Every player in Dota 2 wants to demonstrate their skills and how well they play the laner position, killing the enemy team and bringing victory to their team. However, playing on the first position requires a lot of effort and knowledge to realize the potential of your character, because a bad start can ruin the entire pace of the game, which will be the main reason for the defeat. So let’s take a look on carries in this Dota 2 carry guide.

Who is carry and why they are important?

Carries are the first-position heroes in Dota 2, which means that they are the priority farm in the team. At the beginning of the game, these heroes are usually weak. But with each level and with the acquisition of new and appropriate items, their strength increases, which means they can bring more value to their allies to further the victory. Most of these heroes are initially dependent on their team, their support, and "care”. Mostly, carries are heroes that deal physical damage. Here is short Dota 2 carry hero list: Phantom Assassin, Drow Ranger, Juggernaut, Luna, Wraith King, Phantom Lancer, Weaver, Clinkz, Bloodseeker, Morphling, Terrorblade, Ursa, Slark, Troll Warlord.

Dependence on items is most often caused by the hero's abilities, which become more effective with the increase of various parameters that these items provide. With the increase in power, the hero's effectiveness and their capabilities in the game increase: killing Roshan, the ability to defeat more than one enemy hero, and push potential, i.e. the destruction of enemy structures.

Types of carry

Heroes of the first position can be classified in different ways. First of all, it is a division according to the type of implementation, they are divided into dota 2 hard carry and semi carry. The first group includes heroes whose power peaks at the late stage of the game, when they already have all the items and abilities, and thus can fully demonstrate their strength. Against such heroes, it is best to finish the game as quickly as possible, because the longer they farm and the longer the game lasts, the stronger they will become.

Dota 2 semi carry heroes are heroes that can show themselves quite early, even in the middle of the game, if they have 1-2 necessary items that will help them fight. And it often happens that at a very late stage of the game, they are not as strong as hard-core heroes, even with a full set of items.

The second approach to classification is the approach to farming. Some heroes have abilities that allow them to farm creeps easily and quickly thanks to AoE abilities or a splash. Other heroes need an item that will help them farm quickly, such as Anti-Mage, Phantom Assassin, and Juggernaut, who usually take Battle Fury, or ranged heroes who buy Maelstrom.

Hero Draft

As with any other role, it is important to know what kind of hero you can take for the carry position. Mostly, but not always, carry are heroes whose main attribute is agility or universal heroes, but carry can also be found among heroes with the attribute of strength or intelligence, just in a slightly smaller number.

Of course, it is impossible to play all the heroes in Dota 2, so the best option is to choose a set of several characters that you like the most. This way, you can pay attention to them and learn them as best you can: adapt to the style of play, the necessary set of items, ability upgrades, timings, how they work, in what combinations with other heroes, etc. The more time you spend playing a particular character, the better you'll get at playing them over time.

At the stage of choosing a hero during a match, you should be guided by the choice of heroes on your and the enemy's team. If your support is a melee hero, then it is better to take a ranged hero, and vice versa. You should also pick a character that fits the enemy's character set, doesn't counter their abilities, and is easy enough to stand on the line.

Correct farming and control of creeps

How to carry in Dota 2? The main task of a carry is to farm, the more farm he gets, the more items he can buy to use in battles. To do this, you need to understand the mechanics of farming and have the skills to finish off creeps. Standing on the line, it is important to finish off the creeps, that is, to make the last hit that will finish them off, because this is the only way to get a reward for enemy units.

In order to properly finish off creeps, you need to know how to do it. On the one hand, it may seem that there is nothing complicated here: approach, hit, kill, move away. However, in practice, this can be more difficult to implement, as you need to take into account various other factors: attack strength, attack speed, animation, actions of enemy characters, etc. 

You need to correctly calculate and determine whether your attack will actually hit the enemy creep or not. To do this, you need to get used to your character and buy the necessary items at the beginning to increase the attack power for the convenience of finishing. You can practice this in a separate game lobby. Important tip: when farming creeps, you should not neglect some simple hero abilities to finish them off!

It's worth remembering that enemy heroes can deny their own creep if their health threshold is less than 50%. This way, you will get only part of the experience, but no gold at all. This technique can be used against enemies to prevent them from farming as well. Ranged heroes, catapults, and flag bearers are valuable creeps because the reward for them is higher than for swordsmen, so you should try to finish them off.

Supports should provide you with convenient farming conditions: drive away enemy support and carry, make stacks of creeps in the jungle and diversions. The last two activities are also important for farming carry. Stacks will provide the first-position hero with an additional farm. If your abilities allow you to clear neutral camps early, you should do it quickly so that the enemy does not take the farm. Creep pulls will allow you to control your line if you somehow disrupt it and find yourself at a disadvantage. It is worth adding that if you auto-attack the creeps on the line, it will cause the line to shift towards the enemy, which will not allow the carries to farm comfortably.

Assess the situation

Farming creeps is your priority during almost the entire game, especially at the early stage. Every action you take should be aimed at maximizing the amount of gold you get from the creeps. In the beginning, it makes no sense to participate in battles for several reasons. First, your attack power and abilities will not yet be high enough to inflict lethal damage on your opponents, and without a minimum set of items, it is not advisable to do so at all. Therefore, it is worth assessing the situation to understand what you can do and whether this battle will be profitable. If you end up losing resources or even dying, then it will definitely be an unnecessary battle, from which you will lose more. Sometimes there are very good moments when your hero's abilities and support are enough to make a kill, and then it makes sense. However, aimlessly running back and forth to hurt your opponents is a waste of time that should be spent on farming creeps, which will be more effective in the long run.

Best items for carry in dota 2

Each character in Dota 2, regardless of their role, often has their own set of items that are suitable for them, and some of the artifacts are often situational and depend on the specific match. The initial purchase should contain at least a minimum number of healing items and simple attribute items that will give you some attack power, armor, or health. 

The initial purchase for most of the carries with the agility attribute is Slippers, Circlet, Iron Branch x2, Tango. If the hero continues to make Battle Fury, then you can take Quelling Blade. You don't need to spend gold on additional consumables, as this should be provided by the support staff. You should aim to buy boots (Power Treads or Phase Boots), an attribute item like Wraith Band, and then an item that will speed up farming (Battle Fury, Maelstrom, Radiance) or allow you to participate in the first battles (Desolator, Diffusal Blade, Echo Sabre).

Further Dota 2 carry items should be chosen according to the situation, including enemy heroes. If the enemies have a lot of physical damage, you can take Butterfly, which gives you misses. If the heroes are more "fat”, then Desolator will be very appropriate. Against a lot of magic and control, you should take Black King bar, which gives you immunity to most of these effects. After all, there is often no point in items for attack power if you cannot realize your hero during the battle because you were stunned or died from a large amount of magic damage.

Satanic — gives strong vampirism, Bloodthorn — critical damage and silence, Abyssal Blade — control and bonus to some attributes, Divine Rapier — a lot of damage, but a rather situational item, as it drops after death.

To choose the right item, you need to ask questions tailored to the situation:

• What makes my character strong (specific attribute, attack power, attack speed).
  
• What do I lack (attack speed, health, vampirism, protection from control)?

To simplify the selection of items for a particular character, you can use the in-game guide from other players, which can be selected in the open shop window. However, the main thing is to understand why this particular item is needed and whether it will be useful in a particular situation.

Dota 2 Farming Guide

After 15–20 minutes of the match, the game moves to the next stage, when the activity increases slightly, but the carry still continues to farm. Over time, enemy heroes move to the line to interfere with the carry, so the jungle becomes a priority place for farming. Supports should make stacks whenever possible, and the carry must choose rational ways to farm. You should move from one neutral camp to another, moving towards active spots, not dead ends, so that you do not have to return through empty creep camps, losing farm and time. The best option would be to farm the creeps on the line, move into the jungle, and gradually move to the next line with creeps.

Map control

When farming creeps, a carries must follow the map to avoid falling victim to enemy ganking, so you should choose safe farming points and have a teleporter with you to escape to another safe area of the map where you can continue farming. If, while moving between lines, enemy heroes fight your team, you should take advantage of this and flatten the enemy tower. After that, after assessing the situation, you can join the battle if you realize that the battle is still going on and you can help the team in some way. If not, you just continue farming in the jungle.

Team fights

When playing a Dota 2 carry role, you need to assess the situation and understand when to engage in combat and when not. First of all, you should choose and kill weak but unpleasant characters. These can be supports whose health is lower than others, but the presence of strong control and AoE abilities will prevent you from fighting normally and focusing on stronger targets.

In the Dota 2 late-game, carry before you go to push the enemy base, it's a good idea to pick up Roshan. Often team battles take place in his lair if one of the teams has figured out the other's positioning. The outcome of the battle will determine the further course of the match. The winning team must push. The opposing team either uses a buyback or waits for the revival time to protect their side. If it succeeds, then the carry farms further to cover its weaknesses. However, you should not farm when your base is under attack.

Dota 2 Carry Tips

Here are a few tips to consider when playing as a carry in Dota 2:

• farm constantly, especially in the beginning and middle of the game;
• don't fight at all if you don't have a minimum set of artifacts, as you won't be able to deal enough damage, and enemy heroes will be stronger due to more powerful skills;
• choose the item that will help in the current situation, i.e. protection from magic, damage items, mobility, etc;
• destroy enemy towers if you have the opportunity;
• watch the map so that enemy heroes do not gank you;
• If possible, take Roshan away and watch the time of his reappearance;
• don't blame the team for your own mistakes, analyze your actions and work on them.

Conclusion

The gameplay as a carry is quite an interesting experience, but at the same time, you should understand the responsibility of playing these characters. The outcome of the match will depend on how well you show yourself and realize your skills. Therefore, you should take into account all the Dota 2 carry mechanics and nuances of the first-position heroes to do everything at a sufficient level and lead the team to victory.