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Dota 2 Beta Thread: [Brewmaster]

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YOU WILL BE BANNED FOR TALKING ABOUT INVITES AT ALL IN THIS THREAD. YES, EVEN IN SPOILER TAGS. NO BEGGING, NO CONGRATULATING, NO ANYTHING.

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Developer: Valve
Platform: PC
Genre: MOBA (Dota?)
Where: The beta is currently in the closed testing stages, to get access click here to take the survey, you will then have to pray to the Valve Gods that you receive a key. You receive 2 additional keys as well for friends.

Disclaimer: This thread is not for discussing distribution of keys or for asking for keys, or for key contests, please contain that discussion to the Key Begging Thread.

I would also like to thank Phandy for providing the Art assets for the thread.



What’s Different?

  • Art Style

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Dota 2 features a much softer usage of colors, and has a very minimalistic approach to how it animates and handles spell effects, this is to avoid the screen becoming cluttered by effects during team fights making it easier to discern what is going on. Example of a few team fights, showing the minimal spell effect approach

Added Features
Dota 2, has implemented new features to bring it up to par with the genre.
  • Team Matchmaking
  • Reconnect
  • Game Spectating
  • Stat Tracking ( Not Yet Fully Implemented )
  • In-game VOIP
  • Game Archives with replay support hosted on Valve Servers
  • Client / Server Architecture to eliminate map hacking, custom kick, and help alleviate lag
  • It also uses all of the Steam features, such as Friends Lists, Steam Cloud Screenshots, Achievements, and Forums

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I am not a League of Legends Player, so I don’t have much input for this, but here is an article that seems to summaries things up pretty well.
Dota 2 Differences for LoL Players


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Please Reference these charts for Equivalents.

Hero Equivalents

Shop

Item List

Attribute Items
Consumables
Armaments
Arcane
Common
Support
Caster
Weapons
Artifacts
Armor
Secret Shop

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Gamescom Trailer
I’m going to put the guides that people are making in here, they’re not done yet.



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Dota 2 Dev Forums, Please go here to post about any bugs or problems encountered.

Play Dota, has various guides for everything DOTA related, can be a bit daunting reading at first but worth reading up on.

Dota 2 Reference, site for quick ability lists and item uses

Dota 2 Wiki

Stream Dota, Has lists of the online streams for competitive Dota / Community Dota players.

WoDota Youtube Page, Weekly Top 10 Dota Plays.

Heroes of Newerth OT

League of Legends OT
 

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Dazzle

Dazzle is a Ranged Support Hero, that is built around healing, buffing, and saving allies. He has one of the most powerful support abilities in the game, Shallow Grave, which prevents an ally from dying for 5 seconds. His third skill Shadow Wave heals allies as well as yourself and will also cause physical damage to enemies in a close aoe to the targets, this skill is very good because it's damage type is physical meaning it will go through immunity items such as Black King Bar, as well as skills such as Juggernaut's Blade Fury. His only damaging offensive ability, Poison Touch slows and paralyses an enemy, the skill is very powerful due to its added mini-stun which can be used to interrupt channeled abilities. His Ultimate Weave, grants armor to allies and decreases the armor of enemies, over a duration depending on level.

Dazzle PlayDota Guide.

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Death Prophet

Death Prophet is a versatile intelligence hero, she can be played as a support or a pusher, and her ultimate gives her very limited semi carry abilities. Her first skill Crypt Swarm is a conal AoE nuke, it travels very far and has quite a large range. It’s very useful for farming as the damage is high enough to kill a creep wave that’s at 75% health, the cooldown is very low when paired with Witchcraft making it semi-spammable. Silence is an AoE silence with huge area of effect. Witchcraft is a passive which increases the strength of all of Death Prophets abilities, as well as increasing her movement speed, this skill is instrumental in making Death Prophet work as a hero, lowering cooldowns and mana costs as well as increasing her survivability. Exorcism is her ultimate and a very powerful physical DPS ability, it summons spirits that deal significant physical damage to the target of Death Prophet, at the end of the skill duration the spirits heal Death Prophet for 25% of the damage dealt by them, this heal is potent as it will often return her back to 100% health. Due to the strength of her ultimate Death Prophet is often built to be a tank, in order to allow her to survive throughout the duration of her ultimate. 

Death Prophet PlayDota Guide


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Jakiro

Jakiro is a Ranged Support Hero, that is heavily focused on dealing damage, he is a great laner as well as an excellent farmer due to having 2 farming skills that are on a low cool down. He is a hero with a little bit of a skill curve because 3 of his skills are target effects that occur in front of him. Dual Breath is a nuke that has a movement, attack speed slow and a DoT attached to it. Ice Path is a stun that travels in a path in front of Jakiro, following a line in front of his twin heads. Liquid Fire is a passive ability that causes Jakiro to throw out an extra attack which causes DoT damage and slows attack speed, this synergizes very well with Dual Breathe because a creep wave can be cleared with the usage of Dual Breathe and one Liquid Fire. His ultimate Macropyre works in the same way as Dual Breathe in that it fires out in front of him, and remains in the area dealing Damage Per Second for every second after the cast, best used when your opponents are clumped together and works very well with AoE disables such as Enigma’s Black Hole.

Jakiro PlayDota guide


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Lich

Lich is a Ranged Support Hero that is focused on dealing damage and early game laning control. His skills are very straightforward, in their use. Frost Blast is a single target nuke that has a movement and movement speed slow as well as an AoE associated with it. Units around the target will take a smaller amount of damage. Ice Armor buffs allied targets with additional armor as well as debuffing enemy units that attack them with a movement and attack speed slow. Sacrifice will cause Lich to eat a friendly creep and give Lich mana based on its hit points, this skill is very effective in the early game laning stage because it will lower the number of allied creeps in a wave by one, causing the lane to push back closer to your tower, it’s most effective if used prior to the wave getting close to the enemy wave because it will completely deny experience, it is often used to deny a creep for the middle lane at the start of a game to give the mid hero an advantage. Chain Frost is a very powerful damaging ultimate, it bounces between targets causing damage and slowing movement / attack speed. It is best used when no creeps are around to maximize the damage to enemy heroes.

Lich PlayDota Guide


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Lion

Lion is a Ranged Support / Ganking Hero, he is extremely versatile in these two roles, as he can stay in lane and support or roam the map and assist the other lanes. His skill set is very disable heavy, Earth Spike is a line stun that travels forward from the target area and stuns all units in the path as well as dealing damage, it ignores terrain on its travel path and thusly can be used up and down cliffs. Hex is a single target disable that turns the unit into a critter for the duration of the spell, it disables all damage blocking and evasion similar to other effects of this nature (Scythe of Vice). Mana Drain absorbs mana from a target and transfers it to Lion, it only works on units that have mana and will return no mana if the target is already at 0. Finger of Death is a high damage nuke, that should be best saved for dealing damage and not for killing heroes that are sure to die, don’t consider this as a kill stealing method!

Lion PlayDota Guide


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Necrolyte

Necrolyte is a powerful support that gains the ability to Semi-Carry due to his ability Heartstop Aura, but can also fulfill the pushing role with his AoE nuke Death Pulse. Death Pulse is an AoE ability that heals allies as well as dealing damage to enemy players, the AoE is centered around Necrolyte and effects creeps as well. Heart Stop Aura is a passive which deals % max hp damage to enemies that are within a certain proximity to Necrolyte, this damage is fatal, however it will not block items such as Blink Dagger from being used. Sadist is another passive which causes Necrolyte to gain mana for every unit which he kills, this skill allows Necrolyte to extend his longevity in lane and farm, this ability also triggers off of denies. Reaper’s Scythe is a magical damage ult that deals damage to your target for every point of HP missing, the more HP they are missing the more damage that they will take, it has a very high mana cost and thusly when in a team fight one should always be mindful of saving mana to use this skill.

Necrolyte PlayDota Guide

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Omniknight

Omniknight is a powerful melee support hero, with abilities that are centered around healing and protecting allied heroes, however he can also fulfill the role of tank or ganker due to his third ability Degen Aura. Omniknight’s first skill Purification is a single target heal that also damages units around the target for damage equal to the heal amount, this skill is great for farming as well as pushing as it does large amounts of damage to enemy creeps. Repel is a single target buff which allows the target to be immune to magic for the duration, this includes allied spells, it is essentially a castable form of Black King Bar, this ability can remove debuffs by casting it on targets that are afflicted, certain ultimates will still go through the Repel such as Doom, Primal Roar, and Fiends Grip. Degen Aura is an AoE passive slow that is applied to enemy units, it is good for chasing enemy heroes as well juking, it synergizes well with Purification because it allows you to get in range for the nuke. Guardian Angel buffs all friendly heroes in range with Physical invulnerability as well as increased HP regen, it is best used when in a Team Fight, or to save an ally from death. An ally with both Repel and Guardian Angel will be invulnerable. Guardian Angel is applied to units with Repel or Black King Bar active, as it ignores those effects.

Omniknight PlayDota Guide


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Pugna

Pugna is a support pusher that is very deadly in team fight situations due to his ability Nether Ward, shutting down enemy spellcasters. Nether Blast is Pugna’s main damage dealing skill, it deals magic damage in an AoE to enemies as well as enemy structures, it has a cast delay so enemies on the edge of the AoE may run out to avoid the damage. Decrepify is a unique skill that makes a unit immune to physical damage but amplifies the magic damage that they take by up to 40% as well as slowing them by up to 50%, this synergizes well with Nether Blast as it allows Pugna to position himself for the spell as well as amplify his damage done to the target. Decrepify can be used to save allies that are in danger from physical damage oriented heroes, Decrepified units can still cast spells. Nether Ward is Pugna’s signature skill, it summons a ward that deals damage to any unit that casts a spell within it’s AoE , as well as reducing mana regen of all enemy heroes in the AoE. This skill is very powerful as the damage done is immense, 0.75 damage for every point of mana, as well as sucking mana away, because of the fragility of the ward it should be placed in a place that is not easily reached by auto attacks but within range for maximum efficiency. His ultimate Life Drain transfers life from his target to Pugna, rapidly healing him while dealing damage to the target, it has a very short Cooldown and a very long channel time, it is also affected by Decrepify.

Pugna PlayDota Guide


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Rylai

Rylai is a fragile Pure Ranged Support that features a unique global aura as well as a few disables and a powerful channeled ultimate. Crystal Nova is an AoE nuke that centers around a target area, slowing enemies movement and attack speed. Frostbite is a single target root that freezes a target in place as well as dealing damage over time. It is powerful because it stops the channeling of any abilities however it should not be thought of as a traditional stun as enemies can still cast while under its effect, it also will reveale any unit that goes invisible under its effect. Brilliance Aura is a global aura that increases allied mana regen it stacks with other mana auras such as brilliance aura from Ring of Basillus, this skill is very useful in the early game for a majority of heroes. Freezing Field is an aoe which creates Ice explosions, Rylai’s current position is considered as the Epicenter for the ability, and the Ice explosions occur in a random AoE around her. Freezing Field has a slow that effects enemies regardless if their hit by a pulse, the ultimate is very powerful but will often be cancelled early because it makes Rylai very vulnerable.

Rylai PlayDota Guide


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Vengeful Spirit

Vengeful Spirit is a Power Ranged Support / ganker hero with a unique ultimate that is quite tricky to use effectively. She doesn’t have the long range of other support heroes such as Rylai but she makes up for this with her ultimate Nether Swap. Magic Missile is a standard single target stun that deals a large amount of damage, however it also has a high mana cost. Wave of Terror is a projectile wave that travels in front of the cast point, it lowers armor, deals a small amount of damage, as well as revealing Fog of War. Command Aura is a passive which increases the damage of all nearby allied heroes. Nether Swap, swaps the current location of Vengeful and her target, with scaling range as the ability is leveled, this ultimate is extremely powerful and detrimental at the same time, as the swap will often put you closer to the enemy team then is safe, however it will allow you to put an enemy hero in perfect position for your team to kill.

Vengeful Spirit PlayDota Guide

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Warlock

Warlock is a ranged support, with versatile abilities that allow him to be played as a healer, disable, or initiation. His first skill Fatal Bonds is a unique skill that causes heroes to become linked together, sharing the damage taken amongst all the linked units. The link is not broken by distance, so this is excellent for killing heroes that are on the run. Shadow Word is a single target heal or nuke depending on the target, the mana cost is low so it should be used as needed, especially if a Ring of Basilus is on Warlock. Upheaval is an AoE channeled slow, it has the potential to slow units by up to 84%, if the unit remains in the channel area long enough, this skill is very powerful because the AoE is quite large, and even if the channeled time on a unit isn’t high, the slow per second is still significant. Chaotic Offering is Warlocks ultimate and signature ability, dropping a Golem on a target area, doing damage and stunning them. This skill is great for initiating as the AoE is quite high, and the stun is perfect for counter-initiating on the enemy team. The Golem can be used to push as it does AoE damage to units around it, and can be used to tank the tower.

Warlock PlayDota Guide


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Witch Doctor

Witch Doctor is a Ranged Support / Gank Hero that has a versatile skill set allowing him to support allies as well as gank and deal damage in a team fight. Paralyzing Cask is a ranged stun that bounces between units stunning them on every bounce hit, this skill is also efficient for farming as it deals damage to creeps, the cask will not bounce if there are no units around. Voodoo Restoration is an AoE heal that is focused around Witch Doctor, the skill drains mana for every second that it is active and heals units that are magic immune. Maledict is Witch Doctors signature skill and his most deadly, it puts a debuff on a unit that deals DoT damage as well as making them take damage for every point of health lost while under the debuff effects. It’s a very powerful skill as it scales into the late game as heroes do more damage, and allows Witch Doctor to effectively kill in the early game. His ultimate, Death Ward puts Witch Doctor into a channeling state summoning a ward that deals physical damage to a hero close to it, it attacks very fast dealing moderate damage per hit, because of this it’s best to finish the channel however often you will be targeted making this very dangerous if channeled in the open.

Witch Doctor PlayDota Guide
 

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Alchemist

Alchemist is a melee strength semi-carry, with powerful farming and skirmish abilities, his ultimate gives him incredible survivability and offensive advantages. His first skill Acid Spray is an AoE that deals Damage over Time to any units standing in it, the AoE is quite large and the damage is significant, more importantly it also reduces the armor of units. This skill is great for harassing early game, as well as doing passive damage in a team fight, or used simply as a farming tool. His second skill Unstable Concoction is a single target stun, it works in a unique way as the skill is initially channeled then released, the damage done as well as stun duration is based on how long the channel was, Alchemist can still move and perform actions while channeling, however if the channel duration lasts too long the concoction will backfire and stun / damage Alchemist instead. His third skill Goblin’s Greed is a passive, that causes Alchemist to gain bonus gold for every consecutive unit killed, this skill makes him an amazingly good farmer, especially when paired with items like Radiance or Acid Spray. Chemical Rage is Alchemists powerful ultimate, and gives him his amazing carry / survivability potential, it transforms him giving him various buffs, increasing his Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Hit Points and Regeneration, the cooldown on the skill is really low so it should be used liberally, the skill works extremely well with Unstable Concoction due to the bonus movement speed allowing Alchemist to catch up to any non-blink hero.

Alchemist Playdota Guide

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Anti-Mage

Anti Mage is one of the best melee carries in the game, his abilities focus on exploiting enemy mana pools, and has a fair amount of survivability with Blink and Spell Shield. His first skill Mana Break is a passive which drains mana of the target that he is currently attacking and dealing a % of the mana drained as damage back to the target, this is one of his most powerful abilities, he is able to completely nullify a team’s ability to cast by draining their mana. His second skill Blink is similar to Queen of Pain’s Blink providing him with mobility and an easy escape tool. Spell Shield is another passive which reduces the damage that Anti Mage takes from spell damage, this provides him with some early survivability, and scales into the late game stacking with items like Hood of Defiance. His ultimate Mana Void produces an AoE around the target that does damage based on the amount of mana that the target is currently missing, best used on heroes that have large mana pools such as Storm Spirit, it also has a mini stun component.

Anti-Mage PlayDota Guide

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Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunter is a melee carry / ganker, focused on stealth and high burst damage on a single target. His first skill Shuriken Toss is a single target nuke that deals high damage and has a mini stun on impact, making it good for finishing off enemies or interrupting channels. Jinada is his second skill that gives him a passive critical attack and passive chance to maim a target reducing their movement speed. Shadow Walk allows Bounty Hunter to go invisible for a short duration, and phase through units, the first attack following the wind walk will deal additional damage, this synergises well with Jinada as the critical hit can occur on a Shadow Walk bonus damage attack. His ultimate Track puts a debuff on the target, revealing them and granting bonus damage to allies under the Track buff on its death, this skill also provides bonus movement speed to nearby allies and also reduces the targets armor. This skill should be used every time a hero is about to die, as the cooldown is extremely short, the bonus gold is instrumental in increasing the Bounty Hunters gold per minute, and the cast range is large.

Gondar PlayDota Guide

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Broodmother

Broodmother is a melee Carry / Pusher with powerful skills that make her an extremely hard hero to gank, and allowing her to maintain lane control, push down towers, and deal a large amount of damage. Her first skill Spawn Spiderlings is a single target nuke, that spawns spiderlings if the target is killed within a few seconds of the cast, these spiderlings also spawn more spiders when they kill a unit, this propagation of units gives her the ability to push towers. Spin Web lets Broodmother place webs on the map that buff her, her and her spiderlings gain invisibility, increased movement speed, and increased health regeneration within the webs, the webs also provide a small amount of vision. Incapacitating Bite is a passive that gives Brood a chance on hit to slow her target as well as cause it to miss on attack, it also provides her with bonus damage. Insatiable Hunger is her ultimate, it provides her with a large amount of bonus damage, as well as lifesteal, the lifesteal from this stacks with items such as Vladimir’s Offering, this gives her some sustainability in a fight as well as bonus damage without requiring items.

Broodmother Guide


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Dragon Knight

Dragon Knight is a melee carry, with the ability to transform into a dragon, he has high armor and HP regen giving him lane sustainability, with a passive that allows him to push towers. His first skill Breathe Fire is a conal nuke that deals damage to all units in a large range, perfect skill for pushing a lane or farming. Dragon tail is a melee stun, with a very long duration. Dragon Blood is Dragon Knight’s only passive, it gives him additional health regen and armor, giving him some early lane survivability and makes him quite difficult to kill with physical attacks. Elder Dragon Form is his signature ability which transforms him into a dragon with different abilities depending on the level of the ultimate, as well as a passive speed boost, and turns him into a ranged attacker.

Dragon Knight PlayDota Guide


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Doom Bringer

Doombringer is a melee Semi-Carry with a very powerful ult, that has the ability to shut down heroes in any situation. His first skill Devour lets him eat a creep giving him extra gold for the creep as well as gaining any ability that the creep had, this is useful when eating a neutral creep with a useful ability. Scorched Earth is an AoE centered around Doom that increases his movement speed, gives him additional regeneration, as well as dealing damage to heroes that stand in it. Lvl ? Death is his nuke that works in a unique way, it does bonus damage based on the current level of the enemy hero. Doom is his ultimate and one of the best single target skills in the game, it puts a debuff on the target making them unable to cast or use items for a long duration, as well as dealing magic damage over time, perfect to use on heroes that are reliant on casting skills, such as Anti-Mage or Weaver.

Doombringer PlayDota Guide


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Drow Ranger

Drow Ranger is a Ranged Carry that is fairly easy to play but powerful with very little items. Her first skill Frost Arrows gives her ranged attacks an attack speed and movement speed slow component, this skill lets you maintain distance on your target as well as kiting away if an escape is needed. Silence is an AoE target silence with a long duration. Trueshot Aura is the passive that gives Drow her early damage, increasing her base damage, this helps her not be as item reliant as other carries early on. Marksmanship is another passive which gives Drow agility increasing attack speed and damage.

Drow Ranger PlayDota Guide


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Faceless Void

Faceless Void is arguably the best melee carry in the game, he has great utility as well as lots of passive survivability and an escape, he is heavily reliant on items though. His first skill Time Walk is a leap, that slows targets at the arrival point, this skill is a great for initiating with Chronosphere and as a useful escape. Backtrack is a passive that gives Void the ability to dodge any damage, this is a good survivability passive because it can trigger off any skill. Time Lock is another passive which gives Void a chance on hit to stun, dealing additional damage. Chronosphere is Void’s ultimate and gives him amazing utility, an AoE that causes all units inside it to be stunned for the duration, because of the short duration of this skill, Void is best paired with attack speed / high damage items such as Daedalus and Butterfly

Faceless Void PlayDota Guide


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Huskar

Huskar is a ranged Carry with the potential to deal damage very fast but can be difficult to use for beginner players because of the need to maintain a low enough health pool to gain the damage bonus from his passive. Inner Vitality is Huskar’s first skill is a single target heal with unique properties, it heals faster when the target drops below an HP threshold. Burning Spear is Hauskar’s main sustained damage ability, applying a stacking Damage over Time effect on the target while at the same time damaging huskar. Berserker’s Blood is Huskar’s passive ability, it causes him to attack faster when he is at lower HP amounts, this synergizes well with all his damage abilities which lower his HP. Life Break is his ultimate and causes the target to take half of their current HP in damage as well as lose half their movement speed, Huskar loses health when this ability is cast, this skill synergizes with all his abilities as it puts him at a lower health amount giving him increased attack speed right away, and putting his HP low enough to make Inner Vitality useful within its duration.

Huskar PlayDota Guide


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Juggernaut

Juggernaut is a melee carry, with good early, mid, and late game presence. He is very effective in the early game due to his first skill Blade Fury, which is an AoE damage skill centered around Juggernaut, it does very good damage in the early game, and is especially useful when paired with a slow or stun partner. It’s also useful due to it providing magic immunity, during the duration of the skill, items such as Teleport Scrolls can be used during the skill duration. Healing Ward summons a unit that provides an AoE heal to allied units, the ward can be moved, but can be easily killed with one hit. Blade Dance provides Juggernaut with passive chance to Critical Attack, removing the need to get items such as Daedalus, it also allows him to scale a bit in the mid-game with very little items. OmniSlash is his ultimate and signature ability, it’s a targetable ability that causes Juggernaut to attack random units in the vicinity of the original target, dealing damage and making juggernaut invulnerable. This ultimate is very powerful, if a unit is alone they will take all the damage, items can also be used while the duration of the ultimate is going. This skill is best used when no creeps are around as the skill can target enemy and neutral creeps.

Juggernaut PlayDota Guide


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Lifestealer

Lifestealer is a melee carry / ganker that is heavily designed around his ability to increase his and his allies lifesteal on targets. His first skill Rage is a buff that increases his attack speed by a large percent but more importantly makes him immune to magic and removes majority of debuffs. This skill is excellent when paired with items that have a chance on hit to proc an effect, for example Cranium Basher, or Mjollinir. Feast is a passive that gives N’aix lifesteal. Open Wounds is a target slow that also allows allies to life steal off of a unit, this ability is great for catching up to enemies as well as maximizing the life steal gained from the attack speed on Rage. Infest is Lifestealers ultimate allowing him to hide inside of an allied unit becoming undetectable, when the player chooses to reveal themselves they deal magic damage to units around them and gaining health, this skill is perfect for gaining life in lane as well as surprising enemies by hiding in allied creeps, or following up the initiation of a hero like Slardar or Earthshaker.

Lifestealer PlayDota Guide


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Morphling

Morphling is a unique ranged carry that is flexible in his builds and play styles. Waveform is essentially a long range blink that damages enemies along the travel path, this is good for farming as well as chasing down heroes that are escaping to finish them off with Adaptive Strike, it’s also an effective way to escape ganks. Adaptive Strike is a single target nuke that has different effects depending on how much strength or agility Morphling has, if Morphling has more strength then Agility it will stun for longer duration and deal less damage, however if Morphling has more Agility then Strength it will deal more damage and stun for a shorter duration, managing his attributes with Morph is essential in using this skill correctly. Morph is an active skill which changes the Strength and Agility attributes from each other, this allows him to choose between tanky or outputting more DPS, this skill can be used to save Morphling from death by granting additional Hit Points, or give him faster attack speed. Replicate is a powerful ultimate that allows Morphling to make a copy of any allied or enemy hero, that deals reduced damage, this ultimate is extremely powerful because the illusion can ouput a lot of damage if used on the correct hero, for example Anti-Mage. A unique property of the Illusion is that Morphling can change positions with the illusion, increasing his utility, allowing him to use it as an escape or chase tool.

Morphling PlayDota Guide


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Rikimaru

Rikimaru is a stealth focused hero, his ultimate allows him to go permanently invisible, letting him get the jump on his enemies. His first skill Smoke Screen is an AoE slow that also causes enemies to have a high miss chance and be silenced for the duration they stay in the cloud, this skill is very good in teamfight situations as it forces enemies to run from the vicinity of the AoE. Blink Strike is Riki’s only nuke, it lets Riki blink behind an enemy dealing damage to them and triggering Backstab, it has a very short cooldown at higher levels, and deals considerable damage, it can also be used to teleport to allied heroes. Backstab is Riki’s main damage ability and allows him carry late in the game, it causes Riki’s agility to be added to his attack damage whenever he is attacking a unit from behind it. Permanent Invisibility is RIki’s ultimate and causes him to become invisible permanently, with a short fade time. This skill allows RIki to constantly get the jump on his opponents, as long as the enemy doesn’t have reveal items.

Rikimaru PlayDota Guide


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Nevermore, Shadow Fiend

Shadowfiend is a ranged carry, that has many nukes at his disposal, but has a very high skill cap, and can be difficult to play effectively, because of this, he is not recommended for anyone new to the genre. His first skill Shadowraze is a nuke that fires in the direction he’s facing and damages units that are a certain distance away from Nevermore, this skill can be quite difficult to use effectively if the player is not used to the distances that the razes land at.Necromastery is a passive that increases the damage Nevermore does based on the number of units he has killed, it also fuels the damage for his ultimate Requiem of Souls, Necromastery allows Shadowfiend to gain significant damage in the early and mid-game without relying on items. Presence of the Dark Lord is an AoE debuff put on enemies that reduces their armor whenever their around Nevermore. Requiem of Souls is his ultimate, it’s an AoE ability centered around Nevermore that deals damage and slows enemy units based on the number of souls Shadow Fiend has consumed with Necromastery, because this ability requires Shadow Fiend to be near his enemies it’s often helpful to get an item such as Blink Dagger or Shadow Blade to assist with positioning.

Shadow Fiend PlayDota Guide


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Skeleton King

Skeleton King is a powerful melee strength Carry, with the ability to reincarnate, his skill set is simple with only 1 Active skill. His first skill Hellfire Blast is a single target stun that deals damage and slows slightly for a short duration after the stun impacts, this allows Skeleton King to close the distance on his target. Vampiric Aura is an AoE passive that grants lifesteal to all allied melee units, this stacks with all other life steal effects, such as Vladimir’s Offering and Helm of the Dominator, however stacking lifesteal on Skeleton King isn’t recommended as he gains enough from Vampiric Aura. Crucial Strike gives Skeleton King passive Critical attack chance. Reincarnation is Skeleton Kings ultimate and signature ability, it allows him to return to life on death with full health and mana, and slows enemy units that stand on the grave when he resurrects, he does require mana prior to death in order for the reincarnation to occur.

Skeleton King PlayDota Guide
Skeleton King Manly Guide

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Sniper

Sniper is a ranged Carry with a powerful passives that allow him to put out a lot of damage if positioned correctly. His first skill Shrapnel is an AoE damage over time skill that slows units in the vicinity, this skill also works on buildings, it’s effective during pushing. Headshot is a passive that gives snipers attacks a chance on hit to trigger a mini-stun as well as dealing bonus damage, this skill is excellent because sniper is able to output high damage early on in the game, and causing him to excel with high attack speed. Take Aim is another passive which increases Sniper’s attack range, allowing him to position himself far from harm but still allowing him to attack. Assassinate is a single target nuke that deals high damage to the target, but has a very long cast range, allowing it to be used as a finisher or as nuke harassment.

Sniper PlayDota Guide


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Spectre

Spectre is a melee carry, that has a very unique way of dealing damage. Her first skill Spectral Dagger is a line nuke that slows any enemy that paths into the direction the dagger travelled, and allows Spectre to ignore all terrain that the dagger travels along. This skill is great for escaping as it allows Spectre to run in directions that would otherwise be impossible for a hero to path through, causing her enemies to go indirect routes in order to chase her. Desolate is a passive that causes Spectre to deal additional pure damage whenever she is fighting a unit without allies around it, this skill is great when fighting an enemy 1v1 and synergizes well with Haunt. Dispersion is another passive and possibly Spectre’s most effective ability, it allows her to reflect a fifth of the damage she receives in an area around her, effectively reducing damage taken by 20%. This skill works extremely well with Radiance due to the damage on that stacking with the damage from Dispersion. Haunt is her ultimate and signature ability, it creates a copy of Spectre on every enemy unit on the map, and gives Spectre the ability to teleport to any of the images, this skill is great for many reasons. Firstly it lets Spectre farm but still participate in any teamfights because she can teleport to the illusion, and it can be used as an escape mechanism when ganked, or to chase down heroes when used in conjunction with Spectral Dagger. Because of Dispersion Spectre is often built as a tank in order to maximize the damage she can take which in turn increases the damage taken by those fighting her.

Spectre PlayDota Guide
 

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Storm Spirit

Storm Spirit is a very difficult to use intelligence carry, with a powerful ultimate and the ability to constantly slow and deal AoE damage. His first skill Static Remnant is an AoE nuke that triggers when an enemy unit walks near it, this skill is very good for farming as the damage combined with Overload is enough to clear a creep wave. Electric Vortex is a single target disable that pulls the target towards storm spirit, but slows storm for the duration of the pull, this is a good skill to use when opening on an enemy unit or when needing to escape. Overload is a passive which causes Storm Spirit to gain a bonus effect on his attacks whenever he casts a spell, that slows and deals additional damage, this skill is very good when used in conjunction with Ball Lightning, as even when a short distance is travelled it will still trigger Overload. Ball Lightning is his ultimate and has many uses, it in its purest form is an AoE damage nuke that deals more damage the further Storm Spirit travels, however it’s uses are far more complex, because Storm Spirit is invulnerable when he is travelling it can be used to escape damage, or possible stuns, it can also be used to clear trees, as he can travel over terrain. The difficulty with this skill is balancing the mana cost it uses, but constantly gaining charges on Overload. Storm Spirit is a very difficult hero to play and thusly shouldn’t be tested until the player is at least comfortable with mana management as well as awareness.

Storm Spirit PlayDota Guide


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Ursa

Ursa is a melee Carry that has the ability to deal devastating damage to a single target. His first skill Earthshock is an AoE nuke that significantly slows enemy units that are close to Ursa when it’s cast, this skill is instrumental in allowing Ursa to do full damage with Overpower and Fury Swipes. Overpower] is a self-buff that allows Ursa to attack at maximum attack speed for a few attacks, this ability allows him to output a large amount of damage on a target in a short amount of time, and due to the short cooldown is semi-spammable. Fury Swipes is his passive and more important ability, it causes Ursa to gain increased damage on a unit the more consecutive attacks he has on it, because of the short time window on this skill it’s important for Ursa to maintain uptime on the same target to maximize the bonus damage, also the mechanics for this allow him to solo Roshan when he gets lifesteal due to the damage stacking infinitely. Enrage is his ultimate and causes him to gain a percentage of his current life in damage, this synergises well with Overpower and Fury Swipes as it increases the damage Ursa does within the Overpower duration.

Ursa PlayDota Guide


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Viper

Viper is a venom based ranged carry, he is very powerful in 1v1 situations due to his passive Nethertoxin. Poison Attack is his first skill and his most used, it adds a slow modifier to Viper’s attacks as well as causes his attacks to deal Damage over Time, because the damage on this skill doesn’t stack on successive casts, its best to just refresh the debuff in order to save mana. Nethertoxinp passively adds damage to Viper’s attacks based on the amount of health missing on the unit he’s attacking, this skill makes it hard to beat Viper in a battle one versus one because of the additional damage he deals. Corrosive Skin is another passive, but defensive, it causes enemies that attack viper to be slowed and take damage over time, as well as passively increasing Viper’s magic resistance. Viper Strike is his ultimate, it’s a single target nuke that slows and deals considerable damage over time, due to the many slows that Viper has, it makes it very hard to run away from him.

Viper Guide


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Weaver

Weaver is a carry, that is very hard to kill and has the ability to go back in time restoring his health. The Swarm is a directional AoE ability that shoots out bugs that latch onto enemy units dealing damage and reducing armor, as well as providing sight on the enemy unit. This skill is great in a team-fight situation because of the infinite armor reduction and damage the beetles do, as well as the fact that enemies need to stand still and attack in order to kill them. Shukuchi lets Weaver go invisible dealing damage to enemies that he passes through, and gaining maximum movement speed for the duration of the buff, this skill can be used offensively to damage enemies band close distance, or defensively to escape enemies. Germinate Attack is a passive ability that allows weaver to gain an extra attack every few seconds, this allows Weaver to do high amount of damage very quickly due to the short cooldown on the skill. Time Lapse gives Weaver the ability to go back in time changing positions, health, and mana with his position 5 seconds prior to the cast, this skill is perfect for using after taking damage or receiving an unwanted debuff as it removes any negative effects on Weaver as well.

Weaver PlayDota Guide
 

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Enchantress

Enchantress is a versatile hero that can fit a variety of roles, she can be played as a Ranged Ganker / Pusher / Carry, she is however often played as a Jungler because of her second ability Enchant. Her first skill Untouchable is a passive which reduces attack speed for any hero that attempts to physically attack her, this makes her very hard to wittle down using physical attacks because of her third ability Nature’s Attendants. Her second ability Enchant serves two purposes, one is a ranged slow if targeted on an enemy hero, the second is the ability to dominate a neutral, allied, or enemy creep, this ability is what makes Enchantress an excellent jungler, because she is able to have her enchanted creep tank all the damage in her stead. This ability also makes her a good pusher because she is able to bring additional creeps to the lane and push a tower. Her third skill Nature’s Attendants is an AoE heal that drastically increases her healing per second, best used early because it cannot be activated when disabled. Her ultimate Impetus causes Enchantress is attacks to deal additional damage based on the distance the target is from her, the further they are the more damage they take. This ability synergizes extremely well with Enchant because you are able to slow an enemy, and Impetus them while maintaining a reasonable distance to do damage, this ability also gives Enchantress her carry capabilities because she can build a large mana pool and use Impetus as a damage dealer.

Enchantress PlayDota Guide


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Leshrac

Leshrac is a Pusher / Magic Damage type hero that deals a heavy amount of AoE damage. He is often the first target to fall in a team fight because of his glass cannon nature, but if left alone can deal an immense amount of AoE damage. Split Earth is an AoE stun that is ground targeted, it deals damage to units in the target area, the skill has a cast delay though, so the player must be predictive of the enemy movements in order to successfully land it. Diabolic Edict is an AoE physical damage nuke that is centered around Leshrac, the AoE randomly hits units around Leshrac, so it is preferable to use it when there are a smaller number of units close to Leshrac, because of the physical property of the skill it works on towers thusly very effective at damaging them. Lightning Storm is a targeted nuke that bounces between targets hitting all targets within proximity of each other once. Pulse Nova is an AoE magical damage spell that centers around Leshrac and is toggled on and off, dealing AoE damage to every unit around Leshrac, persisting through all disables. Leshrac is a very mana intensive hero, and thusly should be played when understanding of the game is achieved.

Leshrac PlayDota Guide


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Shadow Shaman

Shadow Shaman is a Ranged Pusher / Ganker / Disabler hero, he is a very powerful disabler able to disable an enemy hero for a total of 9 seconds if uninterrupted. His first skill Ether Shock is his only direct nuke, dealing damage in an arc to up to 7 targets, the animation on this skill is very good, appearing instantly once it is cast. Voodoo is a single target hex, similar to Lion’s hex, it disables a hero in the same way negating evasion and damage blocking, a very useful skill to use prior to Shadow Shaman’s ultimate for easier positioning. Shakles is a single target disable that holds an enemy hero in place essentially stunning them for up to 5 seconds, this skill is often used in conjunction with Serpent Wards to ensure that a target is within the vicinity of the wards for long enough to ensure a kill. Serpent Wards is Rhasta’s ultimate and his main pushing ability, it summons 8 wards which attack any enemy target, they can be targeted on top of an enemy hero to trap them inside as well as near a tower to provide additional DPS to take it down faster. The wards are also very good in a team fight situation, because they deal additional damage. Shadow Shaman can roam the map effectively ganking and pushing lanes once he gets a single point in serpent wards, and is often a favorable mid because it allows him to get 6 faster as well as the damage potential of Ether Shock

Shadow Shaman PlayDota Guide


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Venomancer

Venomancer is a Ranged Pusher / Ganker hero, he has a poison theme and his abilities center around slowing and dealing Damage over Time. His first skill Venomous Gale is a directional nuke that travels in a straight line slowing and damaging enemies that it comes into contact with. Poison Sting is a passive that adds a DoT to his abilities as well as a movement slow, this skill is lethal and very good for harassing enemies in lane because it costs you nothing. Plague Ward is a unique active skill that creates an immobile serpent ward that attacks enemy units, this is where Venomancer’s pushing power comes from, being able to summon additional units to help push a lane as well as additional damage in a fight. They are on a low cooldown and have a low mana cost, this skill also makes Venomancer an effective solo, because he is able to overwhelm a lane with additional creeps. His ultimate Poison Nova is an extremely powerful AoE DoT that deals non lethal damage, in a big AoE to all enemy heroes, this synergizes very well with all of Venomancers other skills as it allows him to be extremely effective in a team fight situation by slowing and damaging all enemies as well as placing wards down for additional damage.

Venomancer PlayDota Guide
 

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Ancient Apparition

Ancient Apparition is a Ranged Support / Ganker hero with a very high skill cap, and a large number of active skills making him a very fun hero to play, but can be frustrating if facing a team with a large number of silences. His first skill Cold Feet is a nuke that deals Damage over Time as well as stunning the target if they do not move far enough from the cast point. The stun time on this skill is quite high however because the target can run away from the cast point, it makes it hard to successfully use without assistance from an ally. His second skill Ice Vortex creates a small immobile ice vortex at a target location, the vortex slows enemy units that travel into it as well as reducing spell resistance, this spell should be used in conjunction with Cold Feet in order to gain maximum damage on it as well as assist in the stun, another added bonus on the skill is that it gives vision within the vortex, making it useful for placing in spots that would not warrant a ward. Chilling Touch is a buff that gets granted to allied units close to Ancient Apparition on cast, it adds bonus magic damage to a finite number of their auto attacks, this synergizes well with Ice Vortex which lowers the magic resistance of those that are standing in it. Ice Blast is Ancient Apparitions ultimate and is amazing in the utility it provides, the ultimate fires a projectile to any point on the map which can then be exploded to deal damage within the explosion zone as well as adding a DoT, removing regeneration on the targets, and instantly killing them if they fall below a % HP threshold. This skill can be used prior to a team fight for damage, and the debuffs, or can be used to push a lane as it will instantly kill all the creeps, or defend a lane by damaging heroes and deterring them from a team fight. Ice Blast takes a bit of getting used to before the player can successfully hit it, but if a very useful tool making Ancient Apparition an excellent addition to any line up.

Ancient Apparition PlayDota Guide

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BatRider

Batrider is a ranged Ganker with a unique fire themed skill set, focusing on amping his damage while disabling and displacing an enemy hero. Batrider is the only hero in the game with the ability to fly over terrain, he uses this to his advantage when used in combination with his ultimate. His first skill Sticky Napalm is his main buff, it buffs damage done by Batrider on targets in the AoE as well as debuffing their movement, and turn speed. The damage buff is not exclusive to Batrider skills, it also applies to his auto attacks and is meant to be spammed to amplify your damage. Flamebreak is a ranged stun shot in a direction, it travels in a straight line and explodes either on contact with a hero or when it travels 1600 units, whenever either of these conditions is meant, it explodes dealing damage, as well as applying a mini-stun to the units, this skill is useful to break channel or to push enemy heroes from a location, for example a Faceless Void currently in a Chronosphere. Firefly is Batrider’s most unique ability, it causes him to leave a trail of fire wherever his hero paths that deals damage over time, more importantly it allows him to travel over any terrain. His ultimate Flaming Lasso is a targetable hold that allows him to pull a enemy unit along with him wherever he travels, it does not break on death and goes through any magical immunity, the skill does require though that Batrider get within melee distance to the target leaving him vulnerable to enemy skills.

BatRider PlayDota Guide


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Beastmaster

Beastmaster is a flexible hero, he can play the role of Tank / Ganker / Initiator, playing him effectively will heavily depend on the players ability to micro his minions, allowing for effective scouting and slowing. Wild Axes is his main nuke, throwing axes in a parabola shape in front of the cast point, each axe thrown deals individual damage , this skill also removes tree terrain removing juke opportunities for enemies and creating quicker paths for Beastmaster to move on to get to a target. Call of the Wild summons two pets for the Beastmaster to control, a Hawk which grants vision in a large AoE and has a passive invisibility skill, and a quilbeast that has a slow on its auto attacks. This skill greatly aides Beastmaster in killing as it allows him to scout gaining information on a lane, as well as slowing enemy heroes to make sure that he can maintain melee attack range. Inner Beast increases ally attack speed that are within a certain range to Beastmaster, this effect applies to the quilbeast as well, letting it apply the slow more often. His ultimate Primal Roar is a target stun that deals AoE damage to targets near the roar target as well as slowing their movement and attack speed, the roar also pushes units in the path to the side. The cast range on this skill is quite high so it can effectively be used to initiate, without assistance from a portal key, the skill also goes through magic immunities such as Black King Bar and Omniknight’s Repel, the skill should be the first used when ganking as it will allow the Beastmaster to position himself for Wild Axes and get within melee range.

Beastmaster PlayDota Guide


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Bloodseeker

Bloodseeker is a deadly melee Ganker / Carry, that excels in lane and hero farming. His first skill Bloodrage deals damage to a target and causes them to be silenced but deal bonus damage, this skill can be used offensively on Bloodseeker himself for the damage, as well as defensively on an enemy spellcaster to silence them, the skill can also be applied to an ally to give the ability to deny them. Blood Bath is a passive that causes Bloodseeker to be healed for a % hp whenever he kills an enemy unit, this skill allows him to stay in lane for long periods of time, because he is able to make do without regen, it also makes him an excellent mid laner because he is able to ignore the harass of many heroes while farming. Thirst is a passive ability which buffs Bloodseeker with movement speed whenever a hero on the map is below 40% HP, it also reveals invisible units. This is the skill that makes Bloodseeker an excellent ganker because he will move much faster than any other hero. His ultimate Rupture is a target nuke that causes a target to take damage based on how many units they’ve moved, this forces the target to either stand still giving a team a positioning advantage or move and lose HP allowing Bloodseeker to trigger his Thirst buff. Bloodseeker is a straightforward easy to use ganker hero, perfect for those looking to try out the carry / ganker role.

Bloodseeker PlayDota Guide



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Furion

Furion is a Ranged Ganker / Semi Carry with abilities that center around pushing and travelling around the map efficiently, he is unusual in that he only has one damaging ability that is more efficient when cast further from the intended target. His first skill Sprout causes trees to emerge from the ground trapping any units within the interior. This skill is versatile in its uses, can be used defensively to protect a hero from melee damage as the only way to get in or out of the trees is by either using a Tango or Logger’s Hatchet, it can also be used to block a choke point, or scout an area because it provides vision in the area within the trees. His second skill Teleportation, he is able to travel to any point on the map that has currently been explored, this allows Furion to have ridiculous map presence allowing him to push and gank lanes, without reliance on towers to teleport to. Force of Nature is the skill that allows Furion to be an excellent jungler and pusher, it summons treants that deal damage by consuming trees, this includes trees produced by Sprout. The treants are alive for longer than the cooldown of the spell so it is possible to maintain two sets of treants. Furion’s ultimate Wrath of Nature is Furion’s only active skill, it is a nuke that travels to all visible units on the map gaining damage for every unit that it hits, it is excellent for farming creeps as well as dealing damage to heroes that are farming lanes especially when paired with items such as Agahnim’s Sceptre.

Furion PlayDota Guide



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Kunkka

Kunnka is a versatile Melee Semi-Carry / Ganker that has a high skill cap because of his reliance on having good timing as well as being able to gauge distance and predict enemy movements, when well executed he is incredibly satisfying to play. His first skill Torrent is a nuke that explodes after a delay launching enemy heroes in the air, slowing the targets when they land. It’s cast range is incredibly long, however because Kunkka performs an animation on cast it is a bit predictable and somewhat easy to dodge if the enemy player moves erratically. Kunkka’s only passive Tidebringer causes his auto attacks to deal additional AoE damage, this skill is very useful in the early laning phases as it gives Kunkka the ability to harass as well as providing him with lane control because the additional damage on the Tidebringer buff isn’t lost on creep deny. Kunkka’s third skill X Marks the Spot is an active skill that puts a debuff on a target that will return them to the point where the debuff was applied, it can also be used on Kunkka. This skill is excellent as it lets the player hit Torrent easier, and also helps with ganking returning enemies to a favorable position, and is a great escape tool letting Kunkka control his position or that of an enemy. Kunkka’s ultimate Ghost Ship is a complicated spell that has a lot of effects, firstly the skill takes a bit of positioning to land as it travels in the target direction eventually reaching its destination stunning enemy units and dealing damage. Allies that are in the path of the ship, gain bonus movement speed, and reduced incoming damage.

Kunkka PlayDota Guide


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Lina

Lina is a Ranged Intelligence hero that can fulfill nearly every role, she can be played as a pure support due to her being intelligence based, she can be played as a ganker because of her high damage nukes Dragon Slave Light Strike Array Laguna Blade, or as a semi carry due to her passive ability Fiery Soul. Dragon Slave is a nuke that fires in a target direction dealing damage to all enemy heroes that come into contact with it, it has a very large range and is a good harass skill early game. Light Strike Array is an AoE nuke that also stuns enemies, it has a delay in cast which requires the player to slightly predict enemy movements, because of this it is best used on a disabled target, when used in conjunction with Dragon Soul it is an excellent farming tool as it will clear a creep wave. Fiery Soul is Lina’s only passive which causes her to gain attack and movement speed whenever she casts a spell, because of this it allows Lina to semi carry because through usage of her mana she can increase the chance of on attack items such as Eye of Skadi. Laguna Blade is a high damage nuke that is similar to Lion’s Finger of Death.

Lina PlayDota Guide



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Mirana

Mirana is a versatile Ranged Agility Ganker / Semi Carry that transitions and fits into either role very easily, she is unique amongst the agility heroes due to the fact that she has one of the best single target stuns as well as two unique escapes, she is a hero that requires a lot of practice to use effectively. Her first skill Starstorm is an AoE nuke that is centered around her, the skill hits all units at least once as well as hitting a random enemy twice for half the damage. Her second and signature skill Arrow is a projectile stun that fires in a direction stunning any enemy unit that it comes into contact with, this skill is very difficult to use effectively because it requires the player to predict where the target unit will be travelling as well as accommodating for any units on its path. Leap is a distance closer and escape tool, that makes Mirana very difficult to gank because she can easily gain distance on enemies. Moonlight Shadow is Mirana’s powerful ultimate causing allies to turn invisible after a period of time, it can be used offensively or defensively, defensively to save teammates, or offensively to allow a team to position themselves easier for a team fight. For example, Moonlight Shadow can be used to secretly allow a team to enter the Roshan pit without the need of Smoke of Deceit to avoid wards.

Mirana PlayDota Guide

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Night Stalker

Night Stalker, is one of the most unique and powerful heroes in the game, but only at night. He is a Melee Ganker, that can also semi carry with the right items. All of his abilities are buffed at night, with diminished potency during the daytime. Void is his first skill, it deals damage, slows, and has a mini-stun property on hit, making it very useful for stopping enemy teleports, during the day time it only deals damage. His second skill Crippling Fear is a single target debuff that silences a target as well as causing them to have an increased miss chance. This is most likely the first skill that will be used when ganking a hero in order to make sure that you cannot be disabled while the distance is closed, the silence duration is also quite long making it useful for disabling spell casters during a team fight, during the day time the silence duration is much lower. Hunter in the Night is Night Stalker’s signature ability, it increases movement and attack speed whenever it is currently night time, this passive allows him to move around the map incredibly efficiently as well as having maximum damage output on units affected by Void. His ultimate Darkness instantly turns it from Day to Night and freezes time in place, this skill will usually be used to change the time when it is beneficial for instance prior to a team fight, as well as extending night time.

Night Stalker PlayDota Guide


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Pudge

Pudge is a Melee Tank / Ganker with an incredibly powerful displacement skill, Meat Hook. Meat Hook is Pudge’s signature skill, it’s a projectile that fires in a direction that pulls any unit that gets hit ally or enemy to Pudge. It ignores buildings, terrain, and siege units, only units that hit the hook will be affected and not those that hit the chain. The hook has a mini stun on hit, useful for stopping channeling skills as well as teleports. This skill can be used offensively to separate a unit from their team or defensively to save an ally that is in danger, however it is quite difficult to use because the player needs to not only judge the current position of the target, but also the speed of the hook in regards to the speed of the enemy hero on usage. Rot is Pudge’s second ability, it’s an AoE magic damage skill that deals damage to enemies around Pudge as well as slowing movement speed, it deals damage to targets as well as Pudge, and can be used to self Deny pudge. Flesh Heap is Pudge’s passive ability that causes him to gain strength for every hero killed in his vicinity as well as giving additional resistance to spell damage, this is the ability that makes Pudge a good tank because he is able to gain HP without the need for items. Pudge’s ultimate Dismember is a single target channel ability that deals damage to a unit as well as holding them in place. This ability goes through magic immunities, such as Black King Bar, and synergizes well with Rot causing the target to take a large amount of damage and putting them close to Pudge, also allowing for easier Meat Hook casts.

Pudge PlayDota Guide

Added Bonus is the “Hooking Things with Procarbine” Guide to Hooks made by HoN-GAF community member Procarbine


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Queen of Pain

Queen of Pain is a mobile Ranged Ganker / Semi-Carry with the unique ability Blink. She is an offensive hero, that excels at entering and exiting battles while dealing constant AoE damage. Her first skill Shadow Strike is a single target Damage over Time skill that slows, this skill is a good harass that deals moderate damage as well as allowing QoP to close the distance to her target. Her second skill Blink allows her to travel a short distance to any explored terrain, it synergizes well with all of QoPs abilities allowing her to surprise enemies she is ganking as well as escaping from heroes that are chasing her, it also allows her to escape projectiles that are thrown at her. Scream of Pain is an AoE projectile nuke that is centered around QoP, it has a short Cooldown making it semi-spammable with an appropriate mana pool. QoPs ultimate is Sonic Wave, a cone AoE that fires in a targeted direction dealing damage to all units in the area. QoP is able to deal a large amount of AoE damage, all throughout the game, and is able to successfully gank with the assistance of runes in the early and mid game.

Queen of Pain PlayDota Guide


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Sven

Sven is a Melee Ganker / Semi Carry that has powerful self and ally buff skills, and powerful physical attacks. Sven is pretty versatile in the roles that he can play, and should be adapted to fill the role needed by his team, he can be played as an initiator assisted by items such as Blink Dagger, or as a Semi-Carry with damage items such as Armlet, and Battle Fury, or as a support assisting with warding. His first skill Storm Hammer, an area of effect stun that is centered on a target enemy, the AoE occurs on the units current position dealing damage to it and all the units around it. Great Cleave causes a % of Sven’s attack damage to splash to all units around the unit currently being attacked, this stacks with Battle Fury. Warcry is an AoE buff that increases armor and movement speed of allies around Sven on cast, this skill is best used at the start of a fight to mitigate some of the incoming damage or when chasing a hero or escaping. God’s Strength is Sven’s ultimate and the ability which allows him to output a large amount of physical damage throughout the game, it increases his damage by up to 150%, paired with crit items as well as attack speed, Sven will be able to sustain a high amount of AoE Damage.

Sven PlayDota Guide


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Tinker

Tinker is a Ranged Caster / Ganker with a powerful ultimate that combined with the right items allows him to dominate map control and team fights. Tinker is a straight forward hero that focuses on killing enemy heroes with the usage of the skills Laser and Heat Seeking Missile. Laser is a single target Nuke that causes the target to miss all physical attacks for a short period of time. Heat Seeking Missile is a Nuke that hits two random visible heroes, the range on this is quite large so feel free to use it if you’re in doubt that the target will be hit. March of the Machines is Tinker’s main farming ability, it summons an army of machines that deal physical damage to all targets that they touch. Re-Arm is Tinker’s ultimate and most important ability, it allows the Tinker to reset the cooldown on all his abilities and items after a short channel, when used in conjunction with items such as Boots of Travel and Scythe of Vise it allows him to be extremely mobile pushing lanes with March of the Machines as well as dominate Team Fights by chain disabling heroes.

Tinker PlayDota Guide


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Windrunner

Windrunner is an incredibly versatile hero, that depending on the team composition can fulfill every role in the game, because of this, the player needs to be dynamic in deciding how they want to build Windrunner every time they play her. Shackle Shot is Windrunners first skill, it attaches the target to an enemy unit or tree directly behind it, if nothing is behind it the duration of the stun is lowered. This skill can be quite tricky to hit because the stun landing relies on correct positioning of Windrunner and the target also being in the correct position. Powershot is a straight line nuke that fires in a target direction, Windrunner channels and fires an arrow along a path destroying any trees it encounters, the skill is perfect for eliminating tree juke opportunities that a player is trying take advantage of. Windrun is a defensive skill that increases Windrunners movement speed and also allows her to evade all physical attacks for a short period of time, as well as slowing the movement speed of nearby enemy heroes. Focus Fire is her ultimate, it allows her to attack a target at maximum attack speed at the cost of a reduced damage amount, this skill when paired with items such as Daedalus allow her to put out a large amount of damage in a short amount of time, it is also perfect for taking down towers and killing Roshan.

Windrunner PlayDota Guide, an essential read to further understand how to use this hero.
 

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Zeus

Zeus is an offensive spellcaster that is capable of dealing a huge amount of damage if left to cast, having the highest spell damage potential of any hero. Arc Lightning is a chain lightning that bounces to units in range of the original target, it has quite a large range but due to its relatively low damage is best used for easily killing creeps in the early game, and triggering Static Field. Lightning Bolt is Zeus is primary Nuke, it deals a large amount of damage and has a very large cast range, as well as providing True Sight around the target revealing invisible units, it also has a mini-stun component so is useful for stopping channels such as teleports. Static Field is the only passive that Zeus has, but is incredibly powerful it causes enemies to lose a % of their current Hit Points every time that Zeus casts a spell within their vicinity, because of this passive it is beneficial to spam his skills as much as possible in order to trigger this effect as much as possible, the effect is not triggered by items. Thundergod’s Wrath is Zeus is ultimate, it hits every enemy hero on the map with magic damage, and reveals their position, this skill is best used at the beginning of a team fight. Zeus is capable of dealing a large amount of damage and because of this he is often focused in a fight, positioning yourself is crucial when playing him, especially because all his skills have a high cast range.

Zeus PlayDota Guide
 

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Axe

Axe is an interesting hero, that is unique in that he outputs more damage when he is constantly being hit with physical attacks, he is capable of jungling effectively or laning traditionally, or skipping creeps with the assistance of a hero such as Dazzle. His first skill Berserker’s Call forces all units around Axe to attack him, and also provides him with bonus armor, it affects magic immune heroes as well as invisible heroes. Battle Hunger is a single target debuff that causes a target to take periodic damage as well as slowing them until they kill a unit, this skill has a large cast range and deals a very large amount of damage, it is excellent for early game harass or killing an enemy unit that is escaping and low on health. Counter Helix is Axe’s signature ability, giving him a chance on attack to counter attack dealing damage to all nearby heroes, this effect synergizes well with Berserker’s Call because when attacked by a large number of heroes the chance to trigger is increased, it is also the reason Axe jungles efficiently, he is able to deal damage to all creeps attacking him. Culling Blade, his ultimate kills a unit that is below an HP threshold, if they are not below that threshold it will simply deal damage. This skill is an excellent finisher, as it can kill a hero easily after the Berserker’s call duration. Axe is a difficult hero to use effectively because he requires precise positioning to catch the maximum number of targets in a Berserker’s call, as well as having a low mana pool and reliance on getting good jungle spawns in order to jungle efficiently.

Axe PlayDota Guide


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Clockwerk

Clockwerk is a skillshot based, Ganker / Initiation hero, he is very powerful if used effectively, but can be a big detriment if not, three out of 4 of Clockwerks skills rely on the players ability to predict enemy movement, because of this he is a hero that is best played once a player is comfortable with game mechanics. Battery Assault is an AoE skill that mini-stuns a target every 0.75 seconds, it is required that the target be in melee range of Clockwerk, but to counter this it lasts quite a long time. Power Cogs is Clockwerks hardest skill to hit without ally assistance, it causes a barrier to erupt around Clockwerk trapping any enemy heroes within a certain proximity inside and pushing enemy heroes that touch the cogs to lose mana and health as well as be pushed back. This skill is excellent for trapping and controlling choke points in a team fight, but can be frustrating for allies because it can also trap them inside if they are close to Clockwerk. Rocket Flare is Clockwerk’s only nuke, it fires a rocket to any position on the map and also provides sight of the target area, this skill can be used to satellite farm a lane, harass enemy heroes, give sight of runes, or kill a fleeing enemy. Hookshot is a difficult to use ultimate, it fires a hook out that stuns any enemy unit that it comes into contact with, it is perfect for initiation because when used correctly gives the opportunity to set up all other skills with ease.

Clockwerk PlayDota Guide, Required Reading to use this hero effectively.


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Dark Seer

Dark Seer is a versatile Ganker / Support / Initiator that has a unique ultimate, that has the ability to confuse and disorient enemy heroes during a team fight, he is a powerful laner or jungler as well as a capable middle lane hero, he is somewhat reliant on positioning. His first skill Vacuum pulls enemy heroes to the target location, it has a huge AoE and is very useful for ruining enemy positioning as well as killing a fleeing enemy. Ion Shell is a target buff that causes the target to do AoE damage to all enemy creeps, it can be used on any unit, so is useful as a harass tool if you are not able to get near a ranged unit for example, this skill also works very well for jungling, because Dark Seer is able to clear camps quickly, the skill is his main farming skill and should be used as such, as well as for doing damage in team fights. Surge is a single target buff that lets a unit move at maximum movement speed, the duration of the skill is quite long and is only removable by Purge, it is effective for escaping or chasing down a hero. Wall of Replica is Dark Seer’s ultimate, it replicates any enemy hero that runs through the wall as well as dealing damage to them, these replicas attack enemy units, the true power of this skill is when it’s paired with Aghanim’s Sceptre which causes Wall of Replica to replicate allied units as well, confusing enemies and causing them to target the wrong units.

Dark Seer PlayDota Guide


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EarthShaker

Earthshaker is a powerful initiator, that is capable of stunning and dealing immense damage to enemy units when a Blink Dagger is acquired. His first skill Fissure is a line stun that creates an impassable line of terrain, this skill has the ability to put enemies and allies in compromising positions because it allows Earthshaker to create terrain that forces units to path in directions that they normally wouldn’t. Enchant Totem is a self buff that makes EarthShaker deal additional damage on his next attack. Aftershock is a passive that causes Earthshaker to passively stun whenever he uses a skill, this works well with Enchant Totem because it gives him the ability to stun multiple times if used after Echo Slam and Fissure. Echo Slam is Earthshaker’s signature ability and is what makes him an amazing initiator when paired with Blink Dagger, it deals damage to enemy units and creates a shockwave for every enemy hit which deal additional damage to every hero close to the shockwave target, this ability also triggers Aftershock giving Earthshaker incredible stun potential following the Echo Slam. Due to the fact that his abilities work best when chained on a group of units, Blink Dagger is absolutely essential to playing this hero effectively, it should be a priority item when playing him.

EarthShaker PlayDota Guide


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Enigma

Enigma is a tricky Initiator / Ganker hero, his ultimate Black Hole is very powerful but requires quick decision making and understanding of enemy hero skills, he has the ability to push effectively with Demonic Conversion and can gank early game with Malefice. His first skill Malefice is a stun that occurs in intervals dealing damage on each interval, because of the interval nature of the skill, the enemy target can move whilst under its effects. Demonic Conversion kills a creep and spawns three minions under the control of Enigma, these minions separate and create more minions after they attack a certain number of times, because of this skill Enigma is able to efficiently jungle and push towers, the minions deal decent damage and are able to kill a support hero if left to attack. Midnight Pulse is an target AoE ability that causes enemies that stand in the area to be damaged for a % of their maximum HP, this skill goes through magic immunity and destroys trees. Black Hole is Enigma’s signature skill, it causes all units in the AoE to be stunned and disabled for the duration of the channel, when combined with Midnight Pulse it can deal a large amount of damage, however because it’s a channeled ability it can be easily interrupted by a disable, however when pulled off correctly it is a game changing ability.

Enigma PlayDota Guide


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Puck

Puck is a powerful Initiation / Ganker hero, he is incredibly versatile though, and can semi carry with his high damage nukes and survivability, he deals a large amount of AoE damage, and is able to control enemy positioning with his ultimate. Illusory Orb is Pucks first skill, it shoots out an orb that deals damage and lets Puck teleport to its current position, this skill can be used offensively to chase, initiate, or nuke heroes, or defensively to escape, or juke, it deals damage to all enemy units that are along it’s travel path. Waning Rift is an AoE nuke with a silence property, it is centered around Puck and deals moderate damage, it’s powerful because it is able to silence an entire enemy team if positioned correctly. Phase Shift is a defensive ability that makes Puck un-targettable by any abilities or damage for the duration of the skill, it can be used to dodge any non-instant spell, best used after porting into an enemy team with Blink Dagger or Illusory Orb to prevent initial damage as Puck is quite squishy. Dream Coil Puck’s ultimate is an targeted AoE that chains enemy heroes to an orb, if they travel out of the orbs range they will be stunned and take additional damage, this skill works very well for initiating or preventing enemy heroes from escaping, forcing them to maintain a certain position allowing Pucks team to dictate where the fight takes place.

Puck PlayDota Guide


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Sand King

Sand King is a melee Ganker / Initiator, with a damaging AoE ult and one of the best stuns in the game, similar to Earthshaker he is reliant on Blink Dagger. Burrowstrike is a line stun that stuns all units that are between the starting and end point, it has a very large range, because of this it’s perfect for escaping or killing a fleeing hero. Sand Storm is a channeled AoE that deals damage and hides Sand King from enemy heroes, this skill is perfect for dodging heroes or farming creeps as the AoE damage is quite high, using Burrowstrike after this skill to escape a gank is an effective method to keep Sand Storm alive. Caustic Finale is a passive that does AoE damage whenever a unit dies that has recently been attacked by Sand King, it is an excellent farming skill because the effect chains onto other creeps, using Burrowstrike followed by an auto attack is enough to kill an entire creep wave. Epicenter is Sand King’s ultimate, it is a powerful AoE that slows and damages units around Sand King, however because it requires a channel prior to the damage, pulling off the skill effectively will almost always require Blink Dagger assistance, this skill does a large amount of damage and is game changing in a team fight situation especially when paired with Aghanim’s Sceptre or Shiva’s Guard

Sand King PlayDota Guide


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Slardar

Slardar is a versatile melee Semi-Carry / Initiatior, with abilities that focus on stunning and amplifying damage on a target, he excels at chasing down units, but is easily killed if not played effectively. His first skill Sprint buffs him with increased movement speed at the expense of taking bonus damage, this skill allows Slardar to chase down enemy heroes effectively as well as initiate on unsuspecting foes. Slithereen Crush is an AoE stun centered around Slardar, that also slows enemy units for a short duration, this skill when used with Sprint makes Slardar a powerful initiator, however in order to avoid being disabled before Slithereen Crush can be used it is beneficial to acquire a Portal Key however this isn’t necessary as Black King Bar allows for the same effect. Bash is Slardars only passive and what makes him able to Semi-Carry with enough attack speed, it passively allows his abilities to stun a target and deal additional damage, this skill does not stack with Cranium Basher. Amplify Damage is his ultimate and causes a target to have reduced armor as well as providing True Sight on the unit, this skill is very useful as it allows Slardar to quickly kill a target due to the increased damage taken, as well as providing vision on heroes such as Rikimaru, this skill also works on Roshan which allows the team with Slardar to kill it much earlier than other teams.

Slardar PlayDota Guide


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Tidehunter

Tidehunter is a melee Ganker / Initiator, he has one of the best initiation ultimates in the game Ravage and is able to tank a fair amount of disables due to his Kraken Shell, his passive Anchor Smash allows him to put out a decent amount of DPS. His first skill Gush is a single target nuke / slow that also reduces armor, it is the first skill that should be casted when initiating on a single hero or after casting Ravage on the focus fire target. Kraken Shell is a passive which causes Tidehunter to be cleansed of all disables after reaching a damage taken threshold, it also passively reduces damage taken. Anchor Smash is an active skill which causes Tidehunter to deal bonus damage to units around him. Ravage is Tidehunters signature ability, it causes him to damage and stun all units in a huge AoE, if the target is visible when the camera is centered around Tidehunter it will be stunned, because the range is so high an item like Blink Dagger isn’t a necessity however it is recommended. It has a long cooldown and thusly should be used only if necessary.

TideHunter PlayDota Guide


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Tiny

Tiny is a melee Ganker / Initiation hero with powerful nuke potential, with adequate rune control and levels Tiny is able to dominate the early to mid game providing the team with amazing map control. His first skill Avalanche is an AoE target stun. His second skill Toss is a unique skill that tosses an allied or enemy unit to the target unit, if an enemy is tossed onto an Avalanche they will take double damage making Tiny an amazing nuker, the range on the toss is quite long and the skill goes through magic immunity. Craggy Exterior is a passive that provides armor, and stuns / damages enemy units that attack Tiny in melee range, giving him survivability against melee carries and enemies that he combo’s. Grow is Tiny’s passive ultimate and causes him to grow bigger, giving him increased Movement Speed, increased damage to Toss, and increased melee damage. Due to Tiny’s AoE Nukes he is able to farm well and push towers, but he excels as a ganker especially once he aquires a Blink Dagger, he does however require a good reaction time to play and good prediction of enemy movements to land Avalanche. A good Tiny though, is enough to completely dominate a game.

Tiny PlayDota Guide
 

Stahsky

A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
That's a lot of reserved posts for a beta. Curious to see the rest of it now, though. Some sort of guide?
 

Procarbine

Forever Platinum
It's a very complex game for new people, a comprehensive OT is what we need for the vast majority those joining in from NeoGAF. Those who don't like long OTs will be thrilled to learn you can skip to the last page of the thread without seeing the OT.
 

kenta

Has no PEINS
I hope the OP doesn't just link out to playdota.com. I'm very interested in learning the game and found that site to feel sloppy and not really super helpful

But I'm sure most of it is getting in there and playing it, so whatevs
 

Swag

Member
kenta said:
I hope the OP doesn't just link out to playdota.com. I'm very interested in learning the game and found that site to feel sloppy and not really super helpful
No worries I wrote short guides with just explanations of how the skill works, so your not going into games blind, Playdota has the more in depth tactics and stuff once you gain a general understanding.
 

Stahsky

A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
Well, at least the text is not in image form this time. I'm alright with this. Bring on the glorious DoTA 2 beta.
 

Hylian7

Member
Great OT. I just got in the beta and am loving it so far. I've tried Drow Ranger, Broodmother, Earthshaker, Tiny, and Tidehunter. So far Broodmother is my favorite.

Unfortunately my record is 0 wins, 4 losses so far. This game is great though, definitely prefer it over both HoN and LoL.
 

-Mikey-

Member
I want in the beta more than these new fall releases. OT looks nice. I never played the original dota so I'll have to read up on what the lingo means.
 

Artanisix

Member
Good OT :)

I particularly like the list of heroes. Helps when new players can look through and say, "Hey this hero is cool! Wonder what he does?"
 

Swag

Member
Ok that's all that I have for now, I'll add the rest of the carries as I finish them, and I'll try to keep up with Valve releasing heroes.

If anyone is really Gung Ho about community stuff, feel free to make guides and I'll add them to the OP
 

Hylian7

Member
I asked this in the other thread but got no reply. Is the game locked to something less than 60FPS? It never runs at 60FPS on my machine and never really drops from the framerate it's running at either. I need to reinstall FRAPS to find out what framerate it is running at, but it seems to run about the same as the past videos we have seen of the game.

Also, I'm about to install this on my laptop and see how well it runs on lowest settings on it.
 

Neki

Member
GLOSSARY OF DOTA TERMS:
AC - Assault Cuirass
BKB - Black King Bar
Sheepstick/Guinsoo's - Scythe of Vyse
TP - Town Portal Scroll
BoTs - Boots of Travel
Agh Stick - Aghanim's Scepter
Lothar's - Shadow Blade
Buriza - Daedalus
Jango - Drum of Endurance

ss [mid/top/bottom] - means hero(s) are missing from the respective lane

if you learn these terms, you can sound like a dota pro too!

Sanjay said:
Fresh off the boat:-
http://www.playdota.com/guides/dota-2-elite-guide-to-kunkka

I don't agree with the guides item build. I always got these items below when playing with him in HoN.

Power Treads, Vanguard, Invisibility Sword, Daedalus & BKB.

as you can see, this poster is clearly not a dota player, because he doesn't know the term for Shadow Blade. Don't be like him!
 

Hylian7

Member
Ultimoo said:
GLOSSARY OF DOTA TERMS:
AC - Assault Cuirass
BKB - Black King Bar
Sheepstick/Guinsoo's - Scythe of Vyse
TP - Town Portal Scroll
BoTs - Boots of Travel
Agh Stick - Aghanim's Scepter
Lothar's - Shadow Blade
Buriza - Daedalus
Jango - Drum of Endurance

if you learn these terms, you can sound like a dota pro too!
When they say "ss mid", what exactly does this mean?
 

Card Boy

Banned
Lots of heroes missing from that OP. Seems odd to include a portion of them. If it was a length issue you might aswell kept at 1 sentence per hero. No Riki and Sniper makes me sad.
 

Neki

Member
Gez said:
Lots of heroes missing from that OP. Seems odd to include a portion of them. If it was a length issue you might aswell kept at 1 sentence per hero. No Riki and Sniper makes me sad.
He hasn't finished it yet.

When they say "ss mid", what exactly does this mean?
ss means missing, so they mean mid is missing. same as mia basically.
 

Card Boy

Banned
Hylian7 said:
When they say "ss mid", what exactly does this mean?
enemy hero missing from middle lane. Also "mid mia" = middle lane missing in action (same as ss mid)

ss is short for miss which is short for missing.
 

Swag

Member
Gez said:
Lots of heroes missing from that OP. Seems odd to include a portion of them. If it was a length issue you might aswell kept at 1 sentence per hero. No Riki and Sniper makes me sad.
I had to sacrifice finishing all the guides for the carries and Warlock because I needed to get the OT up, as people were getting impatient in the other thread, I'll probably put it up later today.
 

Neki

Member
Hylian7 said:
Ohhh, okay. How did it come to that abbriviation then?
easier to type two s (which stand for miss) instead of typing mia, which all three letters are spread across the keyboard.

that's basically it, people are lazy, lol.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
The things I'd do for a Valve-developed isometric hack/slash RPG with the visual style of Dota 2...
 
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