How long is the learning time?

[Hideo]

Okay, I constantly hear good things about Dota 2 (except the problem with other cultures), but I never actually tried it because I heard it has a steep learning curve.

Being an above average but not hardcore player: How long would it take to learn the game and having fun with it?

[✪ DJ Zack]

More than 600 hours.
Depends on your playstyle though.

You gonna learn it faster by playing support and taking everything step by step than rushing everything.

[IceBeerG]

600 hours for advanced player is too much. You'll be fairly okay after playing about 400 hours

[✪ DJ Zack]

No, you wont actually. I have 2k hours and only now i start to feel the real experience of the game. The thing, that it actually takes skill to beat enemy and mindgames etc.
I dont know what you mean by

Originally posted by Rainbow Dash:

You'll be fairly okay after playing about 400 hours

400 hours is nothing. Maybe you know every hero, their skills. How the game works. But that is all. Nothing more

Originally posted by Rainbow Dash:

600 hours for advanced player is too much. You'll be fairly okay after playing about 400 hours

[From the Sky]

bout 50 to 70 games dependently on whether you supplement it with guides online. Gotta remember that experience means nothing if you've been playing wrong

[JDawg147]

The learning time is completely different person-to-person, but in short do the full tutorial, play bot matches, then try limited heroes against other players and slowly move into other gamemodes.

[✪ DJ Zack]

Rule of thumb - stick to supports.

[Hideo]

I suppose 2000 hours make you a pro, so I guess I could be fine with 600. Jesus, that's a lot of time for such a game, just to "get the basics". I guess I could at least speed it up with guides a lot, like already mentioned.

[Mokaran]

It depends on you OP, some people drown 2500h and still don't get how the game works.

Some people have enough with 500h. But yeah, there are lots of hours.

[The_Technomancer]

I should take around 50 hours to figure out the gameplay mechanics then 150-200 hours to figure out most of the heroes and/or items (which usually involves a lot of OP hero calling) and about 50 hours to find some friends to play with, then about an extra 100 hours trying to figure out all the counters.
http://www.purgegamers.com/welcome-to-dota-you-suck#reducedamage
This guide can speed things along by about 50-200 hours. I can also help get you used to everything if you want.

[Blind]

109! (or something) x about 30 minutes each?

[Brain_E]

Do you have MOBA (ARTS lol) experience? It'll be faster if you know the general objective of the game. Do you also have a thick skin to take flames? Dota isn't known for its friendly community. Muting players is readily available. But you still want to be able to take some abuse.

[Blind]

Even if you learn all the heroes, there's always going to be weird interactions you wouldn't expect - such as Tiny+Lifestealer (throwing a teammate with Lifestealer in it)

[Hideo]

Originally posted by Brain_E:

Do you have MOBA (ARTS lol) experience?

Not really. To be completely honest, I stay away from Multiplayer games normally, but Dota 2 has something interesting about it, that's why I even consider playing it and why I created this very topic.

Originally posted by Brain_E:

Do you also have a thick skin to take flames? Dota isn't known for its friendly community. Muting players is readily available. But you still want to be able to take some abuse.

Not sure about that. Is everyone talking through voice? Is voice chat mandatory?

[Skeena]

I think in this game you never really stop learning, but a good thing to aim for at the start is to know all the characters skills. When you know what every character does it becomes easier to play because you know what to expect in the lane/team fight.

[「Choobs」]

It heavily depends on who you play with. If you find a group of guys who are better than you and can teach you, you can learn the game very quickly. If you do it all on your own it will take many times longer to reach the same level. It can be anywhere from a few hundred to nearly a thousand hours depending on your play environment.

Here is a quick list of things you need to learn ASAP:

- Basics of the game (duh) as well as overall game mechanics (jungle mechanics, day/night, gold mechanics, vision mechanics, etc etc)
- Every item, hero, and hero ability. This is probably the most important one so that you won't be clueless about how to deal with any given hero when they pop up.
- How to lane and teamfight. Both will change anywhere from slightly to drastically depending on which hero/role you are playing. You don't have to be an expert on every hero and role, but have a general template that you can follow. This mostly comes from experience.
- How to take objectives. This one is tricky and will probably come later. Learning when it is not only safe, but a good idea to take objectives is very important. Vision is the key to this. If you see a member of the enemy team is way out of position, it may be a good idea to try for an objective because you have a numbers advantage.
- Positioning. This goes somewhat with teamfighting/laning, but positioning is HUGELY important in DOTA. Due to the brutal crowd control that exists in the game, you need to know where to be during fights in order to avoid it and not get instantly killed by AOE damage.
- How to build. In the beginning it may seem like building is a pretty straightforward process, and in some senses it is. Most heroes will get starting items and then build their "core" item(s) ASAP, usually a relatively cheap item that synergizes very well with your hero. After your core is done though, you have some thinking to do. Do you go for damage or durability? Do you need another active item to shut down an enemy or boost your own power? Are you playing from behind or is your team ahead? All of these factors can make a difference in what you end up building.

Hope that helps. It just takes time and there is no shortcut to it, you just have to play the game a lot. My advice would be to try to find people to play with ASAP. It will make your experience more fun and you can all learn from each other. Even friending a good player after a match can work, many people who play this game are quite friendly despite the reputation of the community.