The mid lane is the centerpiece of the DotA 2 map. It is where all heroes collide to fight for victory. It is also home to the most iconic plays in DotA 2 history. When looking for some action, the mid lane will surely bring a lot of it.

Those residing in the mid lane are called mid laners. These heroes are solo laners who fight in the mid lane in the early game. These heroes' impact in the early game is so valuable that their influence can make or break it. By being the main man, everyone relies on the mid laner for early ganks, objective control, and even carrying the game. The mid laners create the most impact in the early to mid game.

 

15. Sniper

See Sniper in Action: https://youtu.be/e2nOR561eiw?t=171

Sniper is an agility-based hero who excels in getting distance between him and his opponent. In the mid lane, he can get CS safely and poke effectively due to his high range. Regarding the late game, Sniper’s ability to scale up is incredibly insane. More levels come with more range and damage. This will make it harder for enemies to reach him, especially since he has his team to back him up.

What Makes Sniper A Great Mid:

• Sniper is superb at dealing damage from afar due to his Take Aim and Headshot. With the ability to deal damage from afar, he essentially deals free damage. The later the game goes, the worse it is for the enemy.
• Sniper’s Shrapnel is good for chasing, running, and poking. Its big AOE, slow, and damage can zone out entire armies and essentially bring them to a low HP.
• Assassinate is great for dealing the killing blow at enemies far away. With this, he can support allies from afar.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Sniper:

• Mjollnir
• Daedalus
• Silver Edge
• Monkey King Bar
• Satanic

Sniper is Strong Against:

• Medusa
• Sand King
• Death Prophet
• Underlord
• Tidehunter

Sniper s Weak Against:

• Spectre
• Storm Spirit
• Morphling
• Lycan
• Earth Spirit

 

14. Huskar

See Huskar in Action: https://youtu.be/DdlQc3A91c4?t=389

Huskar is a very fierce and fearless warrior. Risking his life in order to fulfill his destiny of dying in a glorious battle. When placed in the mid lane, this fierce warrior never backs down from a fight. While not really the best at farming, Huskar makes up for it by being the dominant laner in terms of poking and ganking. Once he gets enough experience in the lane, he can effortlessly kill his laner and spread his lead toward other lanes. A late game Huskar just takes his early game strengths to the next level.

What Makes Huskar A Great Mid:

• Mid lane is all about poking. Since Huskar can poke efficiently with his Burning Spear, he essentially takes his opponent out of the lane. Burning Spear paired with Berserker’s Blood makes a pretty good combo in lane since he can poke enemies while getting great sustain.
• Inner Fire is great for zoning enemies and enemies who look to gank. This can also prevent enemies from obtaining CS due to its ability to disarm.
• Huskar’s Life Break is one of the best abilities to solo-kill an enemy. It gets a huge chunk of life from both parties, and this grants Huskar a buff in his Berserker’s Blood.

Top 5 Best End-Game Items For Huskar:

• Black King Bar
• Heaven’s Halberd
• Satanic
• Armlet of Mordiggian
• Heart of Tarrasque

Huskar is Strong Against:

• Ember Spirit
• Outworld Destroyer
• Meepo
• Pangolier
• Broodmother

Huskar is Weak Against:

• Ancient Apparition
• Necrophos
• Viper
• Timbersaw
• Bristleback

 

13. Zeus

See Zeus in Action: https://youtu.be/zJwwaVYM7jk?t=524

While he is the god of lightning, he is also the god of poking. His lane prowess is just on another level just because of his level of poke. When he wins the early game and scales up, he goes ham into the late game. He essentially zones out everyone by getting increased damage and range in the late game. His abilities just chunk the heck out of everyone.

What Makes Zeus A Great Mid:

• Zeus’ ability to poke from afar with his Arc Lightning and Lightning Bolt. Since he resides in the mid lane, he gets to instantly level these abilities up, causing irreparable damage in the early game.
• When in danger, he can just use Heavenly Jump to escape from enemies. Since his weakness gets exposed when enemies catch up to him, this ability just helps him survive.
• If his poke in lane wasn’t enough, his ultimate Thundergod’s Wrath just completely breaks the game. This ability hits every enemy hero in the game, which allows him to just burst the enemy without even aiming it.

Top 5 Best End-Game Items For Zeus:

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Phylactery
• Refresher Orb
• Octarine Core
• Ethereal Blade

Zeus is Strong Against:

• Sand King
• Riki
• Shadow Fiend
• Tinker
• Drow Ranger

Zeus is Weak Against:

• Storm Spirit
• Ember Spirit
• Anti-Mage
• Chen
• Meepo

 

12. Queen of Pain

See Queen of Pain in Action: https://youtu.be/FUHigjyGzv4?t=1128

The mid lane is Queen of Pain’s domain. Queen of Pain has been one of the most dominant laners in the game. Her ability to deal immense damage in the early game is one of the most reliable things about her. In the late game, she becomes a slippery demon who obliterates the backline and just gets away scot-free. 

What Makes Queen of Pain A Great Mid:

• Queen of Pain quickly dominates the lane with her Shadow Strike. While this skill doesn’t really offer any burst capabilities, the slow poison just slowly eats enemies away. This easily makes her win the lane.
• When talking about bursts, her Scream of Pain and Sonic Wave deal one of the most devastating burst combos in the game. She can essentially just burst someone out of the blue with these skills.
• But what really defines her as a good roaming hero is her Blink, which is essentially a free Blink Dagger. This gets her into advantageous locations and gets her out of tight ones.

Top 5 Best End-Game Items For Queen of Pain:

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Black King Bar
• Parasma
• Bloodthorn
• Kaya and Sange

Queen of Pain is Strong Against:

• Brewmaster
• Timbersaw
• Mars
• Keeper of the Light
• Lifestealer

Queen of Pain is Weak Against:

• Puck
• Legion Commander
• Ember Spirit
• Huskar
• Pugna

 

11. Templar Assassin

See Templar Assassin in Action: https://youtu.be/0E77dgm6mG0?t=667

Stealthy and deadly, that’s the name of the game for Templar Assassin. When in the mid lane, Templar Assassin quickly gets the levels she needs to dominate the game. Because of the large amount of buffs she gets from abilities, she can easily take down her laner. Once she spreads this lead to other lanes, she’ll quickly get her core items and transition well into the late game. And I’m pretty sure no one wants to face a late game Templar Assassin.

What Makes Templar Assassin A Great Mid:

• Templar Assassin can easily survive the laning phase with her Refraction. This ability can block incoming damage while giving her a boost in damage for a certain number of attacks.
• Meld is her signature for dealing a single striking blow. This ability also renders her invisible, which greatly helps in dislocating incoming projectiles and avoiding auto-attacks and certain abilities completely. 
• Her Psionic Trap is great for vision for runes and can help slow the enemy, allowing you to attack with your Psi Blades to deal effective damage.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Templar Assassin:

• Desolator
• Swift Blink
• Black King Bar
• Hurricane Pike
• Daedalus

Templar Assassin is Strong Against:

• Outworld Destroyer
• Elder Titan
• Puck
• Nyx Assassin
• Techies

Templar Assassin is Weak Against:

• Phoenix 
• Sand king
• Phantom Lancer
• Terrorblade
• Batrider

 

10. Invoker

See Invoker in Action: https://youtu.be/6z-rF3krVSY?t=301

Invoker is the culmination of a genius mind and superb memory. Having this many incantations just takes up so much of the mind and of the lane. While his early game is not the best, getting the experience in the mid lane makes him a very scary opponent once he starts to team fight. But in the late game, he just turns into a spamming monster. You can try getting away from his abilities, but your efforts would be futile.

What Makes Invoker A Great Mid:

• Invoker’s many abilities make him one of the most skill-demanding heroes out there. With his ability to damage, disable, slow, and disrupt enemies in the lane, he can essentially give his laner a hard time.
• One of the best things about his laning is the passive attributes he gets from Quas, Wex, and Exort. With these, he can gain increased health regeneration, damage, mana, and attack speed.
• But when the laning phase ends, Invoker becomes unhinged. His skirmishing capabilities far exceed most heroes as his quick and decisive skills make quick work of any enemy. In team fights, he just goes off. Most heroes struggle when facing the gravity of Invoker’s power.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Invoker:

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Black King Bar
• Scythe of Vyse
• Octarine Core
• Refresher Orb

Invoker is Strong Against:

• Medusa 
• Viper
• Arc Warden
• Slark
• Doom

Invoker is Weak Against:

• Broodmother 
• Lycan
• Puck
• Bristleback
• Void Spirit

 

9. Arc Warden

See Arc Warden in Action: https://youtu.be/VcS3Jz6x468?t=939

Zet the Arc Warden is one of the most impactful late game heroes in the game. He’s a ranged agility hero who can quickly scale into the late game. Due to his ranged status and ranged abilities, he can poke out enemies and zone them out from runes and important CS. Once the late game comes and he has a full build, you won’t just be worrying about one Arc Warden.

What Makes Arc Warden A Great Mid:

• With Flux and Spark Wraith, enemies can find themselves slowed and zoned out, making them vulnerable to attacks from Arc Warden. This basic combo is what gets Arc Warden the early advantage.
• Due to Magnetic Field, he gains increased attack speed, attack damage, range, and a 100% evasion bonus. This ability is just the complete package when it comes to buffs. This increases his fighting prowess, farming ability, and pushing capability.
• But his main selling point is the illusion he gets from Tempest Double. In short, he gains another copy of himself who can attack and use abilities and items separate from the main Arc Warden. Basically, two Arc Wardens are better than one.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Arc Warden:

• Gleipnir
• Manta Style
• Bloodthorn
• Scythe of Vyse
• Butterfly

Arc Warden is Strong Against:

• Doom
• Viper
• Silencer
• Outworld Destroyer
• Ancient Apparition

Arc Warden is Weak Against:

Broodmother

• Meepo
• Lycan
• Bristleback
• Lone Druid

 

8. Shadow Fiend

See Shadow Fiend in Action: https://youtu.be/ECWccCSvNAg?t=740

Shadow Fiend has one of the most dominant mid lane matchups due to his high damage output from his abilities and auto-attacks. The more souls he collects, the stronger he gets. In the late game, every blow he throws at you slowly eats your soul away, only feeding his hunger even more. With superior laning and a very smooth late game, Shadow Fiend is one of the best mid laners in the game.

What Makes Shadow Fiend A Great Mid:

• Although he starts with a low base damage, Shadow Fiend’s Necromastery quickly lets him gain a huge amount of attack damage. Paired with Presence of the Dark Lord, this combo helps him gain even more farm and allows him to chunk enemies with his auto attacks.
• Shadowraze is his signature ability for bursting heroes and clearing waves. Because this ability stacks, the three castable Shadowraze instances can quickly mow down any hero into a soul for the taking. Combine his auto attacks and his iconic Shadowraze, and the enemy laner can’t even come near him.
• His ultimate, Requiem of Souls, is the culmination of his entire being. The more souls he gets, the more he can unleash. The more he can unleash, the greater the devastation. These souls ravage anyone they come into contact with, plus cause fear if they somehow survive.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Shadow Fiend:

• Black King Bar
• Silver Edge
• Hurricane Pike
• Daedalus
• Butterfly

Shadow Fiend is Strong Against:

• Meepo
• Ember Spirit
• Anti-Mage
• Lone Druid
• Night Stalker

Shadow Fiend is Weak Against:

• Terrorblade
• Zeus
• Luna
• Medusa
• Drow Ranger

 

7. Meepo

See Meepo in Action: https://youtu.be/37dsJS3aG9s?t=274

Meepo is one of the hardest heroes to master. However, with a high skill ceiling comes a very high chance of dominating. The lane is Meepo’s, as his doppelgangers completely multiply his capabilities. In the late game, it won’t be just one Meepo but a whole army of them. With their strengths combined, it will be impossible to kill all of them in one go. 

What Makes Meepo A Great Mid:

• Meepo is a great mid laner due to his ability to dominate just with levels. Because he has Divided We Stand, he can easily push up the wave without any real consequences. When one Meepo gets low, he just sends that one home while the others continue laning.
• Earthbind is a great skill for rooting enemies, and add that to the fact that he can do this as many times depending on the number of his clones, then you best believe you can never get out.
• But his offensive power is just insane. With Poof and Ransack, all Meepos deal an absurd amount of damage that makes sure squishies are burst and lanes are pushed. This combo lets him farm easily, getting his Blink Dagger early in the process.

Top 5 Best End-Game Items For Meepo:

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Disperser
• Eye of Skadi
• Swift Blink
• Scythe of Vyse

Meepo is Strong Against:

• Anti-Mage
• Arc Warden
• Void Spirit
• Spectre
• Phantom Lancer

Meepo is Weak Against:

• Elder Titan
• Earthshaker
• Troll Warlord
• Winter Wyvern
• Leshrac

 

6. Ember Spirit

See Ember Spirit in Action: https://youtu.be/5TgSJnbmv-c?t=200

Xin, the Ember Spirit, is one fiery being. His mid lane prowess is known to all pro players and pub masters. He excels in laning due to his reliable poke and farming, but his roaming is what sets him apart. Due to his incredible gap closers, he can reach enemies and damage them before he even gets close. In the late game, his slashes deal insane amounts of damage that just shred enemies. He gets harder and harder to lock down the longer the game goes on.

What Makes Ember Spirit A Great Mid:

• Ember Spirit excels in poking and zoning enemies from getting CS. He uses this gradual scaling advantage in order to take the lead slowly. With Sleight of Fist, he can easily threaten and harass. Pair this with Searing Chains, and the enemy will be slashed and rooted, making life even more miserable for them.
• Because of Flame Guard, Ember Spirit can deal AOE damage around him and soak up magic damage. Since most mid laners are spell casters, having an anti-magic shield really helps,
• Fire Remnant is what makes Ember Spirit so slippery and agile. He can get close and get away easily and still deal enough damage. His roaming and ganking potential goes off the charts with this ability.

Top 5 Best End-Game Items For Ember Spirit:

• Shiva’s Guard
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Black King Bar
• Gleipnir
• Kaya and Sange

Ember Spirit is Strong Against:

• Phantom Lancer
• Spectre
• Centaur Warrunner
• Zeus
• Dark Seer

Ember Spirit is Weak Against:

• Huskar
• Slark
• Monkey King
• Lone Druid
• Shadow Fiend

 

5. Puck

See Puck in Action: https://youtu.be/-hSkFzwhNz0?t=2867

Puck is one of the most iconic mid laners in DotA 2. This mythical creature holds a special place in the hearts of battle-hardened mid laners. By being elusive and slippery, Puck can efficiently win the lane and roam with such a good amount of firepower. In the late game, with upgraded skills and active items, she becomes more of a nuisance as she goes all over the place, putting tricks all over her enemies.

What Makes Puck A Great Mid:

• Puck is vicious and gets in for the kill. With Illusory Orb, she can travel great distances and damage enemies. This is also useful for instantly pushing the wave for roaming timings. This is her main engage and escape tool. Pair this with Dream Coil, and you’ll have one heck of a team fight, as Dream Coil just dismantles the enemy.
• Waning Rift allows Puck to chunk enemies and silence them in the process. While this serves as a small gap closer, the main selling point of this ability is its high damage output and silence.
• Phase Shift just shifts Puck out of the current dimension. This is super useful when dodging attacks, abilities, and tower shots. She can be super aggressive and have little consequences.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Puck:

• Arcane Blink
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Parasma
• Mjollnir
• Linken’s Sphere

Puck is Strong Against:

• Phantom Lancer
• Queen of Pain
• Invoker
• Ancient Apparition
• Elder Titan

Puck is Weak Against:

• Night Stalker
• Broodmother
• Riki
• Templar Assassin
• Dragon Knight

 

4. Void Spirit

See Void Spirit in Action: https://youtu.be/UysdqhxbOdE?t=616

Void Spirit is the newest addition to the Spirit family. This agile mid laner can win the laning phase mainly due to his abilities that just deal a ton of damage. His roaming capabilities also fall in line with his brothers’ capabilities. In the late game, Void Spirit just turns into a mighty hero who can burst anyone due to the upgrades he gets from talents and late game items. Since his abilities also scale up, his entire power does as well.

What Makes Void Spirit A Great Mid:

• Void Spirit is a great mid laner mainly due to the fact that he can set up his team for success. By using Aether Remnant, he can taunt enemies from a distance and bring them to his team. When this remnant doesn’t hit its target initially, it can act as a trap that can zone enemies.
• Resonant Pulse is his go to for surviving. Despite it being a shield, he also uses this to deal damage to enemies around him. The more enemies, the stronger his shield, which is perfect for team fights. 
• His Dissimilate and Astral Step are his escape options. Both can gap close and deal immense damage upon impact. With this, he can easily gank lanes, set up team fights, and still have enough to escape.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Void Spirit:

• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Manta Style
• Black King Bar
• Shiva’s Guard
• Parasma

Void Spirit is Strong Against:

• Invoker
• Ancient Apparition
• Mars
• Zeus
• Arc Warden

Void Spirit is Weak Against:

Meepo

Night Stalker

Chen

Huskar

Monkey King

 

3. Outworld Destroyer

See Outworld Destroyer in Action: https://youtu.be/_ToOhoHz21o?t=791

Outworld Destroyer is as dominant as he gets. With superb laning abilities and a huge damage output, he can easily win the lane the more levels he gets. But his late game team fighting is one of his biggest assets. The damage from his auto-attacks just scale to a whole new level. Before dealing the killing blow, he unleashes an AOE ability that ends the lives of everyone who gets hit.

What Makes Outworld Destroyer A Great Mid:

• Arcane Orb deals pure damage and is based on his current mana pool. Because of this, upgrading his intelligence boosts his overall damage and mana capacity, which increases this ability. Pair this with Astral Imprisonment, and you’ll have tons of mana and damage, while your enemy will be left with none.
• Astral Imprisonment is a very powerful ability. Its damage is one thing, but its ability to lock up enemies or allies can mean the difference between everything. He can save allies and set enemies up for his team. 
• His passive Essence Flux is just a cheat code for infinite mana. Everytime he uses an ability, he gets the chance to restore mana. That just seals the deal.
• Sanity’s Eclipse is the end game. This ability has a big range and high burst damage output. But this isn’t the end. The damage can be multiplied by how much more mana Outworld Destroyer has relative to his enemy. Imagine the damage. But there’s more. He also gains HP when affected allies cast spells.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Outworld Destroyer:

• Hurricane Pike
• Parasma
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Black King Bar
• Scythe of Vyse

Outworld Destroyer is Strong Against:

• Timbersaw
• Axe
• Omniknight
• Oracle
• Troll Warlord

Outworld Destroyer is Weak Against:

• Broodmother
• Phantom Lancer
• Huskar
• Templar Assassin
• Visage

 

2. Tinker

 

See Tinker in Action: https://youtu.be/UHxveHUnQI4?t=348

Tinker is definitely the hero for those who want to show off. This hero requires insanely speedy hands that enable this hero to pop off. His abilities pack a punch, especially in the lane and early team fights. He can effectively use everything up in fights and just refresh his abilities, which makes him a very strong late game spammer. Given the right items, this guy can’t get locked down.

What Makes Tinker A Great Mid:

• Tinker’s Laser deals pure damage and is a good way to poke. But this also gives a debuff to the enemy that renders them unable to auto attack. This also damages enemies around the main blinded target.
• Heat-Seeking Missiles spawn two missiles that hit the two closest heroes in range. With its easy usability, the missiles just burst the heck out of anyone hit. 
• Defense Matrix and Keen Convergence are abilities that just give him a better quality of gameplay. They give him a good shield and the ability to teleport.
• Rearm just refreshes his skills after a short channeling period and gives him increased magic resistance in the process. Basically, he’s a spammer.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Tinker:

• Arcane Blink
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Shiva’s Guard
• Ethereal Blade
• Scythe of Vyse

Tinker is Strong Against:

• Winter Wyvern
• Morphling
• Hoodwink
• Dark Seer
• Terrorblade

Tinker is Weak Against:

• Pugna
• Visage
• Silencer
• Leshrac
• Anti-Mage

 

1. Storm Spirit

See Storm Spirit in Action: https://youtu.be/NtGnPNxdt2c?t=745

Of course, another Spirit. Storm Spirit, like his fellow brothers, is the best overall mid laner right now. His high damage output, coupled with his good crowd-control capabilities, go well with his insane mobility. In the late game, when he has the right items to go with them, he becomes an untouchable monster, zipping and zapping all over the place.

What Makes Storm Spirit A Great Mid:

• Storm Spirit excels in lane due to his Static Remnant. This hits everyone around the remnant once it touches an enemy. The damage is great, and with Electric Vortex to pull enemies to his remnant, their HP bars simply fade away.
• His ultimate, Ball Lightning, allows him to charge anywhere in a literal ball of lightning. Damage is increased the farther he goes. This is great for easily getting into fights and surprise ganking enemies in the laning phase.
• But his passive, Overload, is what makes his kit make sense. Every time he casts an ability, he gets a passive auto-attack that just slows and deals incredible damage. Imagine a zooming Storm Spirit just dashing all over you, hitting you with some crazy lightning; that’s gotta hurt.

Top 5 Best End Game Items For Storm Spirit:

• Parasma
• Black King Bar
• Bloodthorn
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Linken’s Sphere

Storm Spirit is Strong Against:

• Sniper
• Zeus
• Ancient Apparition
• Drow Ranger
• Keeper of the Light

Storm Spirit is Weak Against:

• Anti-Mage
• Lone Druid
• Meepo
• Riki
• Oracle