Carries, the most important role in DotA 2, are weak early game and stronger as the game goes on. They are ultimately the deciding factor in a team’s strength. If you choose to play this role, there will be a lot of pressure on you to stay alive before you have any items, and even more pressure to deliver in the late game.
Don’t let your team down! Pick the right hero for the role with this list of the top ten carries in DotA 2.
10. Wraith King
Ostarion, the Wraith King
One of the easiest carries to crush pubs with is Ostarion the Wraith King, who makes up for his weak stats with two killer late game passives. His abnormally high movement means he can get hits off and stay alive at any point in the game, and his stun is especially useful in the early game for getting kills and even team-fighting in the midgame.
While he is very mana dependent, this goes away at level 20 when he can ditch the mana cost of his ultimate.
What Makes Wraith King a Great Carry:
Easily manfight the enemy with his Vampiric Aura and Mortal Strike
His Skeleton army, empowered by his lifesteal aura, helps him farm early game and pushing and team fight late game
Combining his Hellfire Blast with the focused attacks of his Skeletons means he can shred a support to bits without even auto-clicking them
His ultimate, Resurrection, is a free Aegis of the Immortal - the triumphant laugh of the Wraith King rising from the grave is the last sound many poor heroes hear
Wraith King is Weak Against:
Anti-Mage
Phantom Lancer
Terrorblade
How To Play Wraith King Like a Pro:
9. Drow Ranger
Traxex, the Drow Ranger
It was a long debate deciding whether or not to put Drow Ranger on this list due to recent changes with the 7.23 patch. After the patch, this hero still has solid farming, pushing, and damage potential, and is frequently picked in all brackets.
Weak early game, she can still dodge ganks with her silence. Still, one should stick to farming and only emerging at opportune times to make the most of this carry.
What Makes Drow Ranger a Great Carry:
Multishot is a useful tool for flash-farming creep waves and camps, and the long range of the ability is very useful in team fights
If jumped, Drow can instantly knockback and silence the enemy with her Gust, and then simply kite them to death using her Frost Arrows
Her ultimate passive, Marksmanship, gives her a big right-click steroid for her and her nearby ranged allies, making pushing and team-fighting a breeze
Drow Ranger is Weak Against:
Riki
Chaos Knight
Lycan
How To Play Drow Ranger Like a Pro:
8. Terrorblade
Terrorblade, the Demon Maurader
Terrorblade the Demon Marauder is one of the most terrifying heroes to play against; be careful not to get drunk on your own power as your enemies flee before you. With rather low health and strength gain, you may be the target of several ganks in the early game; even so, it’s possible to get kills in lane with his Reflection and Metamorphosis. His dark beauty truly blooms when given space to farm up tanky damage items and his itch to kill really begins.
What Makes Terrorblade a Great Carry:
With the highest base armor AND Agility gain in the game, Terrorblade is not afraid of physical damage from jungle creeps, lane harass, or even enemy carries
An illusion hero by design, Terrorblade can have three illusions, not including Manta Style, that share his stats, armor, and the effects of his terrifying Metamorphosis
Sunder is a powerful team fight spell that can also be used on healthy allies to give himself some sustain after a fight; just make sure to apologize to your teammate afterward
Terrorblade’s Reflection spell can create a copy of the enemy to fight for him, essentially Dark Seer’s ultimate but as a basic ability; the ultimate anti-carry
Terrorblade is Weak Against:
Ursa
Ember Spirit
Sven
How To Play Terrorblade Like a Pro:
7. Chaos Knight
Chaos Knight
One of the most satisfying carry heroes to play, Chaos Knight’s pillaging, plundering, and general salting-of-the-lands gameplay leaves little life remaining under his horse’s four to sixteen footprints.
He is mana dependent early on, so make sure you buy stats or regen items to continue the fight until victory. If you want to delete a single enemy hero as quickly as possible, while still trading blows evenly with the rest of their team, play Chaos Knight.
What Makes Chaos Knight a Great Carry:
There are few carries with the single-target burst and control as Chaos Knight, whose spells work best in one-on-ones and burst ganks
Chaos Strike is essentially both of Wraith King’s overpowered passives in one ability; it allows him to both quickly finish enemies as well as fight back and turn around the direst of situations
Armlet of Mordiggian was made for this hero, it gives huge damage to all of his Strength illusions and its drawbacks are canceled out by his passive - midgame is a cinch for this hero
Chaos Knight is Weak Against:
Monkey King
Phantom Lancer
Sven
How To Play Chaos Knight Like a Pro:
6. Juggernaut
Yurnero the Juggernaut
While Juggernaut has slightly fallen off in recent patches, his consistent damage and potential for flashy gibs lands him squarely on this list. He can both survive ganks and get early kills, and roll through the midgame with huge solo kills from is ultimate.
With one of the best right-click animations in the game, Juggernaut is a late-game force to be feared once you get a few items on him.
What Makes Juggernaut a Great Carry:
His “base attack time”, or how fast he swings his sword before considering attack speed, is bested only by an Enraged Alchemist, meaning he scales insanely well with items that do grant attack speed and damage
When landed correctly, Blade Fury is 425 damage at level one and grants magic immunity - this can easily guarantee the first blood when paired with a good support hero
His Blade Dance is a very solid DPS increase; combine that and his base attack time with his deadly Omnislash and you can pwn almost any unlucky hero you find in a secluded area, carry or not
Juggernaut is Weak Against:
Faceless Void
Ursa
Chaos Knight
How To Play Juggernaut Like a Pro:
5. Sven
Sven, the Rogue Knight
Strong at all parts of the game, Sven the Rogue Knight has the kit needed to carry his team in fights, push lanes, and farm fast and safely.
A versatile hero, he can stop ganks with a flick of his wrist and save allies with his heartening cry. Of course, his true power is seen when demolishing an entire team of enemies singlehandedly thanks to his overpowered ultimate.
What Makes Sven a Great Carry:
Sven’s decent armor is augmented heavily by Warcry, giving him and his allies armor to protect against enemy carries
One of few carries with an AoE stun, Sven can keep his enemies nicely lined up with Storm Hammer and even remove their buffs with its dispell
His Great Cleave is arguably the best cleave in the game, meaning his time in the jungle is guaranteed to be well spent and spelling woe for any enemies that group together too much
Boosting heavily his Strength bonus and all damage derived from it, Sven’s ultimate God Strength, combined with his Great Cleave, gives him the best man-fighting power in the game when he’s farmed enough strength items
Sven is Weak Against:
Lifestealer
Phantom Assassin
Spectre
How To Play Sven Like a Pro:
4. Anti-Mage
Anti-Mage
One of the most well-known carry heroes in DotA 2, Anti-Mage is famous for abandoning his team to the enemy for forty minutes for the purpose of getting six-slotted and single-handedly ending the match. This is not far from reality, although his mobility and useful anti-magic abilities mean that when played right this hero can make an impact at any point in the game.
What Makes Anti-Mage a Great Carry:
With similar base attack time to Juggernaut, this Agility hero similarly stacks extremely well with attack speed and damage items - buy Manta Style to get the full effect of his right clicks and his Mana Break attack modifier
Blink, useful in both combat and establishing farming patterns, makes Anti-Mage one of the most mobile heroes; unsuspecting enemies beware once this hero buys a Skull Basher
Counterspell, offering an insane passive tank against all magic damage, also has an active ability that allows Anti-Mage to reflect all targeted spells to be sent back to their caster during the duration; this is very helpful in embarrassing opponents both in ganks and game-deciding team fights
Anti-Mage is Weak Against:
Bloodseeker
Legion Commander
Meepo
How To Play Anti-Mage Like a Pro:
3. Slark
Slark, the Nightcrawler
One of the slipperiest heroes in the game, Slark is a hard fish to catch. On paper, he doesn’t seem very strong, with pathetic stat gain, no armor, and average MS and damage. However, it’s his abilities that really shine. Early game, he can purge most stuns and dodge ganks with ease. Thanks to his passive ability to gain knowledge of his enemies over time, he can also pack a mean bite in the late game.
What Makes Slark a Great Carry:
Essence Shift allows him to stack up stats like no one’s business, especially Agility
Dark Pact is arguably the strongest debuff in the game - combine it with Black King Bar to create an unstoppable killing machine
Slark has the best vision in the game, maximum vision in both the day and the night, which is deadly for a fast, ganking carry
The sustain from his ultimate gives Slark the potential to dive in and out of fights endlessly, essentially a free Heart of Tarresque at level 6
Slark is Weak Against:
Bloodseeker
Chaos Knight
Tiny
How To Play Slark Like a Pro:
2. Luna
Luna the Moon Rider
Fast, sleek, and deadly, Luna the Moon Rider is a powerful carry hero that excels when kiting her enemies, staying just out of their reach while she rains continual physical and magic damage upon them.
Gifted with heaps of both means of damage at all points in the game, Luna is a versatile hero only hampered by her general squishiness… play her correctly, and she and her cat will reward you with the blood of your enemies.
What Makes Luna a Great Carry:
With an extremely long-range stun and a ranged cleave, Luna excels in team fights
Her cleave, Moon Glaives, lets her clear out jungle camps in seconds even at early levels; Luna is a great farmer
Lunar Blessing, most known for boosting the damage of her and her allies, also doubles her night vision, crucial for this squishy hero on the look-out for ganks and pick-offs
Surprisingly, Luna can be one of the strongest mid-game heroes in DotA thanks to her Aghanim's Scepter, which lets her burst enemies down even faster than Chaos Knight; consider rushing this item to give your team a huge power spike before moving on to more conventional tools of bloodshed. However, due to the recent stats buffs, it is suggested to play her as a full right-click carry. Still, the versatility of this hero can be very useful
Luna is Weak Against:
Bristleback
Juggernaut
Sniper
How To Play Luna Like a Pro:
1. Spectre
Mercurial the Spectre
Spectre reigns supreme as the queen of carries. With a high win rate and low pick rate, Spectre truly shines in the hands of a carry player who knows their farming patterns and how to choose fights.
You will not be getting many early game kills with this hero, if any. Be patient, however, and Mercurial the Spectre will reward you beyond your wildest dreams; this hero with low stat gain, armor, and movement speed is unkillable in the late game.
What Makes Spectre a Great Carry:
Spectral Dagger, creating a path through units, trees, and all impassable terrain, not only gives Spectre an escape in the laning phase, but it also means nowhere is safe for vulnerable enemy heroes
Dispersion, giving Spectre a flat 28% damage reduction, is one of the best tank abilities in the game because it also reflects that damage back onto her opponent; enemies in the late game becoming frozen with indecision on whether to target or ignore her
Her ultimate, Haunt, is a free gib against any and all weak enemy supports foolish enough to be by themselves
The pure damage from Desolate is handy not only against lone supports but opposing carries with high armor and magic resistance
Spectre is Weak Against:
Anti-Mage
Juggernaut
Lycan
How To Play Spectre Like a Pro:
Ana's Carry Spectre
