Break the meta with these five underrated Dota 2 heroes

The meta always changes, usually to exploit whichever item or hero has the best balance patch. You don’t have to follow it but knowing about it helps you prepare against them. If you want to work around it, then there are a few underrated Dota 2 heroes you can use. 

All heroes in Dota 2 are capable of carrying the team but the difficulty always depends on your role and team matchup. Some have more leniency in this regard than others, causing a division between popular and niche picks. 

However, there are some heroes considered as niche picks that are actually more versatile than they are given credit for. That’s what makes them underrated and you should try them out if you want to take meta abusers by surprise. 

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What makes a hero underrated in Dota 2?

Underrated Dota 2 heroes are defined as ‘good picks but not popular’. To expand on that definition, there are a few characteristics that should be brought up as the fine line between an underrated choice and a bad one. 

A hero in Dota 2 is only bad when the current meta is structured against their playstyle. Underrated Dota 2 heroes are simply not capitalising on any exploit but they are not disabled in any way. On the flip side, Dota 2 underrated heroes are separated from popular choices only because of statistics called the pick rate. 

High pick rate can land between 10% to 20% per month or week while low can be below 10%. A more direct gauge for this is the popularity ranking with underrated heroes unable to reach the top 50 spot out of 123 heroes.

Why choose underrated heroes in Dota 2?

There is no particular reason why you should choose one group of heroes over another. If your favourites are among the popular ones, then you should pick them and become a master. However, there are several advantages to choosing underrated Dota 2 heroes like the following:

• Less competition during the character selection stage
• Meta abusers are less likely to know how to counter you
• Less likely to get nerfed on the next balance patch 
   

Five underrated Dota 2 heroes that could shine this meta

Dota 2 has over a hundred heroes and all of the five suggestions below are ranked below the top 100. Each one only has less than 9% pick rate in over a few months but with a decent win rate. 

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Brewmaster

Despite his high win rate, Brewmaster has only received a consistent pick rate of 1.30% to 1.50% every month. He has a well-rounded skill set that enables him to fill almost every role, too as long as you give him the correct items to serve whichever is needed at the time. His most default assignment is as a melee tank initiator but with more offensive items, he can be a nuker. 

The only downside to Brewmaster is his high skill floor requirement. He has straightforward gameplay during the first five levels as a durable close-range fighter with area of effect (AoE) abilities. The complexity spikes once he gets his ultimate that most newcomers have no idea what to do with. 

Brewmster’s ultimate splits into three warriors. You have to pilot all three of them at a time which is considerably challenging already in a fast-paced skill game like Dota 2. On top of that, each of them specialises in one of the Brewmaster’s aspects rather than simply make three copies of him. 

Meaning, you have to micromanage who can do which job in a teamfight. They also have new abilities that play into their speciality and combos, making Brewmaster one of the most complex heroes in Dota 2. 

Nature’s Prophet

There was a time in Dota 2’s history when Nature’s Prophet was a dominant choice regardless of the meta. His most notable feat being his speed in farming as the only character with far-reaching teleportation abilities and strong ranged attacks. He can also summon treants who can act as additional creeps for pushing lanes or cornering a target. 

Unfortunately, Nature’s Prophet was met with several nerfs that made him bad in several metas in the past. Now, he’s not bad but is seen as one of Dota 2 most underrated heroes simply because of developed impression of him. Nature’s Prophet has a consistent 6% average pick rate per month and 44% average win rate.

Necrophos

Necrophos is the most popular out of these five underrated heroes with as high as 8.70% average pick rate per month. The main contributor to his absence in most matches is the confusion caused by his kit and visual design. At first glance, he can be assumed as a support hero because he can heal allies, disable enemies, and escape ganks or disadvantages. 

If you are looking for a reliable filler hero in any composition, then Necrophos can serve well. He’s a formidable carry to lane against given his strong attacks that take advantage of the enemies’ stats. Necrophos also has a lot of abilities that make him harder to kill when he’s ahead, which you can slowly turn into an alternative win condition. 

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Dark Seer

Versatility is the key advantage that gives most underrated heroes Dota 2 offers but some characters suffer from being spread too thin. Dark Seer is one example of this because he has all the desirable qualities that a support needs but not potent enough to lockdown a target. He has a 50% win rate average but his pick rate never go above 2.18%

He can’t stop enemies or save his allies but he can slow down hostile units while giving power ups to friendlies. His ultimate, Wall of Replica, creates clones of enemies that are under Dark Seer’s full control. It’s strong in theory but targets need to pass through a wall he conjured. Everyone can avoid that by just not touching it. 

Abaddon

Many players favour the ability to kill so much that they overlook the hero whose entire design revolves around keeping anyone alive. Unfortunately for them, such a concept is destructive in a strategy game like Dota 2 as proven by Abaddon. This dark knight on horseback only has single-target abilities and each one either hurts his opponent or protects/heals an ally or himself. 

Abaddon has an unconventional ultimate that reverses all harm, causing them to heal himself. It’s easy to overlook on paper because most players don’t know what else they would do after simply delaying death, keeping him in a 2% to 3% pick rate. Experienced players, however, will know how helpful this is, giving Abaddon full freedom to take an offensive build while still classifying as a tank. With the right items, his presence alone can command so much pressure in a lane. 

Try them at your pub games

There are over a hundred heroes in Dota 2 and all of them are free to pick whenever you play. Explore your options to fully experience what the game can offer instead of limiting yourself to a handful of choices just because the others aren’t popular enough. Go ahead try these underrated heroes in Dota 2 or try out the others to break the meta.

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Words: Clarence Clarke