Dota 2 Positions Explained: What Pos 1 to Pos 5 Do

Every Dota 2 team has five players, and each one takes a position numbered 1 to 5. The number shows farm priority: position 1 gets the most gold and experience, and position 5 gets the least. Positions 1, 2 and 3 are the cores, while positions 4 and 5 are the supports.

Last checked: November 9, 2026 (patch 7.41f).

Dota 2 positions at a glance

The 1-to-5 numbers are shorthand that players use. In ranked matchmaking you choose from three core roles and two support roles, and Valve's own posts call position 5 the Hard Support.

Cores and supports

Only the hero who lands the killing blow on a creep gets its gold, so a team has to decide who takes the farm. Cores are the heroes who need it. They start out weak but grow much stronger with items and levels, until they can carry the team to a win.

Supports have abilities built around helping others, such as stuns, heals and shields. They need far fewer items to be useful, so they give up farm, buy wards and spend their time making sure the cores survive.

Which lane is the safe lane?

There are three lanes. The two side lanes are named from your team's point of view:

• Safe lane: the side lane where your heroes are less exposed to enemy ganks and towers. For the Radiant it's the bottom lane, and for the Dire it's the top lane.
• Offlane: the opposite side lane, which is the enemy team's safe lane. It's the riskiest place to farm.
• Mid lane: the lane through the center of the map, played one against one.

So the standard setup is two heroes in each side lane and one in the middle. Your carry and hard support face the enemy offlaner and soft support, and the two mid players face each other.

Position 1: carry

The carry gets the highest farm priority. In the early game, your only goals are to last-hit creeps, stay alive and buy your core items. Avoid fights you don't need, because every death delays the items your team is counting on.

From the middle of the game on, the carry turns that gold into damage and becomes the main threat late in the game. Good carries know when to leave their lane, farm the jungle and join a fight they can win.

Easy heroes to try: Wraith King, Juggernaut, Drow Ranger and Luna.

Position 2: mid

The mid player is alone in a one-on-one lane, so they usually reach higher levels earlier than anyone else. Mid heroes use that lead to fight power runes, gank the side lanes and take control of the early game.

A good mid player last-hits well under pressure and keeps an eye on the rune spots. With no teammate in the lane to cover mistakes, it's a demanding place to learn.

Easy heroes to try: Zeus, Sniper and Lina.

Position 3: offlane

The offlaner plays the hardest lane, often against the enemy carry and hard support. Survival comes first: grab experience, take whatever farm you can and make the enemy carry's life difficult.

Later, offlaners are often the ones who start teamfights. Many of them are durable heroes with big area spells, so they jump in first and soak up damage while the rest of the team follows.

Easy heroes to try: Axe, Bristleback, Centaur Warrunner and Tidehunter.

Position 4: soft support

The soft support starts in the offlane with the position 3, but doesn't stay there all game. Position 4 heroes rotate between lanes to set up ganks, place wards where the team needs vision, and stack neutral camps for the cores.

They usually have a bit more farm than the hard support, and often need it for an item that lets them start or join fights quickly.

Easy heroes to try: Lion, Vengeful Spirit and Ogre Magi.

Position 5: hard support

The hard support lanes with the carry and takes the lowest farm priority. Early on, your job is to protect your carry, harass the enemy offlaner and pull or deny creeps when it helps your lane.

Hard supports also do much of the team's warding, which gives your team vision of where enemies are moving. In fights, save your stuns and heals for the moment they keep a teammate alive.

Easy heroes to try: Crystal Maiden, Witch Doctor, Lich and Dazzle.

For more detail on each of these heroes, see our list of the best Dota 2 heroes for beginners.

How role queue works in ranked

In ranked, Dota 2 asks you to choose which roles you're willing to play before you start searching for a match. Here's how that works as of November 2026:

• You pick roles before queuing. The matchmaker then builds teams that need those roles.
• Some roles are in higher demand. In 2019, Valve said Hard Support was usually the role the matchmaker needed most, though this varies by time of day, region and skill level.
• Role Queue tokens. Since a July 2026 update, solo players don't spend a Role Queue token as long as they select at least one of the high-demand roles. Before that, you had to select both.
• Starting tokens. When you unlock ranked for the first time, you get 5 role queue tokens.
• An auto-select option. The Ranked Play tab has an option to select all roles automatically when you have no tokens left. It's turned off by default.

The Summer Scrub update on July 30, 2026 also removed Random Draft and Ranked Classic from the ranked modes. For medals and MMR, see our guide to Dota 2 ranks.

How to choose your position

• New to the game? Start with position 5 or position 4. Supports don't rely on last hits, and their jobs are easy to understand.
• Like farming and big late games? Try position 1, but expect to practice last hits in bot matches first.
• Enjoy starting fights? Position 3 suits players who like durable heroes and being in the middle of the action.
• Want to control the game? Position 2 rewards strong laning and good map awareness, so it's best once you know most heroes.

Whatever you pick, learn two or three heroes for that position before adding more. Our Dota 2 beginner's guide covers the basics that every position needs.

Frequently asked questions

What is pos 1 in Dota 2?

Pos 1 is the carry, the hero with the highest farm priority on the team. The carry usually plays the safe lane with the hard support and becomes the team's main source of damage later in the game.

What is the difference between pos 4 and pos 5?

Position 4, the soft support, starts in the offlane and roams to gank and place wards around the map. Position 5, the hard support, stays with the carry in the safe lane early on and has the lowest farm priority on the team.

Which Dota 2 position is easiest for beginners?

Support, position 4 or 5, is usually the easiest place to start. You don't need to master last-hitting, and simple heroes like Crystal Maiden and Lion are useful from the first minute.

Why is it called the safe lane?

It's the side lane where your heroes are less exposed to enemy ganks and towers, which makes it the safest place to farm. For the Radiant it's the bottom lane, and for the Dire it's the top lane.

What are role queue tokens in Dota 2?

Role queue tokens are spent when you search for a ranked match without picking a high-demand role. Since July 2026, solo players who select at least one high-demand role don't spend a token, and new ranked players start with 5.

Is position 3 the same as offlane?

Yes. Position 3 and offlaner mean the same role: the core who plays the side lane that's hardest to farm, usually alongside the position 4 support.