#2 · MOBA · Free to play
Dota 2 Wiki
Lane, farm, and take objectives — not just kills
Valve
Featured setups
Lane equilibrium, smokes, Roshan, and high ground — not a kill montage.
Safe Lane · First 8 minutes
Safelane Pull and Equilibrium
When the wave is past the river, pull the easy camp so the next wave meets on your side. The carry farms; the offlaner walks.
Best for: New position 5s whose carry never last-hits
Mid Lane · Minute 6–16
Mid Rune Control
Bottle the power rune, call the 4, and spend it on a side lane or a tower. A haste used to farm a small camp is a wasted rune.
Best for: Mids who win lane and then never leave
Off Lane · Minutes 3–10
Offlane Wave Cut
Catch the wave behind their safelane tower so their carry has nothing to hit. Do this when you will not die to their 4 and 5.
Best for: Position 3s who are losing CS and feeding anyway
Start with these roles
Hard support first. Carry last.
Hard Support
Position 5
The best first role. You pull, you ward, you die so the carry does not, and you buy detection. KDA is not the scoreboard that matters.
Offlaner
Position 3
You survive the short lane, hit a level timing, and become the reason teamfights have a front line. Feeding their carry two kills is the fail state.
Soft Support
Position 4
You make the offlane livable and then you make the rest of the map unsafe. A 4 who farms the triangle at 12 minutes is a third core the draft did not ask for.
Lanes worth learning first
Safe, mid, and off before you live in the jungle.
Safe Lane
The long lane: carry farm, support pulls, and a tower you should not donate.
Mid Lane
Levels, runes, and a 1v1 that decides whether you gank or get ganked.
Off Lane
The short lane: soak XP, cut waves, and do not feed the enemy carry.
Jungle
Stacks, neutrals, and the camps you should not steal from your carry.
Guides
Beginner path, laning, items, vision, and ranked.
Dota 2 Beginner Guide
What to play first, which role to learn, and why Turbo is not a substitute for last-hitting.
Dota 2 Laning and Last-Hits
Equilibrium, denies, pulling, and why the range creep is the whole lane.
Dota 2 Roles and Farm Priority
Who gets the lane, who gets the stack, and why a fourth core item on a 4 is a missing ward.