If you’ve ever played a game of Dota 2 as a carry, you’ve almost certainly had the frustrating experience of getting locked down by a Lion’s Hex and Impale combo before you could even cast a spell. This blue demon support is one of the most recognizable and high-impact heroes in the entire game, with a kit that works for both casual unranked lobbies and high-level professional play. I’ve lost count of how many ranked games I’ve turned around with a well-timed Lion impale that catches three enemy heroes out of position, even when my team was down 10 kills early. If you’re here to learn how to play Lion Dota 2, you’re in the right place: this guide covers every part of playing the hero, from lane phase basics to late-game team fight tricks that will make you a nightmare for the enemy team. Learning how to play Lion Dota 2 will also make you a better support player overall, as it teaches you core positioning and map awareness skills that transfer to every other support hero in the game.
How to Play Lion Dota 2: Optimal Ability Builds for Every Rank
First, let’s break down Lion’s kit and the right order to level your abilities, depending on your rank and team composition. Most new players make the mistake of maxing Mana Drain first for the early harassment, but that’s almost never the right call if you want to win fights. Impale is your most valuable spell, as it deals solid damage and stuns up to 2.75 seconds at max level, making it one of the longest stuns in the game for a support. If you’re new to learning how to play Lion Dota 2, stick to the standard ability order first before trying out niche builds like maxing Mana Drain against mana-heavy lineups.
For 90% of games, your ability order should look like this: take Impale at level 1 unless your team is planning a level 1 invade or jungle gank, in which case Hex is the better pick for the instant disable. Max Impale first, followed by Hex, then put points in Mana Drain last. You’ll want to take your ultimate, Finger of Death, at levels 6, 11, and 16 as soon as it’s available, no exceptions. You should always cast Hex first before Impale in any combo, as it stops enemies from using blink daggers, mobility spells, or BKB to escape before your stun lands.
Mana Drain is a lot more useful than many players give it credit for, even if you don’t max it early. You can use it to drain mana from enemy offlaners in lane to stop them from casting their own disables, or even drain mana from friendly heroes that have extra mana to fill up your own bar before a fight. Just don’t stand still channeling it for too long, because you’ll be an easy target for enemy ganks.
Lane Phase Strategy: Win the Bot Lane Before 10 Minutes
The lane phase is where most Lion players either set their team up for success or throw the game before it even really starts. Lion works great as both a hard support (position 5) and a soft support (position 4), so your playstyle will change a little depending on which role you’re filling. If you’re playing position 5, your job is to buy all the early vision, pull creep waves, and avoid leeching XP from your carry as much as possible. If you’re position 4, you can play a little more aggressively to get kills and build up gold for core items faster.
Your first job in lane is to protect your carry from harassment, not to chase risky kills that will get both of you killed. For example, if the enemy offlaner overextends past your tier 1 tower to hit your carry, cast Hex on them, follow up with Impale, and let your carry get in as many auto attacks as possible. That’s almost always a guaranteed kill or at least forces them to use their regen and go back to base. One of the most common mistakes new players make when figuring out how to play Lion Dota 2 is chasing an enemy support across the map for a kill, leaving their carry alone to get dived by the enemy offlaner.
You should also be pulling the small camp at minute 1, 3, 5, and every other odd minute if you can, to deny XP and gold from the enemy offlaner while giving your carry extra farm. Don’t forget to place observer wards in the river bush and the enemy jungle pull camp at the start of the game, and replace them as soon as they expire. If you notice the enemy support is dewarding your vision, carry a sentry ward with you to take down their vision instead.
Itemization Choices That Make Lion Unstoppable
One of the biggest mistakes new Lion players make is wasting gold on flashy damage items instead of support items that benefit the whole team. Lion doesn’t need a lot of gold to be effective, but the right items will make your spells way more impactful and keep you alive long enough to cast them in team fights. When you’re first learning how to play Lion Dota 2, stick to the core items first before experimenting with more situational picks.
Starting items should be simple: two tangos, one shared observer ward, two iron branches, and a mango for extra mana if you plan to play aggressively. Early game, pick up a Magic Wand as soon as you can, as it gives you extra health and mana in fights, followed by Boots of Speed. You’ll also want to keep a stock of observer wards, sentry wards, and smoke of deceit on you at all times, even if it means you have to delay your bigger items.
Aether Lens is a core pickup for almost every Lion build, as it increases the cast range of all your spells by 225, letting you stay far back in team fights while still locking down priority targets. After Aether Lens, your items will depend entirely on the enemy lineup and your role. We’ve put together a list of situational items that work perfectly for Lion depending on the game:
- Glimmer Cape: Perfect for games against heavy burst lineups like Lina or Shadow Fiend, as it gives magic resistance and invisibility to save yourself or your carry from being one-shot
- Blink Dagger: Pick this up if your team lacks initiation, so you can jump in and lock down priority targets before fights start
- Pipe of Insight: Build this if the enemy has three or more magic damage cores to reduce incoming spell damage for your entire team
- Ghost Scepter: A cheap counter to right-click carries like Phantom Assassin or Juggernaut that can save you from being killed in one hit early in the mid game
Always keep at least one Sentry Ward on you after 10 minutes to deward enemy vision and catch invisible heroes like Riki or Bounty Hunter before they can gank your team. Don’t waste gold on items like Divine Rapier or Desolator, even if you’re ahead, because Lion’s job is to disable enemies, not deal damage on his own. You’ll get way more value out of a 75 gold sentry ward than a 3000 gold damage item on this hero.
Mid and Late Game Positioning and Team Fight Rules
Once the laning phase ends around minute 10, Lion’s job shifts from protecting the carry to setting up ganks and winning team fights. You don’t want to wander around the map alone, because Lion is incredibly squishy and will get one-shot by any enemy core that finds you. Stick with your team, and use smoke of deceit to gank the enemy mid lane or offlane whenever you have all your spells off cooldown. If your team is pushing a tower, stand back in the trees or bushes instead of standing out in the open, so you don’t get picked off first.
In team fights, you should never be the first person to be seen by the enemy unless you’re initiating with a Blink Dagger. Your priority targets are always the enemy’s highest gold heroes, usually their mid laner and carry. Lock them down with Hex and Impale as soon as they get in range, then use Finger of Death to finish them off if your team doesn’t burst them fast enough. Don’t waste your ultimate on low-impact supports or creeps, because it has a long cooldown and deals enough damage to take off half a core’s health at max level.
You also want to keep an eye out for enemy heroes that are about to cast big team wipe ultimates, like Tidehunter’s Ravage or Enigma’s Black Hole. If you see them channeling or moving into position to cast, Hex them immediately to stop the ultimate before it goes off. That one play alone can win you the entire team fight, even if you die right after casting it. If you have a Glimmer Cape, use it on your carry if they get focused, or on yourself if you’re taking too much damage so you can get out and cast more spells later.
Lion is one of the most accessible and rewarding supports in Dota 2, and you don’t need super fast mechanics to play him well. All you need is good map awareness, a clear understanding of when to use your spells, and a focus on helping your team instead of chasing kills for yourself. Once you master how to play Lion Dota 2, you’ll be able to carry games as a support even when your cores are having a rough start, and climb the ranked ranks faster than you thought possible. Don’t get discouraged if you miss a few Impales at first—even pro players mess up their skill shots sometimes. Practice in a few unranked games first to get the hang of your combo timing, and you’ll be dominating lobbies in no time.