League of Legends tips: A beginners guide to player roles

Hello to all you League newcomers out there! Having trouble understanding the basics of laning? Read this short guide designed to help new players gain a better understanding of the 5 vs 5 in game laning systems. This guide will simply describe the current meta for beginner players to give them some idea of how to form a team in League of Legends.

As it stands right now the current meta for team forming is:

Bot Lane:

Ranged AD Carry: The role of the AD Carry, or the marksman, is to essentially build attack and damage boosting items (critical strike chance, life steal, attack speed, attack damage, armour penetration, etc). As the ranged AD Carry it is important that you practice last hitting enemy champions and minions to acquire gold and experience fast. The Ranged AD Carry is one of the most important roles in the team and also usually the biggest target in team fights. This means that positioning is key. It is important as the ADC that you are always behind your team in team fights so that they can protect you and tank for you while you do damage.
Common Marksman Champions:

Support: A support generally makes their team stronger. Their main role is to support their marksman in getting fed. They do so through their crowd controlling abilities (slows, stuns, taunts, fears, hooks, knock ups, snares, silences, etc...) or their buffing abilities (heals, shields, etc...). The five main practices of a good support are:
1. Protect the Marksman (ADC): Make sure you peel and tank for your ADC. Do all that you can to keep them alive.
2. Warding: The support is not designated for warding the map but generally they ward for their adc to grant vision of incoming enemy jungle ganks
3. Set up kills: A good support will make it easy for their ADC to get fed by targeting enemies at the right time and pinning them long enough for the carry to finish them off.
Common Support Champions:

Mid Lane:
Ability Power Carry, Assassin or a Burst Mage: Mid laners can be one of three options; either APC, Assassin or Burst Mage. Mid laners do most of their damage through their abilities. In most cases the mid laner utilizes ability power however there are a few exceptions that are attack damage bursting champions (Zed, Talon, etc...). The main objective of the mid laner is essentially the same as the Marksman which is basically to acquire gold and experience fast through last hitting and killing enemy champions.
Common Mid Lane Champions:

Top Lane:
Tank or a Tanky bruiser: The top lane is usually occupied by a tank or tanky bruiser. A tank's role in the team is essentially to initiate team fights and take most of the damage for his team members while they do damage. A bruiser or an off/tank basically builds equal parts offense and defense. They are able to tank damage from the enemy team while doing damage at the same time. The role of the tank or the bruiser is essentially to take damage for team members in team fights.
Common Top Champions:

Jungle:
Jungler: The role of the jungler is tricky in most cases because a good jungling champion has to meet three main criteria: fast camp clearing speeds, good sustainability, good ganking abilities. The Role of the jungler is essentially to gain experience and gold by clearing jungle camps and to assist lanes by ganking at the appropriate time. Jungling is a difficult role due to the fact that you have to have good positioning and map awareness to know where to be on the map at what time.  

Common Jungle Champions:

Dota 2 Tips: A Beginner's Guide to Hero Roles

Carry

Carries are the heroes that can obtain the greatest power and utility as the game progresses. (It is so derived from the act of "carrying" a team; that is, to bear the responsibility for ultimate victory.) They tend to be those who become extremely powerful later in the game as compared to other heroes once they amass enough levels and items. They are the ones expected to have the highest number of kills at the conclusion of the game and tend to be those that directly tackle the structures and the Ancient upon the team becoming powerful enough. Carries typically lack early game power, but they scale well by late game; thus, the items they carry are an essential part of their build. Most carries rely on right-clicking, using sheer attack power to overwhelm their enemies. Carries tend to have high base movement speed.

Disabler

Disablers are Heroes whose abilities are more focused to reliable crowd control, whether by single target or by area. Though fundamentally Support, they can act as Initiator in a gank when the number of enemy Heroes to be killed is few in number - a true Initiator's cooldowns are best saved for a large confrontation. They often lane with the team's carry to malign any attempts on their life. Disablers tend to have low base movement speed.

Lane Support
Lane Supports or Babysitters are Heroes who help their team's Carry control the lane in the early stages of the game. They are able to either repel enemies from your team's carry and thus keep them safe, or to allow the carry to continuously stay in the lane using abilities that replenish either health or mana. Common traits of Lane Supports are long-ranged right-click attacks and abilities that are highly useful from level 1 and up. They should always lane with the team's Hard Carry, as aside from supporting them, their lack of dependence on gold and levels means said Carry can take all the farm for themselves without running the risk of soloing a lane.

Initiator

Initiators are heroes who can safely and advantageously start a team fight. These heroes typically have strong area of effect damage or disable or some skill to affect the positioning of the enemy team. Many of these heroes rely completely on a Blink Dagger or Force Staff to get the proper positioning to initiate a teamfight, while a select few, such as Elder Titan, do not require this asset. Although it is common for an Initiator to be a Durable hero, this is not always the case; fragile heroes such as Enigma and Vengeful Spirit are adept at initiation.

Jungler

Heroes that can kill neutral creeps in the jungle without dying are called Junglers. Having a hero in the jungle leaves one lane open for a hero to solo. This allows both the jungler and the solo laner to get solo experience. Junglers usually have abilities that summon minions, take control of neutrals, offer lifesteal and/or give the hero high damage output early game. Abilities like these are crucial for heroes to jungle effectively.

Support

Supports are heroes whose purpose is to keep their allies alive and give them opportunities to earn more gold and experience. Supports will usually come with skills, such as healing spells or skills that disable enemies; and generally have low damage output (but often with a powerful-yet-situational ultimate). Like Semi-Carries, Supports are not dependent on items (with some exceptions), and thus, most of their gold will be spent on items for the benefit of the team such as Animal Courier, Observer Ward, Sentry Ward, and Smoke of Deceit.

Durable

Durable heroes (or "Tanks") are heroes who have the potential to sustain large amount of incoming damage from the enemy. They tend to have large amounts of HP, HP regeneration, armor, or magic resistance. They often have abilities to mitigate damage, avoid damage completely, or disable assailants. Strength heroes almost invariably perform this role because their primary attribute, Strength, also grants HP.

Despite the fact that most Durable heroes in Dota 2 cannot literally force enemies to attack targets (only Axe, Legion Commander, and Auroth may do this), they effectively play the role of absorbing most enemy damage output in a teamfight. This is accomplished by:

1. Outputting an AoE effect which severely maligns the enemy, so that the enemy must kill the durable first; for example Undying's Flesh Golem which increases all damage to hostile units in its radius.
2. Being the first one to engage the enemy in a teamfight. The enemy will respond by unloading abilities and items on the durable because a) the enemy cannot see the durable's allies and is tricked to believe the durable is alone for easy kill b) the enemy cannot reach the durable's allies because they are too far away c) the enemy is inexperienced and prematurely attacks the first hostile target in sight. The result is that the durable will probably survive because of his high durability; when the allies charge in, most of the enemy's skills are on cooldown and the battle becomes much more favorable. This tactic will not always work against seasoned opponents, however.
3. Using an ability to force enemies to attack the Durable rather than his or her allies. The only example of this currently in-game is Axe.
4. Being the only target that can be readily attacked; a strategy that works best when the Durable's allies are ranged heroes.

In summary, a durable in Dota 2 is a durable hero with high survivability who often initiates a team battle and ideally is able to manipulate the enemy to damage the durable instead of the allies.

Nuker

Heroes that are able to deal an enormous amount of damage in a burst. These heroes often have abilities that have a low cooldown that work well in combination with each other that allows them to have high damage output in a short time span. These heroes are often great gankers, as they can travel to another lane and nuke down enemy heroes.

Pusher

Pushers are heroes who focus on bringing down towers quickly, thereby acquiring map control. If they succeed, they often shut down the enemy carry by forcing them away from farming. They typically have skills that fortify allied creep waves, harm multiple enemy creeps and/or heroes at once, summon minions, or deal massive amounts of damage to enemy towers.

Escape

Escape heroes are heroes equipped with one or more escape mechanisms which allow them (or sometimes their allies) to avoid damage and abilities while retreating or repositioning themselves during a teamfight or gank. Escape heroes are particularly suited to soloing the "suicide lane" or short lane, as they can turn situations where death is inevitable into a temporary delay in farm. Escape mechanisms include movement speed buffs, invisibility, teleportation (such as Blinking), and evasion. Many carry heroes also have escape mechanisms to give them the survivability they need to continue farming and killing.

Information in this blog was taken from this webpage.

Dota 2 Tips: A Guide to the 1-5 System

Have you been hearing people refer to heroes with numbers? Confused? Read this guide and shed some light on the ranking system and how it's used. The 1-5 hero role system in Dota 2 ranks heroes' item and level farm importance from 1 (very high) to 5 (very low). Hero roles are not set in stone, many heroes can fill more than one of these positions. This is just a general outline of a commonly used system while creating teams in Dota 2. :)
Note: Jungling was not included in common laning suggestions, as there are only a few heroes in each catagory that commonly jungle.

Position 1:

First priority for levels and gold, because they are very farm dependent (items and levels); your hard carry. This hero is relatively weak in the early game, stronger through mid game, but really shines late game. This hero is crucial to the team and their farm can make or break a game. It's essential to keep these heroes alive and farming as much as possible; kills to the enemy team are a bonus.

Common Heroes
High right-click damage output heroes often with high mobility and slows or short stuns.

Common Items
Increased right-click damage (including crit), AOE Damage, stuns, survivability.

Common Laning
Dual/Trilane: Heroes like Anti-Mage, Faceless Void, Luna, Sven, and Phantom Assassin can greatly benefit from dual and trilanes. Having your hard carry in a lane with one or two supports gives your 1 a safe environment to farm with the option of playing aggressively for early kills. The heroes benefiting most from this lane are often melee or short ranged carries that are glass canons from early to mid game. If this lane is successful, ensuring the carry's survival through the farming phase, your chances of winning will be exponentially greater.

Solo Safelane: Heroes including Lone Druid, Luna, Medusa, Sniper, and Weaver can farm well in a solo lane due to their harass potential, escapability, and ease of last hitting (due to range, summoned units, and attack modifying passives). If the your 1 is confident enough to solo, this lane will give them faster experience farm.

Mid: Ranged heroes like Drow, Morphling, Gyrocopter, and Shadowfiend are able to dominate mid lane and still keep up on farm. It's often more beneficial to put your 1 in one of the aforementioned lanes, but depending on your team composition, mid lane can be the best choice for your position 1.

Position 2:
Second priority for levels and gold, position 2 heroes take a different lane than the position 1 heroes, and they get the farm priority in their lane. Position 2's are often comfortable soloing, and make very good gankers and/or pushers. These heroes are pretty strong early game, strongest mid game, but can fall off late game (against position 1's). They rely on less expensive items than 1's, but many of the items they build towards are crucial to mid and late game.

Common Heroes
High initiation potential, with crowd control and/or AOE damage, and durable/evasive.

Common Items
Initiation/movement, extra crowd control, durability, damage amplifier (ability/right-click).

Common Laning
Mid: Position 2's, like Queen of Pain, Invoker, Outworld Devourerer, and Nightstalker can make very good mid heroes because they require relatively high farm. A lot of position 2's make great mids because of their ability to last hit, harass and/or escape. They can also be very durable. Being mid also requires the hero to offer ganks to other lanes. Many position 2's have great ganking abilities, so they can often be the best choice for this lane.

Safelane/Hardlane Solo:Postion 2 heroes, like Clockwerk, Mirana, and Brewmaster can almost always solo lane with ease for the same reason that they can solo mid. Position 2's can often solo against two or three enemy heroes and still get decent farm and dominate the lane. Having your position 2 in mid or solo side lane is often the most beneficial for several reasons.

Dual/Trilane: Sometimes it is necessary for your position 2 to be supported, most commonly in a dual lane. Heroes benefitting from this lane comp. include melee heroes like Juggernaut, Centaur Warrunner, and sometimes Lifestealer when he is out of jungle. Usually these heroes can easily secure early-game kills and creep farm in lane when paired with a support, making this a very good lane for the position 2.

Position 3:
Middle priority for farm, position 3 heroes often have strong team fight abilities and high initiation potential. They have a moderate farm priority because rush their ultimates is crucial in getting a leg up on the other team, but the items they require are relatively cheap. By late game most of the position 3's items will cost <4000g. They tend to focus on initiation and durability items. Position 3's are very versitile heroes that have potential to be comfortable in any lane that needs to be filled. Alone, they are able to do well, but with team mates their true potential really shows.


Common Heroes
Often strong ultimates with high damage and/or utility, high initiation potential, team fight.

Common Items

Initiation/movement, team fight, support, durability/survivability.

Common Laning
Dual/Trilane: Sometimes position 3's prescense in a solo lane is not the most beneficial with the given team composition. Postion 3 heroes can also to very well in a dual/trilane because they offer such high harass. With a position 3 in a sidelane with a partner(s), it is very easy to dominate the lane and push enemies back. Heroes that excel at this include Elder Titan, Tusk, and Axe.

Mid: Position 3's are very common in the mid lane. Most position 3's have abilities that allow them to harass enemy heroes in lane, giving them space to last hit. Most importantly, most position 3's want to rush to level 6 for their ultimate, because position 3 ultimates are very commonly crucial to team plays. Heroes like Puck, Rubick, and Batrider are commonly seen mid.

Safelane/Hardlane Solo: Having a position 3 in a solo lane can be extremely beneficial to the team. As stated earlier, most position 3's have harass potential in lane, making it easier to solo. Another reason they are useful soloing a sidelane is that they don't require substantial gold farm, but they rely on level farm to be useful early and mid-game. Heroes that are often seen in side-lane include Dark Seer, Bounty Hunter, and Magnus.

Position 4:
Second lowest priority for farming because position 4 acts as a secondary support. Position 2's tend to be slightly stronger than 5's and rely on a few key items to really get the most out of them. Because of this, they are more farm dependent than position 5 heroes. These heroes are very important to team fights and laning because of their high utility.

Common Heroes
Regeneration, crowd control, durability, high initiation potential.

Common Items
Pure support [when needed] (wards, dust, smoke), team support, initiation.

Common Laning
Dual/Trilane: Postion 4's will almost always be laning with another hero in a side lane. They usually have abilities that, on their own, will not secure early kills but, matched with another hero's abilities, could be deadly. Heroes like this include Sand King, Tidehunter, Earthshaker, and Witch Doctor. These heroes have slows or stuns and relatively high damage output early game, but may have a difficult time in a solo lane.

Solo Lane: It's very very uncommon for a postion 4 to be anywhere but a dual/trilane, but depending on the team composition the position 4 can find themselves soloing safelane or mid. Heroes capable of doing this include Shadow Shaman, Pugna, and Nyx Assassin.

Position 5:
The least prioritized, because they are the hard support; their key items are inexpensive and are for the benefit of the team. These heroes tend to be very squishy, but have the potential of outputting high spell damage in team fights, and offer regeneration and/or crowd control with their abilities. Most position 5's will only be able to complete their boots and another item in the entire game because they're basically the ward bitch. Although they are lowest priority for farm, they are an asset to the team, and can really shape the early game.

Common Heroes
Regeneration, crowd control, low right-click damage, potentially high spell damage, low HP.

Common Items
Pure support (wards, dust, smoke), cheap team support, cheap survivability.

Common Laning

Dual/Trilane: Position 5's are most useful in dual or trilanes with position 1's and/or 2's harassing enemy heroes, stacking and pulling creeps, and helping to control the lane. Heroes like Keeper of the Light and  Dazzle are most useful for their regeneration abilities. Heroes like Jakiro, Lion, Shadow Demon, and Crystal Maiden are most useful to carries for their strong disables and slows.

Mid: It's very very very rare to have a position 5 mid because these heroes are often much more useful with their carries, and are often too weak for a crucial solo position. Heroes like Lich, Shadow Demon, Lion, and Lina have been seen mid because of their harass potential in lane, but it's almost never the best choice with most team compositions. 

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Content in this article can be supported with information in this article and this spreadsheet.