Introduction

First of all I welcome you to my first written advanced gameplay guide. Most of you probably know me from my personal hero guides such as the Meepo or Puck ones. I've always enjoyed writing every single bits of all my guides, but after writing whole four hero guides, advanced gameplay guides began to seem more and more interesting. Unlike hero guides that have certain builds, strategies and different walkthroughs, writing advanced gameplay guides are both very open but also very complicated. The possibilities seem to be infinite, and it is those guides that take the new players to a higher level. Many guides have been written certain aspects. Creep pulling, hero counters, area of influences and mindgames are just some to mention. Advanced guides are mostly interesting, gamebreaking and new-thinking stuff that tells very much about DotA as well as the guidewritter himself. Due to my desire for writting one, I've finally written such one guide myself. It was hard for me to decide what to write about, but one thing was for certain. I wanted to write about something new. I've never liked to just read and repeat what other people have already written. The goal of this guide is to hopefully teach the excited strategy forum readers new and very informative stuff. I'm sure guides like this will be written plenty times in the future, but as far I see this is the only updated one of its kind. Due to it being an advanced gameplay guide, I'll be very open-hearted and take advice from people about my statements and descriptions so we in solidarity can build a strong and informative guide around this topic. I hope to see as much discussion about the guide as possible in order to obtain the best of the bests.

This guide will contain these topics:

• All the heroes' early game lane roles.
• The heroes' usefulness in a lane and if they should solo, combo, roam or jungle.
• Some heroes' strongest combinations if they have any devastating partners.

Please notice that this guide is not about the heroes' overall gameplay roles and will therefore not lay focus towards the middle- and end game but is built around the early game roles in the lanes. However, some heroes' late game affect their playstyle in the early game so I can't stay 100% away from mentioning this for some heroes.

An overview of the guide

The heroes are ordered with Sentinel first and Scourge last. They are all arranged alphabetically, so if you want to look up Sand King, look for his name "Crixalis" under Scourge around C. As you read the guide, you will see every hero is built up with this scheme:

[The hero's picture]
[The hero's name as well as a link to the hero's stats and abilities]

Description - In this category you will find a short description of the hero's main points which affects how the hero is supposed to play in a lane.

Recommended lane type - In this category you will see which types of lanes the hero is working best in. The "most recommended" lane type will mostly be listed first.
Solo lane - The hero can be in a lane for himself.
Double lane - The hero can be in a lane with another allie.
Trilane - The hero can work together with two other allies in a trilane.
Jungle - The hero can jungle and level effecient and such a strategy can be an advantage for the team.
Roaming - The hero hardly doesn't need any experience and close to no items. It's no way important that he farms well. His job is to run between the lanes and gank his enemies with help from his allies.

Lane role - The hero's job(s) in his/her lane. This described what every hero should try to obtain while working in a lane, mostly independant what kind of lane he is in. The "most recommended" lane role will mostly be listed first.
Harasser - The hero is supposed to harass his enemies and gain lane control, but not be too offensive and try and kill them. He should only attempt to force his enemies back and only try to kill them if a chance shows up.
Ganker - The hero is supposed to, in most cases together with his allie, try and attack and kill his enemies when he has the chance. Some heroes need to go around trees, some can just go directly and some may use other methods. I'm not gonna go into how to gank with the heroes, so if you want a more indepth explanation you will have to read hero guides for this.
Supporter - The hero is not supposed to harass nor kill. His main job is to assist his allies either by healing, regenerating, buffing or whatever he does.
Disabler - Nearly every heroes with disables are supposed to stop enemy heroes by stunning them. This doesn't matter if it's in a gank, a flee or anything else. As soon as your hero meets their heroes in some way, you're supposed to disable him in order to tip the situation to your side.
Scout - Some heroes have abilities that can be used to scout. They need to use them so they and their allies can stay safe in their lane and hereby gain more lane control.
Babysitter - Some heroes with really strong lane control who can mostly handle lanes alone also does great as babysitters. Unlike supporters, a babysitter is a hero that takes care of another hero (which is mostly the carry) in a lane by his upper lane control while supporters don't directly takes care of their allies but supports him with mana/healing etc. The babysitter lets the allie have most of the creep kills. His main job is roughly to keep his allie alive and harass and outdeny his opponents in order to gain a major lane control giving the carry hero free farm.
Farmer - A hero that practically needs to intensely focus on his last hitting and denying. This hero can most of the time gain a better lane control through his superior last hitting/denying.
Special cases - Some heroes have a special job. Some of them reminds much about supporters, but I've still chosen to put them in this group. Heroes like Storm Spirit and Troll Warlord are some the these few heroes.

Please note that in despite of a hero is only listed as e.g. a "ganker", it doesn't mean he doesn't have to last hit and deny. Last hitting and denying apply for all heroes no matter what.

Recommended lane partners - Heroes that the listed hero does specifically well with. However, just because a type of hero isn't listed as recommended it doesn't mean this type is not recommended either. The "most recommended" lane partners will mostly be listed first.
Specific heroes - Some heroes do extremely well with other specific heroes. Some of the most well-knowns are Lina & Sven and Tormented Soul & Sand King.
Hero types - Some heroes do well with nearly any heroes of a certain type. E.g. some heroes need a stunner to land their own abilities like Light Strike Array (Slayer) or Paralyzing Cask (Witch Doctor).
None - "None" is basically the same as "any". When there's no recommended lane partners it means that the hero doesn't lane extremely good with anyone nor rather bad.

Lane control rate - Tells how strong a hero's lane domination alone is. This is of course if the hero is alone and it tells something about if he needs a partner or not. E.g. 2 heroes with poor lane control are not well placed together.
Terrible - 1
Poor - 2
Decent - 3
Good - 4
Excellent - 5

Deciding who to lane with
When you read this guide and want to decide who you want to lane with, here's a few tips. Each lane control rate has a score. When speaking of lane control, you want to have an equilibrium between two lanes. If the enemis have Shadow Fiend in a lane with excellent control, they have a total score of 5. You want to face him with another hero with a score ranging maximum 1 less from his. In this case 4 and above.
When putting two melee heroes in a lane, add the scores and deduct a point. E.g. Broodmother (4) and Sand King (3) has a total point of 3+4-1=6. They are ready to face a hero with excellent lane control.
When putting two heroes together who "buff" each other, e.g. Sand King and Tormented Soul, you can add a point to their total score. Sand King (3) and Tormented Soul (5) have a total point of 3+5+1=9. Together, they make an extremely strong lane with a total 9 points.
Adding a melee hero and a ranged hero or a ranged hero and another ranged hero end up normally. Medusa (3) and Magnataur (2) have a total score of 2+3=5.
If a terrible hero (1) faces an excellent hero (5), there's no balance at all and the excellent hero will completely overrun the terrible one.


Description
Ogre Magi is a melee intilligence hero with a good combination of a stun and slow. Neither of them are extremely good though before later in the game where he gets he multicast ability, but both of them mixed with another hero's disables are often crucial.
Though Ogre Magi is an intilligence hero, he doesn't have enough mana to spam-harass his enemies alone, and because he's a melee hero he can't contain a stable lane control by himself. He definitely needs a partner to follow up on his stuns in order to become dangerous.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Triple lane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Venomancer.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Through her heal and especially her Impetus, Enchantress has a great lane staying power and a really powerful lane domination. She's really hard to kill and requires a lot of burst damage, disables or well organized ganks to take down.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.

Lane role
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Azwraith is a melee hero with weak lane control by himself, but due to his special replacement-invisibility and a just fine slow-nuke, he's a good harasser if he's mixed up with another hero (preferably a ranged one) with good lane control. With the right harassment, Azwraith can sneak behind the enemies and initiate either a gank or a very strong harass, but this often revolves in a risk of getting in troubles himself.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Boush is one of the strongest early game nukers and gankers in the game. He has a blasting burst damage and can rape almost every hero with ~75% hp in a matter of seconds, only by the use of two buttons. He has a fine mana pool and if played with mana regenerating items such as Clarity Potions or Bottle, Boush is one of the worst solo heroes to face, but due to his extreme lane domination, he can also do well in a double lane, either as a babysitter for the carry or a second nuker in a nuking oriented lane.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.
Babysitter.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Bradwarden is a very effective AoE stunner and a strong nuker because of his Hoof Stomp + Double Edge combo. However, he is held back from being a melee hero and because his stomp requires that he stands right next to his enemy, he is very often depended on having a primary stunner.
As a secondary strategy, his Thorns Aura makes him a decent jungler, allowing the team to have two solo heroes.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Triple lane.
Jungle.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Chen is one of the best early game junglers in the game because of his ability to permantly control creeps. If he's lucky and get a quick creep stunner (Centaur or Furbolg) it makes him a good ganker when he pops in a lane behind the enemies, slows the target with his Penitence and stuns it with the creep's/creeps' aoe stun(s).

Recommended lane type
Jungle.

Lane role
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Enigma is a ranged support hero during the early game. He has a tricky stun that disables multiple times but for minor periodes. He has a lousy attack animation and lane control himself, but compared with another hero he can establish a decent lane domination, atleast enough to obtain the necessary control. He's not really a hero killer, nor a ganker. He's more like a support ganker with his Malefice when a teammate charges, but he doesn't become gamebreaking before later in the game with his Black Hole and Blink.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Ezalor is one of the best middle game pushers and is very strong against mana dependant heroes. Many players use him as a solo pusher hero during the early game but this is a very misunderstood and wrong way of playing him during this time. Pushing too much during the early game mostly backfires, so using his orb too much is bad and without his orb he has close to no lane control. Therefore the best choice is to use him as an early game supporter together with any heroes with a nuke.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Supporter.

Recommended lane partners
Zeus.
Medusa.
Earthshaker.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Furion is a very much all-around kind of hero. He's a good double laner and a strong jungler. He has a great attack animation which makes him great for last hitting and denying and he is one of the best early game gankers. Because of his range, attack animation and disable he also has a very decent lane control.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Double lane.

Lane role
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Gondar is a rather easily countered but nonetheless annoying enemy to face because of his invisibility. He is a good harasser with his bonus damage from Wind Walk and can be hard to harass back unless you buy Sentry Wards which cost important early game money. However, he lacks stuns or other disables in order to be crucial against decent opponents.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Huskar is a ranged strength hero with a heal which makes him slightly difficult to harass properly. This means he has a better lane staying abilities than the common DotA hero. His burning arrows are also good for harassing, however, they're not the strongest and they still backfire a bit because they burn health. He lacks stuns and disables and is afterall not really good for anything but farming, healing and weak harassing.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Support healer.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Troll Warlord mostly doesn't stand a chance against disablers and other nukers during the early game, but his Blind is good against harassers that use physical attacks to gain the upper hand in the lane. Heroes like Enchantress and Viper for instance. If he's not against a strong caster solo hero like Tinker or Lich, he can also be a potential solo hero.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Disabling physical harassment with Blind.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Jakiro has a good mass disable, a good combo of slow and damage-over-time nuke and most important a really strong mana pool to support it. With just very few mana regeneration items, Jakiro is able to spam his Double Breath nearly all the time, making especially a hell for melee enemy heroes. He has a good lane control, but not enough though for being effecient enough in a solo lane. He is good, however, to help stable lane control with another hero and he can be a strong harasser if his allie has a spammable nuke as well.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Sniper's attack animation and range are probably the best of all heroes. This makes him slightly harder to harass because the enemy heroes have a longer way to run against him and he will mostly be situated in the far back in the creep waves. However, he is not a good harasser himself and he doesn't really support anyone. His main thing during the early game is last hitting, denying and outfarming his enemies.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Dragon Knight has a really strong stun but it has low damage and definitely requires a partner to help him kill his target. Stunning the target without any intentions isn't good for anything, so Dragon Knight is doubtless not a solo hero and he is even trilane potential due to the duration of the stun. However, it can sometimes be hard to stun a hero with Dragon Tail as the primary disable, so having another friendly disabler can very often be very useful.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Lanaya is from start more considered a melee hero than a ranged hero because of her extremely low range. Her Meld is rather strong, but very hard to use if she's not comboed with a friendly disabler, because every time an enemy sees her running up against him, he knows that she's gonna try to Meld and hit him.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Lina is an extremely strong early game ganker and nuker and is often involved in the most deadly double and trilane combinations. Her burst damage is incredible, hereby making her a perfect nuker and ganker.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Sven.
Crystal Maiden.
Tiny.
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Luna is a decent nuker with a decent range and a decent lane domination. She's not the best, but not the worst either. Some prefer to build her without skilling her nuke, but I'd strongly recommend taking her nuke over everything else. She doesn't use the mana for anything else and the nuke helps her finish off heroes and help her and her allies stable lane control.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Vagina is mostly used as a mindgame hero during the early game. Most heroes are afraid of getting their mana burned by his mana break, but blinking in and hitting too often also distracts too much attention. He doesn't have any lane control, nor any disables or nukes and he needs a partner in order to do well.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Attempt to confuse your enemies by fake blinking as often as possible and then sometimes actually appear. Read some Anti-Mage guides for a more indepth explanation of fake blinking.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Pandaren has a really strong aoe slow-nuke which can be deadly if comboed with the right heroes. His critical strike is also strong, however, this is more luck dependant than actually something relyable. Like Bradwarden, Mangix needs a disabler in order to close up on his prey and slow and kill it with his thunder clap.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Rhasta.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Mirana is a very strong nuker and ganker and has one of the best stuns in the game. However, her disadvantage is that it takes much practice to use her effectively. She has a really good lane domination so she can solo a lane against many solo heroes, but she also does more than decent in a double lane, especially with an allie with a disable so she can easily time her arrow.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Disabler.
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Morphling is a ranged hero with something between decent and good lane control. He needs a partner in order to become dangerous, but he's doing okay alone aswell. Nothing compared to real solo heroes like Tinker, Lich or Viper though.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Silencer's glaives are some of the best for the so-called orb walking. They damage a lot, go through armor and cost nearly no mana, thus making him one of the major lane dominators, especially in solo lanes where he is most oftenly seen.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Puck is somehow an imbalanced hero. In despite of his low health pool, he can more than easily wreak havoc in his lane, especially if he's with an allie nuker of almost any kind. He is a strong harasser and he has a high mana pool and only takes very few mana regeneration items such as a simple Bottle in order to assist his mana almost throughout the whole game. He is decent alone, but he's stronger with an allie because he is so much a teamplayer and because his nukes aren't quite strong enough for a solo lane after all.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Lich.
Rhasta.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Omniknight is by himself not dangerous at all to enemy heroes, but he is one hell of a support hero to face in a double lane. His heals and his magic repel enables his allies to be much more aggresive than normal thus much more dangerous.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Supporter.

Recommended lane partners
Butcher.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Earthshaker has a long ranged aoe stun with no missile, thus making him a good initiator. It also has a block which can either be rather helpful or it can also backfire. His stun is good in overall though, but he cannot threaten any heroes on his own.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
Keeper of the Light.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Like Troll Warlord is good against physical harassers, Storm Spirit is good against spell dependant ones. His magic shield nullifies a major amount of magic damage, thus making him strong against solo spellcasters such as Tinker and Lich. He doesn't, however, have any real nukes, but letting him solo against a spellcaster can be a huge advantage.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Nullifying magic damage from heavy nukers.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Razzil was once overpowered but has gone through a major nerf and is now considered a weak and rather useless hero. However, there's one thing about him which is still really strong if use correctly. His channeled stun. If he's laned with another disable hero, he can channel his own stun for a long period hereby chainstunning the target for a heck of a long time. This gives him and his allies a good chance to kill their prey. His poison cloud is still useful to keep the enemies away from the creepwave, but not quite as good as it used to be and no way as much reliable.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
The Beastmaster is a really cool lane partner. Especially from level 6 he gets one of the best reliable stuns in the game. His hawk is good for checking for enemy ganks and runes in the river. His axes are reduced by the enemies' armor which is most often low in the early game thus making them damage more and become a really strong nuke. Further, he is a really good jungler and a strong creep puller with his axes and his beasts.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Scout.
Ganker.
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Rhasta is one of the best lane partner you can be with. His disable is damaging and long lasting, but has the disadvantage of disabling Rhasta himself. Therefore, obviously, Rhasta requires a dual- or trilane in order to become effective, but once comboed with a hero, he is a deadly disabler.

Recommended lane type
Dual lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
Pandaren Brewmaster.
Juggernaut.
Ursa Warrior.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Bristleback is a monster later in the game, but early on he's weak. He doesn't have any disables, no defense mechanisms, no strong nukes and only very low mana to support an effectively Quill Spray spam. It's important that this pig has an allie that can help him out in his lane or he won't be allowed to farm against decent opponents. As a last option Bristleback can also go jungle. You will have to read different hero guides on these forums if you want to know how.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Jungle.

Lane role
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Rikimaru is another melee hero who can be quite annoying to lane against, but that is mostly after level 6. Before this level he is way easier to handle, yet if he has the right partner, he can be a good last hitter and even a fine harasser, but again it's highly dependant that he and his partner has the upper hand in their lane.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Treant Protector is definatly a pure support hero. He has no disables, no nukes, no harmful spells or any other kind of offensive spells before level 6. He's supposed to keep his lane secure by planting eyes around the dangerous ganking spots and heal him and his allie with his living armor. He has no lane control himself because he threatens no heroes, so he needs a partner he can as much as survive the lane with.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Supporter.
Scout.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Fo'sho another insane disabler. Rylai, the hero with the hottest boobs, sure knows how to freeze and ensnare her enemies. Her major Frostbite comboes extremely well with almost any heroes who have stomps, ensnares, stuns, claps, etc. Alone she's weak because she hasn't got the required nuking power to take a hero by herself, but with the right allie, she's surely hot and deadly.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Lina.
Tiny.
Sven.
Juggernaut.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Vengeful Spirit is one of the most item independant heroes and with no exceptions one of the best gankers. She has low stats like hell and doesn't farm extremely well, but boy does she set up ganks a lot. Her stun damages more than the average nuke and her cast animation is brilliant, smooth and fast. She mixes up with nearly every hero that has the slightest nuke and from level 6 and above she's crucial in a lane.

Recommended lane type
Double lane
Trilane.
Roaming.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Lina.
Tiny.
Pandaren Brewmaster.
Centaur Warchief.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Slithice is well known for being the hero that ensnares her enemies infront of her tower. Of course her ensnare is not only for this though. It doesn't damage, but it interrupts channeling effects like a town portal scroll and it disables her enemy for a major period thus making her good for heroes that needs a long lasting disable.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Juggernaut.
Ursa Warrior.
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Techies is mostly considered a public hero because he is something near worthless near the end game. However, during the early game, he can be a monster with his mines and suicide. His disadvantage though is that his movement speed is unbelievable low, so running up and suiciding on an enemy is not as simple as it may look. Techies certainly needs a disabler in order to blow up his enemies.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Sven is a regular strength melee hero with a stun. He doesn't have bad lane control, but he doesn't have good lane control either because of the fact that he is melee. On the other hand though, Sven does really well with many stunners, especially Lina and Crystal Maiden. Sven doesn't need a particular allie to do decent, but he just needs an allie nonetheless. His mana pool is also rather low so he needs some sort of mana regen to be "fully" reliable.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Lina.
Crystal Maiden.
Tormented Soul.
Disablers.
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Syllabear is as with Sniper one of the best last hitters and denyers in the game obviously due to his bear. He does fine solo because he's such a fantastic last hitter. With not much practice, he can outfarm nearly every hero during the early game. He has a fine lane control, however, he is not good at stabling it for other heroes thus making him a bad double lane partner. As a bonus though, Syllabear also does fine jungling.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Jungle.

Lane role
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Tiny can be a dangerous melee disabler if put together with the right allies. He has some great nuking abilities and a brilliant aoe stun. It's easy to hit with, goes far, is hard to dodge and can easily hit two or three heroes at the same time. He has a lot of health which makes him slightly harder to kill than other melee heroes and he does really good with many other disablers.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Crystal Maiden.
Lina.
Tormented Soul.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Drow Ranger is another orb walker type of hero thus making her annoying to face. However, she can orb walk, but her frost arrows doesn't add any bonus damage or anything but a regular slow. This means she theoretically isn't a better harasser than any other ranged hero except the fact that she doesn't attract attention from the creeps.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Ursa Warrior is an insane damage hero, but it is required that he is next to his target the whole time. He therefore needs a disabling partner in order to become a real threat. On his own, it's hard to get early game kills and threaten your enemies' lane control status.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Double lane.

Lane role
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Rhasta.
Crystal Maiden.
Naga Siren.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Blade Fury has a total damage of 400 in level 1 which is more than even an average level 4 nuke. However, it's really hard to land a fully Whirlwind on an enemy, especially because Juggernaut's movement speed is lower the most others'. This makes him depending on a disabler, preferably as long a disable as possible. As an alternative, Juggernaut is also a fine jungle hero because of his Blade Fury.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Jungle.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Rhasta.
Naga Siren.
Crystal Maiden.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Zeus is one of the strongest early game nukers in the game. He has a super mana pool and his primary nuke, Lightning Strike, has a ridiculous low cooldown and an amazingly high damage. Zeus can easily nuke the hell out of his enemies. His burst damage is not amazingly high, but his harassing skills are insane. Zeus does very well in both solo lanes and in double lanes. Unlike many other heroes he doesn't need an allie disabler in order to become dangerous, however, there are a few friends who can make him even more crazy.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
Keeper of the Light.
Pugna.
Chen.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Abaddon is a pain to kill without the necessary burst damage or disables throughout the game. Especially his shield is annoying to be against because it makes it harder to kill him and even more dangerous to try. Abaddon is another melee hero who is good at staying in a lane, even against tough enemies. He creates a good lane control with his shield.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Supporter.
Babysitter.
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Akasha is a ranged hero with a blink. She can dodge most spells as easy as nothing which makes her very hard to kill. Akasha has an incredible lane staying power because she's so hard to bring down and kill. She can easily solo a lane against one or two enemies and if she's played by a decent player she can even hold her lane against three enemies. Scream of Pain and blink makes her a good harasser and she is a nice farmer too. She can work in a dual lane, yes, but she does best as a lone wolf.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Unlike most other melee heroes, Nerubian Assassin competes with most ranged heroes for the best lane dominator. He is melee and he doesn't have extremely much health, but he has got Mana Burn. Nearly every hero creates their threat through their spells and spells cost mana. No mana means no spells and nearly all heroes become worthless. His burst damage is high and is lane control is incredible. He is mostly used in double lanes but can more than easily solo a lane, even against the strongest nukers.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Neruian Weaver is a hero with low health and low stats. He is easy put in danger and a wrong step can be crucial. When that is said, he's also a great harasser and even with a Bottle he is able to solo a lane against "weaker" enemies. His invisibility is easy to use and rumble right through the enemies, giving them some really annoying and inevitable damage. He is often hard to target and hard to kill, however, easy harassed. But one thing is for sure. The Weaver is a good harasser.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Atropos is meant to be a really aggressive hero. Even from the lower levels he is supposed to run in and exchange shots with his enemies and when he loses health then suck it back with Brain Sap. If played correctly, he is a powerful lane dorminator, and he creates a good lane control for his allies as well.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Azagalor is a decent farmer with his Rain of Fire, but it can't really be used to stable lane control. In fact Azagalor lacks lane control and he is big, fat and slow even for melee combats. The only real thing he is good at is pinning down his enemies with his pit, but he is also quite good at that.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Balanar is of course strongest during night. During daytime he still has his nuke though, and Crippling Fear can still be used for terrorizing his enemis a bit.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Because of Lycanthrope's wolves he can jungle fine especially with some regen items like a Bottle. Suffering from his melee range, however, he will like many other heroes have a hard time in a lane especially because he doesn't have any nukes nor disables. He can use his wolves to harass his enemies though thus stabling some sort of a lane control.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Barathrum's Charge of Darkness is almost the only useful thing he can use in his lane apart from last hitting and denying. Use it for ganks and to disable heroes in different situations, but be careful because charging into the enemies is not always good.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Broodmother is another melee hero with actually good lane control. She can stay invisible for "as long as she wants" in her nets and it makes it easy for her to pop out now and then to harass her enemies and gain easy last hits and denies. She can even solo a lane against some heroes. Her spiderlings also makes it possible for her to jungle amazingly well.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Bone Fletcher is an orb walker too. His fire arrows deal fine damage, have a cheap mana cost and mixed with his invisibility, Clinkz can be a pretty good harasser.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Sand King is not very dangerous himself, but with another hero he is strong and especially with a few specific heroes he is deadly. His Burrowstrike is one of the best disables, especially during the early game and can be crucial if Crixalis has a perfect allie.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
Tormented Soul.
Lina Inverse.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Once farmed, Darkterror is a monster in the late game, but early he is weak like bubble gum. He is lucky he has an escape mechanism, because against too strong enemies or a too weak allie, he will find an extremely hard time farming. He has no nukes and no disables. If he wants to make sure to become imbalanced later, he definatly needs a babysitter to take care of him.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Dazzle is both a pretty good supporter as well as disabler. His heal makes it easier for his allie and himself to stay in the lane while his paralyze is good for catching running enemies.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Babysitter
Supporter.
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Warlock is arguably the best lane dominator in the game. His heal is almost impossible to outnuke unless you have some extreme burst damage. He has a hell lot of mana for spam healing himself. He can use his heal to harass his enemy really well and his attack animation and damage is fantastic for outfarming his enemies. Warlock is perhaps the best defense solo hero in the game, but he is also perhaps the best babysitter.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Babysitter.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Dirge has not one but two heals where one of them can be used on himself, his allie or as a nuke against his enemies. The nuke part though should hardly only be used to finish off enemies and instead spammed as a support heal. His zombies also make him an amazing jungler.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Double lane.

Lane role
Supporter.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Poor.


Description
Harbringer's Astral Imprisonment cuts a huge slice off his enemy's mana pool. With Essence Aura, he has tons of mana which he can use for spamming the imprisonment hereby removing his enemy's mana. His attack damage is high and his animation is very good and these things make him a really good solo hero, especially against highly mana dependant nukers.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Harasser by destroying his enemy's mana pool.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
The Dark Seer's Surge makes a fine escape mechanism for him and his allie. As a bonus, Ish'kafel is a fine jungler with Ion Shell and Vacuum. Vacuum also makes for a fine harass and due to him being intilligence, his mana supports it okay.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Jungle.

Lane role
Supporter.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Like one may have guessed, Invoker's downside during this stage of the game is that he has no spells to use. What makes him strong though is his three elements. Most people choose to skill Exort thus giving him a high base damage which again helps him much with the last hitting and denying and even harassing.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane (if Exort is levelled).
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Lich's Dark Ritual makes him able to spam his Frost Nova nuke endlessly thus making him one of the strongest solo lane nukers in the game. By using Dark Ritual he also removes a creep from his wave making the tide fall against his tower and hereby positioning himself better. Besides from being an excellent solo hero, he also does good in a double lane with a few heroes.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Pugna.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Skeleton King has a fine disable, but pretty low mana to support it. He's definatly a disabler, but nonetheless a slightly weak one because he can't afford the mana cost extremely well. Skeleton reminds a lot about Sven when it comes to laning.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Lina.
Crystal Maiden.
Tormented Soul.
Disablers.
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Krobelus' Carrion Swarm is definatly not to be trifled with. It has a great damage and a huge range which makes it easy to hit multiple enemies at the same time. Theoretically that means she uses half as much mana as any other single nuker. This Carrion Swarm makes her a fantastic harasser and a good lane dominator.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Venomancer is a dangerous enemy. He is arguably the least item dependant hero and he can therefore roam around the map ganking heroes or be extremely aggressive in a lane with certain allies. His attacks are dangerous and his slow is devastating. He mostly needs an allie though to kill his prey as he doesn't have the power at this stage of the game to do it himself.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Roaming.

Lane role
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Ogre Magi.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Tormented Soul is meant to be an aggressive AoE hero who has to make a hell out of his enemies' lives. He has a great lane control and especially comboed with a few heroes, he is a true, painfully, crucial and mean hero killer.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Trilane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Ganker.
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
Sand King.
Tiny.
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
In despite of his relatively low mana pool, Tidehunter is a fine harasser with his Gush nuke and that is what he should intend to do. Secondly, Tidehunter can be a potential jungle hero with his Anchor Smash, though not the most powerful one.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Jungle.

Lane role
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Some like to play Lion with Impale and Mana Burn. Others like to play him with Impale and Hex. Either way his mana pool is fine thus making him able to harass his enemies with Impale rather often. The downside though is that he is a slow and fragile thus making him vulnerable towards strong solo laners.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Triple lane.

Lane role
Harasser.
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Good.


Description
Lucifer's Devour makes him a fine farmer even though he's a melee hero. His LVL? Death is also devastating against hero whose level is a multiplier. When a hero is a multiplier, you should harass with this ability as much as possible.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.
Solo lane.

Lane role
Farmer.
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Magnus' low cooldown and very low mana cost on Shockwave makes it very easy to spam. This makes him a great harasser and a find last hitter. If taken with stats and some mana regeneration like a Bottle for example, Magnus can be a very deadly hero, especially in a solo lane.

Recommended lane type
Solo lane.
Double lane.

Lane role
Harasser.

Recommended lane partners
None.

Lane control rate
Excellent.


Description
Medusa's Mana Shield is always hard to break through thus giving her a good lane staying ability. She's ranged with a nuke as well which means she can create a stable lane control for her and her allie.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Keeper of the Light.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Because of Meepo's ridiculous low health and stats, he has nearly no lane control at all. He has no nukes either, but he has a decent disable though with a very short range.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.
Supporters.

Lane control rate
Terrible.


Description
Mercurial is yet another hero with very poor lane control. She's meant to farm and she will have a hard time doing so without a decent lane partner.

Recommended lane type
Double lane.

Lane role
Farmer.

Recommended lane partners
Babysitters.

Lane control rate
Terrible.


Description
Axe is an excellent disabler in his own way. Without the right lane control with him and his partner, his taunt can be a suicide, but once they have the upper hand in the lane, his taunt is long and devastating. Also, his Counter Helix is great for jungling though he needs a few items to survive.

Recommended lane type
Jungle.
Double lane.

Lane role
Disabler.
Ganker.

Recommended lane partners
Disablers.

Lane control rate
Decent.


Description
Mortred is also one of the worst lane dominators in the game. She's weak, she doesn't have a relyable escape mechanism, she