LoL or Dota 2: Which game is more demanding for the supports?

Everyone plays a role in multiple online battle arena (MOBA) games, and each of the 10 players on the map has a clear purpose. While the spotlight shines on the carries and mid-laners for flashy plays and high damage output, the support players are overlooked, even though they are essential to the team’s success.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Support players are the backbone of strategy and how teams win their games.
• Great performances as a support often decide the game’s pace. 
• Support players’ roles can even influence the bets you can make on the games.

Despite being out of the limelight, supports have arguably the most nuanced and demanding roles in League of Legends and Dota 2. It is a compelling role, offering an enjoyable experience for both players and viewers. Comparing the support role in the LoL vs Dota 2 debate reveals differences in gameplay and their impact.

What does a support player do?

Support players are the unsung heroes of MOBA games. The primary task behind their role is to be in the background and to ensure the team’s stars play at their peak level. It is an indispensable role, but some people fail to know that. Here are the best traits that support players have:

• Vision control - Supports often take care of improving the team’s map awareness. They must place wards in strategic spots to allow the team to track enemy movement and avoid ambushes.

They also put the wards there to help the rest of the team operate with more freedom. If they have vision of the crucial spots on the map, they can freely go there without the impending doom of seeing the enemy team.

• Saving core players - Supports typically have items and abilities that help them save their star players. They must protect the high-value teammates, as those are the characters that could turn the fight around. 

Those are usually the carry or mid-laner who have the license to be aggressive. They know their supports will help them when they are in a precarious spot. This can be done through items or abilities, depending on which support character is used.

• Team fight initiation - The outcome of MOBA games is often decided by team fights, which involve multiple players from each side battling. The team that comes away with the victory often uses that momentum to secure the win.

While not all supports are primary initiators, many supports have disabling abilities like stuns or slows that help control the team fight. Some characters have abilities that function well during team fights. To be at their most effective, the supports must know how to initiate the fight while staying in a safe position.

• Peeling and protection - Enemies often focus on the core allies, which means the supports must act as the first line of defence. This helps buy some time for the allies’ carries or mid-laners to turn the tide and win the fight.
• Tempo control - With efficient rotations and vision, supports can dictate the game’s pace. They don’t need many resources or high damage output to make an impact since they go under the radar.

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The importance of a support player to a team

A good support player can uplift the team and set them up for success. The spotlight may be on the core players, but the supports laid the foundation for the team’s chance at a victory.

Some supports can be visibly impactful, like the playmaking supports, but most of the time, these players make sacrifices to help the team and other players thrive. This can be seen in how they execute plays or lead the rest of the team with their focus on the tactical side of MOBA.

The key differences between LoL and Dota 2 supports

Across both games, supports play a huge role for teams and their path to victory. They are similar in many ways, but there are some key differences in the Dota 2 vs League of Legends debate. Here are some of them:

Game mechanics

In Dota 2, supports must master complex mechanics that are not present in the other game. These are the important mechanics exclusive to Dota 2: 

• Denying creeps - Since players get gold by killing a creep unit, supports can hit allied units with low HP to deny the gold going to the enemy.
• Pulling neutral camps to the lane - To balance the lane, making allied creep units go against the neutral units. This forces the enemy units to push further forward and turn the tide of the lane matchup.
• Placing observer and sentry words in less predictable spots - Supports can be clever with their placements of vision, as Dota 2 allows heroes to place wards across most of the map unless it’s in a tree line with limited space.

On the other hand, League of Legends has more structured mechanics, so you can see the vision plants, free recalls/teleports back home, and dedicated support items. It is a fast-paced game, but supports in League mostly follow a structure, but there is room for creativity.

Itemisation

Dota 2 supports start with little, and they will keep making sacrificial decisions for the team’s sake. They have to delay their item builds to prioritise wards and save gold. Buying items typically benefit the team, like a Glimmer Cape or a Force Staff.

League of Legends has support items like the Spellthief’s Edge or the Relic Shield, which offer passive gold income and sustain for the team. With these items, supports in League can continue to be impactful in the team fights and ganks.

The vision game

The vision can also help set up ambushes, as the team wants to dominate a certain part of the map. By having vision, they can catch enemies off guard with a gank and get valuable kills. They can transition into pushing the lanes and towers, which is the game’s main objective.

Take note that in Dota 2, supports have access to Sentry Wards, Dust of Appearance, and Gem of True Sight, which are all items that provide True Sight. That means invisible characters and observer wards become available to attack. 

League of Legends also has this with Oracle Lens and Control Wards, which reveal the invisible units and wards. A key difference between Dota 2 and League of Legends is that the latter features a more regulated vision system, as timing is more important than placement due to there being popular vision spots, while the former requires some creative ward placements.

How supports get punished

In both games, teams want to get rid of the supports first to leave the star players on their own. Dota 2 supports get punished for poor positioning and wards. The opponents use the momentum from eliminating the supports to isolating the carries and mid-laners to fend for themselves. 

League of Legends is more forgiving to supports, but as the match progresses, the big decision can swing the momentum. Supports that do not make much of an impact could negatively affect their team, but they remain impactful in skirmishes and late-game team fights.

The best examples of support players across both games

The esports scenes for both games have many players who have stood out for being supports. Dota 2 has many top players by position, but the following are players who revolutionised the support roles in Dota 2 and League of Legends:

Dota 2

• Kuro ‘KuroKy’ Salehi Takhasomi - A decorated support player with exceptional leadership skills. KuroKy has played almost every position in Dota, but he is most successful with his support play on heroes like Io and Lich, which is focused on empowering his teammates to take over when they have enough farm.
• Xu ‘Fy’ Linsen - The Chinese superstar is arguably the greatest playmaking support player. He is flashy with his moves, especially on heroes like Rubick and Earth Shaker. He always pops up when needed with big plays using his hero’s abilities, which are mostly the support hero with a bit of good farming.
• Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein - As a two-time winner of The International, he is known as one of the greatest sacrificial support players. He was also a fantastic captain who knew how to place the correct wards to get a map advantage over the opponents. His signature heroes as a support were Nature’s Prophet, Chen, and Enchantress.

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League of Legends

• Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok - Keria is arguably the most skilled support player in League of Legends due to his versatility. He dominates lanes and succeeds in the team fights. His deep champion pool has helped him adapt to many meta-games, but he is mostly known for playing Caitlyn support for one of the best teams in League history.
• Tian ‘Meiko’ Ye - One of the longest-standing support players in the scene, Meiko has superb chemistry with his teammates, as he focuses on a fundamental style with strong micro play. His leadership and strategic shot-calling contributed to EDward Gaming's triumph in 2021.
• Son ‘Lehends’ Si-woo - Known for being a creative player, Lehends is most known for playing Singed and Shen at support. Lehends is a chaotic player, and he often surprises opponents with those picks, which makes him a good example of the potential of supports. 

The top playable support characters in LoL and Dota 2

Get a glimpse into how certain supports work in either game to know the differences between them. These are not the most successful heroes and champions, but they work well in the support role:

Dota 2

• Rubick - This hero is mostly known for its Spell Steal ultimate, which involves getting the opponent’s skill and turning it against them for a limited period. However, Telekinesis is a good disabling ability, with Fade Bolt a good burst damage skill too. If you want flashy support with his abilities, Rubick is a good choice.
• Lion - Reliable disable and burst, Lion is ideal for catching enemies off-guard with the Impale stun, Hex disable, and the Finger of Death to finish off enemies with huge burst damage. 
• Undying - A bully in the lane, Undying controls the space in team fights with Tombstone, and it is not the typical frail support hero. It can be quite bulky even if it has limited farm.

League of Legends

• Thresh - The ultimate playmaking champion, Thresh has hooks, lantern saves, and crowd control that changes the fights. This is a flexible support as it is a well-rounded champion with playmaking and saves.
• Rakan - A flashy support that can engage in fights, he is known for making quick initiations and synergy with champions like Xayah. Escaping fights is also present with Rakan, which makes it a champion that gets a hit-and-run kill quite quickly.
• Lulu - A high-impact enchanter champion, Lulu can protect hyper-carries and strengthen them. She thrives in the meta for team fights and maximising the carries.

How the meta impacts support players in esports and ranked play

In League and Dota 2, the meta is crucial to how the game is played. A patch buffing enchanters can turn Lulu into one of the best picks a team could have. The same goes for patch buffing micromanaging units like Enchantress, Chen, and Nature’s Prophet.

With MOBA games’ regular patch updates, new trends pop up often, and the teams and players must shape their strategy around them. Adjustments are key for support players since they must be more intricate with their strategic gameplay. 

Understanding the game better leads to improved performances from support and their teammates across esports and ranked play.

Depending on which champion or hero is picked, teams will thrive with their support picks. With better knowledge and understanding of the support role, you can get the best results for your wagers and during your gameplay sessions when playing as a support in League of Legends or Dota 2.

The players must perform to their best ability based on the meta, which leads to some of the best results possible for your ranked gameplay and the potential bets you can make on the League circuit or the Dota 2 scene.

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How supports help you with your MOBA bets at Gamdom

If you bet on Dota 2 or bet on LoL at Gamdom, you can recognise support play and how strong it is for the team. That could be the hidden edge you need as you can see the vision control, timing, clutch saves, statistics, and more. You can become more familiar with the games apart from knowing the other factors, like team dynamics. The spotlight is on the carries, but the matches are won or lost by the supports setting a fundamental. 

How to sign up for Gamdom esports betting

With a look into Dota 2 online betting and League of Legends online betting at Gamdom, know the steps on how to gamble at Gamdom. Follow the steps below:

1. Sign in to your Gamdom account by opening the sidebar and clicking on the button in the upper-left corner.
2. Press the ‘E-Sports Betting’ button in the sidebar.
3. Find the ‘League of Legends’ or ‘Dota 2’ button and press it. You can then navigate the page to find the betting markets.
4. Browse and find the markets that best fit your preferences. The prediction you make shows up on the Bet Slip on the right-hand side of the screen.
5. Enter the bet amount you want to place for your prediction and finalise it by pressing ‘Place bet’ to submit your wager. Wait for the results and find out how much you won. 

The support makes the difference in victories

At first glance, MOBAs are reliant on the carries and mid-laners. As you dig deeper, you will see that the support role is the foundation for victory. This can involve the vision game or mechanical brilliance in either Dota 2 or League of Legends, but supports are hugely important. 

The next time you want to bet on a MOBA match or if you want to play, do not just look at the kills and the flashy carry plays. Look at who sets the stage and appreciate the value of having a good support player.

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