For years, discussion about what defines SEA Dota 2’s approach to the game has always been met with a nebulous answer: “It’s aggressive.”

The descriptor, stemming all the way back to the beginnings of competitive Dota 1 with Kingsurf Malaysia’s Yamateh, has become a somewhat lazy way to explain how teams from the region think about and conceptualize their strategies. It becomes especially problematic once you realize that aggression isn’t a unique factor at all.

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Newbee’s Hao, for example, is also a very aggressive carry player hailing from China. For Newbee, it isn’t uncommon for the games to average a kill a minute on their way to closing out opponents in LANs. Hao, probably the best carry player out of China right now, has made a career on his aggressive approach, often doing everything in his power to win a game — even if it means forcing engagements early and often.

Similarly, the European regions have been showing so much aggression as of late. Team Empire’s new line-up has four players regularly averaging high-kill scores, even on supports. While it isn’t uncommon for carry player RAMZES666 to lead his team in kills, Miposhka’s aggressive rotations has him assassinating enemy laners starting with rotations from minute three onwards.

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But with the region producing two world-class teams — the most in recent years — in Fnatic and MVP, maybe it’s time to reassess and talk about a more nuanced way of looking how SEA Dota 2 is truly played. For long time scene analyst and caster Godz, SEA Dota 2 is about the individual and early game dominance.

“I think the aggressive descriptor of SEA dota is much more about about individual plays,” said Godz. “There’s a lot talented individual SEA players who look to get ahead early in the laning stage so it comes off as a aggressive plays. It’s not just about being aggressive though.”

“SEA Dota as a whole is very early-game focused; (teams) want to win the laning phase,” Godz said. “They don’t tend to watch the big picture, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In their minds, if they win the all the lane, they can win the whole game. You don’t have to look at how you’re line-up is going to match against the other team’s in the late game.”

“The way they see it, it doesn’t matter if you’re line-up scales late game or not if you have a 20,000 gold advantage. It’s a very different way of looking at Dota right now, especially with all of the changes the game has gone through,” he added.

An important contrast indeed. Since The International 4, the game of Dota 2 has implemented changes to ensure that games aren’t decided by who gets ahead first in match. The “rubber-band” mechanics of the last few patches have forced teams from around the world to look towards “safer” styles. Most notably, Evil Geniuses in the post-TI 4 to their eventual win at The International 5 have been spearheading a more macro-focused style of Dota 2 play. One that is focused on minimizing economic losses from losing engagements through passive play until they can farm key item spikes and distributing the farm priority among heroes.

Since then, other teams have picked up on the EG game plan and introduced twists of their own. Both OG and Newbee, for example, balance macro and farming with well-timed rotations instead of EG’s more passive playstyle.

SEA Dota, on the other hand, seems to be playing Dota from an older time. But that trend might be changing with the successes of SEA region teams in the global stage.

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“This season, I do think SEA’s approach is a little bit more balanced now with teams picking some more scaling heroes for the late game,” described Godz. “If anything, the stereotype of SEA as aggressive Dota is somewhat being broken by the top teams.”

“Mineski certainly has more of an eye towards the late game. We saw them go up against First Departure and win in 45 minutes after trailing in the first 20 minutes,” added Godz. “I do think that people tend to call Mineski aggressive because they tend to overextend but to me, they aren’t a team that prioritizes winning fast. They’re not just aggressive anymore; they can balance it out when the game calls for it.”

Overall, Godz believes that Dota 2 in SEA has come a long way in terms of experience that its character can no longer be described solely by aggression. “A lot has improved in terms of skil level of the teams and it’s really because teams like Fnatic and MVP are on a world-level,” continued Godz. “Even Mineski succeeding and impressing at the Frankfurt Major are turning heads. The last time the SEA region did really well was around TI to TI3 and it felt like the region as a whole took a break for a year or two, so its great to see it on the rise again.”

“For the Major, it wouldn’t surprise me if a team like MVP or Fnatic upset a traditionally late-game centered team with their own late-game team play. You have a player like Dj and Ohaiyo, for example, who can pick-up late game scaling heroes that really contribute in the later stages from the game. And then of course you have Mushi who can pull out a hero like Medusa at a moment’s notice,” said Godz. “You can expect a lot of teamfights from them, and a lot of individual flashy play, but in the end Fnatic and MVP have the discipline now to think of the game as a whole.”

Perhaps an accurate description of SEA Dota lies in the earlier-than-usual rotation of teams like Fnatic and MVP. Perhaps it lies in the late-game focus of Mineski in the era of Bimbo on carry and Cast in shotcalling. Perhaps its in the aggressive, play-from-behind, hail-maries of QO. Perhaps it lies in the 65-minutes of passivity from carries like Meracle or Lakelz that culiminates in an explosive team fight right as the game is about the end.

But whatever SEA Dota, what is true is that relegating it to a simplistic answer is not enough to describe a region that is still evolving its own identity. It’s a cop-out. As teams experience more success and tectonic shifts in team compositions change for SEA, the best franchises in the region will lead the way with every victory in the global stage.

But the individual plays that have made careers in SEA will never go away. Perhaps what SEA dota is truly about is the players and their individual shining moments. In a region without clear infrastructure support for teams, the highlight reels of QO, MidOne and Mushi serves as a beacon to inspire would-be pros to take the leap and hone their skills to make it in the pro scene.

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