After taking a look at some of the best Dota 2 players of 2022, it is time to do the same of the top-tier heroes. 2022 was a very interesting year when it comes down to Dota 2 updates because we saw a couple of big patches. That said, 7.32 dominated Q4 of the year because this was The International 11’s patch.
The new DPC is on its way, which means that Valve will most likely release a big update. As you probably remember, the company announced that there would be a new hero called Muerta, and she will become available in early 2023. Naturally, we expected her to arrive alongside a major patch that would change the status quo.
Before learning more about the new update, let’s take a step back and go through some of the most dominating heroes of 2022. There were several big names that stood out, and we will try to include as many of them as possible.
Visage
Oh yes, who could forget the deadly Visage that ripped through professional and casual players in 2022? Prior to this year, Visage was a hero that had the chance to shine in some combos, especially with Drow Ranger. However, the updates that took place earlier made the hero one of the top-tier midders in the world.
After dominating for several months, Valve decided it was time for a nerf. This led to several patches where Visage received small nerfs, but neither eliminated the hero from the meta. Sure, they affected its popularity, but it wasn’t enough to push him away.
Besides dominating in the mid-lane, Visage is also a top-tier offlaner. Many professional players decided to use the hero in this position in the last couple of weeks, and it seems like it is paying off. Despite not having the same win rate as before, the hero is really strong and can easily deal with aggressive safe lanes.
Leshrac
Despite the fact that Leshrac wasn’t that strong in the first couple of months, the hero quickly rose to the top around May 2022. After several buffs, he became one of the strongest Dota 2 mid-heroes. Unsurprisingly, he reached his peak during TI 11, where many top-tier teams relied on him to win.
Following the end of Dota 2’s biggest event, Leshrac received a lot of nerfs. They didn’t seem that bad on paper, but the hero suddenly became much weaker than before. Unsurprisingly, the best Dota 2 players and Pub starts started focusing on other options.
Leshrac is one of the few heroes in Dota 2 that can be a viable option, but only in some scenarios. He does not do as much damage as before and his stun is ineffective. Nevertheless, he continues to be one of the best when it comes down to team fight and damage output.
Chaos Knight
Even though CK hasn’t been that big lately, we must remember that he was one of the meta carries for several months in 2022. In fact, he was the best Dota 2 hero for 2022 and the most popular pick during the ESL One Stockholm 2022, as well as several events before that.
Chaos Knight is among the slowest-farming carries in the game, but he makes up for it by doing insane amounts of damage. He is one of the few heroes that does not need a lot of items to be effective. In fact, an Armlet and a Heart of Tarrasque are usually enough to make the hero almost unkillable.
Unsurprisingly, pro plates and casual pub fans abused him a lot when he was strong. CK is good even today, but the hero does not get as much attention as before. Instead, people focus on other options, such as Naga Siren.
Mars
Although Mars was very popular in 2021, he continued to shine for at least a couple of months in 2022. The hero became the definition of an offlaner and was present in almost every match, regardless if it was a PUB or a pro game. Mars’s damage and his ability to stun and keep targets in the palace made him a fantastic option for pretty much any strategy.
Sadly, his fame didn’t last forever because a series of small updates nerfed him a lot. In fact, there was a point where the hero wasn’t famous at all because players started to focus on other options. This was when the pro’s started using heroes like Huskar, Razor, and Timbersaw a lot, which meant each team had 2 carries.
Storm Spirit
While discussing the best Dota 2 heroes of 2022, we must include Storm Spirit. One of the most annoying midders is no longer a part of the meta, but the hero had a crucial role for many teams in early 2022. One of the biggest examples that come to mind is OG because BZM used the hero a lot to win the first Major. In fact, he even said in an interview after winning the event that he hopes Storm Spirit doesn’t get nerfed because he is too strong.
Needless to say, it was just a matter of time before the hero received substantial nerfs that removed him from the meta. This has happened before with Storm Spirit because the hero has always been one of the hidden options for many teams.
Following the nerfs, Storm Spirit became a lot less popular. However, we expect this to change in the upcoming future because this is a hero that always finds a way to bounce back.
Final Thoughts
The updates that took place in 2022 had a massive effect on many heroes, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there were many other heroes that stood out. For example, Templar Assassin was the queen of the mid-lane for several months in a row.
Tiny was another hero that shined bright in numerous events. What’s even more interesting about him is that he was able to fill in multiple roles and always exceed expectations.
Of course, let’s also not forget Puck, a hero that every world-class mid-laner used for at least 2 months. In fact, the hero continues to play an important role even today, but he is not as strong as before.
