TL;DR
- Ember Spirit dominates lanes with Sleight of Fist harassment and flexible item builds
- Queen of Pain maintains high popularity despite moderate winrates through aggressive playstyle
- Lina offers dual damage paths with critical talent choices affecting build direction
- Tinker benefits from mana cost reductions but requires precise positioning
- Neutral camp removal significantly strengthened lane dominators across all heroes
Games and Esports Articles Dota 2
The August release of Dota 2 patches 7.32 and 7.32b introduced subtle but impactful balance adjustments rather than game-altering mechanics. These changes have significantly influenced the ranked matchmaking environment, creating new opportunities for mid lane specialists to capitalize on hero strengths. Understanding these meta shifts is crucial for maximizing your MMR gains during this patch cycle.
One critical change that transformed mid lane dynamics was the removal of the small neutral camp adjacent to the lane. This strategic adjustment prevents struggling opponents from recovering by farming nearby neutrals when lane control falters. Consequently, heroes with strong laning capabilities have become substantially more effective, as they can now secure permanent advantages against lane opponents who can no longer easily recover from early setbacks.
Among the spirit hero roster, Ember Spirit currently stands as the premier mid lane choice. His ability to secure lane dominance through calculated harassment makes him exceptionally potent in the current environment. The Sleight of Fist build enables continuous pressure on opponents while maintaining safe positioning.
This hero’s flexibility represents one of his greatest strengths. When your team composition demands early map presence, prioritizing Searing Chains investment becomes crucial for creating pickoff opportunities. This skill proves particularly valuable when your lineup lacks sufficient crowd control capabilities.

Itemization paths offer remarkable diversity for Ember Spirit players. Core components typically include Maelstrom for accelerated farming and Black King Bar for teamfight survivability. The combination enables this mobile hero to navigate engagements while maintaining damage output.
Many elite mid players initiate their build with Orb of Corrosion, occasionally prioritizing it before Boots to intensify lane pressure. Boots of Travel presents an excellent snowballing option following successful lane phases.

Aghanim’s Scepter and Aghanim’s Shard warrant individual consideration. The Scepter dramatically enhances mobility and burst damage potential, facilitating support eliminations and rapid disengagements. Meanwhile, the Shard enables Fire Remnants to deal persistent area damage, allowing safer elimination of priority targets.
Queen of Pain establishes herself as another formidable lane presence, capable of dominating her matchup and translating advantages into map-wide pressure. Despite maintaining only a 47.7% winrate among Immortal-ranked players, she remains exceptionally popular, surpassed only by Lina in high-level matchmaking frequency.
Build approaches demonstrate considerable variation, though most competitors prioritize Shadow Strike with a single point in Scream of Pain before returning to it at level 7. Alternative builds focusing primarily on Scream of Pain still find success among certain player preferences.

Current itemization trends heavily favor Witch Blade integration, appearing in nearly every match. Additional essential items include Power Threads, Black King Bar, Aghanim’s Shard, and Kaya and Sange combinations. Late-game scaling options demonstrate impressive diversity, ranging from Scythe of Vyse to Shiva’s Guard and Octarine Core configurations, or even Assault Cuirass adaptations based on team compositions and game states.

Lina represents another dominant mid lane force, claiming the highest pick rate among Immortal and professional players in recent ranked matches. While her matchmaking winrate sits at 47.7% (49.5% in high-skill public matches), her competitive performance shines, exemplified by a 71% victory rate during EEU TI11 qualifiers.
Standard skill progression involves maximizing Dragon Slave while taking the Fiery Soul passive at level two. This combination delivers 810 magical damage by level seven when combined with her ultimate ability.

Two predominant build philosophies govern Lina itemization. The physical damage approach prioritizes Falcon Blade into items enhancing auto-attack capabilities: Crystallis (upgraded to Silver Edge), Monkey King Bar, Hurricane Pike, and Eye of Skadi. Alternatively, magical damage builds focus on Aether Lens, Aghanim’s Shard, Eul’s Scepter of Divinity, Aghanim’s Scepter, and Octarine Core configurations.

Boots of Travel merit special attention, as nearly all elite competitors purchase them, sometimes through Arcane Boots disassembly. These boots enable comprehensive map farming and rapid fight participation, amplifying early advantages into game-winning leads.

Tinker has reemerged as one of Dota 2’s most frustrating opponents to counter. Facing a skilled Tinker specialist presents significant challenges, evidenced by his impressive 57% winrate in high-level public matches. Similar to Ember Spirit, the neutral camp removal hasn’t diminished his effectiveness, and he maintains strong laning capabilities.
Patch 7.32 provided additional benefits through reduced mana costs for both Laser and Rearm, enhancing early-game sustainability. However, a balancing nerf introduced an 8/7/6 second cooldown when Rearm gets interrupted, making positioning more critical than previous iterations.

Standard build patterns remain relatively consistent: maximize Laser and Heat-Seeking Missile during laning to harass opponents relentlessly. Most high-skill players avoid Defense Matrix entirely until levels 8-10. Itemization follows predictable trajectories: Soul Ring, Blink Dagger, Shiva’s Guard, and Scythe of Vyse. Aghanim’s Scepter has diminished in priority, now enabling Laser to bounce to secondary targets while reducing enemy health by 10%.
The Rearm modification increased Black King Bar’s popularity significantly, as maintaining blink mobility and item spam capabilities becomes paramount. Kaya and Aether Lens serve as effective intermediate items during progression phases.
To maximize your effectiveness with these meta heroes, avoid common pitfalls that undermine lane advantages. Many players underestimate the importance of range creep control, resulting in experience deficits that compromise level timing advantages. Additionally, improper talent selection can dramatically alter build effectiveness, particularly with Lina’s first talent choice where the cooldown reduction often outperforms raw damage increases.
Advanced optimization involves understanding power spike timing and item progression sequencing. For Ember Spirit, recognizing when to transition from magical to physical damage builds based on game state and enemy compositions separates competent players from exceptional ones. Similarly, Queen of Pain players must master blink dagger timing and positioning to maximize ultimate effectiveness without becoming vulnerable to counter-initiation.
Time management represents another critical skill dimension. Estimate approximately 15-20 minutes to establish lane dominance with these heroes before beginning map pressure applications. Pro players consistently demonstrate the importance of adapting skill builds and item choices based on specific matchups rather than following rigid predetermined paths.
Action Checklist
- Practice last hitting under pressure with Sleight of Fist on Ember Spirit
- Master range creep prioritization to maintain experience advantages
- Learn to identify when to transition between magical and physical damage builds
- Develop map awareness for optimal Boots of Travel usage timing
- Study pro player replays to understand advanced positioning techniques
No reproduction without permission:Game Guides » Best mid heroes in patch 7.32b Dota 2. What to pick on mid to gain MMR Master the top mid heroes in Dota 2 patch 7.32b with pro strategies to dominate lanes and climb MMR effectively
