Who are Dota 2’s best soft support heroes? Team Spirit answers

Soft supports players have a ton of options in 7.31, but the reigning The International champion in the No. 4 position says these four are the best.

Team Spirit soft support Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov has revealed a tier list for soft supports in Dota 2 patch 7.31. The top tier includes some very unexpected picks including Io and Keeper of the Light. He also ranked several popular heroes at the very bottom of the list, including Pudge and Lion. Both ends of the list hint at what Mira values in a soft support for patch 7.31.

Team Spirit’s second positional tier list was posted on March 24. Mira ranked 20 different heroes on how well they can contribute in the soft support role. The S tier of the list includes four heroes in Earth Spirit, Keeper of the Light, Io, and Rubick. Only Rubick is a popular pick among those heroes, but soft support grinders ought to consider adding the rest to their hero pool.

Grimstroke, Jakiro, Hoodwink, and Snapfire all rest just below the top tier. All four excel at contributing to fights from a distance, a trait shared by most of the heroes in the top tier.

The bottom section of Mira’s soft support tier list is also just as interesting. Pudge, Silencer, Nyx Assassin, and Lion are the worst picks in his opinion. There’s less of a clear trend among these heroes, but all four were strong in recent months before getting hit with big nerfs. The rest of the tier list seems to rank nontraditional supports like Weaver and Monkey King lower compared to more ordinary choices.

What makes a good soft support hero in 7.31?

All four of the top picks are completely different styles of heroes, but all they share one thing in common. Earth Spirit, Keeper of the Light, Io, and Rubick can all safely contribute to a fight thanks to excellent cast range. 

Earth Spirit is adept at initiating fights thanks to Rolling Boulder, which also doubles as a valuable escape tool. Keeper of the Light’s Illuminate and Aghanim’s Scepter Will-O-Wisp allow him to match up with his strength in the lore. Io’s Tether works from a mile away, and Spirits are an excellent scouting tool with massive range and utility.

Massive cast range is very important for soft support since it decreases the time spent traveling to the fight. It also boosts their chances of surviving the encounter and gaining boosted experience and gold bounties. The bonus cast range nerfs on Keen Optic, Aether Lens, Psychic Headband, and Telescope from 7.29 increase the importance of innate cast ranges.

Rubick is the odd man out here, but he’s arguably the most-buffed soft support of 7.31. In addition to massive cuts to Spell Steal’s cooldown, Aghanim’s Scepter can now steal two separate abilities instead of one. Agh’s isn’t always a viable build, a four-second cooldown at level 18 is incredibly useful.