6.87 Pub Tier List
It is this time of the patch once again—the dust has settled, and it is possible to have a look at what heroes are performing better. Once more, the tier list will only use the “Very High” skill bracket as its base to make it more relevant to the majority of our readers. Given a variety of gameplay changes introduced in 6.87, this pub tier list will look significantly different, and there are many new things that stand out.
Stompers (56%+)
Omniknight, 
Necrophos, 
Lifestealer, 
Abaddon
Some very welcome changes have come to the top tier of the list. Both Zeus and Spectre are gone from the pub stompers section, and the tier itself has shrunk to only four heroes total.
The regulars of the list: Omniknight, Abaddon and Necrophos are joined by what can be considered one of the most meta-defining heroes: Lifestealer. He is a tanky hero, who deals exceptionally well with other tanky heroes, making for a very strong case in 6.87.
Several sizeable direct buffs, coupled with a global change to the Strength attribute, have propelled the hero from the “situational” tier he was in the last patch. And if this wasn’t impressive enough, his win rate in 5k+ games this week is above 60%. There is no denying that everyone should learn to play with and against this hero. Luckily, the are guides and matchups sections available.
Winners (53-56%)
Elder Titan, 
Riki, 
Zeus, 
Lich, 
Centaur Warrunner, 
Sven, 
Undying, 
Spirit Breaker, 
Wraith King, 
Crystal Maiden, 
Warlock
Elder Titan and Riki at the top of the Winners tier does not seem real; however, the former, discussed in great detail earlier this month fits extremely well in the current meta, while the latter has recevied a variety of substantial buffs. The extra 40 damage on 
Blink Strike is a massive game-changer, making the hero a lot scarier in the early game and allowing him to be a successful roamer.
Crystal Maiden has somehow managed to squeeze into this tier. There were a couple of smaller buffs to the hero; however, none of them seem enough to increase her tier standings. One of the possible explanations is how much of an enabler she can be in lineups dominated by mana-deprived strength cores, especially in less efficient MMR brackets. Her win rate in 5k+, however, remains rather low, at ~47% this week.
Finally, Warlock seems to be continuously underestimated. He has been in the winners tier for at least several patches now, but he is consistently ignored by most players. This patch is easily his time to shine—his damage amplification can be massive, while the distraught he brings to the battlefield can make several enemy heroes too pre-occupied to actually deal damage to your team.
Solid (50-53%)
Alchemist, 
Enigma, 
Venomancer, 
Terrorblade, 
Bounty Hunter, 
Treant Protector, 
Silencer, 
Spectre, 
Tidehunter, 
Mirana, 
Anti-Mage, 
Dark Seer, 
Luna, 
Nyx Assassin, 
Disruptor, 
Death Prophet, 
Slark, 
Shadow Shaman, 
Slardar, 
Phoenix, 
Pudge, 
Faceless Void, 
Vengeful Spirit, 
Drow Ranger, 
Juggernaut, 
Dragon Knight, 
Timbersaw, 
Axe, 
Huskar, 
Earthshaker, 
Meepo, 
Kunkka, 
Witch Doctor, 
Beastmaster, 
Clockwerk, 
Jakiro
Perhaps the most notable change in this tier is the inclusion of Axe. Formerly a part of the “repick” tier, Axe has entered the patch as one of its biggest winners. A strong direct buff and several item changes have made the hero a lot more viable and even ensured his presence in several professional matches. Sadly, his damage potential, despite the substantial increase, is still lacklustre against tankier cores, preventing the hero from entering higher tiers.
Timbersaw is another former “repick” tier hero who has made a comeback. A massive direct buff to the Reactive Armor, coupled with a longer debuff duration on 
Whirling Death, have made the hero a force to be reckoned with. Additional charges on 
Bloodstone have also helped the hero to find his role in the world of Dota. The hero excels at dealing with both tanky targets and the squishier ones. He absolutely destroys supports and BKB-lacking glass cannons, but also has a lot to offer against Strength carries, substantially decreasing their already limited DPS and taking away a huge chunk of their maximum health with each cast of the Whirling Death. Percentage-based abilities stay relevant throughout the game.
Death Prophet has received a multitude of nerfs in 6.87. The spell-immunity piercing properties, pure damage and extra vision from Spirit Siphon were gone, and the hero was frequently discredited by the patch-reviewers. It turns out trading the Pure damage for extra magical had almost no effect, while the increased duration ensured the lane dominance of the hero and almost unparalleled power level in the early game.
Situational (47-50%)
Ursa, 
Visage, 
Doom, 
Night Stalker, 
Storm Spirit, 
Dazzle, 
Ogre Magi, 
Keeper of the Light, 
Medusa, 
Pugna, 
Invoker, 
Magnus, 
Viper, 
Chen, 
Tinker, 
Rubick, 
Morphling, 
Ancient Apparition, 
Chaos Knight, 
Earth Spirit, 
Lion, 
Sand King, 
Templar Assassin, 
Shadow Demon, 
Phantom Assassin, 
Naga Siren, 
Clinkz, 
Winter Wyvern, 
Bloodseeker, 
Bane, 
Brewmaster, 
Weaver
Medusa has been a viable hero in the 6.86, but her current standing is once again quite low. In the previous Meta, which was dominated by farm-oriented heroes, she was a good fit, but currently she struggles to keep up, and even in her best games she still feels lacklustre. Her DPS is surprisingly low in almost all stages of the game, and in a meta where every core reaches 3k HP with ease, she is not the best pick. There might be a build or two which will still work, but in most cases they are extremely high risk with only moderate rewards.
Tinker has made a bit of a comeback, getting out of the “avoid” tier and entering the pool of viable heroes. A small direct nerf, coupled with scaling damage from magical abilities have made the hero significantly stronger in the earlier stages, while his late-game potential has never been in question. His ability to be a Doom-level nuisance with much higher damage output should definitely put him on the radar for both mechanically superior pub players and professionals.
Magnus has also become a lot more viable. In a game dominated by high-HP cores, having more damage is never a bad thing. He also pairs nicely with almost any melee core, since his cleave allows them to farm faster and deal damage to the enemy backlines. Moreover, with an increase in the value of armor, having cleave has a lot of benefits, since the cleave damage is not reduced by armor value. Being mindful with what target to prioritize, if the enemy team is clumped up, is not a particularly hard skill to master.
Avoid (44-47%)
Batrider, 
Puck, 
Skywrath Mage, 
Arc Warden, 
Ember Spirit, 
Leshrac, 
Lone Druid, 
Oracle, 
Legion Commander, 
Tiny, 
Lycan, 
Sniper, 
Lina, 
Bristleback, 
Shadow Fiend, 
Tusk, 
Queen of Pain, 
Io, 
Razor, 
Phantom Lancer
The biggest surprise of this tier is undeniably Arc Warden. Since 6.86, the hero has received nothing but nerfs, rendering the cheesy BoT+Rapier strategy useless. Despite that, the hero has increased in the tier list and currently has a rather respectable win rate in the Very High Skill bracket. For the most part this probably stems from the fact that only heroes dedicated to learning the intricacies of the hero are playing him currently. Moreover, with the potential for cheesy strategies gone, many players are now devising new ways to build and use the hero effectively, frequently catching the enemy team by surprise. Who knows, maybe we will even see support Arc Warden take over at some point in the future.
Lone Druid has decreased in rank in the 6.86-6.87 transition. His biggest selling point was the Spirit Bear, who could tank tons of damage while dealing meaningful Radiance burn. Very much like with Spectre, the Radiance burn has become less of a factor recently. The 17% miss chance is still annoying, but the damage output is nowhere as impactful as it used to be. Best case scenario, it will zone out or kill a support hero, but it will have a very hard time dealing with the cores of the enemy team.
Finally, Leshrac has brought some disco back. With scaling ability damage and Bloodstone buffs the hero is definitely better off. Not to the degree where he becomes a nuisance, but certainly good enough to make an occasional appearance in higher level games. Speaking of higher level games—the hero has a massive win rate in 5k+ and >20% difference between 4k and 5k games.
Repick (<44%)
Techies, 
Troll Warlord, [missing hero: outworld-devourer], 
Windranger, 
Nature's Prophet, 
Gyrocopter, 
Enchantress, 
Broodmother
Gyrocopter is slowly losing his ground in pub play. It is unsurprising, given how he doesn’t have the tools to deal with tougher opponents and is not a tanky hero himself. His early rotations are not as impactful, and his farming speed is quite limited, especially compared to melee heroes with cleave. Moreover, after several patches of professional and high level pub dominance, people have simply learned to play against the hero and are not caught in bad positions as easily.
Enchantress is also among the biggest losers of the patch. Severe limitations to her damage output could not have been timed worse. If previously these changes would generally mean an extra hit or two to kill a target, in the current meta it makes a lot more difference. She is also a really bad matchup against currently popular Lifestealer. Despite that, the hero still looks pretty strong in 5k+ games, where people rely more on her ability to dominate the early game, rather than her ability to transition into a core later on.
Finally, Outworld Devourer is broken once again. The trends from the end of 6.86 have already shown that the hero is not to be feared, but the direct nerfs in 6.87 have completely killed him. To be fair, his downfall still comes as a bit of a surprise, since his damage scales extremely well against low-Int targets, and he can even shut down these targets early game and make them unable to cast anything. Regardless, the hero currently sits at 44% win rate globally and 37.5% in 5k+ games.
Final Thoughts
The new patch follows in the footsteps of its predecessor without being repetitive. It has increased the pool of viable heroes even further and has even decreased the amount of pub-dominant heroes, while still substantially changing the meta.
The tankier meta seems to be here to stay. This meta makes the game slightly slower in skirmishes and allows more time for counter-reaction, potentially making it a better viewing experience. The average game length has also slightly increased, but it should not have a huge impact on the “density’ of the games. The kill count will potentially go lower, since it is now harder to focus down a target, but the teamfight frequency should remain high, especially in the earlier stages of the game.
1st .. .. .
second i guess
1st Comment. nice one
4th it seems
third / fourth
"Once more, the tier list will only use the “Very High” skill bracket as its base to make it more relevant to the majority of our readers."
"majority of our readers"
> 3k bracket = I CRI EVERYTIEM
I hope they do a rework to help poeple at 1k mmr escape easly
LC needs nerf.
whoa i just noticed how low NP's win rate is..
lol there's no meta in 1k you can climb mmr playing with the courier
"that only HEROES dedicated to learning the intricacies of the hero are playing him currently"
Players, maybe?
"I hope they do a rework to help poeple at 1k mmr escape easly"
These kind of mentality is what prevents you from getting out of 1k,blaming everything to your team and never introspects yourself,I know getting out of 1k is hard especially in solo MMR,but if everyone is able to get out of 1k,won't that make having 3k MMR will still give your those shit fuckers who dragged you down to 1k? Stop whining,try to get better,and hope that your ENEMY is more retarded than your teammates
>oracle
>avoid
keksimus maximus, he's my main and i've got a 65+% winrate with him
LUUUUUUUUUUUULZ A GUUDWAN
Then again, this also counts the low-tier shitheads who don't know how to use oracle without screwing over their own team-mates
Bristleback in avoid? I assume people who use it are complete trash, he's one of those heroes who can easily solo entire teams if you let him farm.
Firelizard should buff Shadow Demon. Needs pure damage.
why do people use meme arrows here
I play Shadow Demon a lot and if you want Shadow Poison to deal Pure damage you're asking for a 1.5k pure damage nuke with the possibility of having a 30% amplification.
you didn't talk about MEEPO BEING IN THE 50/53% TIER
AND HUSKAR AND KUNKKA
No one likes meepo. He's garbage. Literally the worst hero in the game.
When there is actually no one playing Brewmaster anymore.Makes me cry a lot.
If w33ha reads this, prepare your ass to be spanked.^
repick tier. rofl
Lol mirana slark axe are just solid???? They stomp more pup games than abba necro omni ls will ever Do. GG
oh please icefrog buff Lycan, Leshrac and OD make them playable not OP from their last meta
This meta makes them literally unplayable
time to bring troll back
^ They don't need to stomp to win you the game.
wake me up, when 6.87 ends
@HartzFear they are solid cuz some mirana players cant hit arrows and some slark players cant press "R"
So the majority of the readers are the <1% of the player base?
"that only HEROES dedicated to learning the intricacies of the hero are playing him currently"
Heroes never die!
Meh, why call it "Repick / Avoid"?
If there is one thing I've learned in 4k+ houres of Dota and Dota 2, it's that if 99 people suck on a hero, the 100th person will make it look ridiculously broken. Same heroes every patch sitting in trench tier just because noone bothers to master them because everyone keeps telling they are useless, thanks to reviews like this.
is windranger that bad this meta?
u can play good whatever hero on game,u can get good win rate with anyhero but it doesnt remove the fact that there is alot OP heroes with ez win potential.
but that doesnt remove the fact that its always fun play good some hero what most of players cant play good
sooo keep playing. :)
i look pro games randomly ,but last shangai majors what i looked was kinda boring to look,like od win alot but always gyro picks etc
then i suddenly found myself watching some meepo raping everybody like seriously pubstomping,ofc it was w33haa and that player is rly hc carry
enjoy to watch,someone raping everybody with hero what is hard to play.
One thing to remember is that with the compedium, people are playing differently and picking heroes out of their confort zone to achieve quests.
Buff Arc Warden pls
Had a solid 63% winrate on my wyvern, but with the patch I lost 5%. 3-4k mmr pub Slarks ftw!
buff razor with movement slow in his plasma field that inversely proportional to the damage it deals (closest get extreme slow, furthest minor slow), with less than 1 second slow duration each contact (twice). remove bonus movement boost from unstable current, replace it with an 8% chance (pseudo random) to activate purge on razor's target via razor's normal attack and attack form eye of storm. Buff his base movement to 310 as loss of bonus movement from unstable current. Eye of storm should target the last unit razor attacking if the unit still in range, make it (like death prophet ultimate which able to be give an attack order) more effectively to attack wanted target instead of only attack the unit with lowest Hp.
Just a suggestion. At least make the eye of storm more reliable during pursue wanted hero with higher Hp who stick with creeps (lower Hp) and multiple player units.
If you observe top image then you can see skeleton king... i think dotabuff miss Skeleton king too much....
anyways I do not agree on some heroes to be repick section... troll is great counter against LS and great pusher so definitely not in repick section... also heroes like NP, Wind and OD are still really good. Most people just dont play them to their potential
Windranger is a trash hero, she does nothing in team fight, easy to focus down, her win rate is just sad to look at.
medusa needs buff. The bug on mystic snake is still not fixed.
Love how they think np is repick material.
troll warlord in trash tier? the hero is still too strong for me why is he on the trash tier
because he is shit like what there is in mcdonlad's food
This post is so fucking wrong
Ember, please come back to the meta. I really miss you. Hope you make it to this TI6. Btw guys/readers, please vote arcana for pudge or ember. You can imagine how beautiful a fire burning spirit run all the way in the map or his sleight of fist with special effects right? Or, how about the legend of DotA, and DOTA 2, Mr. Pudge XD