The Auto Chess mod for Dota is widely considered to be the starting point for the auto-battler genre. One of the main reasons it became so popular was the mix of strategy and chess elements with Dota’s lore and characters.
Each hero in Dota is well-represented in its auto chess mod – much like the original game. This means that every hero has their skillset, allowing players to use them in different situations. Not all of them are created equal, however. Some are more useful than others, and some perform excellently only under specific conditions.
To help give you a glimpse of how each hero stacks up against the rest of the cast, we’ve ranked them from best to worst in this list. This will help you decide on which heroes to spend your gold on in the different stages of a match.
With all that out of the way, let’s dive right into the tier list.
Table of ContentsShow
S-Tier
The best heroes to choose in your rotation. They excel in multiple facets of the game so finding a use for them is easy, even in varying situations.
Hero | Cost | Species | Class | Description | ||
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Tidehunter | 5 | Naga | Hunter | Tidehunter has the best AoE skill in the game. With this, he’s able to effectively control the battlefield – something valuable, especially during the late game. | ||
Enigma | 5 | Warlock | Elemental | Enigma is the hardest hitting glass cannon because of his AoE ability and the always-useful synergy with Warlocks. The trick with Enigma is strategizing when and where to cast. Once you have that figured out, you’ll have a death machine in your hands. | ||
Sven | 5 | Warrior | Demon | Like Enigma, Sven has huge damage potential. The main differences are: Sven does it consistently rather than in bursts, and he’s much tankier than Enigma. Sven’s cleave ability is perfect for controlling large crowds, and his natural synergies support his build as a strong damage-dealer. | ||
Io | 5 | Elf | Io is considered a wildcard in the Autochess universe. It isn’t drawn from a pool, so you can have multiple Ios if you wish. What’s unique about Io is how you can much it as the third unit on any pair of units. This versatility makes Io invaluable for several situations within the game. | |||
Medusa | 4 | Naga | Hunter | Medusa’s ability to control crowds using her damage amplification is coveted by most players. Her Naga synergy is effective throughout the game and is easily built even later on during the match. | ||
Lone Druid | 4 | Beast | Druid | Lone Druid’s calling card is his bear summon. This bear is stronger than most units you’ll ever get in the game, and it has Entangle. The bear is also a magnificent tank to put on your frontline. Lone Druid is also a cheap and easy upgrade thanks to his Druid synergy. This hero balances raw power with great flexibility, which is why he’s valuable in any match. | ||
Razor | 3 | Element | Mage | Razor’s AoE damage potential shines especially when paired with 2 other mage units. The hard part about this is the need to build around a definite Mage class team to fully utilize this potential. | ||
Timbersaw | 2 | Goblin | Mech | Timbersaw is the complete package. He is an amazing tank, can deal decent damage, and has a low-cooldown crowd control skill. At 2 gold, Timbersaw is extremely cheap for the value he provides your team. | ||
Tiny | 1 | Element | Warrior | A level 3 Tiny fully rounds out the damage output your team has. His abilities allow for AoE and burst damage to your enemies. His synergies won’t blow you away, but the rest of his package is excellent. | ||
A-Tier
Powerful heroes that could easily match those in S-tier with the proper setup.
Hero | Cost | Species | Class | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Techies | 5 | Goblin | Mech | Goblin and Mech strategies are easy to come by in Autochess. Techies is at the center of that build. Make sure you use him early on so he can immediately start planting mines. As the battle goes on, an unchecked Techies always spells disaster for the opposing player. |
Keeper of the Light | 4 | Human | Mage | Ezalor is yet another glass cannon mage that can provide heavy damage in a Mage strategy. Be sure to place him in the corner and put several units to protect him because he’ll die easily from direct damage. |
Disruptor | 4 | Orc | Shaman | Disruptor’s Orc synergy is extremely powerful in the late game. His ability is one of the best disables in the game, allowing you to silence your opponent’s abilities if you time it well enough. |
Doom | 4 | Demon | Warrior | Doom has solid stats that fit in any situation. His ability effectively deletes an enemy unit’s use in battle. Chances are, he uses his ability on one of your opponent’s important units. This is an instant advantage during the turn. |
Necrophos | 4 | Undead | Warlock | Necrophos has powerful synergies, and his ultimate provides him that much-needed burst and sustained damage that’s useful in fights. He’s also quite tanky for a Warlock, so you don’t have to worry too much about his placement defensively. |
Dragon Knight | 4 | Human, Dragon | Knight | Dragon Knight is a solid tank with superb damage potential when you level him up. His transformation ability adds a lot to his toolkit. His multiple synergies add to his versatility, and he’s a core part of any team using that strategy. |
Kunkka | 4 | Human | Warrior | Kunkka is a hero that can hold his own even without synergies in the late game. He is a decent tank and can provide crowd control, so his toolkit is much needed in every fight. |
Templar Assassin | 4 | Elf | Assassin | Much like Kunkka, Templar Assassin can be utilized on her own. She has good damage, and her Refraction ability makes up for her lack of bulk. Put her on the frontline so stronger opponents waste their attacks trying to hit her. |
Shadow Fiend | 3 | Demon | Warlock | Shadow Fiend’s calling card is his high burst AoE damage that hits multiple enemies at once. Aside from this, he also benefits from excellent synergies with the Demon and Warlock types. |
Treant Protector | 3 | Druid | Elf | Arguably the best tank in the game, Treant contributes to your team even in the early game. To maximize his potential in the late game, however, you must have both Druid and Elf synergies prepared to counter the opponent’s high damage output. |
Beastmaster | 2 | Orc | Hunter | For a cheap unit, Beastmaster is very effective even in the mid-game. His AoE ability allows him to stay relevant even when other costly units have overstayed their welcome. His best use comes from maximizing the Orc synergy, as this means a tanky frontline with decent damage output once you do. |
Drow Ranger | 1 | Undead | Hunter | Drow has decent damage output but is easy to kill because of her low health and defense. You can balance these out by building around her Hunter or Undead synergies. |
Bounty Hunter | 1 | Assassin | Goblin | Bounty Hunter provides good burst damage for only costing 1 gold. He’s best used as a low-cost assassin for your opponent’s glass cannon, if they have any in the field. |
B-Tier
Strong heroes that satisfy a niche use case. They don’t shine in other aspects, but they can do the job they’re meant to do well.
Hero | Cost | Species | Class | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Zeus | 5 | God | Mage | Zeus is a good hero due to his high damage output and utility. The downside to him is that he’s really easy to kill and his synergies are uncommon, especially in the end game. |
Troll Warlord | 4 | Troll | Warrior | Players love Troll Warlord because he’s arguably the easiest hero to set up in the game. He has the best single-target damage potential because of his Troll synergy. Despite this strength, he is a one-dimensional hero so he will be easily countered by experienced players. |
Alchemist | 4 | Goblin | Warlock | Alchemist needs to be in the center of Warlock or Goblin synergies for him to be viable. Outside of this, his ultimate increases his tanking and damage capabilities so it’s worth holding onto him for that. |
Windranger | 3 | Elf | Hunter | Despite initially looking like a glass cannon, Windranger has decent stats. This makes her one of the best Hunters in the game, so make use of her when running that strategy. Windranger’s Powershot ability – while strong, is underwhelming because of the poor AoE coverage. |
Terrorblade | 3 | Demon | Demon Hunter | Terrorblade is strong, but only if you manage to make him transform. This means ensuring that he survives the round long enough for him to use his ability. |
Lycan | 3 | Human, Beast | Warrior | Lycan’s wolf summons along with his transformation makes a potentially lethal combination. He also has great placement in each of the three synergies he has. |
Dazzle | 3 | Troll | Priest | With good synergies and useful abilities, Dazzle could become a staple of your team especially if you have glass cannon or tank units who need protecting every round. |
Slardar | 2 | Naga | Warrior | Slardar is a versatile unit with decent stats and quick cooldowns. He has good synergies with Naga and Warrior, so he fits well in the late game. |
Chaos Knight | 2 | Demon | Knight | Chaos Knight can fulfill your damage and tanking needs all at once. He’s stuck in B tier right now because we have Doom, who is essentially a more powerful version of him. |
Queen of Pain | 2 | Demon | Assassin | Queen of Pain draws similarities with Bounty Hunter because of her damage output in exchange for cheap gold. The difference between them is that Queen of Pain focuses more on AoE damage and crowd control. She’s best utilized in the frontline so she can use her ability to clear the opponent’s vanguard. |
Clockwerk | 1 | Goblin | Mech | Clockwerk benefits from being a cheap hero to summon. He’s a good tank early on, but you should try selling him before mid-game starts. |
C-Tier
Average heroes that will provide consistent viability but are not sought after for high-level strategies.
Hero | Cost | Species | Class | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Death Prophet | 5 | Undead | Warlock | Dead Prophet has damage and tanking capabilities, but they’re not specialized enough for her to be essential in the end game. |
Phantom Assassin | 3 | Elf | Assassin | Phantom Assassin has a weaker single-target damage output than Bounty Hunter. She also dies quicker even with synergies on. |
Sniper | 3 | Dwarf | Hunter | Sniper has okay stats, but his ability chooses a random target every round that it’s become unreliable. Both his synergies also aren’t impressive. |
Lina | 3 | Human | Mage | If you’re building a Mage strategy, then Lina is a good core piece. Outside of this, she has little value, however. Laguna Blade is powerful but suffers from having a random target all the time. |
Crystal Maiden | 2 | Human | Mage | Since her rework, Crystal Maiden just has not been the same. She’s a glass cannon that got her damage nerfed, which means she’s even less valuable on offensive teams now. |
Juggernaut | 2 | Orc | Warrior | Juggernaut is only useful if you’re running an Orc strategy, as he will be your main source of AoE damage. He’s hard to sustain in the late game so it’s best to have backup strategies available. |
Axe | 1 | Orc | Warrior | Axe is great for tanking, especially in the early game. The downside is that he deals very little damage. With the current meta focusing on DPS and crowd control, Axe fails to find a decent place in this list. |
Tinker | 1 | Goblin | Mech | Tinker is a backline damage dealer but in reality, is better off put in the frontlines to utilize his damage. The problem with this is that he’ll die quickly without any protection in the frontlines. |
Anti-Mage | 1 | Elf | Demon Hunter | Anti-Mage’s best trait is his mana burn. Sadly, it’s only single-target so it doesn’t make much of a difference by mid-game. Anti-Mage also suffers from low health and defense stats so you can’t put him in and expect him to survive the round. |
D-Tier
Heroes that have almost fallen off the meta. Use them if you have a very particular strategy you want to test, otherwise leave them alone.
Hero | Cost | Species | Class | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gyrocopter | 5 | Dwarf | Mech | He has great AoE damage with low cooldowns, but Gyrocopter’s synergies are bad compared to other legendary heroes. |
Viper | 3 | Dragon | Assassin | Viper is at the core of Dragon synergies and Assassin ones, in some cases. Its ability is good for crowd control but there’s a bit of randomness to which it chooses its targets. |
Omniknight | 3 | Human | Knight | Omniknight is a decent tank with some good damage in the early game. Later on in the match, he is far outclassed by other heroes with the same synergies. |
Abaddon | 3 | Undead | Knight | Abaddon is a great tank who does little damage. Use him as a distraction at the center of the Undead + Knight synergy and he will have value in fights. |
Witch Doctor | 2 | Troll | Warlock | Witch Doctor has good crowd control abilities but has very poor stats. You can rectify this by putting him in the Troll and Warlock synergies, but that’s simply too costly for one hero. |
Luna | 2 | Elf | Knight | Luna is a one-dimensional damage machine who has little utility if you don’t buff her up with items or synergies. |
Tusk | 1 | Beast | Warrior | Tusk is a cheap option for some good damage and synergies early on. He lags starting the mid-game so it’s best to replace him once available. |
F-Tier
The least viable heroes in the game for high-level play.
Hero | Cost | Species | Class | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Puck | 2 | Elf, Dragon | Demon Hunter | Puck’s saving grace is the AoE control but even that’s not enough to make her viable for the whole match. |
Mirana | 2 | Elf | Hunter | Mirana has good synergies but her poor stats and one-trick ability aren’t as useful throughout the match |
Furion | 2 | Elf | Druid | Furion is good at the early game but he falls off hard once your opponent puts more units on the board. Consider using him early, and then selling him once you’ve made use of his summons. |
Morphling | 2 | Elemental | Assassin | Morphling has the worst stats in the Assassin class and his ability is unreliable during the round. |
Enchantress | 1 | Beast | Druid | Enchantress is only useful once you pad on those synergies. Other than that, she has little value in all phases of the game. |
Shadow Shaman | 1 | Troll | Shaman | Shadow Shaman is a weird one. He has poor stats so you can’t slot him early in the game because the enemy units will focus on him. He gets better with synergies but at that point, there are far better options out there. |
Ogre Magi | 1 | Ogre | Mage | His utility comes from buffing your other units. Otherwise, Ogre Magi simply isn’t worth spending your gold on. |
Batrider | 1 | Troll | Knight | Batrider’s best trait is his Troll and Knight synergies. Even then, he’s not even the core part of those. He has bad stats and underwhelming abilities. |