The early game in Dota 2 sets the foundation for everything that follows, and for support players—whether you’re position five hard support or position four soft support—the laning stage is where battles are either won or made unnecessarily difficult. The first seven minutes are crucial. In fact, they can dictate your entire team’s tempo, control over objectives, and XP lead going forward. This guide will walk you through the ten most impactful things you can do during those opening moments to almost always win your lane.

Pick the Right Laners

Before even stepping foot in the lane, your decisions at the draft screen matter. In the current patch, strong laning heroes like Treant Protector, Nature’s Prophet, Vengeful Spirit, Warlock, and Dazzle dominate. They bring a balance of lane control, sustain, and kill potential. On the flip side, heroes like Oracle and Io might shine in mid to late-game scenarios, but their presence in the laning phase is simply too weak to reliably establish early dominance.

Strategic Pre-Game Warding

Well before the horn sounds, your map presence starts with well-placed observer wards. If you’re Radiant, drop your observer ward in spots where the Dire typically wards, but do it from a sneaky angle to avoid detection. For Dire, the same logic applies—place your ward near expected Radiant vision, but use a non-linear path to get there. Smart warding can lead to First Blood, early ganks, or simply denying vision to the enemy team.

Additionally, place sentry wards proactively to prevent your small camp from being blocked. This is especially valuable against opponents who love to deny your pulling opportunities. Clear your own camps so you can reset lane equilibrium through pulling. At the same time, don’t forget to block the enemy’s pull camp—unless you’re dealing with exceptions like Warlock or Undying, or a wave-clear core like Gyrocopter. In those rare cases, you might benefit more from having a pull opportunity yourself.

Trading Effectively

Once the horn blows, your first objective is clear: start trading. But how you trade depends entirely on your hero’s range and your opponents’. If you’re a ranged support facing another ranged support, it’s a battle of resources. If your opponent is a melee support, dodge them. Fight from inside the wave, force them into bad engagements, and draw creep aggro to tilt the exchange in your favor.

This approach helps mitigate the impact of tanky or disruptive melee supports—though exceptions exist, like Undying, who thrive in wave fights. In any case, your primary role early on is to absorb pressure so your core can farm safely. Even if the trade seems unfavorable (e.g., Hoodwink vs. Jakiro), you should still engage. If you don’t, your core will be the one eating Dual Breaths and losing their lane as a result.

Hitting Level 2 First: A Hidden Win Condition

One of the most overlooked win conditions in the early game is securing level 2 before your opponents. It takes exactly nine creeps to hit level 2—two full waves and the melee creep from the third. Because of how XP is rounded, sharing XP doesn’t distribute it evenly, meaning you need every bit to hit that spike first.

Being level 2 while your opponents are still level 1 is huge. You’ll have a full extra spell or upgraded ability ready to go while your opponents are still stuck with one. Secure that advantage, and immediately pressure your opponents with trades or kills. It’s one of the most reliable ways to gain an upper hand early.

Positioning and Protecting the Core

Melee supports should be ahead of ranged supports, acting as the shield. Ranged supports should hang back and support from a distance—unless you’re double melee or double ranged, in which case stand side-by-side. These rules aren’t rigid; they bend depending on regen, HP levels, and trading patterns. If your melee support is low, step up to soak some damage and give them room to recover. Positioning is dynamic, and understanding how to fluidly adapt to it separates average supports from great ones.

The Power of 2v1 Opportunities

Another high-value situation to exploit is any time your lane becomes a 2v1. If the enemy position five is pulling or their position four rotates to mid for the 6-minute rune, that’s your chance. Force aggression. Punish the core left behind. Even if you don’t secure a kill, the pressure will burn through regen and make future trades easier. Always be alert to moments where one enemy leaves the lane. Those windows are your time to shine.

Smart Pulling and Denying XP

When the lane equilibrium starts to slip, pulling is your tool to reset it. But never—ever—pull at 2:48 or 5:48. These moments are too close to Lotus spawn times, and being absent then can cost you key objectives. Instead, plan your pulls around 2:20. A single pull at that time can push the lane toward the enemy tower, setting you up to contest the 3-minute Lotus Orb.

If you pull a stacked camp instead, that’s fine too. The wave will bounce back toward your tower, creating a safe zone to regain control. Timing here is everything—messing up even by 30 seconds could throw off your lane’s tempo and objective control.

Controlling the Lotuses

The first real objectives of the game aren’t towers or kills—they’re the 3-minute and 6-minute Lotus Orbs. These healing pickups can sustain you or your core and give you that extra edge in trades. That’s why you must control wave equilibrium aggressively just before these marks. Push the wave, force enemies under tower, and get into position.

Never pull or deny your own wave right before Lotus timings. Instead, prep with aggression and smart warding. Contesting or securing both Lotuses can make the difference between dominating and surviving your lane.

Wisdom Rune: The True Turning Point

The 7-minute Wisdom Rune is the single most important early-game objective for supports. Securing it can double your XP gain and give you a massive lead over your lane opponent. If you’re a position four, place an observer ward near the Wisdom spawn by the 6-minute mark. This will alert your offlaner if the enemy five is trying to steal it.

If you’re position five, the same applies in reverse. Even if the enemy has a stun and you don’t, preemptively slowing them with a spell like Crystal Nova or Dual Breath could delay them just enough to win the race. A well-timed slow can mean the difference between victory and a wasted rotation.

Stealing the enemy’s Wisdom Rune as a support not only spikes your XP—it tilts the entire game in your favor. If you manage this, your potential to snowball skyrockets.

Transitioning Out of the Lane

By now, you should be level 4 or 5 and ready to rotate. If your hero has a level six power spike—like Warlock or Treant Protector—prioritize soaking XP to hit it as early as possible. Don’t make the mistake of rotating too much and falling behind. Supports who hover at level 5 for too long lose their impact.

Stick to lane if needed, rotate smartly when opportunities arise, and always keep an eye on when and where you’re needed most. Once you’ve ticked all these boxes, you’ve won your laning phase and are fully prepared to transition into a dominant mid game.

Conclusion This early-game blueprint for support play gives you every tool to take control of your lane. From warding and trading to timing pulls and securing runes, mastering these fundamentals sets you up for success in every bracket. Commit to these principles, and you won’t just survive your lane—you’ll win it. GG Raza!