Pub Tier List 6.86
A whole month has passed since patch 6.86 has hit the main client. Even though it did have a couple of smaller tweaks along the way, the initial release has substantially changed the game by opening more viable options, without sacrificing its fragile balance. With professionals testing the patch on the big stage in Minsk and Valve unlikely to change gameplay until after the Shanghai Major, it is now safe to make a Tier List of heroes and look at interesting statistics that stand out.
Pub Tier List 6.86
With the introduction of meta-statistics, we can now cater to more enthusiastic Dota 2 players when compiling our tier lists. Given how the average level of our readers is generally higher than the global average, we decided to slightly change the format of our most read blog post series, restricting the sample to Very High Skill games only. In doing so, we hope to make the list more relevant to the majority of players without getting too deep into the most hardcore MMR bracket. The end result should offer valuable insight on what heroes generally work better in the current patch and help you understand the meta better.
Stompers (56%+)
Omniknight, 
Abaddon, 
Spectre, 
Zeus, 
Necrophos
No changes seem to move the two defensive supports from the top tier—for as long as I can remember writing Pub Tier Lists, Abaddon and Omniknight have always been leading the win rate chart. And if previously it could be explained by an inability of newer players to deal with certain aspects of these heroes, currently the only explanation remaining is that these two heroes are just exceptionally good. Both of them have questionable laning stages due to their melee range, yet it seems the payoff of picking these supports is still extremely high, especially in unorganized pub games.
Zeus and Necrophos have also been at the top at least for the last three patches and despite meta-fluctuations their position remains stable.
The addition of 
Aether Lens and the push-heavy meta have further solidified the position of the Greek God. The hero is just too good at stopping early-game aggression while remaining strong even in the very late-game.
Same probably goes for Necrophos—despite being a rare case of a hero having a flash-farming tool, but not a reliable outpush one, he is still strong in every stage of the game. Thirty extra seconds in the tavern and unavailability of buyback will always be game-changing.
Spectre and her dominance in the public matchmaking has been discussed previously. Have a read if you are interested in an in-depth analysis of what hard carries bring to the table in the current patch.
Overall, in the 6.85-6.86 transition the amount of “Stomp” heroes has decreased substantially. There were 9 “OP” heroes in the previous patch and the decrease in this number can be considered healthy for the game.
Winners (53-56%)
Wraith King, 
Medusa, 
Ursa, 
Warlock, 
Invoker, 
Chen, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Slardar, 
Lycan, 
Undying, 
Enigma, 
Lich, 
Bounty Hunter, 
Sven
The most surprising hero to see in the “Winners” section is probably Chen—the reasons behind his sudden resurgence have been discussed previously, but it is also worth noting that changing the sample to VHS games only is probably equally as important.
Otherwise, this tier has remained relatively unchanged in terms of additions—Lycan and Enigma are the only heroes who are new to being the “Winners”.
Lycan had some of his spells reworked, allowing for better team-fight presence in the early-game without sacrificing pushing capabilities. He is also better off when piloted by more experienced players.
Enigma is simply happy about finally getting the jungle to himself. Current meta allows less stacking and flash-farming and all the junglers are better off. And despite what the community thinks, junglers are viable options if these two rules are followed:
- Do not pick junglers if that means your safelane will lose their lane—keep check of the enemy offlane pick(s) and if it can disrupt the farm of your carry, junglers are not an option
- Do not simply afk-farm, but rather contribute to the early-game—if done properly it will not necessarily give you the Gold/XP boost, but it will almost certainly benefit the team and the net effect is going to be in your favor
Solid (50-53%)
Luna, 
Vengeful Spirit, 
Juggernaut, 
Pudge, 
Drow Ranger, 
Beastmaster, 
Venomancer, 
Treant Protector, 
Chaos Knight, 
Crystal Maiden, 
Ogre Magi, 
Tidehunter, 
Phoenix, 
Visage, 
Dazzle, 
Elder Titan, 
Mirana, 
Silencer, 
Weaver, 
Witch Doctor, 
Disruptor, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Clinkz, 
Night Stalker, 
Centaur Warrunner, 
Dragon Knight, 
Earthshaker, [missing hero: outworld-devourer], 
Terrorblade, 
Alchemist, 
Slark, 
Viper, 
Jakiro
No matter how much it pains me to say that, but Pudge in the hands of an experienced player is indeed a solid pick. The series of decent buffs and his new ultimate upgrade have made the hero worthy of the attention he always had—reducing Hook cooldown almost three-fold with an 
Aghanim's Scepter makes him a lot more reliable initiator and damage dealer.
Terrorblade is also finally getting over what was considered one of the biggest nerf-hammers in the history of Dota. He is push-friendly and late-game friendly, making him more fit for the current meta. He also requires some degree of micro and is better off in VHS games. Finally, a global +30 HP change has benefitted him a great deal, making him less of a push-over in the laning stage and early mid-game.
Finally, Dazzle has been demoted from a solid pub-winner to a reliable, but not overpowered pick. He has been a staple in many strategies for far too long and even I, despite my love for the hero, have started feeling that he is getting old. Small nerfs have managed to keep him a viable option, with “option” being the keyword—other supports need to have some time in the spotlight as well.
Situational (47-50%)
Dark Seer, 
Templar Assassin, 
Nyx Assassin, 
Lone Druid, 
Earth Spirit, 
Brewmaster, 
Lifestealer, 
Faceless Void, 
Pugna, 
Death Prophet, 
Sand King, 
Anti-Mage, 
Bane, 
Ancient Apparition, 
Doom, 
Clockwerk, 
Phantom Assassin, 
Legion Commander, 
Lion, 
Morphling, 
Tusk, 
Io, 
Naga Siren, 
Riki, 
Keeper of the Light
Heroes in this section do not really lose enough games on average to completely disregard them—sometimes they will be the best final piece to the drafting puzzle, and small deviations from the norm do not indicate weakness be any means. Many of these heroes are actually extremely potent in the hands of professionals and if anything, they might suffer from uncoordinated pub players, rather than inherent inferiority.
For example, both Pugna and Death Prophet are amazing in coordinated push games, with the latter having an extremely high win rate of almost 63% in Shanghai Qualifier matches as well as one of the highest pick priorities. Same goes for Tusk, who remains a very solid pick—he can’t boast a ridiculously high win rate, but it is very close to the 50% mark.
Morphling is also getting a lot of attention as one of the strongest late-game carries. His transition from a nuker into a right-clicking machine is smoother in this patch, since he is less likely to get snowballed by an overfarmed flash-famer.
Finally, the infamous Earth Spirit, after the Magnetic Grip nerf, has becomes a solid hero who doesn’t cause a disproportionate amount of frustration. He is still rather complicated to play, but at least it is no longer unjustly compensated by a ridiculous power level at all stages of the game. In his current form he is a rather welcome addition to both professional and public matchmaking.
Avoid (44-47%)
Gyrocopter, 
Enchantress, 
Ember Spirit, 
Huskar, 
Windranger, 
Batrider, 
Winter Wyvern, 
Techies, 
Phantom Lancer, 
Magnus, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Kunkka, 
Rubick, 
Sniper, 
Troll Warlord, 
Razor, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Shadow Demon, 
Tiny, 
Lina, 
Nature's Prophet, 
Bristleback, 
Bloodseeker, 
Tinker
Yes, it is advised to avoid Gyrocopter picks if you are playing in uncoordinated pubs. Even though he is almost good as a situational pick, global neutral and ancients changes, as well as direct nerfs to the hero have made him rather disappointing, especially given how many equally or better scaling heroes are on the rise. In the current patch he tends to fall off quicker than before and gets online later—his window of dominance has shrunk substantially and is too dependent on him having a good start and/or his teammates helping him out with early stacks. He dominates in the 15-25 minute window in almost the same fashion--it is just games are generally more concentrated on other timings in 6.86.
Shadow Fiend, Windranger and Lina, the biggest flash-farming cores of 6.85 are all pretty much in the same boat—with the ability to catch-up, get ahead and snowball effectively through neutral stack nerfed, they are no longer as big of a threat. These heroes cannot play from behind and getting tempo with them is a lot harder these days.
Finally, Tiny might be too slow for the current meta. He is forced to make a choice between a ganking build, which is not too great against pushing lineups, or a late-game oriented one, in which he suffers from not being exactly the hardest of carries. Any hybrid between the two has a higher chance of success, but as in the case with Gyrocopter the window of opportunity for the Tiny pick to shine might be too narrow and/or might not come at all.
Repick (<44%)
Leshrac, 
Puck, 
Oracle, 
Timbersaw, 
Arc Warden, 
Queen of Pain, 
Storm Spirit, 
Broodmother, 
Meepo. 
Axe
The appearance of QoP in the lowest tier is not quite surprising—she does suffer from the many problems tempo heroes have in the current patch. Fifth lowest win rate is hence understandable, despite her dominance half-a-year earlier. She just doesn’t really fit well in the current meta and she certainly can’t allow herself to go for late-game. The previous go-to build concentrating on heavy magical/pure damage on low cooldown is probably better, but still doesn’t cut it.
Puck is more or less in the same boat, but the hero has a lot more utility to offer and with a proper build can stay somewhat relevant even in the late-game. The biggest problem however remains—the hero has an incredibly high skill ceiling, among the highest in the game, with a relatively small payoff. Playing the hero perfectly is almost unfeasible, but even then the impact will be comparable to an impact an average Invoker can offer. The hero doesn’t need a buff as there are players who can unlock its potential almost fully--it just needs to be picked less to “experiment” and “practice’ in ranked matchmaking.
Oracle I have been extremely vocal about throughout all the changes the hero has suffered in the last couple of patches. I’ve said time and time again that the hero is getting a lot worse and is now a ridiculous hybrid of weird nuker and save support, with neither of his sides working as well as they used to. The end result is a misunderstood hero with low impact and the potential to be harmful to his team. And unlike some other heroes in this tier, it doesn’t come from lack of player skill, unless you count spamming a lot of buttons in predefined order “skillful”.
Final Thoughts
Compared to the previous patch, there are some very interesting overall trends in the distribution of heroes across tiers. The amount of heroes in each tier now more closely resembles a normal distribution, with the extremes being not as populated, as previously. It generally means what many have expected from the patch—more viable options, better overall balance and higher diversity.
This has lead to several pleasant consequences, with the most important ones being the reinvigoration of the professional scene and versatility becoming a bigger factor in higher level matchmaking. Some of the more hardcore players might object to these changes, since the patch has put many hard-to-master heroes on more or less equal grounds with the rest, but the game certainly feels a lot more fair.
First?
Oh lesh
surprised to see axe where he is.
we need storm back pls
I don't think it's good to name the groups of heroes as you did. "Avoid" and "Repick" have a few heroes who are actually quite good pubstompers in the hands of someone who can play them, e.g. Ember Spirit, Meepo. And if you can play heroes like Batrider he's really good too. It's interesting to see what heroes are doing well in terms of winrate, was just iffy with the dismissal of some heroes who can be fantastic, which is only really fair if you're marketing this blog to a very casual player.
TImbersaw shouldn't be in the last list.
You say Puck has one of the highest skill ceilings but then go on to say there "are players who can unlock its potential almost fully." How can Puck be one of the hardest heroes to play when people haven't even unlocked the full potential of Arc Warden, Chen, Earth Spirit, etc etc?
Heathen! The Warden should be #1!
wow, chen finally in meta
So glad to see Storm and QOP fucked because even know they are usefuls heroes
Nobody noticed the Skeleton King picture? LOL
Sorry but Oracle is not bad, actually he is really game breaking if played properly. I know this is a pub tier list, but there is a reason that oracle is a top pick on pro scene now, he has a good lockdown, some nukes, dispel and a better version of shallow grave. When used properly oracle can singlehandedly turn a fight.
I'm sorry, but naming parts of your guide "Avoid" and "Repick"just really irks me. I cannot stand people who want others to only follow the bandwagon and pick whatever is popular. What a fucking joke. The game has over a hundred Heroes, people deserve to be able to play whichever ones they want (as long as it fits the draft, whatever that happens to be).
I will admit, on the rare occasion somebody picks a Hero like Oracle or Meepo, I mentally prepare myself for the -25. However, this is only because not many people know how to play these Heroes to their full extent. Somebody wants to play Meepo and is okay? Sure, go ahead, as long as it fits the draft and you don't pick first.
'unless you count spamming a lot of buttons in predefined order “skillful”.' - Isn't that how you play every hero?
naisaa
RİP Huskar...
With Dusa, and WK having such a high win rate, I'm surprised of where AM is placed...
Also, Oracle is not nearly as useless as claimed. When he is used by someone who is skilled with him, he can be a great support.
storm are fuc#ing annoying dude
OUR ONE AND TRUE KING IS IN THE PICTURE AT THE START!I miss him :'(
Tinker still garbage.
^ @aldo, Elduryb, did you even watch Starladder at all? The hero was banned 4 times out of 41 games and had a 30% winrate going 3-7.
Or what about the Shanghai regional qualifiers? Hero was picked 49 times with a 36.73% winrate. Top pick - in your dreams maybe.
In other words he's just as bad in professional dota as he is in pubs. I am seriously sick of people ignoring reality and insisting "oh no he's really fine" in defiance of all available evidence. The hero needs a major frigging buff to be viable in either pubs or competitive. Right now he is a complete dog.
Compare him to dazzle (since his entire ultimate is basically a longer cooldown shallow grave). What was Dazzle's winrate at Starladder? 75%. Dazzle's pub winrate? Just under 53%. That's what you call 'a great support'.
Does it mean that if my Furion is at 50% winrate, I am rather good Furion or that Furion in my hands is a solid pick or both at once? I just cannot believe that even through those buffs to him, he is still so low... Maybe, his micro is just tooooooooo difficoult for any kind of ordinary player, or his squishiness and lack of mobility such as blink or invisibility... Usually, when I lose game with Furion it is because of my team loses lane stage (I am playing offlane Furion, not sure if getting more levels than enemy offlaner is losing my lane lel), not because the hero is trash, his map control, gank-ability, lategame scaling into powerful pusher or even right click carry is insane along with his farming abilities. What is more, Alliance is no longer the only donger to pick Furion in pro scene. He may not score as much impact as getting yourself Chen, which I enjoy playing too, but he is still great tool to have in your laneup rather than seeing him in the hands of enemy team. Usualy when the enemy gets Furion, I cry my way out, cause if there is anything about DotA I hate, it is playing against your beloved hero, cause you know what kind of asshole he may become. I have to say that I absolutely do not agree with his prescence in a group so called "Avoid" he is Situational, sometimes more than that, he fits into great variety of laneups, same as Sylla. Sylla is actually wrongly put into "Situational" group, maybe based on winrate, which I dont get why he is that low, but in pro scene, Sylla is getting so much attention, more than that morphling, only Sylar being one to play Morphling tho and he playing morphling is just like AdmiralBulldog on Sylla, just signature picks, you expect them to own and so they do.
Thanks for reading this comment, cant imagine anyone readint it whole.
SF is so hard to play now :(
You label Omni and Abaddon as supports, but Abaddon's high winrate has come from him being played as a carry / core (judging by his most build items).
I think his winrate would be considerably lower if he was primarily played as a support - not to say he isn't strong as one, it's just a farmed Abaddon is very difficult to deal with in pubs.
As with all statistics it's very easy to overlook some extremely important factors. Especially as we're looking at pub stats here I think we should consider that several of the heroes in the Repick group are actually very vulnerable to be picked by people who either have no interest in winning the game, or just got stomped by the hero in question and think that they can do it too. Axe/Brood/QoP/Meepo/Timber, with the exception of maybe Axe, are all good heroes in their current state. Yes, they have weaknesses but that makes them situational picks (as the author mentioned near the start of the article). I believe these statistics demonstrate a wide spread lack of player quality, rather than hero quality.
Well the reason arc is so low is because in the scrub tier (sub 4k) barely anyone has good micro skills, which are needed to play arc effectively.
@Donald Trump Well they did say they sampled Very High Skill bracket. I'm not sure what the corresponding MMR is, but my guess is at least 3,5, possibly more, but as they said they don't want to base their sample around 5k MMR+, it's definitely under 5K.
I really wish this was stratified at the different mmr levels. I outright refuse to believe all some of these. Very high skill = 3,5. And the game changes drastically from 4->5 and 5->6 with regards to what you can and can't get away with.
Volvo pls buff puck
@murranji actually I did, and also I`ve just watched DC kicking stark`s ass thanks to its oracle. The fact that the hero does not have a 50+ WR in pro scene is so irrelevant that even with this record, teams still prioritize oracle, thats just how good he is. Wining in pro depends a lot more on strategy than picks. Sure, sometimes one pick - like a magina in Navi`s case - can go really bad. But for a fighting line-up oracle is amazing.
>OP thinks there is a repick tier
AYY LMAO
man when people figure out arc warden it's going to be 50+ win rate ez
is this really an error?...Finally, the infamous Earth Spirit, after the Magnetic Grip nerf, "has becomes" a solid hero who doesn’t cause a disproportionate amount of frustration.
Once people know what the hell to do with Arc Warden he will be amazing, he has so much potential both push-wise and farm-wise
To pub Arc Warden players- stop buying Dagon and/or Daedalus. Your job is to push those towers down, not to fight(mostly...sometimes fighting is necessary.) I'm talking to you, people who get Dagon and get your main self exposed while trying to double Dagon someone at min 50.
shit 5k+ players pick invoker more than pudge
Avoid Ench? Are you frikken kidding me, man? She's like one of those heroes that can be viable on offlane solo vs most lineups that don't do hard burst-downs, no matter the skill-bracket. The fact that her official numbers are bad doesn't mean she should be avoided- far from it.
QoP and Storm Spirit Place explains A lot.
How the fuck does terrorblade require micro now? The 900 range on his illusions basically turned him into a click and drag, "select all units" hero. Fuck off.
I'm honestly surprised to see enchant where she is, the dragon lance/aghs build might seem gimmicky but can be abused so easily in pubs.
Well, in 5k+ games enchantress has a 53% winrate. So stop complaining and just understand that lower skill players don't play her right, and that she is good.
Tiny winrate has dropped not because he is too slow for the current meta, but because he was directly nerfed. The change in Craggy Exterior no longer allows him to block an attack from the start, and missed attacks can no longer trigger it so Craggy Exterior now blocks less damage than it did.
QoP :(
#savewinterwyvern
#saveoracle
Of course every hero is great and somewhat gamebreaking if picked by the right hand with the right draft, but that's not the point. It's only based on statistics and opinion, which is situational in itself. You don't blindly follow any guide/advice in Dota, you take notes of it and act accordingly. I'd say this is a well-written analysis, thank you very much KawaiiSocks!
There is no point making categories with low bracket sticks. Oracle or Qop are very strong and stomp if well played. Lion DP or earthspirit arent at all situationnal but all-rounder. Drow Visage Shaman or Alchemist may win in lower bracket but do nothing after unless very situationnal compo, they arent 'solid' at all.
Jugg has become the most satisfying carry since 6.83. The hero can be played by everyone, in any lineup, picked first or last with a fair win rate. Support players will never get nervous if they see jugg as carry.
I think we all need to understand that this isn't exactly saying that all the heroes in the low tiers are bad, just that they've been performing poorly which can easily mean that people who don't know how to play those heroes effectively are skewing the winrates.
With 5k+ samples, the "pub tier list" is now "semi-pro tier list". Most people, by far, will be in between 2k~4k range, and if it is to make a pub tier list for most people to base their picks on, I'd say these would be much better brackets. 5K+ players don't need this advice anyways...