DotA 2: 6.83 patch, The International 5 on the way!

[Fortress | Sveet]

1. First and formost I have no idea how dota works at all. Where can I find some sort of video or guide or whatever that can really lay the game out for someone who has never even touched a moba before?

If you've played startcraft, you're already off to a good start. You will recognize many basic similarities such as waypointing with shift and custom control groups. Before you even go into a game, I would suggest going to settings and adjusting them. I don't think your items have hotkeys by default, for example, but there are a lot of player preference things such as what icons show on the minimap and whether your hero auto attacks by himself or not (auto attack on would be standard sc2 setting, auto attack off would mean your hero doesn't attack an enemy in range unless you give it the order).

To look for new info, check out r/dota2. In the sidebar are links to plenty of guides and places of information.

2. How similar or different is the game from League of legends? From an uneducated perspective the games seem quite similar...

It depends on how closely you want to look. DotA is to LoL like Starcraft is to Command and Conquer. They are the same genre, the goals to win are mostly the same, but the specifics are different.

LoL tends to be quicker, but there is a major time/money barrier to it because you must purchase characters in order to pick them and there are things you can earn outside of the game itself to help you in game.

3. Mechanically how hard are we talking here? I'm masters league in starcraft- can I expect to have to play at anywhere near similar speeds?

Yeah you'll be fine.

4. Is there a projected release date for dota? as far as I know the game is still in beta but I'm not sure.

I don't know off the top of my head, but im sure a google search will answer. The game still is in beta, but something tells me the final release will keep the same business model of mostly free.

5. Who are the dominant countries/teams/players in dota? Is one country dominant like how korea rules starcraft?

China is probably the strongest in DotA.

6. What are the best dota related sites for following/learning about the game?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read/answer any of these

www.nadota.com has a good toolbar for streams and stuff, and the forums are pretty helpful. www.playdota.com is the "official" site, so their info is pretty useful. If you have a specific question, there are a lot of good players here that can help

 

[GurrenLogann]

Thanks a lot to you both! I will check all that stuff out and report back in the future

 

[Turazrok]

Dota is to league like melee is to brawl.

In that gameplay is quicker more techskill lol slower paced. Ignore the bias between the two and better worse etc. I'm not knocking brawl.

Dota can reward quick push oriented strats while league never does.

EVER.

Also dota has a tech skill barrier.

this isnt entirely everything but those are two things I appreciate

Watching two teams poke each other until one decides its time to engage is ****ty boring to me

never see that **** in dota

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

League is significantly faster than dota. Mainly because it is scaled to a level 18 endgame and has much weaker turrets. A 20 minute team wipe means the end of the game, the opponents can push through 2 levels of turret and kill the nexus before you respawn (no fortification).

I don't like that you have to be level 30 (~150 games) in order to actually start playing the game. If i read a guide, i dont know if their strategies work for me cause i'm level 13. Hell, you dont even get the most useful summoner spell until you hit level 12 (flash). On top of that, you can't simply pick a character, you have to spend IP (currency you earn from playing games) or RP (currency from real money) to buy them.

Its not really the game of LoL i don't like, as much as the business model of the company. I still prefer DotA gameplay vs gameplay, though

 

[Turazrok]

I mean if you want my breakdown of the majority of problems with league and what makes dota more competitively viable etc and why I think dota is more entertaining or whatever

 

[Mic_128]

Woo, just had an unusual essence drop!

A) Glad I hadn't given in to impatience and hatched that green greevil!
B) I can sell this for 5 bucks!

Can't tell which will win out...

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

I saved my only unusual. Btw, why would you be interested in making a green?

 

[Vyke]

I don't think either of you really understand League in the same sense that I don't really understand Dota. My short delve into Dota doesn't give me enough to work with to say "Do I really like this, or don't?" It's just that I've got no reason to play both when the majority of my friends play League, real and virtual. I'm sure I could really get into Dota if I went more in-depth with learning the ins-and-outs, but I don't think it'd be worth my time to critique it.

I enjoy both equally as a spectator sport. I also enjoy both equally when I play, both have their charm. At the end of the day, though, I'll play the game I enjoy the most with friends.

Also, I'm pretty sure you aren't going to push in to destroy the nexus with a 20 minute ace unless you guys are at an inner turret when the ace happened, lol. Or you're already so far ahead that the game was likely far in your favor in the first place. That isn't to say that fast-push strategies aren't rewarded in League, as it effectively starves the opponent from coming back into the game if played right (Taipai Assassin's playstyle.)

I think Dota's Hero's are more attractive overall in terms of abilities, and I do like the high cooldown/mana cost associated with high reward if used correctly.

 

[Turazrok]

Itemization is also better etc. AGAIN IF YOU WANT MY COMPLETE HOUR LONG BREAKDOWN HMU

 

[Ignatius]

Also, I'm pretty sure you aren't going to push in to destroy the nexus with a 20 minute ace unless you guys are at an inner turret when the ace happened, lol. Or you're already so far ahead that the game was likely far in your favor in the first place.

Was just about to say the same thing. The biggest difference to me is Leagues early game is much slower paced with a much higher emphasis on farming. That's not to say that getting your 1's and 2's as much money as possible in both games isn't important. I think between early ganks in League being much harder to pull off(weaker CC overall, Flash, no limit on wards), combined with the fact that the rewards aren't as large for a successful gank, and no TPs existing means there's a lot less movement in the map to go for ganks.

I really wish I enjoyed League as much as I do DotA though, I have so many friends that play it.

 

[Vyke]

I totally agree on the early emphasis farming during laning phase, not that Dota doesn't have it's "Farm for 30 minute" characters either. There's just more to do about them in that game than in League. To be fair, a ton of competitive play in League features the Teleport Summoner Spell being used. And we haven't seen the impact that Season 3 changes have made in top tier play yet either.

Turbosocks nobody wants your hour long breakdown, you're bad at both games

 

[Turazrok]

I totally agree on the early emphasis farming during laning phase, not that Dota doesn't have it's "Farm for 30 minute" characters either. There's just more to do about them in that game than in League. To be fair, a ton of competitive play in League features the Teleport Summoner Spell being used. And we haven't seen the impact that Season 3 changes have made in top tier play yet either.

Turbosocks nobody wants your hour long breakdown, you're bad at both games

1v1 me nerd ;...;

 

[Vyke]

1v1 me nerd ;...;

wtf I win lane why we lose?! noob team gg afk

 

[Mic_128]

Btw, why would you be interested in making a green?

Green's my favourite colour. Besides, I've got a Saphiric greevil (normal) already, and almost everyone has the Saphirics.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

Oh, its my favorite color too. I thought about making a green but then I saw the ult and changed my mind

 

[Mic_128]

Not a fan of the grass effect?

 

[Lawlb0t]

Looking to play with anyone. New to Dota; learning fast. Experienced with RTS in general (AoE, CnC, TA, WC3, SupCom:FAF, etc).

http://steamcommunity.com/id/NorthWestAmexem/

Won't be on till Dec 28 - 30th though.

Anyone want to start a team? I play with another smasher on a consistent basis.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

I added you. I play at random times, if you see me on send me a party invite

 

[Mic_128]

Disappointed that the Greeviling's over, only got 2/3 unusual essences

Though Australian servers, yaaaay!

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

Well I happen to have only gotten 1 mic. Would you like mine to complete the set?

 

[Mic_128]

Sure, that's be cool. Take a look, see if I've got anything you'd want for it

http://tf2b.com/dota/Mic128

 

[Mic_128]

 

[wezai]

Time to change my nick to ZSMJ. :D

Haha, in a serious note, that is a nice addition. I can' wait to test her out, although she doesn't fit in the current meta, with the right strategy, she can farm alone. A bit how LGD can go 4v5 all game and let their carry farm alone peacefully.

With some Damage, turn on Split Shot, pop Manta and watch the enemy team melt away.

 

[MeatIsMURDER]

medusa can fit in this metagame. she is awesome against illusion carries like ck and anti mage and pl, who is gaining serious momentum atm.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

Yeah shes pretty good. 80% damage split shot is pretty strong (400% damage output if it hits 5 targets). I liked the purge ult better, but the one now is pretty interesting though im still learning its quirks (only played her once). Seems like a pretty good escape option, if nothing else.

Btw, whats the duration on her ult? The tooltip didn't say last i checked.

 

[wezai]

^ 5 seconds.

IMO, I said she hardly fits in the current meta with just any pick. You need to turtle well to leave some room for her to farm. Keeper of the Light is the best support to lane with Medusa EVER. If she can't get her mana back from the serpents, kotl can just give her mana. Also, since she is with him, she can actually lane with Mana Shield toggle on, which is a lot better and safer.

Kotl can drag the game a lot longer with his nukes, which gives her enough time to farm some tier 4 items.

Also, when Dusa is farming one lane, kotl just heads to another lane that has a lot of creeps and he calls her with his ult once she has finished killing a creep wave. And it can be done a lot of times and is very effective.

Medusa + KOTL = Best couple ever. :D

 

[MeatIsMURDER]

i think kotl is the best hero, period

 

[Cinbad]

My favorite Kotl lanes are Kotl+PL, Kotl+CK, and Kotl+Tiny
No living allowed

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

Whats the fastest way to get into High MMR? Just play in a group with High MMR people? I just learned how to tell if you're in it or not, so now that i can, I want to.

 

[MeatIsMURDER]

i've always been notably bad at pubs, but i think i can still give you advice

the best thing you can do for yourself obviously is to be really good
next step is to stick to what you do best. i would always random in pubs for my first 400 games or so until it became obvious how many games were lost because the enemy team was playing a 5 stack ap and my stack was playing ar for fun. bad lineups can makeup for big skill gaps. not only that, but once i got into the high mmr it became obvious i'm a liability to my team as a carry or a mid. i can really only play offlane or support or anti mage at the level that the players in my mmr play at. pick good heroes, and pick the role you play best. i like to pick late and pick supports that are good for us or i'll play the offlane if nobody else picked it. my bh, for instance, is pretty high impact because i play the hero properly and put a lot of pressure on supports as soon as i hit 6

i think the best role innately is mid because you can impact the game so strongly. you win your lane, then you have ganking access to both lanes to assist your team in lanes they might have lost. this means you can gank their carry or gank for your carry and then push the tower

hope that helps. pubs are ****ing hard

 

[Mic_128]

i think the best role innately is mid because you can impact the game so strongly. you win your lane, then you have ganking access to both lanes to assist your team in lanes they might have lost. this means you can gank their carry or gank for your carry and then push the tower

Course, this also goes both ways. If you don't 'win' mid, or keep a close leash on them, they'll go and gank the sides, or if you try and gank, have to watch out that they won't notice you're gone, and then go after you and jump you from behind when you try for a gank.

There's a fair bit of pressure on the mid to perform. 'Best' isn't the wording I'd use.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

i've always been notably bad at pubs, but i think i can still give you advice

the best thing you can do for yourself obviously is to be really good
next step is to stick to what you do best. i would always random in pubs for my first 400 games or so until it became obvious how many games were lost because the enemy team was playing a 5 stack ap and my stack was playing ar for fun. bad lineups can makeup for big skill gaps. not only that, but once i got into the high mmr it became obvious i'm a liability to my team as a carry or a mid. i can really only play offlane or support or anti mage at the level that the players in my mmr play at. pick good heroes, and pick the role you play best. i like to pick late and pick supports that are good for us or i'll play the offlane if nobody else picked it. my bh, for instance, is pretty high impact because i play the hero properly and put a lot of pressure on supports as soon as i hit 6

i think the best role innately is mid because you can impact the game so strongly. you win your lane, then you have ganking access to both lanes to assist your team in lanes they might have lost. this means you can gank their carry or gank for your carry and then push the tower

hope that helps. pubs are ****ing hard

Thanks luke. I have a couple friends in the high mmr (orly is actually...) If i played games in the high mmr pool in that fashion, you think it'd go quicker? Do the pros have a method like this they use when they start a new account?

 

[Ignatius]

New accounts actually have pretty heavily weighted matches that pull you into High pretty fast, it's not hard to get there on a second account.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

^ damn ur right man. My second account is in high mmr and i didnt even know. I thought i was getting scrubs XD

edit- damn i even had a game in very high there... brb grinding that account

 

[Miharu]

pretty much

if you want to win pubs, pick your lineups and try hard

 

[Ignatius]

Well, you can see your own DBR on dotabuff. I have 1999 and am in diamond, although so disappointingly short of 2k, I'm content.

 

[Turazrok]

I didn't see my dbr anywhere.

Probably for the best.

 

[Cinbad]

RIP Dota Buff
we hardly knew ye

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

zzzzzzzz least i checked mine b4 it went down

 

[KevinM]

Well, you can see your own DBR on dotabuff. I have 1999 and am in diamond, although so disappointingly short of 2k, I'm content.

Shoulda been 2k, son I am disappoint.