Dota 2 7.41f Support Guide: Best Heroes for Pos 4 and Pos 5

Pos 4 vs Pos 5: What Each Support Does

Position 5 is the hard support and position 4 is the roaming or soft support. Both spend gold on the team, but they spend it in different places and ask different things of you in the first ten minutes.

The pos 5 hard support plays the safe lane with the carry, pulls and stacks, buys the wards and sentries, and keeps the carry alive through the laning stage. The pos 4 soft support plays the offlane or roams between lanes, makes space for the mid laner, and starts fights with a stun, a blink or a pull. A pos 5 is judged by how rarely the carry dies. A pos 4 is judged by how many fights your team starts on its own terms.

Swapping the two roles is common in ranked, and heroes like Vengeful Spirit, Shadow Shaman and Grimstroke fit either. Decide before the pick phase ends, not in the lane. A pos 4 who plays like a pos 5 starves the mid lane, and a pos 5 who plays like a pos 4 leaves the carry alone against two heroes.

The 8 Best Supports in 7.41f

We sorted the support heroes by overall win rate from OpenDota’s public-match data on October 18, 2026, kept heroes with at least 240,000 picks so the numbers are stable, and balanced the list so it covers both pos 5 and pos 4. Mirana (51.5%) and Ancient Apparition (51.5%) also look good on paper, but Mirana was nerfed in 7.41f and Ancient Apparition is a narrow pick, so they sit just outside the eight. “Ancient and above” means the Ancient, Divine and Immortal brackets combined. Win rate is not everything, because a strong hero in the wrong draft still loses, but a 52% hero over 300,000 games is a real signal.

Lich (Pos 5)

Win rate 52.7% across 389,665 public picks; 52.2% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Lich is the cleanest lane support in the patch because Frost Blast and Sinister Gaze let you zone and secure a creep-denying lane without needing a second ability to land. Frost Shield cuts the damage your carry takes and makes early trades hard to win for the enemy, and Chain Frost is a team fight ender when the enemy stacks up. The reason he sits at the top of the table is simple: he is hard to play badly.

• Build: Tango, Clarity, Wind Lace into Arcane Boots, then Aether Lens or Glimmer Cape. Add Force Staff if your carry keeps getting caught.
• Watch out for: Heroes that dodge or reflect Chain Frost, and lanes where you are forced to fight at the enemy tower.

Vengeful Spirit (Pos 5 or Pos 4)

Win rate 52.6% across 333,251 public picks; 52.0% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Vengeful Spirit gives you a stun, an armor reduction on the target, a lane-saving Nether Swap and an aura that lifts your whole team. Nether Swap is the strongest rescue in the role because it puts you in danger instead of your carry. The hero rewards players who watch the minimap and swap in before the stun lands, not after.

• Build: Boots (Arcane or Tranquil), Ghost Scepter or Glimmer Cape, then Force Staff or Blink Dagger. Aghanim’s Scepter is a real pick-up against cores that stay in the back line.
• Watch out for: Squishy supports with no escape; if you swap and die, you lose both heroes’ tempo.

Witch Doctor (Pos 5)

Win rate 52.2% across 594,836 public picks; 51.1% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Witch Doctor is the most picked hero in this list for a reason. Paralyzing Cask bounces on two or three targets in lane, Maledict punishes anyone who stays inside it, and Death Ward wins fights that the enemy thinks are over. At 594,836 picks he is also one of the best-tested heroes in the data, so the 52.2% is a stable number, not a small-sample spike.

• Build: Arcane Boots, Aether Lens for the range on Cask and Maledict, Glimmer Cape, then Aghanim’s Scepter if the game is going long.
• Watch out for: Mobile divers. Death Ward needs you to survive for its full channel.

Grimstroke (Pos 4 or Pos 5)

Win rate 52.1% across 242,509 public picks; 52.3% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Grimstroke is the one hero here that wins more in the high brackets than overall. Ink Swell protects a carry from a pick, Soulbind pins two enemies together and Dark Portrait turns one enemy hero against his own team. He rewards players who can think about timing, which is exactly what higher brackets do.

• Build: Arcane Boots, Blink Dagger as pos 4, Aether Lens as pos 5, then Glimmer Cape or Ghost Scepter.
• Watch out for: Silences and early dives on you, since your whole kit depends on cast range.

Crystal Maiden (Pos 5)

Win rate 51.8% across 508,503 public picks; 50.4% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Crystal Maiden is a fundamentals hero. Frostbite roots through almost everything, Crystal Nova slows and removes enemy vision of your lane, and Freezing Field ends team fights if you are not being chased. Her mana aura is the reason she still beats most supports in the first twelve minutes, especially next to a mana-hungry core. Note the dip from 51.8% overall to 50.4% in Ancient and above: she is easy to find and kill when the enemy has coordinated vision.

• Build: Tango, Clarity and Magic Stick into Arcane Boots, then Glimmer Cape and Aether Lens. Consider Eul’s Scepter against heroes that jump on her.
• Watch out for: Aggressive offlaners that can walk through the Frostbite and kill her; stay behind your creeps.

Shadow Shaman (Pos 5 or Pos 4)

Win rate 51.6% across 589,922 public picks; 51.4% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Shadow Shaman has the strongest early kill threat among the supports. Ether Shock and Shackles can finish a hero in the first five minutes, and Mass Serpent Ward destroys towers faster than most cores. At 589,922 picks, he is the second most picked hero on this table, which tells you how comfortable players are with him.

• Build: Arcane Boots, Blink Dagger, Aether Lens or Glimmer Cape. Take Aghanim’s Scepter if your team can already take towers with Wards.
• Watch out for: Heroes with Black King Bar or any break on Shackles; and never place Wards where the enemy can reach you with a stun.

Disruptor (Pos 4)

Win rate 50.7% across 289,809 public picks; 51.2% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Disruptor is the best pos 4 initiator for ranked pubs. Glimpse punishes enemies who try to run, Kinetic Field cages one or two targets, and Static Storm silences a whole fight. He also received a small buff in 7.41f (base intelligence 20 to 21, level 1 damage 47-51 to 48-52), and his Ancient and above win rate of 51.2% shows it is working.

• Build: Arcane Boots, Blink Dagger, Force Staff or Glimmer Cape, then Aghanim’s Scepter. Hurricane Pike is a real option in a fight-heavy draft, although its total cost went up to 4550 gold.
• Watch out for: Lanes that force you to burn mana early; Disruptor wants Kinetic Field available at level 3.

Earthshaker (Pos 4)

Win rate 50.5% across 547,376 public picks; 51.0% in Ancient, Divine and Immortal. Earthshaker is the most dependable pos 4 for pubs. Fissure splits waves and blocks lane escape routes, Enchant Totem gives your core a burst of damage and Echo Slam punishes players who clump up. At 547,376 picks he has one of the best-tested win rates among pos 4s, and it improves slightly at higher MMR.

• Build: Boots (Arcane or Tranquil), Blink Dagger, then Aether Lens or Force Staff. Add Refresher Orb only if your team has other big ultimates.
• Watch out for: Strong ranged lanes that deny you the Totem hit, and heroes who stay out of Echo Slam range.

Comparison Table

7.41f Changes That Affect Supports

The patch touched a lot of support heroes, and almost all of the changes were nerfs. These are the ones that change draft decisions, taken from Valve’s official 7.41f notes:

• Mirana: maximum Sacred Arrow stun decreased from 2.6/3.4/4.2/5s to 2.3/3.2/4.1/5s, and Leap charge restore time rose from 6s to 7s.
• Winter Wyvern: Cold Embrace cooldown increased from 26/24/22/20s to 29/26/23/20s, and its max health heal per second dropped on the lower levels (2.25/3/3.75/4.5% to 1.5/2.5/3.5/4.5%).
• Keeper of the Light: base attack speed decreased from 100 to 90, Illuminate heal decreased from 70% to 60%.
• Treant Protector: base intelligence decreased from 20 to 17, invisibility linger when leaving trees decreased from 2s to 1s, and the damage block minimum decreased from 20 to 10.
• Io: level 15 Spirits damage talent decreased from +50% to +40%.
• Disruptor: small buffs to base intelligence and level 1 damage.
• Bounty Hunter: Track self bonus gold reduced from 130/225/320 to 80/160/240, which hurts his economy as a roaming support.

If you were relying on one of the nerfed heroes, keep playing them in a draft that suits them, but do not expect the numbers you saw in September.

Item Builds for Supports

Support items did not get a full rework in 7.41f, but several changes matter for how you spend your gold.

• Infused Raindrops: the mana regen bonus decreased from +0.8 to +0.6. It is a weaker lane item against a mage-heavy lane than it was.
• Essence Distiller: mana regen bonus decreased from +1.75 to +1.5.
• Dragon Lance: total cost increased from 1900 to 2000 gold, which raises the price of Hurricane Pike to 4550 gold. A Pike is a luxury for a support now.
• Heaven’s Halberd: total cost decreased from 3400 to 3300 gold, a small bonus for supports who need to survive.
• Shiva’s Guard: Arctic Blast damage decreased from 260 to 225.

A sensible item path for a pos 5 looks like this: Tango, Clarity, Wind Lace and wards at the start, Magic Stick or Infused Raindrops against nukers, then Arcane Boots (or Tranquil Boots if you walk a lot), then Glimmer Cape or Mekansm depending on whether your team needs a save or a team heal. After that, Force Staff or Ghost Scepter as an escape, and Aether Lens if your spells are range-dependent.

A pos 4 usually builds Magic Stick, Wind Lace and Tango, then Arcane Boots or Tranquil Boots, then Blink Dagger as the first major item. After Blink, buy Force Staff, Spirit Vessel against healing heroes, or Pipe of Insight against magic damage. If you are sitting on spare gold at 25 minutes, an Aghanim’s Scepter or Refresher Orb is usually better than another small item.

Warding Timings

Wards are worth gold only when they are placed with a plan. Observer wards last 6 minutes and sentry wards last 8 minutes, so every ward you place has a clock on it. Use that clock to build a routine.

• Before 0:00: place your first observer where your lane will fight, usually on the high ground behind the enemy’s pull camp, so you can see rotations before they arrive.
• Around 3:00: the second bounty rune spawns. Move a ward or a sentry to the rune area so the enemy support cannot take it for free.
• Around 5:30: replace the first observer before it expires. A ward that dies at 6:00 leaves you blind exactly when the mid laner rotates.
• Around 8:00: sentries placed earlier expire. Re-place them where you expect the enemy to put observers, especially on the edge of the river and in the jungle near your tower.
• Before objectives: ward the area first, then clear sentries, then take the objective. Do not try to fight over it with no vision.

The pull and stack timing is easier to remember: stack at about :53 to :55 of each minute, and pull the lane wave so your creeps meet the enemy wave near your tower. Both are worth only a small amount of gold individually, but across 20 minutes a stacking support can give a carry a full extra item.

Laning Rules for Supports

1. Deny first, harass second. A support who denies the carry’s last hit gives up nothing. A support who harasses and takes the return damage without killing anything loses the lane.
2. Stay at the edge of the creep wave. Your creeps absorb the enemy’s attacks and your presence still zones the enemy support.
3. Keep your mana for your spell, not your attacks. A Frostbite or Shackles on a key last hit is worth more than a free auto-attack.
4. Trade early or not at all. If you cannot kill the enemy support, stay safe and keep the lane even. A dead support is 90 seconds of lost vision.
5. Pull when the enemy is out of position. Use the pull to reset the lane if the carry is under tower, and to stack the camp so your carry can farm it later.
6. Check the minimap every 3 seconds. Most dead supports died because they were looking at the lane and not at the missing enemy.
7. Leave at level 3 to 4 if the lane is stable. If your carry is healthy and farmed, go to the next lane and put a ward on the way.

Common Support Mistakes

Most of the support mistakes we see in replays are not mechanical. They are decisions about gold, vision and time.

• Not buying detection. A single Dust or sentry beats an invisible hero. Buy it before you need it.
• Hoarding gold. A 3000 gold stash at 20 minutes is not a safety margin. It is a missing Force Staff.
• Walking into the enemy jungle alone. If you do not have a ward and a way out, wait for your team.
• Using an ultimate too early. Chain Frost, Freezing Field and Death Ward only matter if the enemy cannot escape. Wait for them to commit.
• Forgetting the carry’s timing. If your carry has a Battle Fury at 14 minutes, your job is to give them space, not to start a fight at 13:30.

The Bottom Line

The best supports in 7.41f are the ones that are easy to execute and hard to counter: Lich, Vengeful Spirit, Witch Doctor and Grimstroke for the safe lane, Disruptor and Earthshaker for the offlane. Shadow Shaman and Crystal Maiden are dependable fallback picks. Mirana, Winter Wyvern, Keeper of the Light and Treant Protector were nerfed in 7.41f and should be picked only when your draft needs what they do. Use the table above as a starting point, adjust for your bracket and your team’s draft, and remember that wards, timing and the minimap decide more games than any single hero.

Data in this guide was pulled on October 18, 2026. Dota 2 7.42 has not been released, so these numbers are for 7.41f.

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