Top 20 Best Dota 2 Offlaners Heroes of 7.24 at Immortal

The top 20 best Dota 2 heroes in the off lane during 7.24. This list shows the most popular offlaners played as a core at Immortal - 5.5k+ rank.

• The heroes are arranged by pick rate, and the data considers all games played in any region in the Immortal bracket during patch 7.24.

• I have included also GPM and LH (last hit) data so you can better compare your results with the average at the highest Dota 2 rank.

• There are more core offlaners - with a high win rate - who are not included in this list because of the lower number of matches played, but you can still consider them for your games: Necrophos, Night Stalker, Pugna, Riki, Razor.

• Data obtained via the OpenDota API.

The tables are responsive and sortable. If you are using a phone, turn it sideways for a full view. Otherwise, zoom in or click the grey area of each table to swipe and sort them.

Top 10 offlaners

Hero	Name	Matches	Win%	GPM	LH at 10	LH/Min
	Slardar	11004	57.6%	393.1	38.7	4.32
	Legion Commander	8407	49.6%	402.1	43.3	4.41
	Mars	5293	49.6%	408.3	40.5	5.07
	Pangolier	4895	48.2%	438.1	36.5	5.54
	Doom	4394	46.8%	450.5	37.0	4.38
	Timbersaw	4263	51.9%	442.0	45.2	5.31
	Puck	4027	48.0%	441.9	32.3	5.12
	Underlord	3718	50.9%	424.2	46.8	5.24
	Void Spirit	3209	50.6%	426.5	39.2	5.09
	Centaur Warrunner	2992	51.4%	420.2	45.4	5.25

Note: In the analysis, I focused my attention on some of the top heroes who have been affected by recent changes.

Slardar is the best offlaner of 7.24

Slardar isn’t only the most played off lane hero at Immortal, but he is also one of the most successful ones with an absurd 57.6% win rate.

Slardar is basically unkillable with the new Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade:

• Slithereen Crush creates a 600 ranged puddle on the ground for 25 seconds, which is enough for most team fights.

• Staying in the water gives him 40% additional status resistance, 12 armor, and 35 health regeneration. 

  • Guardian Sprint also grants up to 50% passive movement speed bonus.

It is not a surprise that Aghanim’s Scepter became a core item in his build: in February, the most bought items on Slardar by pro players were Power Treads, Blink Dagger, Hood of Defiance, Aghanim’s Scepter, and Vladmir’s Offering.

Slardar’s pick rate wasn’t very high in the previous patches (the Aghanim’s upgrade was introduced in 7.22), but Icefrog continued buffing him, therefore now both pro and pub players noticed his strength.

In particular, patch 7.24 increased his base movement speed by 10, which boosted his effectiveness in the laning stage and in the early-mid game, where most opponents are still farming their mobility items.

• Slardar has also a +8 health regeneration talent (buffed in 7.22d) that adds up to his survivability and regeneration provided by Aghanim’s Scepter.

• The +1000 Night Vision talent at level 20 has a massive impact on team fights in the late game, especially at higher ranks, where players know how to communicate and coordinate.

Finally, even without all these buffs, Slardar was already a fearful hero in the lane phase after the Bash of the Deep rework in 7.20: most melee heroes can’t trade hits against him.

How to counter Slardar

Ranged heroes are the best choices to deal with Slardar during the lane phase. Drow, Gyrocopter, Troll Warlord (in ranged mode) are all potential options, but be aware that the winner of the matchup heavily depends on the efficiency of the support.

Picking a squishy ranged carry such as Drow has also a downside: once Slardar buys Blink Dagger, he will constantly focus and initiate you with his stun combo.

Trilanes are also viable if you do not have a greedy offlaner, but they might be an issue in today’s meta as players at most ranks are just used to play duo lanes, so you won’t easily find a good solo offlaner.

Mobility counters Slardar’s combos, so having several Force Staff users in the team will greatly improve the survivability chances of the cores. Unfortunately, there are too many greedy supports at low ranks who neglect basic items like Force Staff and Glimmer Cape.

I also love to ruin Slardar’s initiations (and save my teammates) with Centaur Warrunner’s Stampede.

All Slardar’s abilities are dispellable. Heroes with an inbuilt dispel such as Abaddon, Omniknight, Oracle, etc. can be of great help during the game.

Finally, I noticed that some players just give up on the lane and move into the jungle. This is a terrible decision in the long term because a farmed Slardar with a quick Blink Dagger will soon cause havoc in all the lanes: he will win ganks, get stronger, and carry the match.

Errant Soldier loading screen for Legion Commander - Valve

Mars is a tough team fighter

Mars is not as strong and versatile as Slardar, but this is one of the best patches for him in recent times, so his pick rate increased.

He was already a viable pick in 7.23, which increased Bulwark’s damage reduction in the early game and turned it into a toggleable ability, but 7.24 brought more buffs increasing his strength gain to 3.4 and the bonus hero damage of God’s Rebuke to 35.

Bulwark: While toggled on, any enemy attack projectile launched on an ally while within 800 range of Mars, and within the Bulwark angles, has a 70% chance to get redirected to Mars instead.

Mars is a tanky initiator and a team fighter. He works the best in an aggressive lineup, and during the lane phase he can achieve several kills with a well-thrown spear (impale the target backwards into a tree, so they will have a harder time running away).

Fighting and snowballing is mandatory. As soon as you reach level six, you must start looking for opportunities to use Arena Of Blood for kills. 

Inexperienced players utilize the arena just to prevent the target from fleeing, instead you can exploit the wall for a combo: 

• Cast Arena of Blood, spear the opponent into the wall, auto attack them while they are stunned, and then use God’s Rebuke to knock them back into the wall.

This combo is sufficient to kill squishy supports and carries at level six. Most heroes won’t be able to survive if you are helped by a teammate with extra damage.

Item build

Mars has huge mana problems. Neutral items such as Faded Broach are very valuable early on, and I recommend to never skip Soul Ring. Some players just drink a lot of Clarity potions, but they are not as reliable.

In a typical item build, you want Phase Boots, Vladmir’s Offering, Blink Dagger, and Black King Bar. 

God’s Rebuke deals damage in a 500 radius in front of you, so the lifestealing effect of Vladmir’s Offering recharges lots of HP on each skill use (it is an instant critical attack based on your attack damage).

• Mars’ greatest weakness is Black King Bar as most of his skills (ultimate included) are completely ineffective against magic immunity. 

• Moreover, heroes with horizontal movement abilities (for example, Slark’s Pounce) can move through the walls of the arena without taking damage.

In the following video, MiniTV explains laning, item and skill builds, farming and team fighting with Mars. 

Underlord excels at laning and pushing

Patch 7.23 nerfed Underlord’s Atrophy Aura attack damage reduction, so now it is a bit harder to last hit against a competent opponent. 

IMO, this is not a big deal, and you can just buy Quelling Blade to improve your CS at early levels (it is only a temporary issue as afterwards you will earn extra attack damage bonus via your aura).

7.24 did not bring any noticeable direct buff, but Underlord is still a perfect hero for this meta as an aura and utility carrier.

Lane phase

Underlord can fit any lane and face almost any opponent.

Firestorm is an amazing spell to contest the lane as many melee heroes can’t stand in the creep wave while being damaged, so you can use it to secure ranged creeps and gain a level advantage.

If your carry is struggling, just offer to swap lanes. Even against the worst matchup, you can just push the creep waves with Firestorm, and meanwhile stack and farm neutrals in the jungle. Both you and the opponent will get farm, but a draw is better than a defeat.

Core items

• A few Mangoes are sufficient for your mana issues until you get Soul Ring, but some players prefer to skip this item as it slows down the entire build:

  • Magic Wand, Ring of Basilius, and Clarity potions are often enough if you can balance the usage of your spells. With this build, rush Vladmir’s Offering as the first core item. 

• Arcane Boots are a niche choice, and most players get Phase Boots. Some go for Power Treads to swap the attribute before each Firestorm cast, but you will miss the extra mobility provided by Phase Boots.

• Vladmir’s Offering and Pipe of Insight are your must-have aura items in the great majority of games.

• Rod of Atos and Heaven’s Halberd are amazing utility items that position 4 heroes often can not build quickly enough. In particular, the first one works well with your abilities.

Top 20 offlaners

Hero	Name	Matches	Win%	GPM	LH at 10	LH/Min
	Enchantress	2831	50.0%	400.4	37.6	4.33
	Abaddon	2573	50.7%	374.0	38.6	4.00
	Clockwerk	2376	51.0%	367.2	33.7	3.15
	Beastmaster	2134	51.4%	417.0	41.4	5.23
	Batrider	2103	50.0%	406.3	34.5	4.48
	Sand King	2076	47.7%	405.7	43.3	5.14
	Axe	1912	49.6%	415.7	48.6	5.11
	Omniknight	1788	48.2%	351.5	40.9	4.16
	Nature's Prophet	1682	45.5%	538.8	44.8	8.20
	Earthshaker	1547	48.6%	386.6	38.5	4.35

Legion Commander can adapt to many matchups

Currently, Legion Commander is the second most popular offlaner in Dota 2 at Immortal. I believe she is mostly picked for her strong laning stage and adaptability.

Lane phase

• Legion Commander excels against any melee hero, except for Monkey King and Ursa.

• Ranged heroes can be annoying, especially those with a high damage such as Drow, or poison users like Viper and Venomancer.

• Supports are the main problem because LC can survive against sustained damage thanks to her lifestealing and healing abilities, but burst magic damage is a bigger issue.

LC is a great laner that can contest farm against most opponents, but, once again, the supports have the biggest impact on the matchup (including your lane partner). 

On the bright side, if you happen to have an impossible lane, your support can start roaming to help mid and safe laners, and you can just farm the adjacent jungle for extra gold and experience between creep waves.

Snowballing and inconsistency

Legion Commander is considered a very fun hero to play because she can attempt kills every time Duel is off cooldown, but this sort of gameplay is very inconsistent.

You require the right picks and mindset to acquire several duels in the early game and snowball, but sometimes your teammates in pub games will be too busy farming to care about your gank attempts.

I suggest to not pressure yourself (and your party) too much over the duels. Getting them early on is fantastic and might lead to a quick victory, but if the team isn’t ready for them, just focus on farming as well.

Do not forget that every time you lost time for a failed gank attempt, you could have earned hundreds of gold for your next item.

Blade Mail

Many players believe that Blade Mail is mandatory on Legion Commander because the opponent will auto-attack you during Duel, so you will deal extra damage.

In truth, Blade Mail is a good item only when facing carries with a significant right-click damage. If you are playing against Phantom Assassin, Blade Mail has an immense value because she will critically hit herself, but it is quite pointless if your target is a hero like Ember Spirit.

In the latter case, there is little to no reason to get Blade Mail as there are many better items for your damage or survivability. In this meta in particular, as a position 3 hero, you must build auras for the team.

Nevertheless, in pub games, especially at lower and average ranks, we have an excessive number of auto attackers. In such an environment, Blade Mail is probably a must-have item on LC.

In the video below, Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi as Legion Commander. Note that he doesn’t purchase Blade Mail as the enemy carries are Ember Spirit and Void Spirit.

Clockwerk is always a solid off lane pick

Clockwerk received no buffs in 7.24, but he doesn’t need them.

Mobility is the key. He is a very mobile hero (Hookshot) with one of the highest base movement speed in the game (315). If you build Phase Boots and Drum of Endurance, we may compare him to Bloodseeker.

Natural Blade Mail user. Clockwerk literally jumps in the middle of the enemy team, so he is often attacked by multiple opponents simultaneously: activating Blade Mail at the right time will do wonders.

The support killer. In this meta, there are many dangerous ranged supports such as Lich or Disruptor, and Clockwerk excels at engaging and killing them before they are even able to use their spells, which can potentially change the fate of the team fight.

Lane control. Too many Clockwerks in pub games do not exploit Power Cogs to manage the lane. Even in the worst scenario, you can just block creep waves and keep them in your side of the map.

Snowballing potential. If the lane went well, you will be able to help your teammates as soon as you get level 6. Clockwerk can be a real pain to deal with because he engages from a long distance: you can secure a lot of kills for the team, snowball, and take control of the game in 15-20 minutes.

Clockwerk greatest weakness is the lack of farming abilities. If you have mana, you can spam Rocket Flare, but it is not sufficient to kill creep waves, so you will remain behind if the ganks don’t go as planned.

His abilities also don’t scale well in the late game, and at that point of the match he is outperformed by other heroes with similar roles, such as Beastmaster.

Header image (The Andestian Sentinel loading screen for Slardar) and hero icons: Valve