How was your day today? - DotA 2 Edition

I threw around $40 at the DoTA market for super cheap hats for all my heroes. Even at 75% off the market was far far cheaper. Ehehehe.

I do not have a problem.

 I did so many stupid things

Mostly my build. I couldn't get to people because of fucking zombies and clockwerk. Shadow blade and Treads were terrible terrible ideas. Also they were focusing hard on me while Necrophos and Enchantress did their magic but I ended up diseabled after throwing acid and landing stun. At least I was building terror

However, I just had the same exact game http://dotabuff.com/matches/437806448 I ended up 0/4/10 before someone abandoned. I had a rough start and was told to jungle, which sucked. I think most of it had to do with not buying my usual Life Stealer starting items and going for something a bit different, not enough regen, which lost me the lane. I'm not used to loosing my lane with Life Stealer.

I'm checking my prior matches and I'm way too passive on most of the other carries I play. I think it's fine with PL or the likes, but Life Stealer, Alchemist or even Lycan have so much more potential earlier and I'm just a farmer. Sure, I don't feed but I don't punish enemies mistakes or force anything... unless I'm playing Weaver.

I forged that new mythical christmas tree treant cosmetic from wraith night, looks pretty cool.
Time to spread a jolly mood while playing rat doto!

Happy holidays, SPers!


I hope you have a good time with your families, friends

Note: Don't play unless you're as drunk as everyone else in game!

I hope they manage to add another few heroes to wraith night before it ends. It's a lot of fun though, and it kind of shows that the custom game scene will flourish once it's all ready.
I mean, just look at WC3, fans producing content will create some pineappleing amazing things.

Also, happy birthday [MENTION=7446]Words[/MENTION]; !

I hope they manage to add another few heroes to wraith night before it ends. It's a lot of fun though, and it kind of shows that the custom game scene will flourish once it's all ready.
I mean, just look at WC3, fans producing content will create some pineappleing amazing things.

Also, happy birthday @Words; !

Thanks, [MENTION=6211]Malthe[/MENTION];!
Valve's present was the best, got a 4 man russian stack yelling in voice chat and feeding like never before

Had a 12 game winning streak going, and it was broken today.

Had an ET who proclaimed to be amazing at the hero, even off-lane. Proceeded to die as many times as 2 of my teammates combined, and had less kills/assists than me as a poorer Support Earthshaker. These players are one of the worst.

Had a 12 game winning streak going, and it was broken today.

Had an ET who proclaimed to be amazing at the hero, even off-lane. Proceeded to die as many times as 2 of my teammates combined, and had less kills/assists than me as a poorer Support Earthshaker. These players are one of the worst.

Were you playing ranked?
I haven't played my first ranked game yet and I've been winning a lot too. Not nearly as much as 12 winning streak but my winrate went up from 53 to 55% in just a couple days. I won 12/15 games in like a week, which is similar though. Either people don't take normal mm seriously or every good player went rmm and it's easier to win now haha.
Frustrating thing is that the losses are insane stomps in which you seriously go "wtp is wrong with these people?" and "why can't I carry my team with a crystal maiden ?".

Were you playing ranked?
I haven't played my first ranked game yet and I've been winning a lot too. Not nearly as much as 12 winning streak but my winrate went up from 53 to 55% in just a couple days. I won 12/15 games in like a week, which is similar though. Either people don't take normal mm seriously or every good player went rmm and it's easier to win now haha.
Frustrating thing is that the losses are insane stomps in which you seriously go "wtp is wrong with these people?" and "why can't I carry my team with a crystal maiden ?".

I had 4 ranked games in a row, and it was my 4th one where I had the terribad ET.

Incidentally, it was Captain's Draft that game, while my first 3 ranked games were Captain's Mode. Such a weird coincidence. Maybe better/more coordinated people are in Captain's Mode?

Sadly, it marked the end of my Earthshaker 100% win rate at 7 Earthshaker games.

[spoiler=It's always more fun with friends!][/spoiler]

Although I'm still annoyed at that Lina for focusing me twice and actually killing me once -_-
No wonder we won, when an easy kill is somehow more important than contributing to a fight. And at the end Nyx too going for me, what a bunch of annoying people. I couldn't fountain farm with you because of it -_-

[COLOR="#0000FF"]Expanding the games I play since I can't play league all the time and I like mobas, I've been playing smite, and literally just dl'd dota to try it out.

Smite is ezpz for anyone to get into, but Dota on the other hand...

tips pls
I know there is no locked camera, but is there a button I can press to center camera back on to myself? I get lost frequently, lol.
ez mode champs?
etc
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[COLOR="#0000FF"]Expanding the games I play since I can't play league all the time and I like mobas, I've been playing smite, and literally just dl'd dota to try it out.

Smite is ezpz for anyone to get into, but Dota on the other hand...

tips pls
I know there is no locked camera, but is there a button I can press to center camera back on to myself? I get lost frequently, lol.
ez mode champs?
etc
[/COLOR]

Double tab F1 is the default center back on your hero button. You can also set it in the settings. Double clicking your character image at the top works, too.

Ez mode: I recommend Lion. Two disables so you can participate in fights early and easily and a big damage nuke for the satisfaction. Really fun to get your ult, check to see they have less than 450 health, then nuke them out of nowhere. Don't steal kills with it but it's good to get rid of one person and go on the other in a fight. Just remember you're squishy.

[COLOR="#0000FF"]Expanding the games I play since I can't play league all the time and I like mobas, I've been playing smite, and literally just dl'd dota to try it out.

Smite is ezpz for anyone to get into, but Dota on the other hand...

tips pls
I know there is no locked camera, but is there a button I can press to center camera back on to myself? I get lost frequently, lol.
ez mode champs?
etc
[/COLOR]

Double tab F1 is the default center back on your hero button. You can also set it in the settings. Double clicking your character image at the top works, too.

Ez mode: I recommend Lion. Two disables so you can participate in fights early and easily and a big damage nuke for the satisfaction. Really fun to get your ult, check to see they have less than 450 health, then nuke them out of nowhere. Don't steal kills with it but it's good to get rid of one person and go on the other in a fight. Just remember you're squishy.

Ahaha. no. Lion is as you said really squishy. I think he wants more of pub stompers so he can ease into the game.

Pub stompers: Pick a hero that can easily go invisible or really hard to pin down, has few buttons, or can push like a monster.

Invis heroes:
Bounty Hunter - abuse Track Gold for free movement speed, and gold if the enemy dies
Rikimaru - permanent invisibility and is meant to pick off targets, kinda like Evelynn meets Shaco
Weaver - squishy, but is tough like a cockroach if you make best use of his abilities
Nyx Assassin - you use your ultimate to chase, find, and then explode squishy heroes using all your abilities. Played right you are incredibly annoying

Escape heroes: Slark is probably the closest to Fizz in this game; he needs to snowball early, but if he gets that snowball advantage he's really mean. Pounces at targets, really fast and regens lots of HP with a maxed ultimate passive, and is meant to be a ganker (aka assassin).

Easy heroes/few buttons:
Sniper - Sniper sounds easy, but has no means to escape ganks and is very squishy. However, bad teams will die to him because they don't bother ganking him nonstop
Wraith King - a carry that has a free 100% Guardian Angel on himself each time it's off cooldown and only has to worry about one active ability
Viper - Only really needs to use one button which is his ultimate
Drow Ranger - same issues as Sniper, but like Sniper is good against bad teams
Axe - fun as hell; Darius + more manliness
Ursa - he can out-manmode/out-duel any hero in the game that decides to let him attack them, and has lots of natural HP. Overpower + Fury Swipes is all you really need, with his ultimate for more damage

Monster pushers:
Death Prophet - no joke, a bad coordinated team will let her melt towers to death with her ultimate
Nature's Prophet - *Quick disclaimer: DON'T FUC'KING JUNGLE ON CLIFFS OR I'LL FIND YOU.* Normally a jungler that forces the enemy team to chase him around the map to avoid towers being destroyed thanks to global 20 second teleports, but can also gank to secure kills

Possible easy skillshot intense heroes:
Pudge - He's a very feared mid by newbies because they usually get caught by his hook. Think Blitzcrank for this hero
Mirana - She can make her whole team invisible with her ultimate and can leap. Her speciality is her skillshot ability Sacred Arrow, which is like Ashe's ultimate rolled into a shorter ranged single target stun. Can stun up to 5 seconds


Don't pick:
Invoker - has up to 10 spells he can use by using different combinations of 3 elemental essences
Meepo - He's pretty much controlling up to 5 individual heroes at once, and if any one of then dies then they all die

Expanding the games I play since I can't play league all the time and I like mobas, I've been playing smite, and literally just dl'd dota to try it out.

Smite is ezpz for anyone to get into, but Dota on the other hand...

tips pls
I know there is no locked camera, but is there a button I can press to center camera back on to myself? I get lost frequently, lol.
ez mode champs?
etc

Check your settings and set them to whatever you find comfortable. You can also hot key courier, summoned units and so on, it's definitely worth checking since it'll make things more comfy. There are some things that can't be changed through settings but can be done through configuration file, but it's not worth checking/changing if default is just fine for you. Here's a list with some useful commands http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmess..._id=337793

As for recommended heroes I'd say most supports are the 'easiest' to learn basics and choosing exactly which one you like the most depends on your preferences and playstyle.
Vengeful Spirit, Lina, Lion, Lich, Ogre Magi, Witch Doctor and Dazzle would be my recommended heroes for a new player. Most of them have a stun, a nuke and a strong ult.
However, if you already have different favorites let us know so we can provide tips or answer questions. I think it's much better to start with heroes you like opposed to playing with recommended heroes you might find boring. Most heroes are "ez mode" if you practice them for a while, with a few exceptions that require a lot of practicing (namely micro dependent heroes, Invoker, Shadow Fiend and maybe Tinker).

Best tips for me? Play every hero! If you don't feel prepared just go in a practice game or a co-op bot game. You learn basics by playing and practicing. Guides, learning advanced mechanics and that kind of stuff comes later. Play with friends, it's a lot more fun and you can learn a lot from them. A good attitude also goes along way, if you or your teammates mess up let it go, you're all learning and that's the important thing: learning.

This video has the best tips and he expresses them a whole lot better than me:

[video=youtube;YjEtXHHL35Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjEtXHHL35Y&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLcmWfVFmaBr1Du6oA8oEvyfOamsjARZWW[/video]

Add me on steam in case you have any questions that would be better answered in game. A friend and I (Chew and his friend too) don't mind playing against bots so if you ever feel like trying a hero and you want to do it with friends let me know

Nature's Prophet - *Quick disclaimer: DON'T FUC'KING JUNGLE ON CLIFFS OR I'LL FIND YOU.* Normally a jungler that forces the enemy team to chase him around the map to avoid towers being destroyed thanks to global 20 second teleports, but can also gank to secure kills

It's a legitimate strategy that can be useful sometimes depending on the situation. I just saw DK Burning cliff jungling the other day. There are times when I play other junglers when I wish I could cliff jungle too, mostly when I'm getting ganked non stop and there's no other lane to get farm from and my team doesn't want to help out.

Another thing to remember that is quite different from LoL.
In LoL things tends to be nerfed/buffed depending on what aspects are currently too strong or too weak, in DotA however instead of buffing what a hero is good at, if said hero is too strong, the hero would sometimes just have its weakness made weaker.
A low armor hero with a lot of health might not have its health reduced if it has too much health, it might instead just have it base armor reduced further.

The end result of this kind of balance philosophy are heroes that are really good at what they do which can make you feel like everything is broken at times.

Nature's prophet has a 20 second cooldown global teleport with absolutely no restrictions outside of cast-time for example. Or a hero like tiny or pudge which both have combos at level 6~9 that essentially one-shot any enemy hero that is out of position even just slightly.

Something people joke with that has some truth to it, in DotA you fight broken with broken. Which makes everything balanced.

It's a legitimate strategy that can be useful sometimes depending on the situation. I just saw DK Burning cliff jungling the other day. There are times when I play other junglers when I wish I could cliff jungle too, mostly when I'm getting ganked non stop and there's no other lane to get farm from and my team doesn't want to help out.

I'll admit that whenever a pro player does an unconventional or inefficient strategy, I'll still question their train of thought, but ultimately I'll be okay with it if it doesn't hinder them too much. I can see Cliff jungling working okay with maxed Teleport and great Treant microing, just not at level 1 like I hear too many bad Furion players do.

[COLOR="#0000FF"]Oh yea, I forgot I wanted to try Ursa. Don't get me wrong, I love melee champs, but melee in league isn't too good right now unless you're in the top 5 melee list.

So far I've had pretty good cs, the first game I had the highest cs and gold, but I died a bunch because I can't gauge power levels, and because I am so bad at seeing where I am it's not even funny. lol[/COLOR]

Melee heroes in dota do just fine, melee carries were superior to ranged for quite some while actually. Now it's pretty even though, i believe it is only supports where being melee is a slight handicap, and even there we have some heroes that function well there.
Just a few patches ago the melee vs ranged advantage for denying(Ranged heroes lost more experience from having a creep denied compared to melee) was actually removed because melee weren't at the disadvantage people thought they were at.

So you shouldn't really have to put their attack range into consideration when deciding what you want to pick or play, unless of course you prefer melee over ranged or vice versa.

[COLOR="#0000FF"]Compared to other games first time, I feel especially lost when building items and knowing what to do.

Anyway, first thing's first, fixing up my camera settings. My middle mouse button is ass, so using that to move the camera doesn't help. I'm gonna try having asdw as my move camera, and put qerf as my skills

This is why I wish there was a locked camera while I got used to the new movement stuff, but oh well.

Still looking for that champion who just clicks.

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Compared to other games first time, I feel especially lost when building items and knowing what to do.

Anyway, first thing's first, fixing up my camera settings. My middle mouse button is ass, so using that to move the camera doesn't help. I'm gonna try having asdw as my move camera, and put qerf as my skills

This is why I wish there was a locked camera while I got used to the new movement stuff, but oh well.

Still looking for that champion who just clicks.

Heroes that just right click? Sniper, Drow, Skeleton King, Death Prophet and maybe Luna. If you decide to go for Luna just keep in mind that her ulti isn't that strong if there are a bunch of creeps around. Only use it when there's just heroes around.
Building items can be hard because you don't know what they all do yet. Once you get an idea it just gets easier and easier. If you're playing Sniper or Drow Ranger just go for branches, ring of protection and tangoes when the game starts. This gives you some stats to last hit easier, some armor and some regeneration. Early game you can go for Power Treads and Ring of Aquila and then start farming for a Shadow Blade. After that you can build a Crystalys, Desolator, MKB or a Manta Style.

I wish I could help more with camera settings but I haven't played that many different mobas and it was easier for me since I wasn't used to any other kind of set up and I just had to improve the one I was learning in Dota2.