Solo roaming and sudden ganking are key strategies in Dota 2. These tactics can change a game by disrupting the enemy's farm and creating space for the team. Players need strong map awareness, intelligent movement, and hero selection to gank effectively. This guide covers essential tactics, hero examples, and tips for improving ganking performance.
Choosing the Right Heroes for Solo Roaming
Only some heroes can roam and gank well. The best solo roamers have strong mobility, burst damage, or disables. These heroes can quickly appear in a lane, secure a kill, and retreat before the enemy can react. Here are a few great roaming heroes:
Riki: Riki's invisibility from his Cloak and Dagger lets him sneak up on enemies, and his Backstab adds damage. His Smoke Screen silences and reduces miss chance, making him deadly in ganks.
Spirit Breaker: Spirit Breaker excels at global ganks with Charge of Darkness. His Greater Bash adds damage and mobility, making him a threat anywhere on the map.
Nyx Assassin: Nyx Assassin uses Vendetta to roam invisibly, setting up kills with Impale and Mana Burn. He excels at bursting down squishy heroes in the early game.
Map Awareness and Vision Control
Roamers need excellent map awareness to succeed. Knowing where enemies are and predicting their movements helps secure ganks and avoid being ganked. Key aspects of map control include:
Watching Enemy Movements: Constantly check the minimap. If an enemy mid-laner pushes without support, it's time to gank. Likewise, if an enemy core farms the jungle, a roamer should follow and attack.
Strategic Wards: Place Observer Wards in high-traffic areas like the river or enemy jungle. These wards give information on enemy movements, which opens opportunities for ganks.
Dewarding: Removing enemy vision is as essential as placing wards. Use Sentry Wards or a Gem of True Sight to eliminate the enemy's vision and make ganks more successful.
Smokes: Smoke of Deceit hides the roamer and their team from enemy vision. It's a pivotal tool to set up surprise ganks, especially when the enemy has good ward coverage.
Understanding Timing for Ganks
Here are a few moments when ganks are most effective based on enemy actions:
Pre-Rune Spawn Movement: Around 4 or 6 minutes, enemies move toward the river to secure runes. This is an ideal time to gank. Wait in the fog and use abilities like Mirana's Sacred Arrow or Spirit Breaker's Charge to punish them.
Enemy Overextension: Act quickly when an enemy pushes too far or dives under the tower. Use mobility or stealth to approach. For instance, if Phantom Assassin dives under a mid-tower, Riki can sneak up with Smoke Screen and Backstab.
Jungle Farming: Many core heroes farm waves and retreat to the jungle. Track this pattern and strike while they're alone. Nyx Assassin's Vendetta allows him to sneak into the jungle and gank unsuspecting cores with Impale and Mana Burn.
After Ultimates Are Used: They are vulnerable once enemies use key cooldowns like Black Hole or Ravage. Gank them when they can't retaliate. Spirit Breaker can Charge a Tidehunter retreating after using Ravage, locking him down before he recovers.
Smoke of Deceit: Use Smoke of Deceit to bypass wards and set up a surprise gank. Activate the smoke in a safe spot, then target isolated heroes in lanes or the jungle. Earthshaker, for example, can Blink in and initiate with Echo Slam after a smoke.
Target Priority in Ganks
Choosing the right target during a gank is crucial. Here are tips to help prioritize targets:
Core Heroes First: If the enemy carry or mid-laner is farming alone, prioritize them. Ganking cores early delays their items and gives your team's cores more time to farm. For example, ganking an Anti-Mage farming Battle Fury in the jungle can slow down his snowball.
Key Supports in Fights: Focusing on supports like Dazzle or Oracle is vital in team fights. They have game-changing abilities like Shallow Grave or False Promise. Roamers like Spirit Breaker or Nyx Assassin should dive into the backlines to take them out.
Avoid Tanky Heroes: Heroes like Timbersaw or Bristleback are difficult to gank, especially early. Their survivability makes them poor targets. Focus instead on squishy heroes like Sniper or Shadow Shaman who can be killed quickly.
Proper Execution of Ganks
Executing a gank effectively requires precision. Follow these steps for a successful gank:
Approach from Fog of War: Always approach from areas where the enemy has no vision. Using the river, sneaking behind towers, or relying on invisibility ensures enemies have less time to react.
Chain Abilities: Stun and disable the target before it can react. Follow up with burst damage. For example, Mirana can shoot a Sacred Arrow after Storm Spirit's Electric Vortex for a guaranteed stun and kill.
Account for Escape Items: Be ready for the enemy to use items like Force Staff or Glimmer Cape to escape. Carry Dust of Appearance or have follow-up stuns to prevent their escape.
Retreat After the Kill: After securing the kill, retreat quickly to avoid counter-ganks. Use mobility items like Blink Dagger or Leap to escape before the enemy team arrives.
Itemization for Roaming and Ganking
Roamers need items that enhance mobility, burst, and survivability. Key items include:
Blink Dagger: Allows instant initiation by closing the gap. It's ideal for heroes like Nyx Assassin or Earthshaker to start a gank with stuns.
Shadow Blade: Provides invisibility and damage, great for heroes like Riki or Slark to initiate ganks or escape after kills.
Force Staff: Helps reposition during ganks or chase down fleeing enemies. It also aids in escaping dangerous situations.
Urn of Shadows/Spirit Vessel: Provides healing for the team or deals damage over time to enemies, preventing them from healing up or regenerating after a gank.
Eul's Scepter of Divinity: Useful for disabling enemies or escaping dangerous situations. It's a versatile item for many roamers.
Adjusting Strategy in Mid to Late Game
As the game progresses, solo roaming and ganking strategies need to evolve. Here's how to adjust for mid- to late-game:
Team Coordination: In mid-game, coordinate with teammates to set up more powerful ganks. Use Smoke of Deceit to ensure kills and combine abilities like Earthshaker's Echo Slam or Enigma's Black Hole.
Target Split Pushers: Heroes like Nature's Prophet or Tinker often split-push in the late game. Hunt them down before they cause too much map pressure.
Vision Control: Warding becomes even more important. Place wards near Roshan or in the enemy jungle to spot key targets and set up safer ganks.