In a game as complex as DotA 2, there’s plenty of technicalities and exceptions that will change the tide of battle. However, even the most seasoned player has some cool details to learn. In the following few paragraphs we’ll explain some cool Dota 2 mechanics that you may not know earlier.

1. Zeus’ ultimate damage is dealt in descending order on the scoreboard

You heard right– while it seems to be instant but Zeus’ ultimate deals damage in an order of the players on the scoreboard. If Zeus is in Radiant, then on the Dire side, the pink player gets hit first and the brown player is hit last. On the Radiant, blue gets hit first and orange is the last. Although it is a microsecond delay, but it is there.

Why Is This Important?

I guess you know that Zeus’ ultimate reveals invisible units, but doesn’t damage them. This is what Dota 2 Wiki Says.

Provides 500 range flying vision and 900 range True Sight around each struck hero

Say let’s suppose if you are teal, and you’re playing Bounty Hunter. Your ally blue is playing Riki, and you both are invisible and standing right next to each other, when the enemy Zeus uses Thunder God’s Wrath, the ultimate will hit your ally Riki first and it will reveal him but he won’t take any damage. As he was hit by Zeus’ ultimate and now he is giving your enemy 900 range of True Sight around him. So, you are standing next to him invisible BUT now you are revealed because of him. When it’s your turn to get hit by lightening a fraction of a second later, you’ll get the complete damage as it has dealt to any visible hero while your ally Riki gets away unharmed.

2. Lane distance influences creep waves. If there were no heroes in Dota, the Dire would win

Over time, a couple of curious players would start a match without any heroes and see what would happen if we left only creeps to fight it out. People on forums began to notice that the Dire won almost all the time. Why? Well, there’s a couple of different factors that go into it; creep spawn rates, movement speed, distance to the lane (safe lane being the longer distance) and, when creep waves got big enough; tower attack speed. In Dota 2, we still have similar results, just for a variety of very tiny reasons. Isn’t it an interesting Dota 2 mechanics?

3. Kill orders Purges buffs

Have you ever heard that Axe’s Culling Blade will go through Dazzle’s Shallow Grave? It’s because of kill orders. If the Graved hero is within the HP threshold, all buffs are instantly removed when the Cull goes through. Same thing with Techies Suicide. Oracle’s ultimate or Grave won’t keep him alive, because Suicide also purges buffs. No way to stop those deaths (Actually I am not sure about how they interact now in the latest patches. If you have tried it, do let us know in the comments below so I can make the necessary edits).

4. AOE spells can overlap

Yes, if Rubick steals Naga Siren’s ultimate and they cast it at the same time, they both fall asleep. Actually, it’s a bit more complicated than that; since events can’t happen at the same time (see point number 11) you’d have to cast it before getting in range of the other Song.

5. Blademails don’t reflect off each other

So, no, you can’t kill an enemy with a blademail by popping your own. Apparently this used to be the case in DotA 1 until it got patched. If two people had their blademails on and one dealt one damage to the other, it would bounce back and forth and immediately kill both of them. Go figure it out.

You can, however, do this with 2 Vipers with Corrosive Skin in a 1v1 match up. The results are pretty funny and you would love Dota 2 mechanics.

6. Pheonix CAN die inside the egg

It’s rare, but it can happen. He won’t be reborn afterward. For example; if Oracle’s ultimate False Promise is cast on Phoenix, and he takes more damage than his HP and he Supernovas right before death, he will pass away in the egg. Another example is if he’s in Wraith form (caused by Wraith King’s ultimate) and tries to cast Supernova. The egg will spawn, but no Phoenix will come out.

7. Phoenix can be denied inside the egg

It is relatively easy. If Pheonix’s egg has less than 50% HP, then Pheonix’s teammates can actually hit and deny the egg. This might be frustrating for the Phoenix who is expecting to respawn all renewed, but sometimes, for the team’s sake, it might be your last option. Keep it in mind, if Pheonix has the scepter and an ally is also with him inside the egg, then both Pheonix and his ally will be denied. So must think before you actually apply this on the ground.

8. Roshan really does reclaim his Aegis

Sorry, guys– if you were to leave the Aegis on the floor, you won’t get a second one when Rosh respawns. An expiry time starts ticking when it falls on the ground, not when you pick it up. Check this link what it states

If the Aegis of the Immortal is not picked up and left on the ground, it disappears once Roshan respawns.

9. Status Resistance does not reduce the slow timing, rather the amount

It is an interesting Dota 2 mechanics and Yes, its a fact. To understand this, let’s consider an example. Venomancer’s Poison sting applies 29% move speed slow (with level 15 talent) for 15 seconds. Spiritbreaker gets 70% status resistance with his Bulldoze spell. So, now if a Venomancer hits a Spiritbreaker with Bulldoze active, he will be slowed for 8.7% of his movement speed for 15 seconds. It is not what you think, i.e., that Spirit breaker will be slowed for 29% for just 4.5 seconds. This does not work this way.

10. It’s actually possible to cancel Relocate’s return

This is something that happens so rarely because the timing has to be absolutely flawless, but with patience, you can learn to do this. If you’re playing Wisp and Relocate back to base in a dangerous fight, technically, if you time it properly, you can TP in the fountain and complete it at the exact second you would otherwise return to the fight. Otherwise, you’d potentially return to your death after 10 seconds. TP takes 2.5 secs if you are at the base but going back soon use TP exactly 2.5 sec before so to moment you reach back soon you TP ends and you reach back to the fountain.

Experts can guide us about this specific mechanics. If it really does work on the ground or is it just a theory? I have tried it a lot of time in Demo mode but I could not do it.

However, with Chen’s Divine Favor, you can execute this combo easily without any issue. Divine favor takes 6 seconds to TP Chen’s ally to him. So, Chen can time this precisely on wisp and get him back to safety. The additional timer on IO’s head might help you with the timing.

11. There is no such thing as a simultaneous event, and it gets very strange

As proven by the Zeus mechanic and kills from the grave, in Dota2, it is impossible for two things to happen at the same time. Here’s where it gets weird. If no two things can happen at the same time, then the first thing that happens gets priority, right?

Wrong. If two Spirit Breakers charge each other, the second player, who charged a bit later, gets the bash first. That means, his stun timer will expire earlier. Why? Because if actions happen too closely in a limited amount of time, the last action computed is the one shown to the players. Say what you want, coding mechanics isn’t easy.

Have you or your friends heard of these cool Dota 2 mechanics? Do you have more we can add to the list or stories about unexpected interactions? Let us know, or ask us your what-if questions below!