Midlane is one of the most crucial yet challenging roles in Dota 2. This lane can be game-deciding, as whoever gains the upper hand in the Midlane can effectively control the side lanes by assisting their allies in pushing and ganking enemy squads. However, the knowledge of Midlane is useless if you’re not accompanied by a solid hero that fits this vital role.
In that regard, we have prepared a list of the best Midlane heroes in Dota 2, discussing their abilities and effectiveness. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
5 Best Midlane Heroes In Dota 2
As the Midlane role is often played solo, it is important to have a hero with high ganking power and solid mobility. Let’s take an in-depth look at the top 5 Midlane heroes, their pros and cons, and what makes them viable in this role.
5. Queen of Pain
The first hero on our list is Queen of Pain, an amazing Midlaner for less mechanically experienced players. Her abilities make it easy for you to harass enemy Midlaners, as she is a solid early ganker.
Let’s take a quick look at her abilities:
Shadow Strike: A solid damage-dealing ability that is effective for inflicting both instantaneous damage to the target and damage over time. It is the perfect tool for delaying enemy Midlaners.
Blink: A short-range teleportation ability that serves as the most crucial part of her Midlaner-centric kit. You can use Blink to instantly move in and out of combat, giving you solid evasive and gank power.
Scream of Pain: This ability throws a projectile in the form of a scream that damages the enemies in its range. You can use its AoE for farming Creeps in the Midlane.
Sonic Wave: A large soundwave that damages enemy units in its path. It’s a potent ganking tool that proves extremely effective in the mid-to-late game.
| Pros | Cons |
| Inherently strong magic damage | Very situational ultimate that is easy to evade |
| Extremely evasive due to her mobility | Low health and armor in the beginning |
| AoE spells which are great for ganking | Blinking into fights always puts you at risk |
| Less mechanically demanding and easy to master hero |
4. Templar Assassin
Next up is Templar Assassin, an exclusive Midlane pick who can become a devastating Carry with the right build. Her immense physical damage and hard-to-counter abilities make her one of the best solo Midlane pushers in the game.
Let’s take a quick look at her abilities:
Refraction: An incredible buff to Templar Assassin that turns her elusive, making her a difficult target while buffing her attacks. This ability is extremely handy when ganking alone in the Midlane.
Meld: This ability turns Templar Assassin invisible and invulnerable to projectiles. It hard counters abilities from some other Midlaners, like Queen of Pain’s Shadow Strike and Tinker’s Rockets. Furthermore, breaking invisibility by attacking an enemy deals massive physical damage.
Psi Blades: These blades can slice through a target unit, damaging the enemy behind them. If you’re up against a ranged Midlaner, max out Psi Blades for effective output and last hitting during the Laning Phase.
Psionic Projection: Templar Assassin can lay out Psionic Traps to harass enemy Midlaners. Using Psionic Projection allows her to teleport to and detonate any trap.
| Pros | Cons |
| Psi Blades are effective farming tools | Ineffective farming makes her useless late-game |
| Extremely elusive and easy to harass target | Weak against abilities that inflict damage over time |
| Easily pushes Midlane with physical damage | Her attack range is relatively low for a ranged hero |
| Solid hero for farming ancient Creeps |
3. Arc Warden
Arc Warden is one of the best Carry Midlaner in public lobbies with a high skill ceiling. He’s a versatile hero, excelling in various mechanics, like halting pushes, nuking enemies, playing anti-gank for the team, and pushing lanes.
Take a quick look at his abilities below:
Flux: Hits a target with energy Flux, slowing down their speed and dealing damage over time. Perfect spell for delaying enemy Midlaner early game.
Magnetic Field: Protection field that keeps allies and building safe from attacks. It protects your teammates and towers as they get pushed.
Spark Wraith: It’s the best part of Arc Warden’s Midlane utility. It summons a Spark Wraith, which latches onto an enemy, dealing magical damage and slowing them down. Using an Aghanim’s Scepter summons a new Spark Wraith upon contact with the enemy.
Tempest Double: Creates an electrical clone of the Arc Warden that can cast spells and use current items in the inventory. The clone needs to be micromanaged well in order to be very effective..
| Pros | Cons |
| Efficient hotkeying helps split the pushed with Tempest Double. | Mechanically challenging hero, which can be difficult to play for new players |
| Comes with incredible base stats and is quite beefy | Weak to physical damage due to low base HP |
| Right farming makes him downright invulnerable by the late game | Low mobility and less evasive options |
| Can easily deter pushes with the Magnetic Field |
2. Tinker
Let’s briefly look at Tinker’s robust kit:
Laser: A concentrated energy beam that damages and blinds the target for some time. A viable spell for harassing and pushing enemy Midlaners out of the lane and getting the last hits on Creeps.
Heat-Seeking Missile: It releases automatic missiles, seeking enemy targets in a vast range and dealing damage upon impact. It can be paired with Rearm for constant spamming. It is most effective to push enemies out of the Midlane and finish off the fleeing targets.
Defense Matrix: Absorbs some damage and applies status resistance to allies. Great for deterring pushes and ganks from the enemy squad.
Rearm: This ultimate resets the cooldown on many of Tinker’s spells and other items. It is most effective to play Tinker around his ultimate for maximum value out of his abilities.
| Pros | Cons |
| One of the best Nukers in the meta | Needs to manage mana properly for spamming spells |
| Can deter pushes while helping the team push multiple targets | Somewhat ineffective against spell immune heroes |
| Nukes deal both magical and pure damage | |
| Doesn’t need Boots of Travel anymore and can opt for an early Blink |
1. Storm Spirit
Storm Spirit is arguably the best Midlane choice for players of all skill levels, making him the highest presence rate hero in the Midlane. Due to his versatile kit, he is efficient throughout all the game phases as a Carry, Initiator, Disabler, or Nuker.
Let’s see what Storm Spirit has in his ability kit:
Static Remnant: It creates a charged image of Storm Spirit that nukes an enemy in its range. Extremely useful for nuking waves of Creeps and inflicting several last hits.
Electric Vortex: A short disable spell that creates a vortex, pulling in and stunning the target unit. Pair it up with Static Remnant for pulling enemies into the detonation range.
Overload: An electrical charge detonates whenever Storm Spirit attacks an enemy. It is a powerful damage-dealing and slowing ability that helps your team with ganking enemies.
Ball Lightning: Turns Storm Spirit into a ball of lightning, charging across the map. It is the top mobility spell in the game and the best part of Storm’s kit, making him incredibly OP when used right.
| Pros | Cons |
| Scales incredibly well in the late game | Mana management can be challenging |
| Extremely aggressive and mobile for ganking | Very dependent on items, making him weak during early game |
| Spells have a low cooldown | |
| Great for disabling enemies |
Final Thoughts
We hope this guide helps you choosing your go-to hero for a role as crucial as Midlane. Now you must feel better prepared to tackle this demanding role in Dota 2. Check out more Dota 2 guides on our page for builds guides of all the heroes mentioned in this list!