Heroes

Heroes are the essential element of Dota 2, as the course of the game is dependent on their intervention. Players are split into teams of 5 vs. 5 and can select a Hero from a selection panel. Heroes all have different play styles that stem from unique Skills and combinations of Attributes. Over the course of the game, Heroes will accumulate Experience. Once a Hero has enough experience, they will level up, making them more powerful than before and allowing them to train new Skills. Most Heroes have a distinct Role that defines how they can affect the battlefield, though many Heroes can perform one or more of these Roles.

Roles
Heroes are given different Roles based on their strengths and weaknesses on the battlefield. Though a Hero may be assigned a Role in game, he's more than capable of performing as any other Role. For example: Supports can also be Gankers, or Pushers can be Carries. Many Roles share similar traits. The 5 main roles are:
 * Carry: Heroes that "carry" the team to victory. They are highly dependent on Items in order to be successful. Usually, they start out weak, but become a lot stronger later in the game. A carry hero depends on certain skills and Items to reach their maximum potential. Having too many Carries will cause competition within your team for resources, which might result in a loss. It is recommended that a team have only one or two Carry Heroes.
 * Examples of Carries include Anti-Mage, Sniper, Spectre, and Drow Ranger.
 * Support: Heroes that assist other Heroes by keeping their allies alive and giving them opportunities to earn more Gold and Experience. Supports will usually come with Skills such as healing spells or skills that Disable enemies in order to prevent them from attacking friendly Heroes, or make them an easy target. Support Heroes are not dependent on Items  to be successful, and because of this much of their gold will be spent on items such as  Smoke of Deceit, Animal Courier, Observer Ward, and Sentry Ward.
 * Examples of Supports include Lich, Dazzle, Crystal Maiden, and Chen.
 * Ganker: Heroes that specialize in taking out enemy Heroes quickly. They stop enemy Carries from farming properly and harass other Heroes in order to prevent the enemy team from getting the levels, skills, and items they need. While Support Heroes might focus on defending their teammates or rendering enemies useless, Gankers will usually play in a more offensive manner, such as getting early game kills to hinder enemy's progress.
 * Examples of Gankers include Vengeful Spirit, Zeus, Storm Spirit and Nature's Prophet.
 * Initiator: Heroes that are built for team fights. These heroes usually have skills that affect enemy Heroes in a large area which is useful in a team-fight. They typically engage enemies first, disabling the enemy team and tanking damage while the rest of the team follows up.  They specialize in initiating and winning teamfights.
 * Examples of Initiators include Tidehunter, Earthshaker, Axe, Puck and Clockwerk.
 * Pusher: Heroes that concentrate on building up creep waves and taking down towers. Their goal is to put pressure on the enemy team, forcing them away from farming for income and finishing the game before the enemy Carry can become unstoppable. Pushers typically have skills that fortify allied creep waves, summon minions, or decimate enemy creep waves.
 * Examples of Pushers include Leshrac, Chen, and Enigma.