The short version
- 1Have 2–3 heroes per role you've truly mastered, and play them over and over.
- 2Keep one safe hero for your second role for when role queue doesn't give you your main one.
- 3Each position has a different mid-game job — games are often lost when two players do the same one.
01Building a Hero Pool
Players who climb usually don't play many heroes. They keep a small pool and play it over and over:
- 2–3 main heroes in your best role.
- 1 safe hero for your second role — simple, tanky, and not farm-hungry.
- New heroes get tried in unranked or Turbo, not ranked.
Every game on the same hero teaches one more detail: item timings, when it's strong, and which heroes give it trouble.
Coach's tips
- Don't build a pool where every hero struggles against the same enemy hero.
- Arcana shows your win rate per hero — start your pool from the ones already working.
- If your main is banned, play your second, not a hero you've never touched.
02Each Position's Job After Laning
After laning, every position's job changes:
- Pos 1 — farm safely, join fights when key items are done.
- Pos 2 — use levels and runes to gank and open up the map.
- Pos 3 — start fights and soak damage; team items often matter more than personal ones.
- Pos 4 — ward aggressively, look for pick-offs, help the carry farm safely.
- Pos 5 — vision in key areas, save rescue spells for the cores.
Games are often lost when two positions do the same job — say, pos 4 and pos 5 both farming the jungle while nobody wards.
Coach's tips
- A support who takes a core's farm makes the whole team late on items.
- A core who never shows up to fights gets the supports killed for nothing.
- Ask your team who starts the fights. There has to be an answer.
03Picking in Role Queue
In role queue you don't always get the role you want. Plan it before you press Find Match:
- One go-to hero for every role you queue for.
- Pick late if your hero is easy to counter; pick early if it's comfortable against almost anyone.
- Read your team's draft: if nobody can start a fight yet, take a hero who can.
Coach's tips
- Only tick a role in the queue if you have a hero for it.
- A simple hero still beats a strong one you haven't learned.
- Call your position early in the pick phase so nobody fights over it.
What's your call?
Decide what you'd do, then open the answer.
Your team already has two carries and nobody wants to support. You pick last. What do you take?Show the answer
Take a support (pos 4 or 5) from your pool. A team with no wards and nobody willing to be poor usually loses the mid game, however good its carries are.
You usually play pos 5, but role queue gives you pos 3. Which hero is safest?Show the answer
The safe hero from your pool: a simple, tanky offlaner such as Axe, Centaur or Bristleback — not a hero you've never tried.
Try it next game
Write down your hero pool: 2–3 heroes for your main role and 1 for your second. Play only those for 10 ranked games.