Dota has various roles and lanes, various types of heroes played in the lanes, but there are heroes that don’t belong in any lanes! These usually are the roamers/gankers whose simple motive is to move around the map and hunt down the enemies. These heroes are often reckless and OP! 

This list contains the best 10 Gankers from the current meta, which means that these heroes are very much relevant right now! We hope these heroes assist you in your MMR journey and make you escape the Herald bracket! 

10. Tiny

This gargantuan elemental entity knows no bounds! Tiny sounds like the least intimidating name for a hero, but as the game progresses, he makes you feel tiny! Not only does Tiny deal heavy damage in the early game, but he can also be a fun-to-play hero since you can toss people! A quickly tossed enemy into allies soon becomes toast! Or the other way around if you want to grief your allies (which we do not recommend!) 

Why is Tiny a great ganker?

• Toss! This ability may ruin your enemy’s gameplay or your friendship as this ability can be targeted both on allies and enemies!
• Low CD on spells
• High magical damage right off the bat

Items to buy on Tiny

• Blink Dagger
• Shadow Blade
• Aghanim’s Shard
• Echo Sabre

See Tiny in action!

9. Earthshaker

If there is one hero that every illusion-creating hero hates, then it has to be Earthshaker. The sheer magnitude of his spells causes all the illusions and enemies in a close area to eviscerate. Earthshaker makes their life a living hell as he can be played in multiple positions and all he needs to be active is a Blink Dagger! You may even end up doing more damage if multiple heroes are close to each other, and maybe a rampage if you’re lucky! 

Why is Earthshaker a great ganker?

• Immense magical AoE damage
• Echo slam alone can counter all illusions
• Chain stuns that can result in kills if followed up by his team

Items to Buy on Earthshaker

• Blink Dagger
• Glimmer Cape
• Ghost Scepter
• Force Staff
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard

See Earthshaker in action!

8. Nature’s Prophet 

Nature’s Prophet is pretty much the embodiment of a great ganker! His green and serene appearance make him a leader amongst the jungle creatures. NP is one of the most jungled heroes in the game, mostly due to his treants, which soak up the damage and provide extra damage while farming. With high base attack speed, he can prove to be a nuisance in the laning stage, constantly harassing enemies or jungling faster. A late-game NP is a threat that not all players can contain due to his global presence!

What makes Nature’s Prophet a great ganker?

• High base attack speed, which can be useful if paired with an early Blight Stone.
• Incredible global presence, even better with the removed cooldown on teleport as a level 25 talent. 
• Can split push with treants while farming the jungle.
• Nuisance in the late game due to the rat strategy. 

Items to buy on Nature’s Prophet

• Scythe of Vyse
• Maelstorm
• Black King Bar
• Bloodthorn
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard

See Nature’s Prophet in action!

7. Pudge

A ganker hero list is NEVER complete without Pudge in it! After all, he is the most played hero in the game! You may not be the greatest hooker in the game but you may have some unexpected fun moments like hooking your ally accidentally as he is chasing the enemy or hooking the powerful enemy into your team only for him to wipe all of you! Pudge can often be a great pick if you have the right heroes to synergize with. Ex. Bloodseeker, Batrider! 

Why is Pudge a great ganker?

• You can hook the enemies into the tower/save your allies from enemies.
• Aghanim’s Shard allows you to “eat” your allies, where they’re basically inside you, regening HP

Items to buy on Pudge

• Aether Lens
• Aghanim’s Shard
• Blink Dagger
• Blademail

See Pudge in action!

6. 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 a great ganker?

• 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
• Aghanim’s Shard

See Spirit Breaker in action!

5. Tusk

Tusk is known to be a heavy hitter right from the laning phase. His icy disables and chilling moves paralyze the enemy and eliminate all their chances of escape. Tusk can hunt down enemies with his Snowball, which can also be used to save allies by clicking on them, making them get inside the ball! All it takes is one Smoke of Deceit to gank the enemy mid, which can be done quite easily with Snowball and Tag team!

Why is Tusk a great ganker?

• Snowball allows him to launch himself onto enemies or save his allies
• Shard isolate enemies or saves Tusk during team fights
• Tag team can prove to be lethal with enough allies hitting the enemy

Items to buy on Tusk

• Blink Dagger
• Desolator
• Drums of Endurance
• Force Staff
• Aghanim’s Scepter and Shard
• Shadow Blade

See Tusk in action!

4. Mirana 

Behold the Princess of the Moon! Mirana is a ranged agility hero who is considered to be a flexible pick, meaning it can be played in pretty much all roles. She proves to be a great pick against heroes with low armor and magic resistance. Picking Mirana with other heroes that can stun can lead to an immense lockdown potential. Along with this, she can also use her ultimate offensively or defensively, which provides a great layer of protection to her allies as well. 

Why is Mirana a great ganker?

• Leap can be used to escape enemies.
• Can use ultimate to initiate or help allies escape
• Can be played flexibly in different roles
• You can poke and shove enemies off the lane effortlessly

Items to Buy on Mirana 

• Spirit Vessel
• Lotus Orb
• Force Staff
• Eul’s Scepter
• Mekansm

See Mirana in action!

3. Clockwerk

Another mechanical genius on our list is the Clockwerk! Often played in the offlane or as roaming support, early rotations can cause great damage to core heroes. After reaching level 6, the Hookshot makes sure the enemies hiding in the distance are caught and punished. All of his skills can help gank enemies due to the scout and lock down their potential of them. Only the players who are brilliant at positioning know how to stay away from this robotic menace! 

Why is Clockwork a great ganker?

• Clockwerk can easily catch split pushing heroes with his Hookshot and prevent him from escaping with Power Cogs and Battery Assault.
• He can find enemies hiding in trees with his Rocket Flare.
• Clockwerk usually buys a Blade Mail, which does lots of damage to heroes that deal immense physical or magical damage.

Items to buy on Clockwerk 

• Blademail
• Pipe of Insight
• Aghanim’s Shard and Scepter
• Force Staff

See Clockwerk in action!

2. Nyx Assassin

Despised with pleasure by his opponents. Nyx Assassin is known to be one of the most annoying heroes in the game, regardless of the patch, he is the most relevant support in the game. Especially against high INT and damage heroes, Nyx can do wonders with his powerful toolkit. One Spiked Carapace is enough to lock him down, and the best part is that it does not break invisibility from your ultimate! Heroes with AoE damage consider him to be a nightmare to play against! 

Why is Nyx Assassin a great ganker?  

• Mana Burn generally deals more damage to intelligence-based heroes 
• High movement speed and armor right off the bat
• Spiked Carapace can stun enemies without breaking invisibility

Items to buy as Nyx Assassin

• Blink Dagger
• Force Staff
• Aghanim’s Scepter
• Lotus Orb
• Spirit Vessel

See Nyx Assassin in action!

1. Earth Spirit 

Kaolin, the Earth Spirit is undoubtedly one of the best gankers in the game. His Rolling Boulder ensures that no enemies escape! Along with the stun, he can also silence and slow his enemies and deal them damage over time with his ultimate, Magnetize. Unlike most heroes on this list, Earth Spirit can be played in multiple roles, his flexibility ensures he fits in every other matchup and contributes to teamfights by disabling enemies and dealing some insane damage that can’t be negated easily.

Why is Earth Spirit a great ganker?  

• Rolling Boulder can be used to initiate or escape in team fights
• Geomagnetic Grip disables enemies
• Immense Damage over Time
• Boulder Smash can be used to save allies or throw enemies into your team

Items to buy on Earth Spirit

• Spirit Vessel
• Force Staff
• Lotus Orb
• Black King Bar
• Glimmer Cape

See Earth Spirit in action!

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