DotA is a game where two teams of 5, called the Radiant and the Dire, will fight each other in an attempt to destroy the other teams main base, the Ancient . In the way are 4 tiers of towers, found in 3 lanes, or roads.

The Radiant Team’s Ancient

In each lane, creeps or minions will spawn, and go to attack the other teams. These creeps can be killed by the enemy for money and experience. These creeps are very weak in comparison to a single hero, but a large number can still be a problem.

The Radiant and Dire Creeps

In addition to killing the creeps and pushing the lanes, teams will work together to kill the enemy heroes. This can give a decent sum of gold and experience, as well as losing the dead hero’s gold, and removing them from the map for a time. This can give time to push towers, or move back and gain a larger lead over the enemy team.

Other Important Aspects

Roshan – Roshan is somewhat of a “boss”. He has a lot of health, and usually requires a team effort to take down. He is located near the middle of the map, respawning 8-11 minutes after his last death. Killing Roshan rewards a gold bounty for the team, an experience bounty for all participating heroes, and an item called the Aegis of the Immortal . This item brings back a hero from death once.

Roshan

Barracks – Barracks are buildings found at the end of each lane. They are structures that “house” the creeps that spawn. If a team can push up to the enemies barracks, and destroy them, then that team (the destroying team) will have their creeps in that lane buffed a large amount. If a team can take all 3 lanes of barracks, then their creeps are buffed a considerable amount. Usually, when a team gets all three lanes of barracks, the game is impossible for the other team to win.

“Easy” vs “Hard” lane – When looking at the map, you can see that the two side lanes vary for a single team, especially when it comes to the placement of towers. For instance, when looking at the Radiant team, the bottom tower is right next to the corner of the map. In early stages of the game, their bottom lane is a bit safer to be in, when compared to the top lane, whose tower is farther back from the corner.

Jungle – The jungle is located in between each lane. It houses neutral creeps, which can be killed for additional gold and experience. These creeps are not part of a team. Thus, they can be killed by either side, and will attack either side.

With that, there are a few important concepts to understand in order to fully enjoy watching the International.

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