.
What Makes Skywrath Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Utility Belt: Armed with huge damage, a long-range slow, and a damage-amplifying silence, there is no opponent that Skywrath does not have a trick up his sleeve for. He may be a glass cannon, but with his movement speed and spell range, there is no reason for him to take more damage than he can handle.
Silent but Deadly: Skywrath’s silence, Ancient Seal, comes in very handy when roaming to the side lanes or generally getting kills. Not only can he shut down escape or protection spells on Weaver, Clinkz, etc., but any magic damage done by his or his team is increased by almost one and a half times during the duration (his entire kit is magic damage- you do the math). Not only is this spell good for ganks and team fights, but a silence and damage amp is also always useful even into the late game, making Skywrath scale surprisingly well for a nuking Intelligence hero.
Skywrath Mage is Strong Against:
Alchemist
Weaver
Storm Spirit
Skywrath Mage is Weak Against:
Wraith King
Anti-Mage
Nyx Assassin
How To Play Mid Skywrath Like a Pro:
w33's Mid Skywrath Mage
7. Kunkka
The only melee Strength hero on this list, Kunkka boasts a variety of AoE and crowd control in addition to his general tankiness. Even played as a support during certain metas, Kunkka’s versatility means he can initiate, gank, and carry all in the same game. The delay time on most of his spells can leave your enemies shaking in their boots and leave you with a satisfying feeling of calm seas.
What Makes Kunkka Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Long Range: The commander-admiral of his team, Kunkka calls the shots and controls the battlefield from afar with his fishing-hook type spell X Marks the Spot, making sure the enemy stays in the perfect area to receive his and his allies more punishing spells. This single-target spell is one of the best ganking tools in the game.
Great Wide Sea: Kunkka’s real power in both mid and ganking is the huge area of effect of his spells. Torrent and Ghostship, both castable from very far away, can lock down a whole group of enemies. When he gets in close, or just wants to push in a wave, he can bring out the Tidebringer and clean his enemies with a swing of his cutlass. Abuse these spells along with this hero’s natural tankiness to work aggressively and make plays happen.
Kunkka is Strong Against:
Queen of Pain
Meepo
Broodmother
Kunkka is Weak Against:
Outworld Devourer
Huskar
Silencer
How To Play Mid Kunkka Like a Pro:
!Attacker's Mid Kunkka
6. Meepo
The Geomancer is rather infamous in the DotA 2 scene for his difficulty to play and how easy he is to counter-pick. I recommend picking Meepo in lower brackets where the enemy may not have as much experience playing against him and working with the meta. However, I have seen Meepo win pro games against Earthshaker and other heroes that easily counter him. Play him well, and Meepo is impossible to stop.
What Makes Meepo Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Mobility/Map Presence: Able to level his ultimate, Divided We Stand, early at level 3, Meepo is gifted with the ability of a “global” teleport, Poof - he can bring all of his clones to anywhere one of them goes. Use this to farm a quick level advantage in the jungle, or surprise enemies in the side lanes with a quick gank.
The Hardest Carry: Although he gets a fast ultimate, his early game damage can be a bit underwhelming. However, use his multiple Meepos to your advantage and farm up as many attribute items as you can, because the pure damage and lifesteal from his attacks make him one of the scariest late game carries in the game, if not the scariest.
Meepo is Strong Against:
Anti-Mage
Phantom Lancer
Storm Spirit
Meepo is Weak Against:
Viper
Winter Wyvern
Sven
How To Play Mid Meepo Like a Pro:
Abed's Mid Meepo
5. Zeus
The Lord of Heaven himself bears that title deservedly - Zeus is able to smite foes near and far, visible and hidden, with the highest magic damage in the game. Considering the absolute amount of damage he’s capable of, it is no wonder he possesses an astronomically high win rate.
What Makes Zeus Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Heaven’s Wrath: What Zeus lacks in utility, tank, or mobility, he makes up for with sheer damage, both clean magic nukes and percentage-based damage from his aura. It may take him a second or two to make his way to a side lane, but when he gets there, any enemies in his crosshairs are as good as dead.
Global Ultimate: Fitting for the Lord of Heaven, Zeus can claim any kill on the board, even if he wasn’t there to begin with. Often decried as a “kill-stealer”, Thundergod's Wrath can also really come in handy for his teammates that need just a little more damage on the enemy.
Zeus is Strong Against:
Slardar
Bounty Hunter
Necrophos
Zeus is Weak Against:
Ursa
Viper
Pugna
How To Play Mid Zeus Like a Pro:
Topson's Mid Zeus
4. Void Spirit
With a variety of control and short-range mobility spells that can be used offensively or defensively, Void Spirit is one of the most overpowered heroes in DotA 2. With his ability to jump around the map and take opponents by surprise, Inai the Void Spirit is a hero sure to dominate both the lane and the gameplay that follows.
What Makes Void Spirit Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Slippery Void: Void Spirit is one of those rare heroes that has all three: control, tank, and mobility. Against the diversity of this hero’s gameplay, opponents often find themselves at a loss for answers even when they play perfectly; Void Spirit can escape almost any combo with his Dissimilate and Resonant Pulse
Map Presence: With Aether Remnant, Void Spirit can keep his eyes on an area and make sure no opponent passes through unhindered. If a fight happens anywhere near him, he can easily jaunt into position while laying down huge damage with his Astral Step.
Void Spirit is Strong Against:
Terrorblade
Kunkka
Windranger
Void Spirit is Weak Against:
Viper
Templar Assassin
Queen of Pain
How To Play Mid Void Spirit Like a Pro:
Suma1l's Mid Void Spirit
3. Tinker
What’s not to love about Boush, the Tinker? His ultimate is undoubtedly one of the strongest spells in the game - it refreshes the cooldown of all his other spells, which happen to deal massive single-target and AoE damage.
What Makes Tinker Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Laser: One of the most important parts of laning mid is getting last hits, an impossible feat when blinded completely by Tinker’s Q. The miss chance is also very useful in the late game when dealing with strong right-click heroes. Not to mention, it deals 320 pure damage at max level.
Global Teleport: Well, “Global Teleport” is an understatement - with Boots of Travel, it’s a global teleport with a one-second cooldown. This is not a hero with mana problems, as he can teleport back to base whenever he wants. However, the best part about this spell is its usage in combat. He can teleport to a tower near a team fight, get a few kills, and be pushing across the map a few seconds later. This gives Tinker one of the largest kill and farm potentials in mid.
Tinker is Strong Against:
Bloodseeker
Faceless Void
Shadow Fiend
Tinker is Weak Against:
Pugna
Zeus
Storm Spirit
How To Play Mid Tinker Like a Pro:
Miracle's Mid Tinker
2. Windranger
A quick, agile, ranged Intelligence hero, Windranger is rather unique in her skill set that combines her useful spells with her strong physical attack.
With funny quips and one-liners to embarrass her opponents, her play style can be equally infuriating for her enemies as it is rewarding to play her.
What Makes Windranger Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Long Range: Being a hero with a bow, it stands to reason that Windranger can outrange most heroes in the game. With her Powershot, she can farm jungle creeps and secure kills a screen away, all while using her strong and long-ranged attack damage to last hit.
Tricks of the Trade: Windranger is another one of those “utility” mids, with a spell for every situation. She can escape carries with Windrun, stun at least one enemy for an absurd length of time with Shackleshot, and nuke waves from far away with Powershot. She can even turn invisible at level 25!
Windranger is Strong Against:
Phantom Assassin
Huskar
Pudge
Windranger is Weak Against:
Morphling
Zeus
Ember Spirit
How To Play Mid Windranger Like a Pro:
w33's Mid Windranger
1. Leshrac
Leshrac is one of the most underused heroes in low skill brackets, and one of the most respected picks at the pro level. With an area of effect slow and stun, as well as both a physical and magical damage aura, Leshrac has the tools to dominate a lane, gank, and push down lanes to the ancient.
What Makes Leshrac Great for Mid & Roaming Kills:
Eul’s Scepter: Lesh can be hard to play because of the unreliability of his stun, Split Earth. However, that’s not the spell he’s using to crush the lane, preferring more to use the large damage of Lightning Storm and Diabolic Edict. This lets him get the holy grail of items for solo kills: Eul’s Scepter. This allows Leshrac to secure a stun and suffocate the enemy with the rest of his flashy spells. If your team has a lot of stun, you don’t even need this item, and can pass it up in favor of raw damage.
Versatility: Whether magical or physical, Leshrac is dealing lots of damage. His Diabolic Edict is one of the best pushing spells in the game, unusual for a nuking Int hero. The long range on all of his spells can be quite infuriating for Leshrac’s opponents as well. All in all, this hero has what it takes to crush any game of DotA 2.
Leshrac is Strong Against:
Meepo
Broodmother
Visage
Leshrac is Weak Against:
Pugna
Nyx Assassin
Clockwerk
How To Play Mid Leshrac Like a Pro:
