The best ways to play support in Patch 7.38c

In Dota 2, the support role is often underestimated. Despite exceptional skill and in-game responsibility, supports are frequently viewed as nothing more than sacrificial lambs.

While there is some truth to this perception since supports often put themselves in harm's way for the team, there’s far more depth behind the role than meets the eye.

From shot-calling and strategic warding to setting up fights and protecting cores, supports are often the glue that holds a team together.

Let’s look at the best ways to play support in Dota 2 Patch 7.38c.

The best way to play support in Dota 2

The best way to play support in Dota 2 Patch 7.38c is to be selfless. By allowing cores to take the safest farm on the map, supports create space and reduce the risk for their high-priority teammates. This often means positioning themselves in the most dangerous parts of the map, pushing waves, contesting for vision, or simply showing themselves to reveal the enemy’s response.

Crystal Maiden is one of the most famous support hero in Dota 2.

By doing so, supports protect their cores and gather crucial information. If the enemy team doesn’t react to a support being out of position or aggressively pushing a lane, it often signals that they’re up to something—perhaps smoking for a gank or taking Roshan.

This kind of sacrificial map presence is one of the most underrated yet impactful aspects of support play. This is often how a support contributes to a team's success.

The types of support in Dota 2

There are two support roles in Dota 2: Position 4 (soft support) and Position 5 (hard support). While their responsibilities differ slightly, their shared purpose remains the same: to enable their cores. This approach is often the best way to play support in Dota 2, and it still remains true in patch 7.38c.

During the laning stage, the Position 5 support focuses on helping the safelane carry secure a strong start—zoning enemies, harassing opponents, pulling creeps, and mitigating early pressure. Meanwhile, Position 4 typically works alongside the offlaner, looking to disrupt the enemy safelane while maintaining pressure and scouting opportunities to rotate.

Both supports contribute to midlane success through calculated movements—contesting runes, rotating for ganks. Sometimes, a hard support will even respond to the midlane gank if the opponents dive their midlane tower.

As the game transitions into the mid and late stages, their focus shifts toward providing vision, securing map control, and setting up team plays. Smart warding, smoke usage, and timely saves can create the opening a team needs to take objectives or win fights.

Though supports may not top the scoreboard in kills or gold, their vision, utility, and lockdown are often the silent forces that decide the outcome of a match. In the right hands, a support can be just as game-defining as any core.

The Importance of Support in Dota 2

Over the years, the role of support has evolved significantly. Nevertheless, being a support still remains one of the hardest jobs in Dota 2. In terms of farm priority, supports sit at the bottom of the ladder—often going through entire games with little to no gold.

When they do manage to secure some resources, that gold is usually spent on utility items or tools to protect and enable their cores, rather than personal power spikes. As a result, supports must rely heavily on positioning, awareness, and game sense as the match progresses.

An example of a greedy support.

They tend to shine during the laning stage, but their impact often wanes in the late game. Lacking items and scalability, their survivability becomes a concern, and they can be easily picked off if not careful.

This is where communication becomes vital. In the later stages, a support who can calmly and clearly call shots like Roshan attempts, coordinate smokes, and decide when to push or fall back can hold the entire team together. A communicative support keeps the team focused, synchronised, and strategically sharp.

These factors are what make supports the backbone of their team’s success. Their sacrifices create the conditions for their cores to thrive, and in the right hands, their utility and decision-making can be the difference between defeat and victory.

While there are several approaches to playing this role, the best way to play support in patch 7.38c is reflected in how players at the highest level approach the game—through selfless play, precise map awareness, and sharp communication.

Which Supports are best in Patch 7.38c

In recent years, players have experimented with several new approaches to the support role, including the rise of greedy supports that need an item or two to make a significant impact. Surprisingly, this style has gained significant traction in modern Dota. In prior patches, supports with built-in saving abilities dominated the meta, and those heroes remain viable in Patch 7.38c.

The best supports in the previous patch.

Nevertheless, understanding the fundamental principles of the role is still the best way to play support in patch 7.38c. Despite the many innovative strategies that come and go, the core duties of support will stay in any meta or patch.