Dota 2: The best support heroes to grind MMR with in patch 7.31d

Dota 2 patch 7.31d has been out for a while now and the meta has begun to stabilize for the latest gameplay update.

Most of the contested heroes from the previous patch have taken hits while a new crop of heroes has become more popular in the competitive scene.

We previously looked into which cores are the best heroes to spam right now to grind MMR, so for this article, we will be listing the three best support heroes to play alongside those cores.

One great thing about the meta supports of 7.31d is that they are easy to use while providing their teams with great backup.

So, without further ado, here are the three support heroes you should start spamming:

Omniknight

In our previous list of best supports to grind in Dota 2 patch 7.31b, Omniknight made the list and 'til today the hero remains one of the best supports to pick.

Omniknight is incredibly durable for a support while providing his team with a valuable dispel, solid laning presence, and an ultimate that completely negates physical damage.

A lot of the hero's strength comes from Hammer of Purity giving Omniknight the laning utility he always needed.

The spell slows down enemies and deals pure damage. Instead of just sitting behind allies and spamming heals, Omniknight can now dish out the pain and slow the enemy.

The buff Heavenly Grace received in 7.31 is another reason Omniknight is such a good support for grinding MMR.

Heavenly Grace is applied to Omniknight each time he uses it on an ally, providing the hero with a huge amount of bonus strength and health regen.

It doesn't dispel Omniknight when he uses Heavenly Grace on allies, but that's a negligible problem.

Dota 2 patch 7.31d nerfed Healing Salves to provide half value when used on allies. While most hard supports will suffer financially from this change, Omniknight is unaffected thanks to Purification's heal.

When it comes to the hero's item build, there really are no wrong options.

Players can opt for utility with Force Staff and Glimmer Cape, or go for more healing with Holy Locket and Mekansm, or just add more auras with Drums of Endurance and Vladmir's Offering.

Omniknight is flexible with his item build, allowing players to adapt to different playstyles and matchups.

A good laning stage, a strong dispel, high durability, and the ability to completely nullify physical damage are some of the many reasons why Omniknight has a solid 52% win rate and is well worth mastering right now.

Skywrath Mage

If Omniknight's relatively passive playstyle isn't for you, then Skywrath Mage might be more your speed.

While most supports have a balance between offensive and defensive abilities, Skywrath Mage throws that out the window in favor of pure aggression and burst damage.

Over the years, harassing enemies during the laning stage has become less and less rewarding in Dota 2.

Heroes have more health, heal faster, and consumables are cheaper while being sharable. IceFrog has finally begun to reel that in, and that allows aggressive supports like Skywrath Mage to shine.

The hero is able to apply tremendous pressure during the laning stage thanks to Arcane Bold and Concussive Shot.

The two spells combined deal 230 magic damage at just level 2, while applying a substantial slow. Skywrath Mage can keep enemies at low health and bring them down if they overextend.

Mystic Flare is the hero's most important skill to master, as it deals an insane amount of damage over 2.2 seconds. Very few heroes can withstand the full damage of the spell during the mid game.

When building the hero, it's best to focus on improving his damage. Skywrath Mage typically builds several Null Talismans for extra intelligence and mana.

Rod of Atos is also a core item, as it allows the hero to lock down enemies for Mystic Flare. Aghanim's Scepter is the best item to purchase later in the game, as it doubles the value of all of Skywrath Mage's spells.

Skywrath Mage dominates the laning stage and deals massive damage in mid game teamfights. The hero scales reasonably well in the late game and is well suited for players who like to rack up a lot of kills.

Warlock

What's a hero that's almost as aggressive as Skywrath Mage and has almost as much sustain as Omniknight?

Well, it's certainly not Warlock. But that doesn't mean he should be ignored.

The hero is one of the big patch winners, gaining a win rate increase of 1.5%. Warlock currently wins 53% of his games, not bad for a hero most players underestimate.

Warlock's Shadow Word healing is far more efficient at healing allies than Purification. Shadow Word heals allies for 450 health at max level over 10 seconds. The spell can be buffed in several ways through talents and the Aghanim's Shard.

At its best, Shadow Word is a 700 Area of Effect heal that damages enemies for the same amount with no downtime all for the cost of 150 mana.

Shadow Word is why Warlock wins as many games as he does. It's very difficult for enemies to start a teamfight when the opposing side has a Warlock providing all allies with an extra 70 health regeneration a second.

Warlock's other spells are not to be underestimated either.

Fatal Bonds increases damage from all sources by 120% when maxed out and hitting six targets. Upheaval is the best slow in the game when channeled for a few seconds. And who can forget Chaotic Offering?

The best way to build Warlock is to focus on improving Shadow Word as much as possible.

An early Aghanim's Shard into Holy Locket provides allies with a ton of healing. After that players can opt for utility items such as Force Staff or double down on Chaotic Offering with Aghanim's Scepter and Refresher Orb.

Good luck and happy grinding!

Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.