A Beginner’s Guide to Dota 2 – Part Four: Playing Support

Hello. I’m still VanozHC, I’m still playing Dota 2, and this is still the Beginner’s Guide to Dota 2.

Funny thing: the more I play Dota 2, the more I realise I’m terrible at it. And yes, that’s an exaggeration, but not a big one.

I think there’s actually a degree of progression with that. When you start off, you’re a newbie and you know you’re pretty rubbish. When you reach a certain point (maybe around 200-300 hours, although it’s more “skill” than “time”) you’ll start to assume you’re actually pretty good. You’ll be making calls, and shouting at people, and wondering why you keep getting matched up with idiots. Then you play more and realise exactly how much you still have to learn.

But I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about the support role, both because it’s unbelievably important, and because I’ve seen lots and lots of people doing it very, very badly.

So what is a support, anyway?

Oh good, you’re back.

Sven is a lot of things – slightly iffy carry, roaming ganker, initiator – but support? Really?

Hello!

Hello. A support is, generally, a hero who doesn’t need money to be useful. Being thatDota 2‘s classifications are insanely nebulous, that’s not exactly right, but it’s a good rule of thumb. It might also be that they’re really good at babysitting other people in lane, so that your own carries – who do need gold – can farm up to big items without worrying about getting harassed and destroyed, and so on and so forth. Or maybe they can be incredibly aggressive early on so that the enemy carry can’t sit in lane, or so that your own carry can get a few kills. Etc. It’s not the most glamorous role and you’re highly unlikely to be the game winner unless you’re one of the rare supports with a game-breaking teamfight ultimate (Disruptor, for instance), but it’s an important role nonetheless.

The upshot of this is two things: firstly, a support laning with someone who does need gold means that the latter can take all of the gold in the lane. Secondly, because the support doesn’t really need gold, they can spend what little they do get on items that benefit the whole team. That’s why supports tend to pick up Mekansm, Wards, and – of course – the Courier.

So do supports ever need gold?

Sometimes. There are a lot of items that are useful on supports, but they’re generally secondary to the big things like Mek, Pipe, or Wards. A lot of supports will go for a Force Staff, so that they have some extra mana and a bit more mobility. Others, who have strong disabling abilities (like Shadow Shaman with Hex and Shackle, both of which can lock down opponents) might pick up a Blink Dagger so that they can leap into a fight and shut someone down instantly. If they’re getting really well farmed, then they might spring for a Scythe of Vyse or something of the sort. You’re just not likely to see them getting things for right-click damage, really – they’re focused more on utility than anything else.

And yet, despite this, you’d argue that they’re important?

Supports are massively important.

Play supports well, and sometimes your team will actually appreciate you, like this! Just not very often.

Why? Why not just take an extra carry who can beat the hell out of an enemy?

For one thing, because there’s a limited amount of gold. If you have two carries in a lane, then both of them will be fighting for money, which means neither of them will get the shitloads of cash they really need to be truly effective. For another thing, supports don’t need the gold because they have abilities that are really useful at any point in time – as mentioned above, these guys and girls tend to have a lot of utility. Lion has an area stun, a single-target lockdown, the ability to drain mana, and one of the most lethal ultimates in the entire game. Crystal Maiden can slow people and lock them in place while regenerating the mana of her entire team. Dazzle heals up his team, can make them temporarily invulnerable, and can increases the armour of all allies in a vicinity while decreasing the armour of all enemies. They are very useful.

So why not just go with a team of five supports, then?

Well, you theoretically can. I mean, I’ve won games like that before, and with the right line-up it can give you an awful lot of early game presence. The problem is that early game presence is basically all it gives you; if you haven’t ended the game within around 20-25 minutes then your opponents are going to start getting Black King Bars and other big items, and suddenly you just can’t fight them toe-to-toe anymore.

Supports are dangerous, but for the most part – and excluding those like Windranger and Lina, who can easily move into a semi-carry role – they’re focused on utility, not outright combat. Lion might be able to kill almost anyone with his ultimate and his stun, but he can kill exactly one person with it, and then he’s got to wait awhile. If they have more than one person capable of killing him and he’s got no backup in terms of, say, a well-farmed carry, he’s going to die. If an enemy has a BKB, all Lion can really do is tickle him with auto-attacks. Etc.

And before 17 of you jump into the comments to tell me I’m wrong, I’ll point out that I’m generalising. If I talked about every single exception to these generalisations, this would take me a very, very long time.

Don’t be a donkey: buy the donkey.

So how do you actually play a support, then?

There are three things you should bear in mind. First, buy the Courier. Second, buy Wards. Third, keep your team alive.

How the hell are people doing that badly? That sounds ridiculously simple.

Well, let’s take them in order.

Oh no. This is going to be a wall of text, isn’t it?

Er. Maybe?

I’m sighing inwardly. Okay, so: buying the Courier. How can that go wrong?

I’m not sure it’s sighing inwardly if you tell me about it.

Your courier should look like this. Donkeys? Pfft.

Anyway: generally, buying the Courier isn’t a problem; if you’ve got at least one support, they’ll almost certainly do this unless they are terrible at their role. Upgradingthe Courier, however, can be. Since a recent patch, the Flying Courier is locked until the game hits three minutes, and it’s all too common for the supports to forget this and not actually upgrade it for awhile. Considering how important the Courier is for mid – let alone the other lanes – this is a problem.

As such: if you’re playing support, keep an eye on the timer. Unless you’re using your money for something far more important that’s urgent for your lane survival (which is possible; against a heavy harass lane, early boots or wand might be more important ifyou can buy them right then and there) then buy the Flying Courier as soon as you can. Please. Everyone else will love you for it. If it gets to 12 minutes and the Courier still can’t fly, you’re doing your job wrong.

So what about Wards?

This might be a long one.

Ugh.

There are two types of Wards – Observer Wards and Sentry Wards. Observer Wards give vision around an area of the map. Sentry Wards give no vision, but if you can see that area, then they’ll reveal anything invisible lurking there. Like, say, the opposing team’s Wards. Or Riki.

If you’re a support, then listen closely: Observer Wards are probably the single most important item in the game.

This is absolutely the wrong way to play Crystal Maiden as a support. It is, however, very funny.

That sounds like hyperbole.

It is, but I really, really cannot stress enough how insanely important they are. Early on, they’re useful for marking out where the river runes have spawned (which is helpful for your mid, particularly if they’ve bought Bottle) and for giving you advance warning of ganks. Later on they give you vision of the map, which means that you can see where the enemy heroes are – or, at the very least, where they aren’t.

Let’s take three examples. If you’re winning and you have map control, then you can plonk some Observer Wards down in the enemy jungle and the outskirts of their base, and you’ll be able to see them whenever they try to do anything. If they have a hard carry like Alchemist and he sneaks into the jungle to try and farm up, then you’ll know about it and you can go and kill him. You can make the enemy scared to leave their base, and keep your advantage secure.

If the game is pretty even, then Wards around the river – and perhaps one or two a little way into enemy territory, or a little way into yours – provide security. If the enemy is coming to gank a lane or is about to roam into your jungle, you can see them coming and either muster a defence or get the hell out of there. Equally, if you have Wards up, then maybe you can spot a lone hero and take him out.

If you’re losing, then defensive Wards (Wards placed in your own jungle and territory) are king. Firstly, you can see if the enemy is massing forces to come and hit one of your towers. Secondly, your carries can safely farm the jungle whenever the enemy isn’t there; if a foe wanders into the jungle, said carry can then run back to safety.

In short: vision gives you information. It lets you decide when to engage in battle and when to avoid it; it lets you know what’s coming and keeps you safe, and lets you harass the under-warded. Observer Wards last seven minutes, and come in sets of two, with two sets of two being the maximum amount your store can carry. On that note, it takes six minutes for the store to spawn another set.

In short, if your store has two sets of Wards in it, your supports aren’t paying enough attention.

That also sounds incredibly easy.

It’s not. Supports have a lot to worry about and a lot to focus on, and counting down the time until there’s another set of Wards in the store isn’t something most really do. Ideally, they will, but more often than not – unless they themselves really need Wards, or someone reminds them – they’ll check every now and then, and go warding.

What about Sentry Wards?

These aren’t as essential. In higher level games, sure, you’ll drop Sentries so that you can find and destroy the enemy team’s Wards and reduce their vision, but this doesn’t happen so much in lower level games and isn’t something you need to worry too much about.

So supports can totally ignore Sentry Wards while they’re still learning the ropes?

No. As with anything, there are exceptions to the rule, and with Sentry Wards it’s generally either “if you’re losing badly” or “if either team has heroes that can turn invisible.”

If either team has heroes that can turn invisible? Surely it’s only if the enemy team has those heroes? No, wait: explain the other one first. Why are Sentries important if you’re losing?

For exactly the reason I gave earlier as to why Observer Wards are important if you’re losing – they let your carries stay safe. Stick a Sentry Ward down on the more common ward spots, and you can find and destroy the enemy Observer Wards in your jungle. Do this, and your enemy has no vision in your jungle, which means they can’t see your carries farming their little hearts out. Combine this with Observer Wards and they have no vision, while you do. You’ve suddenly got safe farming territory, and you can start redressing the balance and maybe getting yourself into a position where you can win teamfights.

Sentry Wards make Riki sad. Be a hero: counter-ward for your Riki.

I can guess why you want Sentry Wards if the enemy team has stealth heroes – so that you can see them, right?

Right. Usually a good idea to put them down in any area where you’re planning on fighting, or sticking around for awhile.

So why do you want them if your team has stealth heroes?

Counter-warding. You want to be able to destroy their Sentry Wards. Let’s say you’re supporting Bounty Hunter or Broodmother or Riki in lane – someone who will, at some point, start relying on stealth before the laning phase is really over. If the enemy’s smart, they’ll have Sentry Wards ready for that point so that they can remain safe and keep harassing your hidden hero… or wait for him to over-extend, thinking he’s safe, and then stun and kill him. Dust of Appearance isn’t quite as effective in a laning situation, really.

If you have Sentry Wards, though, then you can use them to spot and destroy theirs. It’s expensive, but worthwhile. This also applies later on at certain times, too, although the chance that someone on the other team will pick up a Gem of True Sight does mean that this’ll be a bit less effective in the very late game.

Are you done talking about Wards yet?

I guess so.

It’s also acceptable for your courier to look like this.

So you want to tell me about keeping your team alive, and why that’s something specific to supports rather than just a general goal for everyone? Because I figure that pretty much everyone wants their team to stay alive. You idiot.

Obviously everyone wants their team to stay alive –

You idiot.

Shut up. Everyone wants their team to stay alive, but supports are more expendable than everyone else. They don’t need money too much so they won’t lose too much from death, they probably don’t have many kills, and they’re likely a lower level than the rest of the team (the latter is regularly untrue, but again, generalising). As such, sacrificing a support to save a carry is a worthwhile trade. If you die and your carry lives and gets away because of your sacrifice, chances are it was a good move. Your carry needs to gain levels. Your carry needs to farm. Your carry cannot afford to lose gold by dying, or to lose time by dying.

Obviously, though, this is a seriously risky judgment call. If you get it wrong, then you might wind up dying as well, and I’ve warned you before about how dying is something you do not want to do. If your carry is the only one other than you still alive, and he’s being chased by the whole enemy team, it might be more sensible to just defend whatever gets attacked instead – particularly if you’re someone like Shadow Shaman or Disruptor, who can make it very, very difficult for people to attack towers. (The flipside being that Disruptor might actually be able to save the carry a bit more easily thanks to the number of tools he has for locking down or pushing back multiple enemies).

Nonetheless, as a support, that’s sorta your role. If you’re laning and one of your other lanes gets pushed hard by the enemy, it’s most likely you who should probably Town Portal over there to help defend, so that your lane partner can keep his farm going. You’re the one who’s meant to keep the team alive and keep the game safe until your carry can actually start carrying you.

And here’s a picture of Enchantress. She’s not particularly relevant to this (although she’s not a half-bad lane support), but I like her. Sproink.

Why the hell would I sacrifice myself for someone else?

That attitude indicates that you would be a terrible support.

So that’s all a support should do, then?

No, but that’s about all that all supports should do. The problem is exactly the same that I’ve mentioned before – Dota 2‘s classification system is a bit nebulous, and pretty much every hero fits into multiple categories. Lina, who is currently my go-to hero, works well as a support because in the early game she can lay out a silly amount of damage very, very quickly, even without any money, and she’s got stuns that can either save people from death or help to set up kills. Conversely, if she gets money then she can build up damage and health items that can turn her into a very viable semi-carry – or even carry. And because of the ease with which she can kill people at level 6, she can very easily start racking up the money she needs for these items even if she’s spent the first ten minutes supporting someone else.

Sand King is a solid support because, again, he’s got an excellent stun and the means to protect others in the early game, even without money. On the other hand, he easily transitions into a teamfight role once he’s got a Blink Dagger and his unbelievably powerful ultimate. Lion is a solid support/babysitter who can turn into a roaming ganker once he gets his ultimate. Dazzle is a solid support and lane babysitter with his healing and invulnerability powers, but… okay, no, he’s pretty much a support right the way through the game, despite my terrible habit of buying Desolator on him if a game is going well.

Look: you should obviously never do it, and it’s a horrible idea, but all I’m saying is that under the right circumstances it can be very funny to buy Desolator on Dazzle. If you’re really well-farmed, throw in an Assault Cuirass and just be a walking beacon of negative armour.

Sorry. You buy Desolator on Dazzle?

As a joke, usually, if the game is going so well that I can’t possibly lose! But, uh, yeah. You don’t want to do that.

Fantastic. You’re an idiot.

Look, it actually synergises quite well with his ultimate, and if –

No no no, it’s quite alright. You’re an idiot. Are you done yet, by the way? I have a massage in half an hour.

One last thing.

Ugh.

It’s fine. You can go for your massage, or whatever that actually means considering you’re actually just me having a stress-related breakdown. I only want to go over ward locations.

This is a quick and dirty guide – there are some much more in-depth guides to where and when you should ward online, but I want to give a quick overview. As such a lot of these locations are dependent on the state and time of the game, but I’ve colour-coded them and given a little description as to what that particular ward offers you.

White: These give vision of your enemy’s mid Tier 1, and – if placed right – aren’t detected by that tower.
Red: These offer vision of one of the rune spots, with each location also granting a bit of extra vision that can help you either keep an eye on enemy lanes, the Roshan pit, incoming ganks, etc.
Blue: These offer vision of the high ground between the Tier 1 and Tier 2 towers, and generally useful for making sure you won’t be ambushed if you’re attacking or defending the Tier 2s.
Yellow: These offer solid vision of the enemy’s jungle, and usually some lane vision. Note that a few of the red ward locations do this, too.
Pink: These block one or more jungle camps (including the pull camp) and offer a bit of vision. For the Radiant side one, Google “magic bush.” Don’t worry; it probably won’t come up with porn.

There are, obviously, far more good ward locations than this; there are guides online listing the more common ward spots and why you’d put a ward there, which have upwards of 70 locations. I haven’t covered push wards, or defensive Roshan wards, or lane wards, or… well, lots. But these are some of the more common ones. In general, if you’re playing a support and you have some wards spare, these are reasonable locations to drop them.

Note that which wards are most useful depends on the state of the game – if you’re pushed right the way back to your base, then warding the enemy jungle isn’t going to do much for you. Likewise, warding the pull camps is fairly pointless after the laning phase is over.

That’s about it for this week, I think. I will probably return at some point with more vaguely helpful Dota 2 bits and pieces, as soon as I think of another topic worth discussing. Hurrah!