All players have their own mains in Dota 2. Some prefer playing a carry hero, while others are just into support characters. Regardless, nothing can beat a player who truly understands the importance of laning and positioning in the game.

This guide will go over every role of each position, so you will really have concrete knowledge about their significance in terms of team fights and farming, just to name a few. Even more so, you will learn which hero choices are ideal and how you can make the most out of them.

So, without further ado, here is our quick Dota 2 guide to laning and positions.

Positions In Dota 2

The idea here is to put a number (from 1 to 5) on a hero based on his/her farming priority scale. 1 is for heroes that require the utmost priority in farming, while 5 is mainly focused on providing support (e.g. warding, dewarding, courier, support items, etc.). In some cases, 4 and 5 can be the same, although they differ in terms of which hero should focus on warding, among others.

Position 5 – Support

Common Heroes: Shadow Shaman, Rubick, Lion

This hero position is responsible for giving the carry the much-needed space to level up and farm. You do this by either maintaining a lane or zoning offlane heroes. In most cases, however, stacking camps will be a priority for your carry to farm exclusively.

It is worth noting that the fifth position is not concerned with killing heroes. Sure, they can help, but the carry should be fed with kills in order to boost his/her farming scale.

Position 4 – Support/Roamer

Common Heroes: Pudge, Tusk, Earthshaker

Unlike position 5, position 4 is more focused on roaming the map. Ideally, his/her goal is to initiate ganks and ensure that the carry has the space to farm. However, you must be smart in your roaming, as too much of it can leave you behind in terms of gold and experience. Pudge is a very common roaming hero, especially with his ability to hook and change the tide of a game.

Position 4 has the freedom to initiate kills, but if you really want your carry to farm quickly, help him/her grab the last hits for creep and hero kills. Also, make sure that you have items that can help you regenerate lost health and mana, so your roaming can be smooth.

Position 3 – Offlane

Common Heroes: Mars, Magnus, Tidehunter

Since the offlaner is on the team’s hard lane, he/she must stay alive and find a way to keep his opponents busy. In most cases, a hero capable of soloing the offlane is a better pick. That is why heroes with great survivability and escape abilities are often picked.

The task is pretty straightforward: Soak your hero with lots of experience and steer clear of deaths. Again, this all bounces back to giving your hero the much-needed space he/she needs in order to farm.

Position 2 – Mid Lane

Common Heroes: Puck, Kunkka, Viper

For a carry to really make a difference in the latter part of the game, he/she must have an early-to-mid game kill potential. And to make it even more successful, these gank initiations must be done without the need for him/her to have many items at the start.

A common misconception (especially in public games) is that if a mid-laner hero fails, the team’s chances of winning also fall. No, this not really the case. Even if you get killed a couple of times at mid, your team can still give you a farming space through stacks, jungles, or ganks. As much as possible, you should pick a hero that can survive best in the mid lane.

Position 1 –Safe Lane

Common Heroes: Spectre, Anti-Mage, Luna

This is the position that really needs to maximize both last hits and denies. A safe lane hero is not really useful at the start, especially since their essence in the game only comes into fruition if they are equipped with the right items. The position 1 hero needs to be accompanied by a good support hero, either the position 5 or position 4.

Remember that if you are playing in the safe lane, you should not be greedy with chasing or hero kills. Just continue getting last hits and farm as much as you can. Even if you feel like you can chase down enemies, work smart and understand what the outcome could be.