One of Dota 2’s most contested heroes in pro play is barely being touched in ranked

It’s been a resurgence like no other for Enchantress in Dota 2, with the hero receiving a few huge boosts in the past couple of patches, and yet despite her success in pro play recently the hero just isn’t catching on in ranked play. What gives?

Elite League Season Two wraps up later today, with this being the last look at a few Dota 2 teams ahead of The International in September. Among the top picks is Enchantress, who has recorded a solid 66 percent win rate from 42 picks according to stats site Spectral. Most teams want little to do with the support either; she’s been banned 66 times, making her one of the most contested heroes at the event.

But when you draw a comparison between these stats and her play rate in regular ranked, something doesn’t add up. Enchantress has an abysmal 47 percent win rate on Dotabuff, squarely placing her toward the bottom of the 124-hero pool. She’s barely even seen either at just a three percent pick rate. Her effectiveness in pro play has been as a much harder support, however, whereas normal players are still trying to force her into a damage-dealer.

Gone are the days of maxing out Impetus earlier, with pro players building into Enchantress’ powerful Overprotective Wisps facet for that healing boost. This was almost always the better pick between her facet options, but following a change-up brought about by patch 7.37 this week, her Spellbound facet looks much better than the older double neutral tokens that were offered before.

After maxing Nature’s Attendants, pro Enchantress players go back for Enchant to pick up those more powerful jungle creeps. In most cases, pros don’t even touch Impetus until level nine or 10 after maxing W and E. Item-wise, Aghanim’s Scepter is an afterthought for supports, instead upgrading Drums to Boots of Bearing and eventually picking up a Hurricane Pike—only well after the Force Staff purchase.

Aghanim’s Shard is also critical, with the Sproink! ability giving Enchantress a surprising amount of mobility in a fight. She’s almost always going to dish out damage later in the game since Impetus deals pure damage, but by favoring healing and movement speed for her and her allies, pro teams are making this support work incredibly well.

With that in mind, perhaps it’s time you put down Enchantress’ spear and consider her a harder support if you want to find success in your ranked grind this patch!