Nature’s Prophet has always been one of the more versatile heroes in Dota 2, but after receiving buffs in the last two patches, his versatility has turned him into a beast across all roles.
The unique hero’s win-rate in high-level matches this week is 54 percent as an offlaner, 56.8 as a hard support, and 57.6 as a soft support. This brings his win rate to 57 percent in all roles, according to D2PT, which shows how adaptable he is.
Pro players have caught wind of his effectiveness, too. Nature’s Prophet has already been banned 88 times in The International 2023 Regional Qualifiers so far this month, and then in the 16 times he made it through, his team went on to win 62.58 percent of them. He’s also been picked in all roles in Dota 2 pro play.
The buffs that led to this change include Teleportation having a lower cooldown and dealing more bonus damage, Wrath of Nature hitting harder, his attack range being increased, and Sprout dealing a small amount of damage to all nearby enemies.
Nature’s Prophet’s playstyle and map-wise presence is also a perfect fit for the meta. He can out-harass enemies in lane because of how much damage he can deal early, he can use Teleportation to help allies, gank enemies, or contest runes anywhere, and he can use Wrath of Nature to shove lanes and damage enemies with one button.
The optimal build in support roles starts with Power Treads and Medallion of Courage into Solar Crest. Then, it can be branched out to include either Rod of Atos, Spirit Vessel, or Orchid Malevolence. Aghanim’s Shard and Aghanim’s Scepter are also must-have at some point. If it’s within a player’s means, Scythe of Vyse is a decent one to end on in the late-game.
The core build is similar except it can include Blade Mail instead of either Solar Crest or Spirit Vessel (but still one of them), Rod of Atos and Maelstrom into Gleipnir, Black King Bar, and Assault Cuirass.
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Like any build in Dota 2, what works in one situation won’t work as well in another, and there’s a lot of room for creativity and strategy. Still, Nature’s Prophet ticks more boxes than any other hero at the moment. It’s as good as Witch Doctor and Vengeful Spirit in support roles and is shaping up to be one of the best carries.
