Here’s why Silencer is now the most powerful hero in Dota 2

Dota 2 players love heroes that can fill multiple roles. And in the case of Silencer, he’s broken no matter what lane he goes to. 

Silencer is currently the highest win rate hero in Dota 2 patch 7.30. He wins a whopping 54.90% of games across all skill brackets, with a high 15.82% pick rate. The hero’s success boils down to buffs from 7.30 and incredible lane versatility. But will Silencer continue to dominate at The International 10?

Breaking down that sky-high win rate, Silencer dominates games at every MMR bracket. Dota Plus Trends reveal 55% win rates until 52% Divine and Immortal. He’s most successful as a soft support, but mid Silencer is great for stomping pubs and he pairs well as a hard support with stable safe laners.

Silencer is firmly in the territory of broken Dota 2 heroes thanks to his buffs in patch 7.30. His talent changes may seem minor at first, but they make clear that Silencer is able to play nearly any position. That lane versatility is a major contribution to his win rate at different ranks.

How to play Silencer in 7.30

The talents and item build for support and mid Silencer in 7.30 are completely different. Soft support Silencer wants to harass the enemy duo lane and use Global Silence defensively. Mid Silencer wants to snowball early and end team fights before they truly begin. 

In either supporting roles, it’s important to abuse Silencer’s harass potential in lane. Glaives of Wisdom is great for attacking the enemy laner without disrupting creep aggro. His kit isn’t ideal for securing kills, but Silencer excels at forcing out enemy regeneration. While trading with Silencer is good, be careful not to overextend. Silencer’s lack of natural escape tools can make him a sitting duck.

Support Silencers want to max Arcane Curse as quickly as they can. The ability deals 144 damage minimum at level two, which doubles to 288 if you hit two heroes. One value point in Glaives of Wisdom at level one can start trades off in your favor.

A support Silencer should think of Global Silence as a bonus Black King Bar for your entire team. Building defensive items like Force Staff and Glimmer Cape should be priority number one.

Core Silencer goes for a similar skill build to the support version, but the early talents completely flip. Instead of utility, a core Silencer is all about dealing as much damage as possible. He takes attack speed and range at levels ten and 15 in lieu of boosting Arcane Curse. Witch Blade into Hurricane Pike into Skadi is the most common item progression in Divine and up for a core Silencer build.