DOTA 2 @Buff

Dota 2’s basic gameplay is easy enough to understand but it is possibly one of the most complex esports titles around as its gameplay has tons of nuances and intricacies that you will need to comprehend to fully understand the game and you will need to master them to become even remotely good at the game.

There are many roles that can be played in Dota 2 such as damage dealer, tank, initiator, backline long range hitter, magic caster, healer, etc. Most heroes do one or two roles effectively based on their skills but they can also be determined by what items you buy. A well-balanced team is most likely able to win fights but it will ultimately revolve around the general strategy that your team wants to play. There are many roles that can be played in Dota 2 such as damage dealer, tank, initiator, backline long range hitter, magic caster, healer, etc. Most heroes do one or two roles effectively which is largely determined by their hero attributes and skills.

There are more than a hundred heroes you can choose from with unique skills and stats. As your hero plays around the map, they earn experience points and cause them to level up which makes their stats grow more.. The three primary hero stats in Dota2 are Strength which determines how much health the hero has, Agility which determines how much armor and attack speed they have, and Intelligence which governs how much mana they have and how much magic damage they can do. Every hero is categorized into three types based on their primary attributes:

Strength heroes are typically heroes whose strength gain is higher and they are usually tanky heroes whose main role is to soak damage and be the frontline for the squisher heroes in the back. They are also relegated to the more dangerous parts of the map since they can usually survive it better and they are also usually the ones initiating fights because of their inherent tankiness.

Agility heroes are more often the physical damage dealers in the game. They tend to be weaker in the early parts of the game because they tend to have low health but as they grow in levels, their agility gain will mean that they attack harder and faster and that they can usually live through physical attacks because of their armor gain as well.

Intelligence heroes are usually the magic casters, healers, or heroes that can control enemies by stunning them or keeping them in place. They are usually the easiest to kill since they have low health and armor but they make up for it by having useful skills that can either pump out a lot of damage, keep themselves safe, or buff their allies so that they can protect them during team fights.

Every hero has three basic skills and one ultimate skill. Every time they level up, they can learn a new skill or increase the level of an already learned skill. Basic skills can be leveled up to 4 and they are usually the bread and butter skill of the hero which gives it its basic gameplay. However, at level 6, 12, and 18, heroes can put a point into their ultimate abilities. These abilities are the defining skill of that hero and are its most powerful ability. Ultimate skills only have three levels and are a big game changer to heroes once they learn it. Some heroes’ gameplay completely change once they learn their ultimate skills.

At level 10, 15, 20, and 25, they can also choose between two talents which further enhance the hero. The combinations of skill build, talent choices, and item choices will is all up to the player and is a showcase of their personal preference, skill, and creativity.

Player Positions

There are three lanes that go in and out of the both teams’ bases and these lanes are connected to one another. You can think of it as connected highways where both team’s neutral creeps travel. These lanes heavily determine the roles and positions that heroes can perform and they greatly determine what type of gameplay you will play. Positions are marked with a number which signifies the gold priority of the position. There is a finite amount of resources in the map of Dota 2 and having all players accumulate gold is a bad decision because the more powerful items are usually a lot more expensive. This gave rise to the farming priorities so that there can be one hero that amasses a lot of gold to buy the expensive items so that they can become very powerful. These positions are categorized into support positions and core positions wherein the core positions should be farming gold while the support positions help the cores be more effective.

• Position 1: Carry

This position is often called the carry position because this is the role that will be farming the most amount of gold to buy expensive items. They are expected to carry their team to victory. This means that the 4 other players in your team must give way to you as you farm gold to buy the powerful expensive items. Heroes that are often picked for this position are heroes whose skills naturally synergize well with expensive items to make them dish out a lot of damage to be able to single-handedly kill the opponents. Position 1 players are often relegated to the safelane–the lane where the neutral creeps are closer to the tower which makes this lane the safest lane in the map to ensure that position 1 is off to a great start.

• Position 2: Midlane

The midlane is the lane that is in the middle of the map. The two mid towers and creeps are so close to one another that having two heroes in this lane wouldn’t give them much space to work with. That is why the midlane is most often the solo player and is where the super star players would like to play as it is a 1 versus 1 battle of skills. Since the position 2 is alone and has access to a lot more farm, they are often then highest level heroes with a lot of gold to buy items with during the early parts of the game. Heroes that can set the tempo and those who have very powerful ultimate skills are often given the midlane so that they can dictate the pace of the game and kill the enemies so as to provide space for their carry to become even stronger. Essentially, during the early parts of the game, you are the carry while your position 1 is farming to become an even stronger carry later on.

• Position 3: Offlane

The lane opposite the safelane is your offlane. This is because your offlane is the enemy’s safelane. If the safelane is safe for the carry, then that means that the offlane is dangerous for the position 3 offlaner. Heroes that are often picked for this role are tank heroes or those that can survive this dangerous lane while still being a nuisance to the enemy carry to delay their farm. The position 3 is still a core hero which means they are relegated to some farm priority. However, this position is one of the most flexible positions in the game because you will need to buy the expensive items that your team needs but the other 2 cores don’t want to buy. Does your team lack someone to start a fight? Buy initiation items and go in to start fights. Does your team need a lockdown to stop those slippery heroes from escaping? Buy stun items to keep the enemies in place. Does your team lack a tanky frontliner? Buy items that will make it significantly harder for the enemy team to take you down.

• Position 4: Farming/Roaming Support

The Position 4 support fills in the remaining gaps that the team needs. This position is called roaming support because technically, you are a hero that supports position 3 to ensure that he has a good game. However, most position 4 heroes are those that can move around the map quickly and kill enemies during the early parts of the game. They are more effective in roaming around getting kills and becoming a nuisance. They support their cores by messing around with the enemies to ensure that their cores have a better game than the enemies. They also get to farm a bit of gold as they are the ones moving around the map a lot. This means that they can buy some slightly expensive items such as a healing item, or items that can set up kills.

• Position 5: Hard Support

The position 5 is the position that has the most impact during the early parts of the game. Position 1 carries are strong in the late game once they have a lot of levels and items but they are often very weak during the start of the game. Position 5 heroes are often the strongest heroes in the first few levels even without items so their primary role is to babysit the position 1 to ensure that they will be able to carry the game eventually. Hard supports are effective even without items so they are often given the least amount of farm priority. The items that they do buy are save items or items that give vision. Essentially, whatever gold they can get, they will use it for the betterment of the team. Since they don’t have to farm and they are the ones moving around the map providing vision, they are often the team captains that dictate the strategy of the team.