Sometimes, we all prefer short and sweet matches of dota over the long and tiring bloodshed that leaves you drenched and late for your job. Some heroes are naturally better than others right off the bat! These early game heroes have more chances to convert their early game successes into late-game glory. 

With such a long list of heroes to choose from, one may be intimidated! But worry not, we have saved you the hard work and compiled a list of the best 10 Early game heroes who are OP in the current meta! 

10. Skywrath Mage

This intelligent mage possesses the knowledge of the world. His arcane prowess enables him to obliterate his rivals and ensures his victory on the battlefield. Skywrath Mage is a flexible hero, but he is primarily played in the roaming support position. He is known to be annoying in the lane, his low cooldown spells allow him to spam his enemies with immense damage. He is known to disable enemies right from the early game with his Arcane Curse!

Why is Skywrath Mage great from the early game? 

• Low CD spamming abilities and a silence that can last for eternity with Aghanim’s Scepter.
• High Magical damage can be further amplified with items
• Great talent tree that scales well with levels

Items to buy on Skywrath Mage

• Rod of Atos
• Ethereal Blade
• Veil of Discord
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard

See Skywrath Mage in action!

9. Zeus

Zeus proves to be one of the best mid laners regardless of your status as a new or experienced player, this is highly attributed to his extreme DPS spells and wave clearance abilities right from the get-go. He is a must-play hero as he is very annoying against his enemies right from the laning phase. He can dish out some serious damage with spells and constantly harass his opponents. He is also infamous for having the potential to solo kill enemies from miles away on the map with the right items and levels!

Why is Zeus great from the early game? 

• High magical damage and low cooldown on spells!
• High kill potential right off the bat
• Great talent tree that scales well with levels and items

Items to buy on Zeus

• Octraine Core
• Refresher’s Orb
• Arcane Blink
• Bloodstone
• Aghanim’s Scepter

See Zeus in action!

8. Bloodseeker

Bloodseeker is a cold-blooded hunter, known for his mania and vigor. His blades cut deep into his foes, he leaves them bleeding and wounded. He is a lethal force that can never go unnoticed. Bloodseeker can effortlessly jungle or lane, as he is blessed with high base armor. His passive sustain him in the lane, allowing him to play aggressively. He can gank other lanes with the availability of his ultimate, often removing heroes from a team fight. 

Why is Bloodseeker great from the early game? 

• Flexible item build.
• Thirst provides increased movement speed and vision to hunt and kill low HP enemies.
• Gains a maximum of 25% of unit health as heals after killing them, which makes him sustainable as a jungler.

Items to buy on Bloodseeker

• Black King Bar
• Monkey King Bar
• Mjolnir
• Sange and Yasha
• Abyssal Blade

See Bloodseeker in action!

7. Juggernaut

The masked Samurai is a deadly hero that is better left untamed. It is impossible to contain him if he unleashes his true potential. Juggernaut is considered to be a beginner-friendly hero but only the advanced players understand the true potential and mechanics of this hero, as he hits hard right off the bat!. Not only is he great at farming, but he can also control the tempo with his ultimate. He is also known as one of the most flexible heroes in the game in terms of item builds.

Why is Juggernaut great from the early game? 

• Does more with levels as opposed to farm.
• Great base movement speed, armor, and attack speed.
• Great talent tree that scales well with items.

Items to buy on Juggernaut

• Diffusal Blade
• Sange and Yasha
• Aghanim’s Scepter and shard
• Butterfly
• Eye of Skadi

See Juggernaut in action!

6. Ember Spirit

Behold the wise Xin! The humble Ember Spirit is widely regarded as one of the best mid heroes in the game. He is known to build into many different routes, making him a flexible pick against pretty much all the heroes. He is also known to farm comparatively faster due to his wide range of AoE abilities, which combined with his ultimate ensures his menacing global presence, scaring his allies off and making them vulnerable.

Why is Ember Spirit great from the early game?

• Multiple builds that can be utilized as per the game i.e Physical, Magical or Hybrid.
• Ember Spirit can close the distance between his foes easily with his Activate Fire Remnant and further keep them in place with Searing Chains.
• With the help of Aghanim's Scepter, his enemies cannot outrun Ember Spirit or chase him

Items to buy as Ember

• Aghanim’s Scepter 
• Blademail
• Shiva’s Guard
• Eul’s Scepter
• Octraine Core

See Ember in action!

5. Bristleback

Bristleback has quite literally been a thorn in the side for every other hero in the game in the recent meta. He takes no damage while dealing quite a ton of damage and neutralizing his foes! Often considered to be an obnoxious laner, he is hated with passion by millions of dota players all over the world! He is quite the fun hero to play since all he does is spam his spells, which he can do effortlessly as he is backed by his insanely high armor! 

Why is Bristleback great from the early game? 

• Low CD on spells
• Only has two active abilities
• High kill potential and sustainability

Items to buy on Bristleback

• Ethereal Shroud
• Kaya and Sange
• Octraine Core
• Blademail

See Bristleback in action!

4. Razor 

The electrifying rage of Razor is quite unmatched in the current meta. Most melee heroes do not fare well versus this beast, this includes a lot of carry heroes as well! Having high movement speed and AoE damage ensures that his foes do not escape alive! Razor can also out farm most enemy carries, giving him the upper hand. Razor easily snowballs under 15 mins with the right items.

Why is Razor great from the early game? 

• High AoE damage which helps him farm and push lanes out
• Low CD on spells
• High physical and magical damage output even before reaching level 6\

Items to Buy Against Phantom Lancer

• Assault Cuirass
• Refresher’s Orb
• Shiva's Guard
• Aghanim’s Shard
• Heaven’s Halberd
• Blademail

See Phantom Lancer in action!

3. Spirit Breaker

You will never know what hit you if you have a farmed Spirit Breaker in the enemy team! Not only do you have the chance to get ganked, but you also are exposed to the enemy team! This space cow hits like a truck! And let’s not get started on the bashes! The 17% chance feels like 71 if SB is on the enemy team! The hero is low complexity so all you have to do is charge your foes and grab some popcorn while you hit them!

Why is Spirit Breaker great from the early game? 

• Global ability to gank enemy/escape from them
• High mobility and stun potential
• Menace to invis and nimble heroes! 

Items to buy on Spirit Breaker

• Shadow Blade
• Drums of Endurance 
• Black King Bar
• Heaven’s Halberd
• Aghanim’s Shard

See Spirit Breaker in action!

2. Lion

This treacherous witch mage has filled his enemies with fear and baneful hollowness. Lion is one of the most picked support heroes in the recent patches. His disables have proved to be great of use against escape heroes. Not only can you drain their mana but also Hex and stun them while you’re at it. The insane burst damage from Finger is something that his foes can’t escape from, no matter how high armor he has!

Why is Lion great from the early game? 

• Hex greatly reduces the enemy's mobility.
• In addition, Lion can follow up with his Earth Spike and Mana Drain combo, preventing his from escaping 
• He can finish enemies off with Finger of Death if the latter's HP is low enough.
• Insane chain disable opportunities. 

Items to Buy on Lion 

• Aghanim’s Shard
• Blink Dagger
• Glimmer Cape
• Aether Lens

See Lion in action!

1. Ursa

Ursa can rip through pretty much any hero in the game, this is due to the ferocious abilities that he was bestowed with by IceFrog! Ursa does not require many items to come online, but once he has all he needs, he can be a deadly and unstoppable force! Most heroes cannot withstand the force of Ursa in the late game! An early Aegis and BKB seal the deal for Ursa! He s more level dependent as his levels assist him in dishing more damage. 

Why is Ursa great from the early game? 

• Enrage can be activated to block heaps of damage. 
• Earthshock helps him in farming and shoving enemies out of the lane.
• Massive physical damage that rips through enemy armor
• All you need is a Morbid Mask to jungle or secure Aegis. 

Items to Buy on Ursa

• Diffusal Blade
• Black King Bar
• Sange and Yasha
• Blink Dagger
• Aghanim’s Shard

See Ursa in action!

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