Playing as a support is one of the most underrated roles inesports. Oftentimes, they are viewed as players who are too dependent on their teammates to win games. While that is untrue,Dota 2support heroes are versatile and can be impactful all throughout the different stages of the game. Complementing your team’s drafts and choosing a support hero that will enable your carry to snowball into the late game is crucial in playing as support.
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Once you and your team got your drafts ready, it’s time to bring your impact into the game by utilizing your hero’s skill set and support items. Good itemization in the early game will allow you to survive longer and become more effective in your lanes and rotations, therefore creating space for your carry to farm gold and experience. Picking the best items for your early game will not only benefit you but will also benefit your carry and the rest of the team.
10Quelling Blade
Some players may think that the Quelling Blade is only good for hard-hitting heroes due to its bonus damage. For support heroes, this item is invaluable for a totally different reason. One of the important things to do when playing as a support is to be able to cast your abilities in range without the risk of exposing yourself. For lower ability levels, this means that casting your spells may require you to be in range and become much more exposed during the laning stage.
For supports, Quelling Blade offers better positioning and vision by allowing you to chop trees and position yourself where you can harass the enemy carry, or provide vision where an enemy support may be lurking as well. It also allows you to escape ganks by cutting trees off and creating a path to the safety of your tower. For just 100 gold, this is a must-have for any supports looking for an immediate impact in the early game.
9Enchanted Mango
Instantly restoring 100 Mana, Enchanted Mango is one of the most effective items in the early game. Many players prefer using Clarity during the laning stage as it provides 50 more Mana, but an Enchanted Mango instantly replenishes your mana and therefore allows you to cast your follow-up spells as quickly as possible. Another great thing about this item is that as long as it’s in your inventory, it provides you 0.6 health regeneration for a single Enchanted Mango.
A max of three Enchanted Mangoes can be stored in a single inventory slot, so a total of max 1.8 health regeneration for a single inventory slot during your early game will give you a substantial amount of survivability. Enchanted Mangoes also restore your mana just enough for most of your early-game spells.
8Infused Raindrops
Infused Raindrops come with 6 charges, with each charge negating 120 magic damage as long as the damage instance is over 75 damage. It means that when facing enemy heroes with strong magical nukes, Infused Raindrops will help you survive the spell. Knowing when to purchase this item is important to maximize its value in-game.
While it is great to nullify magic damage from enemies, Infused Raindrops cannot block damage from abilities and spell with damage-over-time instances lower than 75 damage. As a support with limited gold, it is always optimal to consider which items to purchase; but when facing magical enemy heroes, Infused Raindrops will definitely help you in fights.
7Observer & Sentry Wards
Observer Wards and Sentry Wards are early game items that never lose theirvalueas the game progresses. Indispensable and crucial, these wards offer one thing that most teams want during the entire course of the game: map control. During the early game phase, it is important for your carry to have as much space and vision as possible. A properly placed Observer Ward will always warn of potential ganks from the enemy team, while also providing you and your carry some killing potential should a lone hero wander into your vision.
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Sentry Wards can change the tide of the battle, especially when dealing with invisible heroes. While it is always recommended to bring a Dust Of Appearance, Sentry Wards allow you to roam and assist your teammates safely by giving you vision over invisible enemies within an area. Sentry Wards also let you remove enemy wards, even granting you bonus gold should you be the one planting the Sentry Ward used to de-ward an enemy Observer Ward. These Wards can also block neutral camps, preventing the enemy team to pull and farm these areas.
6Faerie Fire
One of the most overlooked early game items for supports, Faerie Fire provides extended survivability by instantly restoring 85 health, while also providing an additional 2 bonus damage. Early game supports have generally lower HP and are therefore susceptible to ganks and deaths. Having at least a single Faerie Fire in your inventory will oftentimes allow you to survive these fights, denying the enemy team some gold and experience.
Being able to survive using a Faerie Fire allows you to get back straight into your lane to assist your carry, allowing you to maximize your early game impact.
5Smoke Of Deceit
Smoke Of Deceit allows the user and their nearby allies to turn invisible for 35 seconds, along with providing a 15% movement speed buff. Primarily used for ganking and scouting purposes mid-game, supports can utilize the item in the early stages of the game to set up kills for their mid hero, or by putting wards on the opposite side of the map. The invisibility buff provided by the Smoke Of Deceit can’t be detected by True Sight, a debuff that reveals all invisible enemy units.
This means that as long as the user and their allies are under the effects of this item, they will not be detected by Sentry Wards, Dust Of Appearance, or Gem Of True Sight. Roaming supports can capitalize on this item by setting up kills for their carry heroes and by warding high-risk areas of the map.
4Magic Stick
One of the best early game items, Magic Stick can store up charges each time an enemy casts an ability within a certain range. 15 HP and mana can be stored with every single charge, with a maximum of 150 for the full 10 charges. This is highly recommended — especially when you are dealing with heroes that spam most of their abilities.
Being able to survive and utilize your spells in team fights is where most of the value of playing a support hero comes from. Most Dota 2 supports have spells that deal tons of damage or are great for crowd control. Using these skills early in the game will definitely contribute to a win, and a Magic Stick will just help you with that. This item can also be upgraded into a Magic Wand, so your gold investment in this item can take you a long way.
3Fluffy Hat
Fluffy Hat provides 125 bonus HP for 250 gold, and this item can be used as a component for bigger items such as a Force Staff or a Holy Locket. Essentially an item for survivability, many support heroes benefit from the added HP bonus early on. While some players argue that getting a Bracer is a better item to prepare for in the mid-game, Fluffy Hat offers better upgrade options as it builds into multiple different support items.
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Fluffy Hat’s bonus HP stacks with other Fluffy Hats as long as they are in your inventory. you’re able to purchase two Fluffy Hats if you think you need as much HP, and you can build these two Fluffy Hats into different support items.
2Urn Of Shadows
With a total cost of 880 gold, you can purchase Urn of Shadows' basic items in the early game. You can optimally obtain the item within the 5-7 minute mark, and use it to further punish your enemy lane. Acquiring charges every time an enemy dies within 1400 range, the Urn Of Shadows lets you heal your allies or damage your enemies. Aside from this active ability, this item also grants you multiple bonuses to your HP, mana, attack speed, and armor.
Dealing 25 damage for 8 seconds when cast on enemy heroes and providing 30 health regeneration if used on allies, the Urn Of Shadows can be a valuable item when it comes to early game ganks and team fights. You can opt to upgrade it into a Spirit Vessel if needed, but Urn Of Shadows is certainly invaluable for most early game team fights.
1Town Portal Scroll
Often disregarded and considered to be a dispensable item, Town Portal Scrolls provide more value than you can think. A Town Portal Scroll can either let you help an ally that is being ganked or provide a way for yourself to escape enemy ganks. After being killed, most supports usually use their Town Portal Scrolls right away after spawning. One of the best ways to maximize your Town Portal Scrolls is to be mindful of when and where you are needed immediately.
Being unable to teleport quickly to a lane where your presence is needed can become detrimental to your team, and being on the other side of the map alone without any means of escape is a sure way to die in the lane.
