Chapter 1

"My DotA journey begins. What do I need to know to get to the next level?"

* OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP

* Processor: Pentium 4 3.0GHz

* Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista

* Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with 128 MB, Shader model 2.0. ATI X800, NVidia 6600 or better

* Hard Drive: At least 2.5 GB of free space

* Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

* OS: Windows® 7 / Vista / Vista64 / XP

* Processor: Intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz

* Memory: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista

* Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible video card with Shader model 3.0. NVidia 7600, ATI X1600 or better

* Hard Drive: At least 2.5 GB of free space

* Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Do you really need good hardware, to play Dota?

The greatest thing about Dota is the large community.

It’s very important to realize that DotA is a team game, every action is of great importance to the whole team.

Important terminology

Carry

Lifestealer, Lycanthrope, Anti-Mage, Drow Ranger, Outworld Destroyer

General guidelines on how to play carry

Supporter

Lich, Chen, Tidehunter, Crystal Maiden, Vengeful Spirit

General guidelines on how to play supporters

1. Babysitter

2. Ganker(roaming)

3. Jungler/Pusher

Mid/Late game heroes

Invoker, Furion, Pudge, Tiny, POTM

Generalized opinion on how to play mid/late game hero:

How should you play?

1. Early game

2. Mid/late game

Always treat DotA as a game of many possibilities. It all depends on your imagination.

As with any new series, the first chapter is always the most difficult one. We won't get into any specific details but also want to make sure we've touched most of the basics. If you're completely familiar with Dota 2, you won't find much extra information in the article. In the next chapters we will go deeper into certain aspects of the game and focus more on the advanced gameplay of Dota 2.The first thing you don’t want to have any problem with are your computer and Internet connection. This is the type of game that you can’t afford to have any spikes. Fortunately, Dota 2 doesn’t have high hardware requirements, so the majority of players luckily don’t have to change their PCs just to play the game.Dota 2 Minimum System Requirements:Dota 2 Recommended System Requirements:Just like other games where everything is very dynamic, no one wants to lose because of their own equipments. You must be sure that your mouse and keyboard will not cause any problems. The faster and more accurate your actions are, the fewer problems you will have while playing the game. There are tons of options out there, but we advise any set of gear from SteelSeries.Sound is also a very important part of the game. Each skill has its own assigned sound so even if we don’t see a hero casting a spell, we may still be able to hear it. Having more knowledge about what is happening on the map is certainly a good reason why you should get a quality headset.These days we can easily find information and advices on how to play Dota. Virtually everyday we can witness the beautiful battles between professional players. Broadcasters are getting better every day, and most of them can describe the basics of playing DotA in a clear and brilliant way.There are many forums where people exchange their opinions about the heroes, it's also the perfect place to meet many interesting people who are at a similar level and share the same passion about the game, think of reddit and playdota to name a few. A very good program that brings fans together is mIRC. Like our very own #sk and off course #sk.dota2 that we plan to build out in the near future.Each game takes about 40 minutes and every action can be crucial to the game, so it is a common thing at first that you may be picked on a lot by other players. It’s important to be open minded and don’t worry about the verbal abuse of other players who don’t have an ounce of good manners. Therefore, it’s highly recommended for beginners to learn about the game and by playing with bots or friends. DotA is one of those games that requires a huge bulk of knowledge before you can dive in its wonderful world.- Last Hitting: It is a technique that allows you to obtain gold. You must be the last one to hit creep in order to get gold from creep.- Denying: This is a kind of last-hitting, which relates to creeps of your opponent. Thanks to this your opponents will get zero gold and reduced experience from the denied creeps and .- Ganking: It’s an attempt to kill the enemy hero, by a meeting of a few team members in a particular place.- Warding: Map awareness is a key issue that could tip the balance of victory to your side.There are two types of wards:- Observer wards: Gives you a wide range of vision. It can be used to provide vision on rune spots, block neutral creeps from spawning, and most importantly it protects you from being ganked.- Sentry wards: Provides you with visions against an invisible unit. Sentry wards are also used to do counter-warding, which means destroying your enemies’ Observer/Sentry Wards.Many people are afraid of this game due to the efforts that you have to invest in to make it enjoyable. The truth is that if you take the time to understand how this game works, you will not remember this as a wasted time. Here are some basic notes you need to know, before you set off to conquer the world:- Try to play every hero in order to understand how to operate various skills.- Last hitting is a very important part of DotA, the better you are in that field, the more likely you will get the upper hand.- Deaths of hero is a great loss for both you and your team, so it’s important to play very carefully.- Never be selfish, DotA is all about team play.Now how do you make progress in playing Dota 2? The first obvious problem is finding the right type of hero that matches your playstyle. We can distinguish different roles for each character:Heroes of which as the name suggests, will "carry" the team to victory. Often it is said that carries are late-game heroes, they are highly dependent on items and level in order to be powerful.Examples of carry:There are many different ways of playing late-game heroes, but all of them have the same goal: becoming the most powerful hero on the map. That’s why you need to survive during early game. Being constantly ganged, you must at all costs avoid death, that’s why having a “TP Scroll” is so important.There is a difference between playing carry in public games and clan wars.Nowadays, teams are playing very aggressively, so if someone wants to get Anti-Mage, he should know there will be big pushing power coming from the opposite side to prevent Anti-mage’s survival until late game, the time when he becomes very powerful.In public games usually you don’t have to worry about such things. Pick a hero that you'd like and practice your last-hitting and survivability. Always keep into mind what makes your hero unique in the early-mid game.For example:- Lycan can be used as a great pusher.- When Riki gets invisibility at 6 lvl, he becomes a lethal ganger.- It’s always good to use Void’s Chronosphere during team fights, even in the early game.They are heroes that do not attract the attention they deserve. Support heroes must do everything they can in order to make the game easy for everyone in the team. Generally, these are the heroes who don’t need too much farm to have a huge impact on the game.Examples of supporter:There are three common ways in playing Supporters:Your job as a babysitter is to help your carry get fat. That means:*Warding*Denying*Keeping enemies away from your baby.If you have a hard carry like Anti-Magi or Void in your team you should do everything to help them become extremely powerful. Therefore, it’s common for a carry hero to go on a triple-lane with two supports. It’s not hard to create a good combo on the trilane, so it’s essential for support heroes to help their carry to get some early kills.It’s really common to see supporters like Vengeful Spirit or Earth Shaker trying to constantly gang other players. Your job as a Roaming Supporter is:*Warding*Counter-warding,*Trying to instantly gang enemies heroes*Pushing lanes.Smoke of Deceit is a really handy item that will make you invisible from creeps and wards which gives you lots of opportunity to help you carry get those crucial early game kills. It's all about outwitting your opponent, and every successful gank hurts your enemy a lot.A group for individual characters, such as: Enchantress, Chen, and Enigma. What you need to do when you play a Jungler:*Warding*Trying to gang enemies heroes*Getting essential items as soon as it possible*Pushing lanes.Chen and Enchantress are really popular because of their ability to get control of an enemy or neutral creep, which gives you possibilities to gang, and push very fast.You must be willing to sacrifice yourself for other players, because most of the time your hero will be low on gold. It’s essential for support players to buy: Animal Courier, Flying Courier, Smoke of Deceit, Observer and Sentry wards.Heroes that are very important for the whole course of the game. Players who play these types of heroes are often the best in the team, which in the case of team sports is not always fair. Think of all the marvelous Dendi's in this world.Examples of mid/late game heroes:If you are an individualist, these picks have been created for you. It’s advisable to take over the mid lane, or go solo on bottom or top lane. People are always trying to define a character for each group, but the possibilities that you have for those heroes are not restricted. These heroes can quickly adapt to any situation. For example, it’s possible for the Invoker to change from a semi-carry to a support and vice versa. The most important thing is that you need to pose a threat from the beginning to the end of the game.As a solo laner it is common that you will be outnumbered in your lane, that’s why it’s essential for you to get as much experience and farm as you can and avoid dying. Nevertheless much of the game you will rely on gaining levels and gold from killing creeps and heroes.Most players try to play very safely at this stage of the game, but it also depends on the rest of your team. Remember that with the skills you have you can manage to take some kills if possible. Every hero in this group is quite different, for example:- Shadow Shaman needs to gain only level 6 to be capable of destroying towers really quickly.- Night Stalker generally remains on the line until the advent of night.- Having a Nature’s Prophet always gives a great psychological advantage, because he only needs to reach level 2 in order to become a gang machine.Probably the most exciting phase of the game. This is the time that tests your true skills. Assuming that the beginning of the game was successful and you have enough level and core items, you need to start doing everything in your power to disrupt the opponent. Some heroes can become unstoppable. This is the reason why some of them are called semi-carries.Although knowledge of other ARTS games such as "League of Legends" or "Heroes of Newerth” can be very helpful in finding yourself in Dota 2, it doesn’t mean that brand new players are that much behind. Remember that the rules are applied identically to each player, and practice makes perfect!The next chapter of “Road to Glory” will feature a more in depth look at the Supporter role and what you need to know to become one of the best supporters in the world. Next editions will feature professional players giving their insight to the different facets of the Dota 2 world.Article by: PJ