Best carry heroes in Dota 2 Patch 7.38b

Dota 2’s metagame is evershifting. Different heroes emerge into prominence through the ebbs and flows of game-changing balance patches. This naturally brings the counter to those heroes into the meta, and the cycle goes on for the now 126-wide hero roster.

Carry heroes in Dota 2 are played in the Safelane. They are referred to as the Position One, which alludes to their topmost farm priority among the team. While this has traditionally meant an AFK farming playstyle for the better part of the game’s life, now the role is more active than ever, rewarding carry players with the awareness to contribute in early fights.

All said, here are the best carry heroes in Dota 2 in Patch 7.38b, with a breakdown of their facet choices, general item builds, and explanations on why they are the top of the pack.

Top carry heroes in Dota 2 Patch 7.38b

Nature’s Prophet

Facet: Ironwood Treant

Winrate (overall/8000+ MMR pubs): 48.60/53.8 percent

Item Build: Power Treads, cheap stat items (Wraith Band, Null Talisman), Mjollnir, Aghanim’s Shard, Hurrican Pike, luxury damage/utility items (Revenant Brooch, Daedalus, Monkey King Bar, Black King Bar, Satanic, Gleipnir, Scythe of Vyse)

Why it’s good: 

Nature’s Prophet is among the most dominant heroes of Dota 2 right now, thanks in large part to two seemingly insignificant changes brought by Patch 7.38—firstly, him becoming Universal; secondly, his Innate ability granting him more damage in early/mid game. As a ranged hero with a tanky summon, Furion has a mostly reliable laning phase. And his global presence is a huge bonus in the skirmish-heavy mid-game. 

Slark

Facet: Leeching Leash

Winrate (overall/8000+ MMR pubs): 50.51/52.8 percent

Item Build: Power Treads, Orb of Corrosion, Diffusal Blade, Mage Slayer, Aghanim’s Shard, Aghanim’s Scepter, luxury damage/utility items (Black King Bar, Bloodthorn, Abyssal Blade, Disperser, Sange and Yasha, Nullifier, Silver Edge, Monkey King Bar)

Why it’s good: 

Slark was mostly untouched in Patch 7.38 and the subsequent 7.38b. However, what makes him a top carry pick is his kit, which counters some meta options in other roles. 

Slark is a strong laner against most meta offlaners like Tidehunter, Abaddon, Axe, etc., due to his Essence Shift passive and the recently reworked Orb of Corrosion. Come mid-game, Slark is a menace in mid-game skirmishes with the cheap items he builds. Extra night vision and dewarding are two major points in Slark’s arsenal.

Ursa

Facet: Bear Down

Winrate (overall/8000+ MMR pubs): 49.99/53.9 percent

Item Build: Phase Boot, Orb of Corrosion, Battle Fury, Blink Dagger, Skull Basher, Black King Bar, situational luxury items (Abyssal Blade, Aghanim’s Scepter, Monkey King Bar, Nullifier)

Why it’s good:

Ursa is another example of someone who didn’t need an outright buff to jump into S-tier carries. His reliable laning stage against most melee offlaners makes him a strong second phase pick in public matchmaking. Another factor that works in his favor is his capability of soloing Roshan and Tormentor, out of which the latter has a more pronounced impact in games post-Patch 7.38.

Morphling

Facet: Ebb

Winrate (overall/8000+ MMR pubs): 48.89/53.0 percent

Item Build: Power Treads, Vladimir’s Offering, Manta Style, Black King Bar, situational and luxury items (Butterfly, Revenant Brooch, Monkey King Bar, Daedalus, Satanic, Hurricane Pike, Linken’s Sphere, Eye of Skadi, Aghanim’s Shard) 

Why it’s good:

Morphling is a tough hero to master. But if you have his basics down, he’s one of the most rewarding heroes in winning you nigh impossible matches. Morphling fits into the current mold of meta carries with his reliable laning presence and comes online when he gets his first big item, the Manta Style (usually under 20 minutes). On top of that, he scales incredibly well into the late game.

Lifestealer

Facet: Fleshfeast

Winrate (overall/8000+ MMR pubs): 54.37/51.9 percent

Item Build: Phase Boot, Orb of Corrosion, Radiance, Sange and Yasha, Aghanim’s Scepter, situational/luxury items (Aghanim’s Shard, Armlet of Mordiggian, Assault Cuirass, Daedalus, Monkey King Bar, Silver Edge, Bloodthorn, Nullifier)

Why it’s good:

Lifestealer is not as good in 7.38b as when Patch 7.38 first dropped. But the string of nerfs didn’t deter him from being among the top carry picks. This can again be attributed to one of the recurring themes of this list—a strong laning phase. After the initial few levels, Lifestealer wins a one-vs-one duel against most offlaners, which means he can farm around his Safelane Tower longer than most other carry heroes. Later into the game, he is still a potent hero who can scale into other meta Carries and win you the game.

Honorable mentions

While the above are the top five carry heroes in Dota 2 at the time of writing, they are not the be-all-end-all in the meta. Other heroes in the carry role that are worth mentioning currently include Clinkz (53.6 percent winrate), Broodmother (55.9 percent winrate), and Muerta (54.8 percent winrate).