A few years ago, i was a Dota virgin. I'd never played it, and had little understanding of what it was all about. It all started the same for most of the people i know. Dota 2 offers more strategic complexity and game diversity overall. and best thing is, it's free-to-play with no hoops to jump through.


Dota 2 is what most people would call a "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena," or MOBA for short. The bottom line is you control one Hero unit in a team of five against another team of five Heroes on a single map. The goal is to destroy the enemy team's "Ancient," a towering structure at the center of their base. In order to do so, players need to work as a team, level up, destroy a series of towers that defend the enemy "lanes," and push their way into the enemy base.

The only way to move is to right click around the map, similar to how RTS games like StarCraft control. Anyone who has played an ARPG like Diablo or an RTS will feel right at home when navigating a unit in Dota 2.

Each Hero has a set of abilities, usually four in total, and can increase their effectiveness by gaining experience and leveling up.Killing stuff also awards Gold, which is used to purchase items and buy back into the game. The latter option is straightforward: when dead, a player can spend an amount of gold (determined by the Hero's level) to instantly respawn instead of waiting the allotted amount of time. The concept is simple, but knowing when to buy back into the game is the hard part, and will always vary given the situation at hand. As for items, well there's a whole lot of them. They can be bought from anywhere on the map,but can only be retrieved from specific locations, and some can be acquired from neutral camps.

There is a lot of diversity in the items that players pick up for specific Heroes; everybody has their own item preferences. Buying a single item can alter the behavior of a player dramatically, as can the exact moment during the match in which that item is bought. Each Hero can be played in many ways when various skill and item builds are taken into account, and even two identical Hero builds played by different players can result in quite diverse outcomes.

Feeling overwhelmed yet? Don't worry, just take a deep breath.

There is a tutorial available for new players to jump into right from the start, and it actually does a decent job of introducing players to the overwhelming amount of information present in Dota 2. The basics like moving, attacking, and getting gold/experience are taught through an RPG-style scripted tutorial. Aimed towards completely new players, this tutorial serves its purpose well enough to reduce any initial feelings of stress for those unfamiliar with the genre.

Chances are, everyone has heard of the prototypical MOBA player being excessively cynical towards other players. Fortunately, however, Valve has implemented some ways to help quell the overwhelming force of buttheads. Reporting is fairly straightforward and can be used to punish more than just the angry text chat abusers. Multiple categories exist for reporting other players. It's not guaranteed that action will be taken against these players, but if it is, the player who reported them will get a notification saying so. It is also possible for players to receive a communication ban, which prevents them from typing or voice chatting. On the flip side, there is also a commendation system, allowing players to reward others for not being gigantic asshats.

On top of actually playing Dota 2, Valve has made it incredibly easy to watch Dota 2. While watching a match, both the commentators and spectators have perfect control over what they see. Spectators can allow the camera to be controlled by any commentators who are also spectating the match, as well as hearing their commentary straight from the client itself. Spectators can also choose to control the camera themselves, have it follow a hero, or have the game decide where the action is. There is a slight delay in the broadcast, so no cheating can be arranged.

Dota 2 has been updating quite frequently for years now. These updates have frequently been surprisingly dense compared to most other games. They often bring entirely new game modes or major ability reworks to the game's already crowded roster, alongside the expected smattering of new heroes and balance tweaks. These patches arrive sparingly throughout the year. The coolest part is, you can view patch notes with details inside the client. The game will also notify you of recent changes to heroes within your match.

Dota 2 is many things to many people: it's a great way to kill an afternoon with friends; it's a spectator sport platform with its own item betting scene; it's a hobby; it's a profession, and a way to make a living. In short, Dota 2 is a modern multiplayer masterpiece!

A few years ago, i was a Dota virgin. I'd never played it, and had little understanding of what it was all about. It all started the same for most of the people i know. Dota 2 offers more strategic complexity and game diversity overall. and best thing is, it's free-to-play with no hoops to jump through. Dota 2 is what most people would call a "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena," or MOBA for short. The bottom line is you control one Hero unit in a team of five against another team of five Heroes on a single map. The goal is to destroy the enemy team's "Ancient," a towering structure at the center of their base. In order to do so, players need to work as a team, level up, destroy a series of towers that defend the enemy "lanes," and push their way into the enemy base. The only way to move is to right click around the map, similar to how RTS games like StarCraft control. Anyone who has played an ARPG like Diablo or an RTS will feel right at home when navigating a unit in Dota 2. Each Hero has a set of abilities, usually four in total, and can increase their effectiveness by gaining experience and leveling up.Killing stuff also awards Gold, which is used to purchase items and buy back into the game. The latter option is straightforward: when dead, a player can spend an amount of gold (determined by the Hero's level) to instantly respawn instead of waiting the allotted amount of time. The concept is simple, but knowing when to buy back into the game is the hard part, and will always vary given the situation at hand. As for items, well there's a whole lot of them. They can be bought from anywhere on the map,but can only be retrieved from specific locations, and some can be acquired from neutral camps. There is a lot of diversity in the items that players pick up for specific Heroes; everybody has their own item preferences. Buying a single item can alter the behavior of a player dramatically, as can the exact moment during the match in which that item is bought. Each Hero can be played in many ways when various skill and item builds are taken into account, and even two identical Hero builds played by different players can result in quite diverse outcomes. Feeling overwhelmed yet? Don't worry, just take a deep breath. There is a tutorial available for new players to jump into right from the start, and it actually does a decent job of introducing players to the overwhelming amount of information present in Dota 2. The basics like moving, attacking, and getting gold/experience are taught through an RPG-style scripted tutorial. Aimed towards completely new players, this tutorial serves its purpose well enough to reduce any initial feelings of stress for those unfamiliar with the genre. Chances are, everyone has heard of the prototypical MOBA player being excessively cynical towards other players. Fortunately, however, Valve has implemented some ways to help quell the overwhelming force of buttheads. Reporting is fairly straightforward and can be used to punish more than just the angry text chat abusers. Multiple categories exist for reporting other players. It's not guaranteed that action will be taken against these players, but if it is, the player who reported them will get a notification saying so. It is also possible for players to receive a communication ban, which prevents them from typing or voice chatting. On the flip side, there is also a commendation system, allowing players to reward others for not being gigantic asshats. On top of actually playing Dota 2, Valve has made it incredibly easy to watch Dota 2. While watching a match, both the commentators and spectators have perfect control over what they see. Spectators can allow the camera to be controlled by any commentators who are also spectating the match, as well as hearing their commentary straight from the client itself. Spectators can also choose to control the camera themselves, have it follow a hero, or have the game decide where the action is. There is a slight delay in the broadcast, so no cheating can be arranged. Dota 2 has been updating quite frequently for years now. These updates have frequently been surprisingly dense compared to most other games. They often bring entirely new game modes or major ability reworks to the game's already crowded roster, alongside the expected smattering of new heroes and balance tweaks. These patches arrive sparingly throughout the year. The coolest part is, you can view patch notes with details inside the client. The game will also notify you of recent changes to heroes within your match. Dota 2 is many things to many people: it's a great way to kill an afternoon with friends; it's a spectator sport platform with its own item betting scene; it's a hobby; it's a profession, and a way to make a living. In short, Dota 2 is a modern multiplayer masterpiece!