Как выигрывать стадию лайнинг на саппортах в Dota 2?

In the gameplay of Dota 2, supports in the fourth and fifth positions often endure the most suffering. At the beginning, it’s not easy for them as they strive to protect their core (carry or offlaner) from enemy attacks while being on the lane. In addition, they have to keep in mind stacking creeps. Of course, if there’s someone on the team who can easily farm them.

Later on, it’s a struggle for them to acquire one or two items, usually happening in the mid-game. Then, these items are used again, but this time for a different purpose – saving teammates from fights by making a maximum impact. According to expert research, all of these factors are the main reasons for the arguments in the in-game chat, often initiated by supports.

But can a bad outcome for supports be avoided by making some adjustments to their playstyle? Year after year, simple workers play Dota 2. Although they put in great effort, they still struggle to increase their rating. They mainly attribute it to their limited free time, causing their rating to rise very slowly. However, there is an alternative approach, not attempting to enter professional esports.

With a bit of effort, the game can become more comfortable not only for the supports but also for the rest of the team. Below are some tips specifically intended for fourth and fifth position supports.

Step 1

The first thing you need to do is spend a small amount of your money and buy a couple of wards. To be more specific, you’ll need one Observer Ward (most often for the offlane) and two Sentry Wards. Why do you need to buy two Sentries? It’s crucial for a player to block the enemy creep camp, which they use to pull the enemy carry or support. So, at the start of the game, you should quickly purchase the wards and then rush to the first tower. In some cases, a smoke can be used for this purpose, but your actions should depend on the specific situation.

Place the first Sentry Ward directly behind the small neutral creep camp. In this case, your opponent might make a mistake with their own ward, wasting their gold. In higher ranks, the enemy support might even assume that you blocked the camp with your body, but this happens very rarely.

Now, move on to the Observer Ward. In the game, it should be placed in a specific spot, ideally diagonally across from the crystal clusters. If it’s placed there, you’ll have an excellent view of what’s happening near the small neutral creep camp. Additionally, you can easily spot the enemy Sentry Ward. With this placement, the distance between our Sentry and Observer is optimal.

This way, the enemy ward won’t be able to detect both of our wards at once. In the worst case, we will lose only one of them. You can place the second Sentry Ward at the medium creep camp. In this case, the carry or support won’t be able to pull the creeps directly onto the lane. Thanks to this, they won’t be able to farm gold to the maximum extent during the laning phase.

Step 2

Once you have everything set up correctly, it’s time to approach the rune with your teammates. Players should prepare for a quick purchase of a couple of items. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the safe lane or offlane. You should buy a Healing Salve for yourself and an additional Sentry Ward. It will come in handy later.

When the enemy support arrives on their lane, they may have one sentry ward. It’s likely they will notice that the camp is blocked, so they will probably place their own ward. When this happens, you will already have an additional sentry in your possession. By using it, you can block the neutral camp again.

In reality, this is quite simple. The player who can place this type of ward first gains an advantage in a small skirmish. This is because the second player will need much more time to find our ward and then attempt to destroy it. We don’t need to make much effort. All we do is keep an eye on the enemy’s movements using the Observer Ward.

Winning the battle for the small camp is important for two reasons. First, if we win, the enemy won’t be able to pull creeps, which means our offlaner won’t have to get too close to the enemy tower. In other words, farming speed significantly increases. The second reason is that the enemy support will have to frequently leave to the jungle, cursing you and destroying your sentries. This makes life easier for your team’s core heroes.

Step 3

If the offlaner you’re laning with doesn’t have any issues, it’s best not to stay on the lane with them. Instead, focus on reaching level two quickly. After that, start doing what any support should do – stack camps. With each new update in the game, the reward for stacking camps increases. Therefore, poor supports in the fourth and fifth positions can get a decent boost in terms of financial reward. Start stacking camps around the 3-4 minute mark. It doesn’t matter which side you’re playing on. The best strategy is to go to the triangle area and then carry out the necessary actions. Runes will become available at the fourth minute mark. Coordinate with your midlaner to ensure the enemy duo doesn’t get any useful bonuses.

Conclusion

In some cases, this strategy may not fit the gameplay style, especially if you have an offlaner or carry who can easily go invisible. In such cases, you should change the placement of the Observer Ward to prevent the enemy from sitting on both seats simultaneously. The opponent will definitely place their sentry on the lane in this case.

As a result, two useful things will happen. Your ward can cause problems for the enemy since it provides information about courier movements. When you manage to intercept them, you won’t have to worry much about the enemy’s comfortable lane since none of the opponents will be able to get regen anytime soon.

For beginners coming into Dota 2, the most common enemies are laziness and time constraints. Such opponents exist even among players at lower ranks. They worry too much about their gold and hesitate to spend it on these small things. However, Dota 2 is a game of details, and this viewpoint is fully endorsed by professional players.

If you have a strong desire to excel in Dota 2 and constantly improve your rating, especially on support positions, which can be challenging, don’t hesitate to invest in vision. Record all key timings, and pay attention to the clock. It will remind you to stack a couple more camps or go for a rune. The first few times, things may not go as planned, and there may be mistakes. But to succeed in the game, don’t give up. Keep making new attempts.