The best and worst Dota 2 heroes at TI 2024

The Dota 2 meta changes by the day as-is, but when a tournament like The International comes around the event develops its own bubble where the best heroes in ranked don’t even get a look or an untouched pick at Divine becomes a TI-defining hero.

2024’s edition of the pinnacle tournament is no different. Here’s a look at the best and worst Dota 2 heroes of TI 2024 so far, as well as a list of those who went totally uncontested at the event.

All stats courtesy of Dota 2 stats site Spectral.

Best heroes at TI 2024

5) Sand King

Who would have thought mid lane Sand King would be one of the surprising things to come out of TI? Sure, the mid lane win rate was significantly lower than those who picked him in the offlane, but the likes of Topson and Quinn gave the giant scorpion a run with moderate success in both the mid and lategame.

With Blink Dagger and a Bloodstone, Sand King can initiate a fight, pop the ultimate, and heal back up after taking significant damage. Both Sand Storm Facets are viable and change the way Sand King is played keeping opponents on their toes at all times, and thanks to his Universal attribute, can tank up just as well as your average Strength core.

4) Mirana

Over the years Mirana has popped up in every TI draft in every position imaginable. This year, she’s back as a position one carry, and she’s done a pretty good job of it, too. She wraps TI 2024 with a 60.87 percent win rate with matches in every position apart from the mid lane, but primarily as a position one.

The Solar Flare facet allowed her to surpass fellow Gleipnir-wielding Windranger for damage output whilst also assisting her allies, making her a perfect fit in just about any draft. Her ban rate dipped on the final day allowing a few picks to make it through, meaning she left a mark on championship Sunday—and TI as a whole.

3) Tusk

Mirana may have been the most-picked hero at TI, but Tusk‘s win rate was a touch higher, and became the go-to support pick as the tournament’s best position four and fives racked up the bans.

Much like many in our top five list, Tusk’s kit is incredibly versatile: Snowball can be used to initiate a fight or save allies, Drinking Buddies grants an ally carry movement speed and a save via the pull effect, Ice Shards can trap enemies in, and Walrus Punch! does more than just damage thanks to the bonus stun duration with the level 10 Talent.

Tusk works great as a roaming position four and doesn’t need much farm to come online with items like Solar Crest and an Aghanim’s Shard enough to see him into the lategame.

2) Shadow Demon

Aura buffs and pumping up your carry are the way to go in today’s version of Dota, so who better to wipe it all away than Shadow Demon? Ignoring Disruption, which is already an incredibly powerful spell in its own right and sets up kills and saves allies, Shadow Demon’s Demonic Purge wipes away any and all buffs allowing a few seconds to burst down the opposing carry.

Tack on his Promulgate facet, which drops a fifth of the enemy’s health regardless of the amount, and a great Strength gain per level, and SD can hold his own whilst setting up a team fight and dishing out damage from the backlines. He finishes TI with 30 picks and a 60 percent win rate and was the second most contested hero at the tournament.

1) Naga Siren

Arguably the hero of TI 2024, and only picked 12 times! Naga Siren recorded a ridiculous 94 percent contest thanks to an astonishing 106 bans across the entire tournament. She’s been banned for a good reason, though: When making it through, Naga Siren has won 75 percent of the time—quite the impact given her position as a hard support!

It all has to do with her Deluge Facet, which converts the Rip Tide splashes into a debuff that reduces Status Resistance, meaning her Ensnare root lasts much longer and allied stuns are more effective. Throw on her healing from Song of the Siren, and Naga can single-handedly turn a team fight around.

She may not have caught on in regular ranked, but with a team that works together well, Naga is the centerpiece that ties the win together.

Worst heroes at TI 2024

5) Pangolier

It’s been a harsh fall from grace for Pangolier. He’s commonly one of the most-picked and contested at a tournament, especially TI, but this year he finished with an awful 35.29 percent win rate from 17 picks. His pick rate rose slightly in the playoffs, but he only registered two more wins than the entire group stage.

Quinn did make Pango work in the lower bracket final, but was severely outplayed in the grand final against Liquid—the second straight year the Gaimin mid-laner lost a TI final on the hero. Ouch.

4) Sven

Every year we reserve a spot on the list for a hero that records zero wins. Most of these heroes are picked quite rarely, but Sven‘s seen a little more action this year and is yet to trouble the scorers—the knight has recorded an impressive zero from six picks this TI.

Only 1win’s Munkushi dared to take the easily-kited Sven as a position one, otherwise attempts to make the hero work as a roaming four have failed. The same issues that make Sven a rough pick as a carry translate to his position as a support, and the Agh’s Shard upgrade that improves Warcry just doesn’t do enough for the hero as a four.

3) Primal Beast

It was a true farewell to the Strength meta of old that we saw throughout the 7.30+ patch cycle at TI 2024, with Primal Beast arguably the biggest loser among them. Where Centaur Warrunner has a little utility up his sleeve with his stun and Stampede movement speed bonuses for the team, Primal Beast’s Pulverize can’t hold up on its own.

Players managed a 33 percent win rate from 12 picks and were only really competitive in the offlane, far removed from his days as a position two mid-laner. He only begins to find impact once he nets a Pipe of Insight and a Crimson Guard, but the meta is just too fast for him and he becomes obsolete very quickly.

2) Doom

Doom was one of the most contested heroes at TI but even though he did sneak through the draft a whole lot, his impact was minimal. The major caveat to picking Doom is for his ultimate, Doom, but outside of this, there’s a lot to be desired from the Strength hero.

The later a game goes, the more powerful Doom grows thanks to his Devil’s Bargain Facet which lets him resell items for 90 percent of their original cost as opposed to 50 percent—but the tradeoff of a more expensive buyback has proven to be costly, and even though Doom gets ahead with a Hand of Midas and Devour, the benefits of a fast start are quickly outweighed once the rest of the heroes catch up in gold unless the game wraps up early.

1) Lina

In a TI where the most-picked set of carries included ranged Gleipnir rushers, you’d think Lina would be well above the pack thanks to her Fiery Soul passive and her incredible burst magic damage backup. Well, you’re wrong—Lina struggled to leave a mark at TI 2024, recording a 35.71 percent win rate from 14 picks.

Her early game against the better picks in the lane just doesn’t cut the mustard, meaning she can’t hit that early Gleipnir timing that Mirana and Windranger can—even if she can scale into the late game off the back of the Thermal Runaway Facet. She also doesn’t have the innate health that her Universal peers possess, making her too squishy at most parts of a match.

Uncontested heroes at TI 2024

A total of 21 heroes went uncontested at TI 2024. They include:

There are certainly some surprises here: Witch Doctor and Ogre Magi have been quite prevalent in the meta in general recently, while Lifestealer and Clinkz have seen several buffs over the last few months yet the pros don’t seem interested whatsoever. This list was at 28 before the playoffs, with the likes of Spectre, Ancient Apparition, and Abaddon all seeing a pick or two as teams tried their hand with different strategies

We saw the likes of Bloodseeker and Warlock make waves at Riyadh Masters just a month ago while no one has even considered the pair for TI 2024 so far, so it goes to show just how quickly the Dota meta changes in the pro scene.