Learning DOTA 2

[PalZer0]

Anyone know where I can learn DOTA 2? I just got my beta invite today but have never played DOTA (or anything similar) before.

Such a shame the ingame tutorials aren't up and running yet.

[XViper]

Go play the Warcraft 3 map, or download Heroes of Newerth or League of Legends, both are Free to play, and give you the overall idea of the game concept.

[Nekosan]

Yeah download Heroes of Newerth (only a few hundred mb) and do their tutorial, it's the closest you'll find to DoTA.

[snex]

http://www.playdota.com/learn
http://www.playdota.com/heroes/
Each hero available in DOTA2 should have a fairly decent guide written for them. Just follow the item/spell builds as closely as you feel necessary (you're going to need to deviate a little bit depending on the teams' composition).

As long as you're not a complete moron, you'll stop sucking horrifically after... I don't know... 100 games? Just make sure you're aware of what all the items do and think about how they could be used on your chosen hero. Also, try not play the same hero every single game. Playing different heroes may seem counterintuitive at first, but honestly, it will only speed up the learning process in the long run.

In short: copy builds and through out the course of your games think: "Is this going to get me killed?" If the answer is "yes", don't do that thing.

[Minkelz]

Play a few games with bots, you should pick it up pretty quick. You'll learn 10x more in a few game with bots compared to playing HoN's tutorial.

[diamondd]

playing against bots is a good way to start, they're actually pretty good IMO.

but you do need to do a bit of reading to realise all the things you should be doing that aren't immediately obvious to a new player. ie not taking creep or tower damage early in the game. It may seem like a "I'm fine, I've still got half my health left..." and 5 seconds later you'll be dead.

dying is bad, very bad. Sometimes of course its unavoidable but there's a lot you can do to limit the chance of being caught out.

[Giblet1]

A good write up of simple ways to improve your game or if you are new. A lot of reading but well worth it. http://www.playdota.com/guides/simple-w ... -your-game

[Mearehear]

thanks for the links here, just got my invite and have never played dota before

[Fireslide]

Anyone that wants help add me to steam and I'm happy to have a game with you to teach you some things :)

[skitzor]

here is a bit of a short list of some semi-basic concepts. it won't be much use to someone who hasn't played the game before, it's more for people who sort of understand what's going on.

- be aware of the mini map. sensing when you're out of position will take practice, but it requires use of the mini map, and it's good to practice it early. for example, if you are laning in the side lanes and see the enemy mid hero start walking towards you, play defensively for a bit.

- try not to die. getting killed in this game not only deprives you of gold and experience, it gives the other team gold and experience. when learning, be more cautious than ballsy.

- pay attention in the laning phase (the early game). try not to auto attack the other creeps, just last hit. and remember to deny your own creeps. proper lane control will come in time, but for now not auto attacking, last hitting, and denying are good rules to follow.

- participate and listen. this is a team game.

[TheMeadow]

DotaCinema

Are building some really useful videos. Some explain all the moves of the heroes in depth and with angles/distance.
They are also making guides for heaps of heros with item/skill builds and Friends/Foes - Makes good to know who to pick / how to play. Then it is all up to you and how you deal with the situation on the fly.

Also they have some wicked weekly top 10 plays - some are just crazy!

[Jez]

Things I have learned from DotA 2:

Never ever use voicechat, you'd think a game where communication and information are key would benefit from it, but you'd be wrong.

If a teammate asks you if anyone is going to buy Meka or another aura item at the start of the game you should ignore them, and then buy it anyway. This is because superfluous auras are awesome.

Typing is time-consuming, so if you must type, never use anything longer than a four letter word.

Pick your heroes without reference to what your team has already chosen, and in fact don't even look at what the enemy team has chosen, that's what they want you to do.

[Giblet1]

Pick your heroes without reference to what your team has already chosen, and in fact don't even look at what the enemy team has chosen, that's what they want you to do.

What about in the case of the enemy team having Slithereen Guard on their team and you go ahead and pick an invis hero like Riki or Weaver who rely on it almost?

[diamondd]

Things I have learned from DotA 2:

Never ever use voicechat, you'd think a game where communication and information are key would benefit from it, but you'd be wrong.

If a teammate asks you if anyone is going to buy Meka or another aura item at the start of the game you should ignore them, and then buy it anyway. This is because superfluous auras are awesome.

Typing is time-consuming, so if you must type, never use anything longer than a four letter word.

Pick your heroes without reference to what your team has already chosen, and in fact don't even look at what the enemy team has chosen, that's what they want you to do.

all good reasons for playing with mates lol

honestly I'd almost prefer not to play dota at all unless I've got at least two mates on with me.

in pub games you're almost always forced into a support role, but I can deal with that, supports are actually really fun sometimes

[Jez]

Pick your heroes without reference to what your team has already chosen, and in fact don't even look at what the enemy team has chosen, that's what they want you to do.

What about in the case of the enemy team having Slithereen Guard on their team and you go ahead and pick an invis hero like Riki or Weaver who rely on it almost?

The way you've written that makes it seem like you think Riki/Weaver rely on the enemy team having sight of them through Slardar's ulti.

all good reasons for playing with mates lol

honestly I'd almost prefer not to play dota at all unless I've got at least two mates on with me.

in pub games you're almost always forced into a support role, but I can deal with that, supports are actually really fun sometimes

Oddly enough the losing game that prompted me to come write this was with a friend and a friend of said friend. :3