Nobody likes a selfish player, but sometimes it feels like you're playing a 1v5, and the fate of the game rests on your shoulders.
Let's be honest, who doesn't like playing carry? If played correctly, a carry can become an absolute god pumping out massive damage with each attack. On the flip side, you may find yourself in a match where you hit like a wet noodle. Aside from blaming your team, the best way to improve as a carry is to understand each heroes' strengths and weaknesses. And, in this list, I will be explaining just that.
10. Gyrocopter
Aurel, the Gyrocopter
Gyrocopter punishes lineups that rely on summons. His Flak Cannon launches an attack on every enemy within range. This quickly clears low HP units, making him a great counter against heroes such as Nature's Prophet and Brewmaster.
Why Gyrocopter is Great for Carry:
- Great wave clear
- Farms quickly with Flak Cannon
- He is great at ganking
- Call Down is excellent for team fights
- His Flak Cannon scales really well with damage items
Strong Against:
- Heroes with summons - Gyrocopter’s Flak Cannon is excellent at killing multiple units at once.
Weak Against:
- Melee heroes - Gyrocopter lacks defensive spells, making him weak against powerful melee heroes that can close the gap.
9. Sniper
Kardel Sharpeye, the Sniper
Sniper is a hero that lacks mobility but makes up for it with his raw damage output. If he's situated far enough away from his enemies, he can pump out massive damage and pick up easy kills. Personally, my biggest issue with playing Sniper is having to hear him repeat "HOHO HAHA" over and over.
Why Sniper is Great for Carry:
- High raw damage output
- Can slow enemies on the run
- Insane attack range
- Farms fast with shrapnel
- Can kite melee heroes with his headshot
Strong Against:
- Teams without initiation - Enemies that aren’t able to get on top of sniper quickly will get continuously kited by Headshot.
- Slow heroes - Shrapnel is a powerful aoe slow that can make naturally slow heroes move at a snail's pace.
Weak Against:
- Blink Daggers - He has no way of saving himself if a powerful hero blinks on top of him.
- Burst heroes - Sniper has a low health-pool due his strength gain of only 1.7 per level.
8. Slark
Slark, the Nightcrawler
Slark is a slippery fish that can be extremely hard to kill. Slark’s abilities allow him to weave in and out of fights with ease. His abilities can be used both defensively and offensively. An offensive Slark can be a powerful ganker that dominates the early game.
Why Slark is Great for Carry:
- Great in lane
- Hard to catch
- Great at ganking
- Steals attributes with each hit
- He can dispel almost anything
Strong Against:
- Heroes without escapes - Slark can easily lock down and kill any hero that's unable to free themselves from his Pounce.
- Most melee heroes - Every time Slark attacks an enemy, he steals their stats and applies an agility buff to himself.
Weak Against:
- Anyone that steals mana - Slark relies on mana to use his defensive spells.
- AOE spells - Area of effect spells can hit Slark in his Dark Pact.
7. Lone Druid
Sylla, the Lone Druid
Lone Druid’s uniqueness makes him tricky to master. Any micromanaging skills you have from playing Starcraft will be useful here. Lone Druid controls not only himself but also a ferocious bear. Lone Druid is a mostly well-rounded hero but excels at demolishing towers.
Why Lone Druid is Great for Carry:
- Can hold up to 12 items
- Great survivability with his ultimate
- His root can lock down almost anyone
- Insane tower damage
- Can easily run-down fleeing enemies
Strong Against:
- Heroes with escapes - Lone Druid’s bear has a chance to root with each hit, making him naturally strong at locking down elusive heroes.
Weak Against:
- Summons - Both Lone Druid and his bear lack AoE damage, making him weak to illusions and summons.
- Any item or spell that disarms - If the enemy can continuously disarm Lone Druid’s bear, he loses his primary damage source. Most carries build a BKB to counter disarms, but building a BKB just for the bear is costly.
6. Spectre
Mercurial, the Spectre
Spectre is hailed by many as the best late-game hero in the game. Spectre’s impressive stat gain and ultimate ability make her a beast in the late-game. Her ultimate, Haunt, spawns five illusions that immediately attack every enemy hero on the map. These illusions are incredibly powerful and hard to kill.
Why Spectre is Great for Carry:
- High mobility with Spectral Dagger
- Great survivability with Dispersion
- Ultimate that spawns 5 illusions
- Global map presence
- Insane late-game potential
Strong Against:
- Heroes that are alone- Spectre’s Desolate does bonus damage to enemies that have no allies within a 425 radius.
- Weak supports - Supports without a Force Staff or Glimmer cape can die just from the sheer damage of Spectre’s ultimate.
- Most ranged heroes - Her ultimate lets her instantly teleport to any enemy on the map, countering many heroes that rely on positioning.
Weak Against:
- Heroes that break passives - Spectre’s Desolate and Dispersion are both broken by items such as Silver Edge.
5. Faceless Void
Darkterror, the Faceless Void
Faceless Void is the hero to pick if you love team fighting and throwing out flashy ultimates. Faceless Void's ultimate, Chronosphere, freezes time, disabling anyone unfortunate enough to be caught inside of it. This ultimate allows Faceless Void to pull off some incredible plays. Be careful, however, as your teammates can also get caught in your Chronosphere.
Why Faceless Void is Great for Carry:
- Can easily time walk between creep camps
- Great team fight
- Can also solo gank with Chronosphere
- Can lock down any hero in the game
- His Time Walk makes him hard to burst
Strong Against:
- Evasive heroes - Chronosphere can stun any hero, regardless of how slippery they are.
- Burst damage - Faceless Void’s Time Walk can be used to instantly restore all health lost during the previous 2 seconds.
Weak Against:
- Damage over time spells - DOTs are more effective against Faceless Void due to his Time Walk.
- Roots - Roots disable his ability to Time Walk.
- Tanky heroes - If a hero has too big of a health pool, Faceless Void will have trouble killing them in the Chronosphere.
4. Terrorblade
Terrorblade, the Demon Marauder
Terrorblade, like Spectre, utilizes illusions to dominate the late-game. He farms much faster than Spectre and is stronger in the lane. Terrorblade is unique, as his non-ultimate ability Metamorphosis has a whopping 155-second cooldown. This ability transforms Terrorblade into a ranged hero and gives him bonus damage. Cooldowns are everything for Terrorblade as you don’t want to get caught up in a teamfight with your Metamorphosis on cooldown.
Why Terrorblade is Great for Carry:
- Farms fast
- Easily jungles
- Multiple illusion abilities
- Highest starting armor in the game
- Can farm multiple waves at once
Strong Against:
- Lineups that don't have AOE - Terrorblade’s illusions can quickly overrun enemies that aren’t able to efficiently kill them.
- Lineups that lack strong late-game carry - Terrorblade can win almost any 1v1 in the late-game.
Weak Against:
- Enemies that do damage based on Terrorblade’s HP (Zeus) - Terrorblade has a low health pool and abysmal Strength gain.
- Heroes that easily clear illusions - If the enemies can quickly kill his illusions, Terrorblade can be focused down and killed.
3. Anti-Mage
Anti-Mage
Anti-Mage is a hero that loves to hit both creeps and towers. An Anti-Mage can win the game for his team without ever getting a single kill. He excels at quickly pushing out creep waves and utilizing his blink ability to get from one wave to another. He can keep all of the lanes pushed in and deal substantial tower damage, all without ever needing a teammate.
Why Anti-Mage is Great for Carry:
- Farms very fast
- Can blink away from danger
- High agility
- Attacks very fast
- Inherent magic resistance
Strong Against:
- Intelligence heroes - Anti-Mage’s Mana Break is more effective against heroes that rely on their mana.
- Heroes that have high mana pools - His Mana Void does bonus damage based on how much mana the target is missing.
Weak Against:
- Heroes with hard disables - Void’s Counter Spell is ineffective against heroes such as Legion Commander and Faceless Void.
- Heroes with a bash ability - Bashes ignore Counter Spell, making them an effective way to lock Anti-Mage down.
2. Phantom Assassin
Mortred, the Phantom Assassin
Phantom Assassin can be incredibly satisfying to play and incredibly frustrating to play against. It wouldn't hurt to pray to the RNG gods before picking this hero, as her primary damage comes from her critical strike passive that activates only 15% of the time. If you do get lucky, you can expect to do massive damage with just one attack. This massive burst of damage can occasionally kill an enemy hero one hit.
Why Phantom assassin is Great for Carry:
- High burst damage
- Can pick off supports quickly
- Extremely mobile
- Farm dependant
- Can snowball super quickly
Strong Against:
- Heroes with low health pools - If an enemy’s health is low enough, Phantom Assassin can kill them before they have a chance to react.
- Anyone weak to burst damage (Alchemist and Anti-Mage, for example).
Weak Against:
- True strike - True Strike ignores her Blur ability..
- Illusion heroes - Phantom Assassin can often get overrun by illusion heroes. She will need to buy a Battlefury to deal with the illusions, stunting her early game potential.
1. Juggernaut
Yurnero, the Juggernaut
If you are looking for a hero to carelessly pick every game, Juggernaut is your guy. Juggernaut is exceptionally versatile. Comboing Juggernaut's spin with a support's stun makes for easy kills in the lane. And, Juggernaut's ultimate, Omnishlash, makes him a formidable foe in the late game.
Why Juggernaut is Great for Carry:
- Flexible
- High movement speed
- His ultimate scales with items
- Self-sustain with his healing ward
- Inherent spell immunity with his Blade Fury.
Strong Against:
- Heroes that rely on magic damage - Juggernaut’s Blade Fury gives him 100% magic resistance when active.
- Weak laners - Juggernaut is one of the best carries in lane thanks to his Blade Fury, this lets him easily dominate most lanes.
Weak Against:
- Invisibility heroes - Omnislash gets canceled if its target disappears.
- Illusions and summons - Like phantom Assassin, Juggernaut has trouble dealing with multiple units at once. Blade Fury can help with this, but its effectiveness falls off during later stages of the game.
