MMR (matchmaking rank) in Dota 2 has become the way to measure a player’s worth. Whenever Dota 2 players meet each other in real life their first question isn’t “How are you?” instead, Dota 2 players ask “What’s your MMR?”
Pro players are also in the MMR race. Organizations in Dota 2 will often recruit players from the top 100 on the leaderboard. Pro players who break MMR records are lauded and celebrated for their achievements.
So how can you raise your MMR?
Well, here are five Dota 2 heroes who always do well no matter the patch. These heroes are easy to use and deliver high impact, perfect for the long road to Immortal.
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5 easy to use heroes to grind MMR with in Dota 2
Credit: Valve
5. Juggernaut
Since he was introduced in Dota 2, Juggernaut has always been a viable carry. The hero can just do it all. Juggernaut has one of the best attack animations in the game, which helps in mastering last hitting. Juggernaut is also a terror in the laning stage thanks to the damage and magical immunity of Blade Fury.
It’s ironic to find the best healing spell in the game on a carry hero but Juggernaut has that too. Healing Ward is the best sustain spell in the game. The massive healing can win fights for the team if it’s not taken down.
Juggernaut scales fantastically into the late game. His steroid skill is simple and provides him with a nice 28% damage boost. This goes great with Omnislash. Juggernaut can also buy an Aghanim for Swiftslash, which allows him to navigate fights easier.
Juggernaut is flexible in his item build, allowing him to adapt to specific challenges each game presents. This flexibility allows players to practice different item builds on Juggernaut and learn to be creative to counter their enemies.
Due to being unsuited for the meta, Juggernaut didn’t have the best showing in the regional qualifiers, but he was still picked/banned 57 times. With likely buffs incoming, Juggernaut will be a great hero to grind with for Dota 2’s upcoming patch.
Credit: Valve
4. Death Prophet
Unlike Juggernaut, Death Prophet has had a fantastic patch. She had a 64% win rate in her 42 matches during the Regional Qualifiers. The only hero with a better showing is Invoker.
Death Prophet is the ideal midlaner to have. Crypt Swarm guarantees she will get at least some farm in the laning stage. Similar to Dragon Knight’s Breath Fire, this ability allows Death Prophet to stay safe in the laning stage and harass the enemy at the same time.
Death Prophet is naturally tanky and can frontline with Spirit Siphon. Enemies will want to keep their distance to avoid that, which is difficult considering how mobile Death Prophet is. And of course, Silence provides her with good team fight control to disrupt the enemy team.
It’s Exorcism that makes Death Prophet so powerful. Her ultimate provides great physical damage to towers and enemies while buffing Death Prophet’s movement speed. Not only that but Exorcism will often fully heal Death Prophet when it’s done.
Due to a combination of strong laning stage, good team fight, and the ability to take objectives, Death Prophet is a great hero to grind MMR with in the mid or offlane.
Credit: Valve
3. Viper
Viper is on this list because he does two things really well. He is easy to master and he completely shuts down enemies in the laning stage.
Viper’s harassment is impossible to withstand. Multiple instances of Poison Attack slow enemies to a crawl while doing damage over time. Viper is hard to kill thanks to Corrosive Skin slowing enemy attacks and increasing his magic resistance.
Nethertoxin allows Viper to quickly clear out creeps. Nethertoxin being able to break passives makes Viper a strong counter to heroes like Timbersaw, Bristleback, and Spectre. With his Viper Strike, the hero is capable of bringing anyone down during the first 20 minutes of the game.
Viper players have an array of options on what items to buy. They can buy Boots of Travel and farm the map with Nethertoxin. Or get a Rod of Atos to hold people for the break. Viper can get aura items and frontline for his team if needed. The options are endless for Viper.
VIper really has it all for an offlaner. His laning stage is unparalleled, his skills are great for getting kills and he can itemize any way he likes. Viper is a great hero to spam in the offlane for some easy MMR.
2. Shadow Shaman
Credit: Valve
The truth is that it’s a little harder to grind MMR as a support than it is as a core. Supports have a tremendous amount of impact early game but that impact will often decrease as the game goes on. Enter Shadow Shaman.
The lower the game’s average MMR, the longer it will drag out unnecessarily. Because of that reason, it’s best to have heroes who can take down objectives for the team. No support is better equipped to do that than Shadow Shaman.
Shadow Shaman has a good laning stage. He has one of the highest base damage at level one. He can easily harass enemies and secure creeps with Ether Shock. Shadow Shaman’s ability to disable enemies is unmatched, and with his Shard, he can solo kill cores late game.
While all this is great, Shadow Shaman’s ability to take down buildings is his greatest asset to climbing MMR. A support who can safely bring down towers by himself is incredible to have late game. Shadow Shaman can also push out lanes well and farm the items he needs to be even more effective.
1. Warlock
Credit: Valve
Warlock combines ease of execution with effectiveness better than any other support. During the laning stage Warlock can ensure his carry is unkillable with Shadow Word spam. Thanks to strong talents that buff his healing and Holy Locket, Warlock is an incredible healer late in the game.
But Warlock isn’t all about loving his friend. Warlock is a fantastic team fight support thanks to Fatal Bonds. Fatal Bonds increase the total amount of damage by 120% of any ability if it hits the maximum amount of units. That’s an insane amount of damage. But don’t take my word for it, just ask OG if they like Warlock.
Upheaval is Warlock’s least talked about ability but it’s still useful. A big team fight slow is never bad. It’s a testament to how strong Warlock is that Upheaval is considered a weak spell on him. It would be bonkers on most other Dota 2 heroes.
Warlock’s basic abilities are impressive enough. When you add in his Chaotic Offering, Warlock becomes downright obnoxious for enemies to deal with.
If you’re all queuing and you get Hard Support (which you will every time) then take Warlock for the easiest time possible.
