Best Dota 2 Support Heroes in Patch 7.36c

Want to get better at playing supports at Dota 2 in the latest patch 7.36c? Fret not, we've got you covered. Here's a list of the best Dota 2 support heroes in patch 7.36c:

Venomancer

Venomancer was left untouched and received no nerfs in the latest patch. Many fans of the game think he is one of the best support heroes in Dota patch 7.36c, an excellent support laner and a team fighter, and is popular across all skill levels.

Venomancer’s biggest appeal is its facet, Patient Zero, because of which his ability, Noxious Plague, helps in setting up kills at level 1 with a 50% slow. It synergises well with Venomous Gale’s damage and slow, thus dealing significant damage.

His passive, Poison Sting, also aids in inflicting more damage and slow, and coupled with Patient Zero and Venomous Gale, it makes an excellent candidate to set up lane dominance and is good against heroes without any strong escape abilities. Combining these slows along with other heroes like Weaver and Ursa with their debuffs at an early stage creates a strong lane for the safelaners and gives them the flexibility to set the course, farm or fight as the game progresses.

He’s also an efficient farmer compared to other support heroes, courtesy of Plague Wards, and can scale up his farm in the neutral camp or lanes, helping him farm key items like Guardian Greaves, Force Staff, Pipe of Insight, Spirit Vessel, etc.

Besides these combinations, Venomancer is also a great mid-game hero because of the Patient Zero facet. It spreads his ultimate, Noxious Plague, twice on the enemies. The first enemy to get hit takes an initial 300 damage, and the other two targets, on whom the plague bounces, lose up to 6% of their max hp as damage and are slowed by 50%. Consequently, heroes with illusions like Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer or those opting for Manta Style have little recourse to survive.

Hoodwink

Hoodwink is a must-play hero in the current meta and one of the best support heroes in Dota 2 in patch 7.36c. It has a powerful hero facet, Treebounce Trickshot, making it a no-brainer pick, especially at Riyadh Masters 2024 where it’s being picked quite a lot. But why is this facet so important?

The facet makes Hoodwink’s Acorn Shot more viable because if there are no bounce targets nearby, the acorn shot bounces to a nearby tree and travels back to the nearby target, if any. It’s essentially having two Acorn Shots at level 1, which is significant because it deals a ton of damage, nearly 200 damage nuke (including 55 bonus damage) at 70 mana cost.

The goal should be simple – spam Acorn Shot, deal damage and set up a winning lane. But continuously spamming the spell requires adept mana (especially when it's an agility hero) and for that, Arcane Boots is a necessity. Also to keep in mind is its innate, Mistwoods Wayfarer, which gives Hoodwink a 15% chance to evade enemy attacks when it’s within 275 range of a tree (the tree gets destroyed by the incoming attack leaving no damage to the hero).

Its ability, Scurry, also plays a crucial role in granting the hero bonus movement speed, phased movement, and tree-walking for a brief time. It gives a 20% bonus movement speed at 35 mana cost. The icing on the cake is its ultimate, Sharpshooter, which channels a deadly bolt for 3 seconds, deals 550 max damage at level 1 and has a low cooldown of 45 seconds. It also slows and breaks down the enemy which is an important attribute and the reason why it’s being picked regularly.

The hero is also natural at farming once the mana problems are resolved. Hoodwink’s abilities can kill creep waves. As a support, these abilities allow the hero to have a game plan and build items according to the situation.

After building Arcane Boots, Gleipnir, Aghanim’s Shard, Aether Lens (optional) and situational items as per your needs can be built (including dps items like Desolator, Daedalus, etc.). Overall, Hoodwink deals a significant amount of damage, slows down the enemy, has partial evasion properties, is an excellent laner and farmer, and is adept at harassing the enemy – a pretty flexible pick.

Witch Doctor

Some say the Witch Doctor is one of the most fun heroes to play and a favourite of many. It is highly picked as a support hero in patch 7.36c. But why? Thanks to the hero having 3 facets to choose from – Voodoo Festeration, Headhunter and Cleft Depth.

Voodoo Festeration and Headhunter are picked more than Cleft Depth and have a win rate of 48% and 53%, respectively.

Firstly, the Witch Doctor’s spells are easy to understand and execute, and the hero is relatively easy to play, even as a newbie. Paralyzing Cask is an excellent spell that launches a cask which ricochets between enemy units, dealing damage and stunning the enemy units. If you opt for the Headhunter facet then the Paralyzing Cask deals more damage with each bounce.

Voodoo Restoration is a self-healing ability that heals the Witch Doctor and its allied units nearby when activated. It’s a great spell to have during a team fight providing allies more ammo (time) to fight as they heal. However, if you opt for Voodoo Festeration, the ability deals damage upon activation and no longer heals.

Maledict is one of the more powerful spells and synergises extremely well with Paralyzing Cask. Maledict curses all enemy heroes in a small area, causing them to take a set amount of damage each second, as well as bursts of damage every 4 seconds based on how much health they have lost since the curse began.

The channelling ability (breaks when Witch Doctor moves) deals 60/95/130 damage across levels and lasts for 8 seconds. It has a 50% bonus accuracy, however, with Aghanim’s Scepter, the Death Ward becomes even deadlier, dealing more damage. The ward becomes invulnerable, can be controlled and can be made to attack a specific target.

There are two ways to play Witch Doctor: Firstly, in the general sense, one needs to max out Cask and Maledict, which helps in setting up team fights and securing near-guaranteed kills. However, when these skills are added with its ultimate, Death Ward, then the Witch Doctor becomes a killing machine.

Secondly, the most popular way to play him right now is to max Voodoo Restoration with the Voodoo Festeration facet, and max Maledict and opt for stun during the later stage, if needed. The whole strength of the hero is being able to trade incredibly well and sustain in a lane harassing the enemies, giving no space to breathe.

Build Arcane Boots, Aghanim’s Shard (turns Witch Doctor into a mini-death ward), Aghanim’s Scepter, Glimmer Cape, and Aether Lens (situational) and set the pub games on fire. Witch Doctor is one of the best support heroes in Dota 2 patch 7.36c.

Sven

Looking at the current meta Sven has mounted an incredible comeback, not as a carry, but as a support hero. It is among the best support heroes in patch 7.36c and is being picked often at the Riyadh Masters 2024. But why has Sven resurfaced as a support once more?Sven's popularity as a support hinges largely on his ability, Warcry, when paired with the Heavy Plate facet.

Warcry grants both Sven and his allies increased armour and movement speed for 10 seconds, offering a crucial window for either initiating or retreating from team fights.

Heavy Plate synergizes well with Warcry, converting it into a robust physical damage barrier. Coupled with Storm Hammer, his first ability which provides stun and crowd control, this potent combination firmly establishes Sven as a top-tier support pick.

At a later stage, his talent tree further amplifies Sven’s potential. Increased Warcry duration, enhanced armour from Warcry, and extended Storm Hammer stun duration at levels 10, 20, and 25, respectively, solidify his position as a highly sought-after support option.

Additionally, Warcry is now undispellable and passively grants 6 armour and 3% movement speed to all allies near Sven with Aghanim’s Shard ability upgrade. This is reflected in the stats with a stunning 58% win rate across all skill tiers, especially in high-tier and pro games, where it clocks a 56% win rate.

The preferred items built for support Sven are Tranquil Boots/Arcane Boots, Vladmir’s Offering, Aghanim’s Shard, Drum of Endurance and Solar Crest (during the later stage). Tranquil provides enhanced regeneration & movement speed while Arcane provides additional mana.

Vladmir Offering’s aura provides lifesteal, bonus damage, mana regeneration and bonus armour to Sven’s allies in a 1200 radius, thus having a material impact in team fights. Aghanim’s Shard, as mentioned earlier, makes Warcry undispellable and grants armour and movement speed.

As the game progresses further, Drum of Endurance and Solar Crest are also being built to provide more durability during a team fight.

That's it for today. You can also read through our best offlane heroes for patch 7.36c guide.