Okay, so folks keep asking me what I think about the current hero standings in Dota 2. Making a tier list isn’t something I just slap together, you know? It takes a bit of work, and I figured I’d walk you through how I usually hash it out.
Getting the Ball Rolling
First things first, I gotta actually play the game. A lot. You can’t just read patch notes and think you know everything. I spent a good chunk of time just grinding games, trying different heroes, seeing what felt strong, what felt weak. You get a real feel for things when you’re in the thick of it, getting stomped or doing the stomping.
Then, I watch stuff. Not just my own replays, but pro games, high-MMR pub games. See what the really good players are picking, what strategies are working. You notice patterns, heroes that keep showing up and winning, or heroes that seem to disappear completely. It’s not about copying them blindly, but understanding why certain heroes are getting picked.
Thinking About the Tiers
Alright, after soaking all that in, I start thinking about the actual tiers. What do they even mean? For me, it usually breaks down something like this:
- S-Tier (The Broken Stuff): Heroes that feel almost unfair. Super strong, high impact, maybe need a nerf. Pick ’em if they’re not banned.
- A-Tier (Solid Picks): Really strong, reliable heroes. Fit into lots of lineups, good overall. You’re happy to have them on your team.
- B-Tier (Okay/Situational): Decent heroes, but maybe need the right team setup or are good against specific enemies. Not amazing, not terrible.
- C-Tier (Kinda Weak): Harder to make work. Need a really specific plan or just feel underpowered compared to others.
- D-Tier (Please Don’t Pick): Just feels bad most of the time. Maybe super niche, or just undertuned right now. Avoid if you want to win easily.
The Actual Sorting Process
This is where it gets messy. I basically start chucking heroes into those buckets. My first pass is usually quick, based on gut feeling from playing and watching. “Yeah, this guy definitely feels S-tier,” or “Man, I haven’t seen anyone win with this hero in ages, straight to D.”
But then comes the hard part: refining it. I look at heroes I put in ‘A’ and ask, “Are they really just A, or are they creeping into S?” Same for the bottom tiers. Maybe a ‘C’ hero is actually decent in the right hands, bumps up to ‘B’. This involves a lot of second-guessing. I might move a hero up or down several times.
I also think about different roles. A hero might be S-tier as a support but maybe only B-tier as a core, or vice-versa. I try to make a call based on their most common or impactful role, but it’s tricky. You can’t make a separate list for every single position, it gets too complicated.
Dealing with the Gray Areas
There are always heroes that are tough to place. Maybe they just got reworked, or they’re super high-skill cap. Where do you put Invoker or Meepo? Good ones wreck games (S-tier?), but bad ones are useless (D-tier?). I usually try to place them based on their potential impact in capable hands, leaning towards the higher end but acknowledging the difficulty. It’s not a perfect science.
Finalizing (For Now)
Eventually, I get to a point where I feel kinda okay with the list. It’s never perfect, and the meta shifts so fast anyway. A small patch can shake everything up. So, I look it over one last time, make sure it feels mostly right based on everything I’ve seen and played. It reflects my experience and observations at that specific moment. Someone else’s list might look different, and that’s fine. Dota’s complicated like that.
So yeah, that’s pretty much how I put together my tier list. It’s a process of playing, watching, thinking, sorting, and a whole lot of second-guessing. It’s ready when it feels ready, usually after way too much time spent staring at hero portraits.
