Soft support — position 4
The fourth-position support (soft support, roamer) sets an aggressive tempo. We break down the role's tasks, key skills and starter heroes.
What the soft support does
The fourth position is a flexible support that isn't tied to a single lane. It roams, sets up early ganks, plants vision and helps the midlaner and offlaner. Unlike the hard support that stays with the carry, the pos 4's main value is tempo: early kills and pressure that hand the team an advantage before the cores come online.
Early game and the lane
How the game begins on position 4 — you usually help the offlaner (pos 3) on the tough lane and roam out from there:
- You don't stick to one lane — you roam between mid and the offlane.
- You set up early ganks and create a numbers advantage in skirmishes.
- You plant aggressive vision and control key zones.
- You help the offlaner push and contest the tough lane.
The map clock for a pos 4
Roaming without a clock is just wandering. A pos 4 moves not when the mood strikes but towards the moments the map sets itself: runes, the day/night flip, the first objective. The minimum worth keeping in your head:
- 0:00 — four bounty runes. After that they come every 4 minutes and give gold to the whole team. Making sure they get taken rather than gifted is usually the pos 4's job.
- 2:00 and 4:00 — water runes. Two of them in the river, early sustain for the midlaner. Covering them at those timings is your job too.
- From 6:00 every 2 minutes — power runes. The most common reason for an early fight: holding the river for a rune timing matters more than one extra jungle camp.
- From 7:00 every 7 minutes — wisdom runes. The experience goes both to whoever takes it and to the ally furthest behind on experience. For a support it is the cheapest way not to fall off in levels.
- Every 5 minutes — the day/night flip. Vision is shorter at night: wards behave differently, but ganks land easier.
- 20:00 — the first Tormentor. By that timing free roaming ends and objective play begins.
The full list of timings is in the Dota 2 timings guide, and where to place wards for these moments is in the warding guide.
Key skills
What to develop to carry your weight in this role:
- Roaming timings — arriving at a lane at the right moment.
- Vision and map control: wards, dewarding, rune control.
- Aggressive tempo and initiating early fights.
- A sense of when you create space versus when you crowd the core.
Progress in any role comes faster when you review your own games. In coaching with a trainer we review exactly your position 4 matches and show what to fix first.
Starter heroes
To start out, take playmakers with control and mobility — they gank well and create tempo. Good examples: Tusk, Mirana, Snapfire, Earth Spirit, Pangolier.
Which heroes are strong right now and carry games the easiest — see the hero tier list for MMR boosting.
Common mistakes
What most often holds players back on position 4 and stalls their MMR growth:
- Passivity: the pos 4 should make things happen, not just stand around.
- Bad vision and no dewarding in the spots that matter.
- Feeding in poorly prepared ganks.
- Taking farm from the core instead of giving it up.
Heroes mentioned in this guide:
Tusk
Mirana
Snapfire
Earth Spirit
Pangolier
Frequently asked questions
How is pos 4 different from pos 5?
The fourth position is an aggressive roaming support that creates tempo with early ganks and vision. The fifth position is tied to the carry on the safe lane and focuses more on protection and saves.
What matters most on the fourth position?
Tempo and initiative: early ganks, aggressive vision and creating space. The pos 4 should make the game active rather than passively standing in lane.
Which heroes suit pos 4?
Playmakers with control and mobility who gank and initiate well. Specific picks are in the hero tier list.
Where should a pos 4 be in the first minutes?
On the offlaner's lane until the first power rune, then by the map clock. Bounty runes come at 0:00, water runes at 2:00 and 4:00 for the midlaner, and a power rune every 2 minutes from 6:00 — most early fights start over those. Between those points the soft support builds vision and hunts for a gank instead of standing next to the core and eating its creeps.
Let's level up your position 4 play
Top-100 EU coaches will review your soft support matches and build a growth plan. Or we'll raise your rating with a boost while you're busy.