Dota2 Introduction guide for Beginners:
Hey So you want to know about the Online Moba Game called as Dota2.
Dota2 cannnot be explained in a single guide. The game will look simple but it has many layers to cover. As this is a Basic guide we have tried to give you information which is needed to start the game and then move from there. Before we get into the Introduction of the game and its mechanics. A short introduction about the game and why it is so Popular.
History:
Have You guys heard about the game Warcraft 3? It is very known to the 90's gamers as they should have played Warcraft3. It was The game to play on those days. Dota was just a community based mod for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos.
A Gamer and Developer called Icefrog was the lead Developer of the game dota. Valve took over the game and rehired Icefrog to develop Dota2. In 2009 Development began and it was officially released as Dota2 in July 2013. It is the highest paid esports in the planet and competition standard is very high. So enough of the history lets get into the game.
Dota2:
Dota2 means Defence of The Ancients. From our personal experience with the game (9000 hrs) and long hours studying the game let me tell you one thing, this game will make you work. It is one of the most complex and mechanically tough game the gaming industry can offer. You have been warned. But it is also the most exciting, thrilling experience you will ever get playing a game. Every game of Dota2 is a Unique Experience. It is the most rewarding game after you know the basics of the game. If you are looking for a truly challenging game this is the One.
Our Intensions for this guide is not about being brief about the mechanics and complexity of the game. But to give the player a basic introduction.
Dota2 in a Multiplayer Online Battle arena video game. You will be teamed up with 4 other players to take on 5 enemy players. It's a 5vs5 game. The main objective of the game is to destroy the enemy base which is called the Ancient.
Map and Lanes:
Two Sides will battle it out and try to protect their ancient and try to destroy the enemy ancient. The map of the game is static. You cant rotate it. The left hand side of the map is called as Radiant which will be displayed in Green color. The other side which is in the right side is called Dire which will be in Red color. You will randomly be in one of these two sides. No one can predict which side you will be on.
So we talked about the Map. So this map is divided by a river which flows in the middle of the map. If you cross the river you are in Enemy Territory. Your Ancient will have a base around it. This base will have the protection of total 11 towers. Each side of the map has three lanes exactly. Top lane, Middle lane and Bottom lane. Each lane leading to the ancient will have 3 towers to protect that lane. Tier1, Tier2 and Tier3. Tier3 is placed with your base.
You have to destroy the first tower to move on to the next tower. It is not a requirement to destroy all towers in all lanes. You can advance in one lane but your game may get difficult. Destroying all towers will be the safest route to proceed.
Heroes:
To defend your ancient you will be able to select a hero from the Hero pool. So your team can select upto 5 Heroes from the hero's pool. A total of 117 Heroes are available for you to choose. Choose wisely as this is a team game.
Heroes have tier also. The strength Heroes who are tough to kill and withstand punishment. The agility heroes who can escape easily and kill you with their high damage. Finally The intelligence heroes who use magic spells to do huge damage.
Heroes have 4 powers or skills which you can use against the enemy. These skills are very important and it will be difficult for a beginner to even learn these skills. Every hero has unique skills there are a total of 117 heroes. So a total of 468 skills you need to know. These skills will be very effective in defeating the enemy heroes. The fourth skill of every hero is called as a Ultimate by dota2 Players. That skill is the Ultimate skill for that particular hero. These heroes will also level up when they spend more time in the battlefield. A hero starts at level 1 and will go on to reach level 25. So its very important for your hero to level up faster than the enemy hero. If the enemy hero levels up faster they will be much more stronger that your hero.
Hero Roles:
When it comes to heroes this is very important. Every hero in dota2 has a counter pick hero. It means some abilities of a hero can be easily countered by another hero. You will learn the art of Counter picking heroes when you learn the whole game and have played several games.
Picking a hero will be the most difficult part for a beginner. Click here To see the easiest heroes you can play On top of that these heroes also have a role to play in the game. The roles are Midlaner, Offlaner, Safelaner, Soft support and a Hard Support.
We discussed about the lanes. The Midlaner will lane in the middle lane. The safe lane and a support will be in the Bot lane. The offlaner and another support will be in the top lane. So its a 2-1-2 pattern when it comes to laning of heroes.
Midlaner is the one who can farm quickly and level up easily. They will be very important in early game. The role of the safelaner or a carry is to farm. They are the ones who will be effective in mid and late game. The most important role is the support as their primary objective in the game is to let the safelaner farm. Offlaners are the ones who will try to harass the enemy safelaner and reduce their farm.
To checkout the Top heroes who excel in their lanes please check out the links shared below. It would help you immensely as a beginner.
Top 10 Carries or Safelaners in Dota2
Top 10 Midlane Heroes in Dota2
Farming and Creeps:
Now comes the farming game. A creep or a Npc will spawn every 30 seconds and start running towards the enemy tower. They will attack the enemy unit they find whether its a hero or a tower or enemy creeps. If there are no enemy creeps or heroes nearby they will attack the tower and try to destroy it. This cycle will not end until the creeps have reached the ancients. Killing the enemy creeps and enemy heroes will earn you gold and Experience.
The heroes primary objective is to lead the allied creeps and kill enemy creeps and enemy heroes and lead them to detroy towers and ultimately reaching the ancient. Destroying the ancient will lead to victory of that particular game.
Here comes the complex part, for your hero to level up and become more powerful you need items. Every hero has a Six item slots. Different situations present different item builds but we will not go into the advanced part here in this guide. So to buy these items you will need to earn gold. Gold can be earned by killing the Enemy creeps or heroes or by destroying towers and collecting runes.
The enemy will also be trying to earn gold. So its a race against time for you to get powerful before your enemy hero becomes powerful. To earn gold from creeps all you have to do in Last hit the creep. Last hitting means when a creep or a enemy hero or a tower is low on health and is about to be killed or destroyed you must be the one to deliver the killing blow. After earning enough gold you will be able to purchase items in the marketplace called as shop and secret shops.
Items:
There are so many items in dota2. Learning about all items will take time to master. Beleive me it is not easy to learn about these items. You will have to invest a lot of time learning about this because this will ultimately determine your game whether you win or lose. With the gold you have earned by farming creeps and enemy heroes you have to buy the items in shops and secret shops.
For a Ex : There is a Item called Daedulus which delivers + 80 damage to enemies. So when your hero hits the enemy with only this item then the damage to the enemy will be +80 damage with your normal attack.
Like the previous example each and every item has its very unique stats. So when you hover over a item you can see details of the item read them carefully.
Team Fights:
5vs 5 Team fights often happen in the game. The enemy may leave their lanes and try to hunt you to get an advantage. There are a lot of scenario's which lead to a team fight. We will look into one of those scenario's in this guide. If you siege a enemy tower in an attempt to destroy it, the enemy may come in full force to defend it. At that particular time, you will have a 5 vs 5 battle. These battles will continue to happen till the end. The results of the battles may vary as its all about the skills of the players and their positioning. If you win a single battle you may get a huge gold lead, but that is not the end. The enemy can outmaneuver you in ways you can't even imagine. The possibilities are endless in dota2.
Game timings:
So your average dota2 game can last upto 30 to 40 mins. Some games tend to go as long as 1 hour where as some game may end in 20 mins. I havent seen any game end within 10 mins but if that happens that is a miracle.
A game can be divided into three sectors. Early game , Mid game and Late game. Early game all heroes will be vulnerable without items and levels. Mid game is where all the farming happens. Late game is where all items are used to destroy the enemy and win the game.
Need to Know:
There is a Courier in the game which will deliver your items to you. The enemy can kill the courier and its worth a lot of gold. There will be runes spawning in the river so keep an eye on it. These runes will have some powerful abilities which are obtained if you pick up the rune. There is also a bounty rune which spawns in your part of the map and the enemies. Stealing Bounty runes from enemies may help you in the long run. As a support its your resposibility to give vision to your teammates around the map. The map has day and night cycles. Wards are an Important item which will be mentioned in this guide. Wards are placed in many strategic locations for vision and to track the enemy movement. So the visibility can reduce dramatically without any wards. If you know where your enemies are it is easy for you to engage them in combat.
Please remember that this guide is just a Basic Introduction for new players. Dota2 as a game is a huge learning curve. If we have left out some important aspects about dota2 which is not mentioned in this guide please leave a comment and we will add it.