Becoming skilled at Dota 2 requires more than just mechanical skill and game sense. Understanding the many roles of heroes in the game is crucial for success. Every hero in Dota 2 has a unique task or use to help their team, and players who can identify and adapt to these roles will have an advantage in the game.

That said, with over 100 heroes in the game, it can be challenging to keep track of all their roles and abilities. Fortunately, there are tools and resources available to help players learn and understand these roles. One such tool is a node and link diagram, which is a visualization that shows the unique roles of all the heroes in Dota 2.

The node and link diagram works by categorizing each hero into their respective roles and displaying them as nodes in the diagram. The nodes' sizes depend on the number of heroes with that specific role, and the links connect the smaller nodes (heroes) to the larger nodes (roles) they belong to. The diagram is interactive, allowing players to hover over the roles to see how many heroes have that role and highlight the links to the roles that the hero has. The diagram also includes animations, making it a fun and engaging way to learn about the game's many roles.

Having access to this tool can be incredibly helpful, especially for newer players who are still learning the game's ins and outs. By referring to the visualization, players can quickly and easily identify a hero's role and understand what they do. This knowledge can help players make better decisions in the game, such as when and where to engage in combat, which items to purchase, and how to support their team effectively.

Marks - The nodes are one of the marks, which show either the heroes or the roles. The links are the other mark, which shows the connection between the heroes and the nodes that represent the roles they have.

Channels -The channels are the size of the role nodes tells us the number of heroes classified under that role.

Design Considerations- One of the design considerations are the Tooltips that appear when hovering over the hero nodes to see the hero names. There are also Tooltips that appear when hovering over the role nodes to see the raw values of the role node. Hovering over the hero nodes should highlight its links to the roles it fulfills. Hovering over the role nodes should highlight the links to all the heroes that fulfill that role.