Our regularly updated list of who's strongest and who's weakest in Dota Underlords.
Our Dota Underlords tier list for July 2019 ranks all the heroes in the game from strongest to weakest based on community feedback and gameplay experience.
Dota Underlords is Valve’s official version of the popular Auto Chess – or is it Auto Battler? – genre taking over the gaming world right now. It’s incredibly similar to Drodo Studio’s “Dota: Auto Chess” mode which came before it, but there are some key differences which separate it from its predecessor.
On the surface it appears like there’s absolutely no difference between Dota: Auto Chess and Underlords’ hero offerings. However, that’s not true at all. Underlords is home to a couple of new heroes, and many stat numbers are completely different too. Despite sharing the same abilities, many heroes vary wildly between the games.
What’s more, Underlords has a completely different item selection, which can also completely alter the strength of a hero. Even if you’ve come from Dota: Auto Chess, it can be quite difficult knowing which heroes are hot, and which are…well, not.
Below we’ve put together a tier list based on our many, many hours of experience with the game.
A quick note before we dive in…
This tier list is by no means definitive, and it’s only meant to give new players a better idea of what heroes may be considered stronger than others.
When it comes down to it, the RNG nature of Dota Underlords means it’s important to be flexible and switch strategies on the fly. This means there’s a great deal of combinations which may not be considered “meta”, that can thrive in the right situation.
For a complete overview of Dota Underlords, along with links to plenty of our other guides to help you get a better grasp of the game, make sure you give our Dota Underlords guide a glance.
Dota Underlords: Tier List
Just below we’ve separated all the heroes into categories based on what we believe to be the strongest units right now. As seasons go by and patches are introduced, we’ll update this tier list to reflect these changes in the meta.
UPDATE LOG: Medusa, Venomancer, Warlock – Buffed
Before we dive into July’s tier list, it’s worth highlighting some big tweaks to the Venomancer, Warlock and more in Dota Underlords’ latest patch.
First up, Medusa’s Split Shot now applies item effects on secondary shots which makes her even stronger than before. She’s easily one of the most powerful rangers in the game, who’s now an absolute must-pick.
Venomancer’s health has increased from [500, 1,000, 2,000] to [550, 1,100, 2,200]. What’s more, its also received other little improvements which’ll give it more of a punch on the board. This should make it a more viable hero overall.
The Warlock’s also received huge buffs all-round. He’s got better damage, better heals, reduced cooldowns and more.
Dota Underlords Tier List: What’s considered top tier right now?
We’ve listed all of the units which are top picks at the moment, thanks to their incredibly strong abilities and overall versatility. Spot these in the shop? Definitely consider adding them to your lineup.
- Beastmaster (Brawny/Hunter)
- Clockwerk (Scrappy/Inventor)
- Disruptor (Brawny/Shaman)
- Doom (Demon/Warrior)
- Enigma (Primordial/Warlock)
- Gyrocopter (Deadeye/Inventor)
- Kunkka (Human/Warrior)
- Lich (Undead/Mage)
- Lone Druid (Beast/Druid)
- Medusa (Naga/Hunter)
- Necrophos (Heartless/Warlock)
- Phantom Assassin (Elusive/Assassin)
- Pudge (Heartless/Warrior)
- Razor (Primordial/Mage)
- Techies (Scrappy/Inventor)
- Terrorblade (Demon/Hunter)
- Tidehunter (Scaled/Hunter)
- Tiny (Primordial/Warrior)
- Wind Ranger (Elusive/Hunter)
Don’t be fooled by Clockwerk’s cost, he’s an exceptionally strong frontliner who deals big damage numbers. He’s easily upgradeable so we’d recommend getting him on the board in the early game and gradually “tiering” him up as the match progresses.
Tiny is another great low-cost unit who can tank a tonne of damage, stun multiple units and completely derail a strong enemy composition. Definitely worth picking up early and upgrading as as match goes on.
Everytime we spot Kunkka in the shop, it’s an instant purchase. His ability summons a pirate ship onto the battlefield, which stuns and damages multiple enemies it crashes into. It’s exceptionally strong against teams which are bunched together (practically every team, in our opinion). We’d recommend giving him a mana-regen item to speed up his ability activation, or at least some health to increase his survivability.
Tidehunter’s another hero whose ability alone can carry you to the finish line. It’s an AoE knockup which stuns multiple enemies upon landing, and it’s very difficult to counteract too. Like Kunkka, you’ll want to pop Tidehunter where it can generate mana quickly and use its ability as soon as possible.
From our perspective, Medusa is clearly the best ranger in the game right now as she’s capable of hitting multiple targets with each shot. If she’s got any items equipped, the effects will also trigger with each shot. For example, she’s capable of lowering multiple enemies’ attack speed with Eye of Skadi.
There’s not much to say about Lich, other than he deals ridiculous damage numbers to multiple enemies. If you’re building around mages or have a strong frontline, he’s a monster.
Terrorblade’s a bit hit and miss, but if you’re able to upgrade him and give him a damage dealing item to round things off – he completely shreds.
Dota Underlords Tier List: Very strong, but not top tier
These heroes are all worth picking up if you’re building a specific team composition, or if you’ve got some gold to spend in the late game.
- Alchemist (Scrappy/Warlock)
- Bounty Hunter (Scrappy/Assassin)
- Chaos Knight (Demon/Knight)
- Dragon Knight (Human/Dragon/Knight)
- Drow Ranger (Heartless/Hunter)
- Enchantress (Beast/Druid)
- Juggernaut (Brawny/Warrior)
- Keeper of the Light (Human/Mage)
- Lycan (Human/Beast/Warrior)
- OmniKnight (Human/Knight)
- Queen of Pain (Demon/Assassin)
- Sand King (Beast/Assassin)
- Shadow Fiend (Demon/Warlock)
- Shadow Shaman (Troll/Shaman)
- Slark (Scaled/Assassin)
- Sniper (Deadeye/Hunter)
- Templar Assassin (Elusive/Assassin)
- Timbersaw (Scrappy/Inventor)
- Treant Protector (Elusive/Druid)
- Troll Warlord (Troll/Warrior)
- Venomancer (Beast/Warlock)
- Warlock (Blood-Bound/Warlock)
Dragon Knight’s recent buff means he’s actually pretty strong, but only if you pair him with other Knights or Viper for the Dragon buff. If he’s on his lonesome, we’ve found his value drop off significantly. If you pick him up, commit to the Dragon or Knight composition.
If you’re running Human or Mage, Keeper of the Light can be exceptionally strong. Stick him on your backline, let him generate mana unharmed and watch as he wipes out multiple enemy health bars in one ability usage.
Timbersaw’s a surprisingly powerful two-cost unit who can reliably carry you through the early stages of a match. He tends to fall off a little later on, but don’t pass him up if he appears in the shop within the first few rounds.
Slap an attack speed or attack damage item on a Troll Warlord and he’ll attain hyper-carry status. We’d also recommend slotting him into a Troll composition as he’ll gain even more attack speed, which won’t go amiss. Just make sure to protect him with a nearby tank so he doesn’t get assassinated or drawn away from the fight.
Other essential Dota Underlords guides
Video by mattjestic gaming
Dota Underlords Tier List: By no means weak, just highly situational
By no means are these the weakest heroes in the game, but they’ll be stronger if slotted into a very particular lineup or upgraded before placed on the board. As always, they can be game changing if used in the right situation.
- Abaddon (Undead/Knight)
- Axe (Brawny/Warrior)
- Anti Mage (Elusive/Demon Hunter)
- Arc Warden (Primordial/Shaman)
- Bat Rider (Troll/Knight)
- Bloodseeker (Human/Assassin)
- Crystal Maiden (Human/Mage)
- Nature’s Prophet (Elusive/Druid)
- Lina (Human/Mage)
- Luna (Elusive/Knight)
- Mirana (Elusive/Hunter)
- Morphling (Primordial/Assassin)
- Ogre Magi (Blood-Bound/Mage)
- Puck (Elf/Dragon/Mage)
- Slardar (Scaled/Warrior)
- Tinker (Scrappy/inventor)
- Tusk (Beast/Warrior)
- Viper (Dragon/Assassin)
- Witch Doctor (Troll/Warlock)
