Ultimate Dota 2 Carry Guide: How to Climb to Immortal as Position 1
The carry role in Dota 2 is perhaps the most played position out of them all simply due to the fact that whenever you play carry your odds of winning seem to be the highest. It gives you a feeling of control over your games because you are the one getting the most resources in the game so you are most likely going to be the player with the most impact.
However, due to this high amount of resources invested in you, it’s also the position with the highest risk factor because if you don’t know what you are doing then you are most likely going to be the one losing the game for your team.
This is why it’s super important to have a good understanding of how to play this role properly so you don’t end up stacking reports & being sent to low priority. This article was written after watching & taking the advice of Nikobaby’s 4hour ultimate carry class; a 23 episode coaching course.
Pick a strong hero
As the carry you have a high possibility to choose the perfect hero because you are always picking a little bit later in the draft. Nikobaby, the Bulgarian devil, suggests that you always look at the 2 supports when choosing your hero and figure out what type of crowd control they have. If they lack disables, a mobile split pushing hero might be the way to go.
In some games you might even have the luck to be left alone as the last pick. In these situations, you will be able to take a look at the enemy carry and in this case it is important to choose a hero that can match the enemy’s pace. If they have a very early based line-up with lycan and nature prophet, then it might be a good idea to go with a less greedy hero that doesn’t require 20 minutes to come online.
Additionally, choosing your hero is a decision that needs to be made taking into account what other heroes there are on your team. Generally, the meta dictates that you should only have 1 hard carry so if you see your mid lane pick an early Morphling, Templar Assassin or Invoker which are greedy heroes that require a lot of space, it might be a good idea to pick something else than an anti-mage or other battle fury based heroes.
Have a game plan
The moment you’ve selected your hero and are ready to start the game it’s a great idea to have a game plan. A solid game plan includes thinking about starting items, early game builds, allies + opponents power spikes, including your own. Furthermore, having a plan B ready in case your laning phase doesn’t go according to the plan is something even the beloved double The International champion Topson agrees with in his own class.
Additionally, pro players suggest that your plan should always be adaptive and take in consideration how well your game is going for you or your teammates.
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Don’t tilt after a bad lane
Because almost all carry heroes are very weak in the early game they require a lane partner. Unfortunately, you won’t always be paired with a good player who knows how to enable you the best way. Whenever this happens, Nikobaby suggests that you shouldn’t tilt at all because in Dota 2 there are always things you can do to recover.
“As long as you keep doing the right things, your time will come”
It’s important to keep focusing on yourself and the plays you are supposed to be making in order to come back in the game. According to Nikobaby, the laning phase at the moment isn’t that important and losing it doesn’t automatically mean you will lose the game contrary to popular belief.
Farm aggressively
Most common misconception is that as a position 1 carry you need to always be taking the safe farm on the map in order to hit your timings early and be able to carry the game. The problem with this approach is that by doing this you are also taking the farm away from your team and thus hindering them. Also, you might want to start considering the idea that your own jungle is not always the safest part of the map and continuously dying there is your fault and not your supports.
Alliance’s carry player introduced the world to the concept of aggressive farming and applying pressure through farming. Understanding the limits of your hero and having a good map awareness are keys in order to make aggressive farm work but the rewards are well worth it. By constantly being in the face of your opponents you force them to rotate around the map chasing you instead. Make your adversaries play your game instead of playing their own.
Split push all game long
Split pushing ties into the previous point but is mostly something that needs to be done when you are playing from behind.
When the enemy has a gold lead, it is very hard to fight them head-on before you have multiple items and in those cases it is important to keep applying pressure. This is achieved by split pushing. Drawing the attention of the enemy heroes towards other areas of the map is a crucial step that can be used to buy time for your team to recover.
When split pushing, keep an eye on the mini map and make it your best friend. Always look at what the enemy and your team is doing to make sure that you are catch them while they are retreating or chasing you.
You only stop split pushing when after forcing rotations from the enemy team, because now you open up new opportunities to fight at a numbers advantage.
Take good fights only
Teamfights are always tricky because they can come down to split second reactions, but there are always a few tricks you can use to always turn the odds in your favor.
Fighting in zones where you have vision is key to a successful teamfight therefore make sure that if your team wants to commit in a bad spot to tell them either not to do it or simply not show up and keep applying pressure somewhere else.
Another powerful tip that Nikobaby uses all the time in his pubs & competitive games is to constantly reposition himself in fights. He says you need to be like a shark and keep going in and out, constantly adjusting your target & priorities.
Take your time before ending
Lastly, Dota 2 games are won when the enemy ancient is being destroyed and no matter how far ahead you are, there is always a possibility the other team can come back if you fool around for too long.
In certain situations, going for the barracks can be a difficult task especially into heavy teamfight heroes. The high ground advantage is simply too powerful sometimes. It is super important to pick up on these hints during the game and take your time before pushing for the throne.
If you have a lead and manage to keep them in base then this is already a win itself because you are getting all the map to farm and easy control of rosh while they are forced to sit in base and share farm & xp.
Conclusion
Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of what is needed in order to win dota 2 games and carry them as a position 5. For more tips & information check out Nikobaby’s ultimate carry class to view live examples and understand the advanced concepts that come with these 7 tips.
For other roles & positions, gamerzclass offers coaching and classes with multiple pros in all roles and game mechanics. Learn from some of the biggest names in Dota 2 like Topson, Boxi, Cr1t, Handsken, Misery, N0tail & more to come.
