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The best support heroes in Dota 2 on patch 7.41e are Winter Wyvern, Oracle, Bane and Io, the four picks the high-MMR community rates S-tier. On the position-four soft-support side, Io and Ringmaster lead with win rates above 56%, while Treant Protector and Undying are the safest position-five picks for climbing. If you just want a hero to win games on, start with Winter Wyvern.
This is a support tier list ranking the strongest position-four and position-five heroes by win rate, pick rate and meta fit, using high-MMR and professional data from Dotabuff, Stratz and Dota2ProTracker, as of August 2026. Support win rates shift with every balance patch, so treat this as a 7.41e snapshot.
The best support heroes right now
Fifteen of the strongest support heroes on 7.41e, ranked on win rate and how contested they are across both support roles. Figures are high-MMR pub win rates unless marked; a dash means no standout 7.41e number, so the hero is placed on tier and meta fit.
| Rank | Hero | Role | Tier | Win rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winter Wyvern | Pos 5 | S | Top Pos 5 | Arctic Burn + Cold Embrace, huge team-fight swing |
| 2 | Oracle | Pos 4/5 | S | — | Best save in the game with False Promise |
| 3 | Io | Pos 4 | S | 56%+ | Relocate ganks; enables any carry |
| 4 | Bane | Pos 4/5 | S | — | Single-target lockdown from level 1 |
| 5 | Ringmaster | Pos 4 | A | 56%+ | Newer hero, flexible control and damage |
| 6 | Treant Protector | Pos 5 | A | High | Safest lane; global heals and Overgrowth |
| 7 | Undying | Pos 5 | A | High | Dominates the lane with Decay and Tombstone |
| 8 | Lich | Pos 5 | A | — | Zone control and Frost Shield sustain |
| 9 | Clockwerk | Pos 4 | A | — | Cog traps and global Hookshot initiation |
| 10 | Tusk | Pos 4 | A | — | Snowball ganks and Walrus Punch burst |
| 11 | Nyx Assassin | Pos 4 | A | — | Vendetta pick-offs and mana burn |
| 12 | Spirit Breaker | Pos 4 | A | — | Charge pressure across the whole map |
| 13 | Bounty Hunter | Pos 5 | A | — | Track gold and vision; strong roamer |
| 14 | Grimstroke | Pos 5 | B | — | Soulbind combos and Ink Swell saves |
| 15 | Earthshaker | Pos 4 | B | — | Echo Slam wins fights outright |
Top 5 supports in detail
S-tier
S-tier
S-tier
S-tier
A-tier
Winter Wyvern is the most reliable win-rate support in pubs: Cold Embrace saves a dying core while Arctic Burn and a well-placed Winter’s Curse can turn a losing fight instantly. Oracle has the best single-target save in the game with False Promise, letting greedy cores dive and survive. Io defines the aggressive dual-lane meta, using Relocate to gank across the map and Tether to make any carry unkillable. Bane offers lockdown from level one with Nightmare and Fiend’s Grip, and Ringmaster, one of the newest heroes, has climbed to a 56%-plus win rate on flexible control and damage. For the other end of the map, see our tier lists for the best carry heroes and best mid heroes.
Position 4 vs Position 5
Supports split into two jobs. Position five is the hard support who buys wards and keeps the carry alive; position four is the roaming soft support who makes plays and ganks. Pick to match the role you are actually filling.
| Role | Best picks | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Position 5 (hard support) | Winter Wyvern, Treant Protector, Undying, Lich | Win the lane, sustain the carry, scale into team fights |
| Position 4 (soft support) | Io, Ringmaster, Clockwerk, Tusk, Nyx Assassin | Roam, gank and create early pick-offs |
| Flexible saves | Oracle, Bane, Grimstroke | Keep cores alive in fights from either slot |
Support is the fastest role to climb from, because a good roamer can win lanes you never touch. It pairs naturally with a strong core — and if you want the wider genre picture, our ranking of the best MOBA games shows where Dota 2 sits against League of Legends and the mobile giants.
Best supports for beginners
New to the role? Start with heroes whose spells are simple to land and hard to waste. Lich, Bane and Winter Wyvern are forgiving: their kits are point-and-click or long enough to aim, they contribute in every fight, and they do not need items to matter. Save execution-heavy picks like Io, Rubick and Earth Spirit for when you are comfortable with warding, positioning and buyback timings.
