Published by Diamond, 1 month ago at 2:48 pm on Sep 8th.



Na'vi Getting What They Want Early



S4 Fully Understands his Team While Drafting

Since the end of beta, Dota 2’s popularity within the e-sports scene has increased exponentially. As a result of this many budding amateur players have taken the plunge into the fearful abyss known as Captain’s Mode. Within this treacherous game mode players are met with their first new challenge, Drafting.To better understand Drafting and be able to out draft your opponents with ease, we must first look at how drafting in Dota 2 works. As of patch 6.78 drafting in Dota 2 takes place in the following format;The draft begins with 2 initial bans from each team, these bans are most commonly used for the hero perceived as strongest within the current meta. Examples of heroes deemed within this ‘first ban’ status at present are Batrider and Io. This is primarily due to the inherent way that they cause their opponents to react as a result of having them on your team, along with enabling unique gank opportunities within the game. Please note that this is not always the case, many teams decide to use their initial bans to target heroes they know their opponents are strongest with. An all too common example of this is teams banning Lone Druid and Chen against Alliance due to Admiral Bulldog and Akke’s proficiency on them. Although this is a highly effective strategy within the professional scene, where drafters are familiar with their opponents, in the majority of cases it is best to ban heroes that your team feels least comfortable facing. It is crucial that at all times you are thinking ahead and do not ban a hero that you would have wanted to secure later in the draft.During the initial picking phase, the team who were first to ban are also given the first pick. Although this may initially seem insignificant, knowing when you have first pick and using it effectively is pivotal to a strong draft. As a means of fully exploiting this, drafters will often intentionally allow a strong hero to make it through the initial bans, first picking them instead. This not only removes a third ‘first ban’ hero from your opponent but allows you to assert your dominance early in the draft.Although the team who goes first appears to have a strong advantage thus far the next two picks within the draft both belong to the other team. These two picks should be used to create the best possible foundation for your team while at the same time not fully revealing your strategy to your opponent.Despite the second round of bans maintaining the same format as the first, the tactics employed are completely different. With the initial picks, both you and your opponent may have revealed key components of your intended strategy. Realising your opponents intentions at this stage makes it much easier to counter them, not just with bans, but with the heroes you select. Ensure when banning heroes during this phase that your opponent doesn’t already have a hero that fills that role. Typically the initial two picks for each team will contain 1 core and 1 support, however as always, there are exceptions to this. Many heroes within Dota are capable of performing in more than one role, as a result of this flexibility, picking these heroes early can confuse your opponent and cause them to waste bans on the roles you have already filled. This same logic applies to your opponent and you should be careful when selecting your bans.With 8 heroes currently banned out and a further 4 picked by the teams the hero pool has shrunken significantly. As a result of this, heroes you initially intended to draft as part of a strategy may not be available and adjustments are required. When entering the draft never have a set lineup in mind but instead have an intended strategy. This enables you to react to the bans and picks of your opponent and quickly find an alternative hero without compromising your game plan. Having both the knowledge and understanding to adjust your draft is extremely important and is often the difference between good and bad drafters.For example, if your team intends on running a push heavy lineup and your opponent has already banned out Chen and Enchantress perhaps think of picking up Leshrac or Enigma instead. These heroes have the potential to perform the same role during the early stages of the game but differ greatly later on, these differences will define your play style throughout the game and must be considered when making adjustments during the draft.The final ban is determined by what is missing from your opponent’s current lineup, along with what hero would best complement their strategy. At this point their initial lanes should be apparent however, sometimes this is not the case and it is often best to ban the most optimal choice for your opponent.At this late stage your team is almost complete and is only missing one key element, this is most often either your mid or carry due to the ability to easily counter either of these roles earlier in the draft. Leaving these positions until last allows you to ban out as many potential counters as possible while at the same time leaving you open to counter your opponent.Before the players have loaded in and the drafting has begun you should have an idea of what kind of strategy you want to employ for the game. Dota allows for a large number of different strategies and finding out what works best for your team is paramount to success. However, when playing against an unknown opponent it is often best to avoid committing too heavily to one strategy as a weakness may be easily exploited.When designing a team line up it is helpful to use a numerical system that determines farm distribution within the team. Each hero is given a number between 1 and 5, the higher the number the greater the priority they have on farm within the game. Typically numbers 1-3 are given to your three core heroes, with numbers 4 and 5 given to supports. Using this system while drafting can ensure that you always have a balanced lineup. More importantly, it ensures that each member of your team is able to acquire the items that allow them to perform at their peak efficiency as fast as possible, such as Blink Dagger or Mekanism.In order to achieve victory in Dota you must defeat your opponent and this begins during the draft. Watching your opponent closely at all stages of the draft is one of the most important aspects of Captains Mode. After each hero your opponent bans or picks you should look to understand why they chose that hero and not others, in addition to what they hope to achieve with the selection.Although understanding your opponent will help you work out what they plan to do, you must also have an understanding of your own team. Knowing what heroes each member of your team is able to play can drastically shift your focus during a draft. Even if a hero is deemed hugely overpowered in the current meta, it means nothing if you have no one on your team that can play them. If you have been playing with your teammates for a while think what heroes they play often and which ones you have seen them perform best on, if you have joined a new team don’t be afraid to ask each member what they enjoy playing. With this information at hand you will stand a much better chance of your team playing at their best.Each time you play a Captains Mode game with your team, be sure to note down what worked and what didn’t. If you are playing against the same team recognise what caused you to lose or what gave you the win and adjust your drafting accordingly.Now that you understand the thought process behind drafting, in order to fully utilize this knowledge you must understand different hero roles. In my next article I aim to analyze mid heroes and what impact they have on not only their lane, but team strategy as well.Thank you for taking the time to read this article and if you have any questions or comments regarding anything discussed feel free to let me know on Twitter at @diamond_axe and be sure to follow the Denial team at @DenialEsports