Best Carry Heroes of Dota 2 Patch 7.35c – TOP 7

Dota 2 patch 7.35c introduced a series of changes that have shaped the meta. A lot of heroes who were strong in the previous patch continue to be perfectly viable, but not all of them.

In this guide, you will discover seven of the best carry heroes of Dota 2 patch 7.35c and the reasons why it’s relatively easy to win MMR with them.

Abaddon

In Dota 2 patch 7.35c, Abaddon’s ultimate was nerfed. Its cooldown is now 10s longer at each level. However, the hero’s rate continues to be high. In fact, Abaddon has the highest win rate of all heroes in this patch (54.85%), and his pick rate is only 7.5%. This means that you can safely pick him in your games if he doesn’t get banned.

Abaddon’s strength comes from his natural abilities. His attribute increase per level is very poor. You only get +2.2 strength, +1.3 agility, and +1.6 intelligence. But his abilities become very powerful after just a few levels.

Abaddon functions in part like Monkey King, Ursa, and Troll Warlord, in the sense that he gains power against a single target if he attacks that target repeatedly. He’s also a bit like Slark thanks to his Aphotic Shield, which allows him to shield himself or an ally for 210 damage and apply a strong dispel.

Abaddon’s main offensive ability is Curse of Avernus. With it, if you attack a hero 4 times, that hero suffers from a 60% slow for 4s, while you gain 120 attack speed. The curse applied also deals 50 damage per second. These effects, when combined, can lead to spectacular results, especially if Abaddon is properly equipped.

When playing this hero, you can build all kinds of items. But the most common choices are Phase Boots, Harpoon, and Manta Style. Another interesting option is Heaven’s Halberd or perhaps even Armlet of Moriggian.

Lifestealer

Lifestealer is making a comeback right now thanks to his highly practical toolkit. The fact that you have a free 6s duration Black King Bar every 17s is extremely overpowered when fights break out relatively often.

When we combine this ability (Rage) with Ghoul Frenzy and Feast, Lifestealer becomes a beast. He will slow his enemies by 30%, gain 70 attack speed against them, deal 1.9% of their maximum HP as extra damage, and heal himself for 3.4% of the target’s max HP with every hit he lands.

When you have the necessary items that give you mobility, damage, and some durability, this hero is very hard to stop. Usually, the main strategy is to either kite him or have a right-clicker that can fight him 1v1 without having to run away. Ursa, Troll Warlord, and a few other heroes belong to this category. But it all depends on who has more farm.

Lifestealer greatly benefits from having teammates with high mobility or a surprise element (such as invisibility) because his ultimate, Infest, allows him to stay hidden inside an ally until a fight breaks out. If you have a Storm Spirit, a Queen of Pain, a Puck, an Invoker, or other heroes that can initiate fights in advantageous ways, Lifestealer is a huge asset.

One thing to note about him is that his Rage, when you select the appropriate level 10 talent, gives you +30% movement speed for 6s. This essentially means that if you choose to buy Boots of Travel, you will move at maximum speed for that duration.

When playing LS, your main goal should be to increase your damage and survivability. Because of that, Armlet of Mordiggian can be a very powerful item.

It gives you HP regen, damage, armor, HP, resistance to slow, and attack speed, for just 2500 gold. The amounts, when activated, are impressive. You gain a total of 25 strength (500 HP), 75 damage, 10 armor, 25 attack speed, 5 HP regen, and 35% resistance to slow.

Heaven’s Halberd, Sange and Yasha, and Blink Dagger are also frequently bought by those who enjoy playing this hero.

Troll Warlord

Troll Warlord, like Lifestealer, has a win rate of around 53%. But less than 8% of all Dota 2 matches feature this hero because he’s a bit harder to play. You need to know how to position yourself optimally in team fights and avoid enemy heroes that can disable you for a long duration.

The main problem with Troll Warlord is that he needs several items to be effective. Without them, he risks getting killed without dealing enough damage. But once he has those items, he is almost impossible to fight 1v1.

Troll tends to have a great laning phase thanks to his Berserker’s Rage, which can be used to get last hits from afar or to gain a substantial attribute advantage. When you’re in melee form, you receive +45 movement speed, +7 armor, a base attack time of 1.4, and a 20% chance to ensnare a target for 2s. This makes you tanky and very hard to fight.

Troll also gains bonus attack speed when fighting a single target. With each attack, the bonus increases by 30 and it can get up to 360! This means that if you’re fighting a Troll Warlord for more than three seconds during the mid game, his damage output against you will be enormous. All he needs is a Skull Basher and you have no hope of winning.

Troll’s power greatly increases when he uses his ultimate, Battle Trance, which gives him 40% – 80% lifesteal, 25% – 35% movement speed, and 140 – 200 attack speed for 6.5s. However, during this time, he can no longer be controlled. The hero simply attacks the closest target in a 900 range. On the bright side, he can’t be killed except with Axe’s Culling Blade.

The combination of damage output, movement speed, invincibility, and lifesteal essentially gives Troll Warlord two lives in every single fight. So he’s like Terrorblade or Wraith King to some extent. All you need to do is wait until you’re below 50% HP, activate your ultimate, and by the end of it you’ll be back to full HP if you can hit your enemies.

One trick that you can use is to pick Troll Warlord in combination with a hero like Oracle or Dazzle, who can keep you alive even longer. That way, you are guaranteed to have a 12 – 15s window in which you don’t need to worry about dying.

When playing Troll Warlord, items like Battle Fury, Sange and Yasha, Skull Basher, Black King Bar, and Phase Boots can help a lot. A Blink Dagger is also a great idea in many cases.

Anti-Mage

Anti-Mage is the ultimate late-game hero but his early game can be quite challenging. You will encounter AM in almost 15% of your games and his win rate is 52.2% right now.

When you can blink every 5 seconds, your mobility advantage against most heroes is enormous. Add to that the 40 + 4% of max mana as mana burn per hit, with a 40% movement speed slow when the target has 0 mana left, and you have a terrifying attacking force.

AM’s Counterspell gives him 45% magic resistance and the ability to reflect one spell every 3s. This means that targeted stuns don’t work against him. If you purchase a Linken’s Sphere, the level of protection is enormous. Most players don’t, but in some cases it might be a good idea.

Catching heroes with a large mana pool on low mana allows you to obliterate them and their allies in a 500 radius using Mana Void. This spell deals 1.1 damage per missing mana point. This is a way of saying that it deals 1100 damage to an opponent’s missing 1000 mana. In the mid game, many support heroes have 1000 mana.

The strategy here is to blink next to them, use Manta Style to disguise yourself, attack for a few seconds, and then use your ultimate. If the enemy hero is surrounded by allies, all of them will take a massive amount of damage.

Anti-Mage can farm very quickly thanks to his ability to blink often. All he needs is a Battle Fury. Until you get that item, you are very vulnerable. But once you have it, you can play on your own. All you need from your team is space and good map vision.

AM can be played with lots of different items but the standard build is Power Treads into Battle Fury, followed by Manta Style, Butterfly, and either Aghanim’s Scepter or Abyssal Blade. Skull Basher is also a great choice for this hero.

Medusa

Medusa deals high amounts of damage and is very hard to kill after she gets a few items. This hero is simultaneously one of the highest damage output offensive units and one of the most durable tanks in the game.

Not that many people play Medusa these days because her early game was weakened by a series of nerfs. But her damage output is still ridiculous.

When farming, this hero hits 4 extra targets with her attacks and each target takes 85% damage of the main attack. That’s 340% bonus damage. This applies in team fights as well, as long as your enemies are sufficiently close to you.

Thanks to Mana Shield, each mana point absorbs 3.6 points of damage from all sources. This means that Medusa is strong again physical, magical, and even pure damage.

To give you a comparison, a hero with 1000 HP and 17 armor will have an effective HP of 2000 against physical damage. A Medusa with 1000 mana will gain 3600 effective HP against all forms of damage just from her mana alone.

Most Medusa players invest heavily in their stats and build sufficient damage to farm quickly. By minute 20, a Medusa lineup will usually have big advantages thanks to the tankiness and damage output of this hero. Very few carry heroes can stand their ground in fights. Medusa can do it with ease and recharge her mana using Mystic Snake.

If things get complicated, she can force her enemies to run away using Stone Gaze, which lasts for 6s and petrifies heroes that face Medusa for more than 2s.

When playing this hero, you need items like Manta Style, Eye of Skadi, Butterfly, Arcane Boots, and Dadelaus.

Wraith King

Wraith King currently has a win rate of 52% in Dota 2 patch 7.35c. His pick rate is 9%. This is a hero that can farm quickly thanks to his skeletons and is not afraid to die in team fights because of his Reincarnation.

When you play WK, the goal is to be as close to your enemies as possible but only when your allies are also nearby. You’re essentially an offensive tank that can deal massive amounts of damage and stand his ground.

Items like Blink Dagger, Radiance, and Assault Cuirass are perfect on this hero. You should also consider buying an Armlet because it gives you everything you need to farm quickly and survive team fights in the early game. A Blade Mail could also help with this.

Wraith King’s toolkit is focused on survivability and critical damage. Mortal Strike gives you the possibility to deal critical damage every 4s. The amount, 300%, is substantial. You’re basically dealing 2 extra attacks on your first hit and 2 more extra attacks on your last hit if you fight for 4s. That’s the equivalent of 9-10 attacks in 4s if your attack speed is good.

Drow Ranger

Drow Ranger is a fun hero to play. Her 13.5% pick rate and 52.1% win rate clearly show this. In the early game, you might have a few problems, especially against heroes that can pressure you under your own tower. But as the game progresses, the advantages you gain thanks to your abilities are huge.

Drow can slow movement speed by 55% for 1.5s with each attack. She can silence for 6s and knock back enemies. And she can farm quickly using her Multishot. After level 6, the agility and damage bonus offered by Marksmanship turns this hero into a beast.

All you need when playing Drow is Power Treads, Hurricane Pike, and Manta Style.

Header: Valve