How Lane Advisor works

Purpose and scope

It optimizes your lane, not the entire team

At the beginning of a match, the team is distributed across three duo lanes. Lane Advisor evaluates which available arrangement is most favorable specifically for the local player's hero. It does not attempt to rebuild the entire team and it does not estimate the strength of the people controlling the heroes.

For every candidate, the advisor determines the local player's future lane partner, the opposing duo and how that exact hero combination performed in historical matches. It does not evaluate whether the swap is favorable for the other two lanes or for the complete 6v6 composition.

Compared arrangements

Five possible states

Lane Advisor compares the following options:

1. Stay on the current lane.
2. Swap with the first player from the second lane.
3. Swap with the second player from the second lane.
4. Swap with the first player from the third lane.
5. Swap with the second player from the third lane.

Swapping with the current lane partner is not considered because it would not change either 2v2 lineup.

Calculation inputs

Data used by the advisor

• The hero selected by the local player
• The heroes of the five allies
• The heroes of the six opponents
• The current distribution across the three duo lanes
• Historical results for the exact “two allied heroes versus two enemy heroes” combination
• Average soul difference at minute 15: S15
• The historical match count supporting each S15 estimate

Selection rule

How BEST is selected

The selection metric is S15: the average soul difference at minute 15 for the exact 2v2 hero matchup represented by a candidate lane state.

Among candidates with reliable data, Lane Advisor selects the state with the most favorable available S15. That state is the recommended (BEST) option, shown by the purple panel.

If reliable comparison data is unavailable, the advisor does not fabricate a result and no state is marked as BEST.

In-game display

How to read the lane panels

The large signed number in each panel is the S15 soul-difference estimate. Green values indicate an average soul lead; red values indicate an average deficit at minute 15.

The number underneath gives the historical match count. Purple marks the recommended option; it does not change the meaning of the soul value. Statistics above the hero portraits belong to the separate player-statistics overlay, not Lane Advisor.

Sample size

What the match count means

The match count is the number of historical matches used to calculate the displayed S15 estimate. It appears below the soul value. In the screenshot, 11M means 11 matches. Different hero combinations can have different sample sizes.

A larger match count generally makes an estimate more stable, but does not guarantee the result of a new match.

Excluded inputs

Characteristics the advisor does not use

Lane Advisor analyzes hero combinations, not the people controlling those heroes.

• Player rank or MMR
• Personal player win rate
• Matches played on the selected hero
• KDA
• Hero Damage
• Current souls or items
• Selected build or ability upgrade order
• SteamID, player name or profile
• Threat HUD likes or dislikes
• Party membership
• Ping or connection quality
• Overall 6v6 team-composition strength
• Estimated skill of a specific player

Interpretation

What the recommendation does — and does not — guarantee

BEST does not guarantee a lane victory. It identifies the statistically most favorable option among the five available local rearrangements based on the historical data currently available.

Individual performance, coordination with the lane partner, balance updates and a small sample size can materially change the real result. Lane Advisor is intended as a fast, evidence-based prompt during the lane-swap window, not as a replacement for player judgment.