DOTA 2 Catch-all

Thanks to Michael for the beta invite. Woooo. Now I can be yelled at by a whole different group of strangers.

EDIT: That came off as a little bitter. I do appreciate the beta invite. I installed it, loaded up a bot match and wow. It's a bit different than LoL.

Steam just notified me I have an extra copy of Dota2 to give away.
PM me; first come, first serve.

Hobbes2099 wrote:

Steam just notified me I have an extra copy of Dota2 to give away.
PM me; first come, first serve.

Yeah, I just got this message, too! Haven't been active on the thread or in the game as of late, but still willing to give out invites for those looking to play

I checked on on this thread about a week ago and gave one of my two copies to someone that requested it. There seem to be an inflation of DOTA 2 invites. If Dota 2 support some method to support AFK/leaving I might come back to it . This is one of the major issues that makes it hard for me to play MOBA type games. The chance of me getting interrupted mid game might be 20% but the effect is interrupting the game play of 4-9 other players so unless I plan my schedule carefully I can't play LOL/DOTA2.

Got an extra invite as well. For whoever wants it.
And gone to a good home already

I skipped this whole MOBA thing for all these years. I've been jumping from one MMO to another for so long that I missed a lot of new genres and games. My last MMO drug is GW2 and I got to a point where I spent all my time just doing sPVP/Tournaments, but since my teammates are MIA, I found myself bored because I don't enjoy puging it anymore.

Soooo, I decided to try this Dota thing. I watched some tournament thing that happened last month (and also this) and it got me interested. A game that has survived for over 10 years and it has a pretty good esport following? Seems like the game I'd enjoy.

I went ahead and purchased the invite through Steam, read a few guides, watched a few videos and I joined a match against bots. I got destroyed and felt so damn lost and useless, but I _think_ I enjoy the game. I consider myself a pretty competitive player and all the mechanics and meta behind this game has me intrigued but also, overwhelmed at the same time.

I played several games against bots and got better. I played maybe 10 games against other players and won 4 matches so far, mostly focusing on support heroes (Vengeful Spirit, Venonmancer, Omni Knight, Lich...). I'm not sure if it is better to random heroes and get to know them all slowly or just to focus on a set role (support for example) until I start working on other roles. I'm not sure, but this thing is hard.

I also download LoL, mostly because now I'm curious about this whole MOBA genre and I found it to be easier...? Maybe the matchmaking in LoL works better and put me against other noobs like me and since I got most of the mechanics down from Dota, I'm having a bit of an advantage. Interesting game though, and now I can see the appeal.

I got 3 invites last night as well. I spend the majority of my gaming time playing League and would recommend it over DotA2, but if you already have your heart set on it, just ask.

KillTrash: Feel free to introduce yourself over in the LoL thread too. We've got a fairly regular goodjer crowd nearly every night.

LoL vs DoTA is like apples vs another type of apple. I've played both, started with DoTA war3 mod back in 2003 and played it up until LoL came out thinking it would replace it. It did, to a point, in the fact that they are both MOBAs, but LoL to me is much more .... simple? casual? strict in gameplay? I don't know what word I want to use to be honest. There are so many nuances to this game, and even after years of playing DoTA i see strats I have never seen before that work, where as LoL I feel has much more of a "you must do this or you wont win" feel.

The thing that sets this genre apart, from say a call of duty or even PVP in MMOs is the sheer number of combinations of things that can happen. 100+ heroes, 4 spells each, and a ton of items some that modify abilities and your character at a very basic level. The best advice I can offer is to log hours in the game, and read read read about abilities. Knowing who you are fighting, and the ins and outs of their abilities is as important to knowing your own.

My second piece of advice is don't get locked into 1-2 heroes. Try them all, against bots, and see who you like. Whenever I am playing with a group I'm one of the last to pick because although I have my heroes that I'm much better with, I am proficient with almost everyone (except invoker, ugh), and I can pick to compliment my team, as well as counter pick an enemy. So friend up the people in here, we have a wide range of experience levels, some with more patience than others, that can help out along the way.

At the very least, if you play all the characters you have an idea of how they can hurt you, and how you can best hurt them.

Happytime Harry wrote:

but LoL to me is much more .... simple? casual? strict in gameplay?

Not to rock the boat, we've been here at least once before.
I'd say LoL is more streamlined and has a lower learning curve of the mechanics.
each game has it's own mastering curve and rewarding in its own way.

Dota2 replicates some mechanics implemented in the W3 mod that appeared due to engine limitations. It's been respected to earn some legacy street cred. There's more elements and mechanics to manage which might alienate some newcomers.

LoL is not the "baby MOBA", it has its own complexities with meta play with Runes.

As always, to each their own. Enjoy both.

Happytime Harry wrote:

So friend up the people in here, we have a wide range of experience levels, some with more patience than others, that can help out along the way.

One thing I noticed though, is that Dota2 has 10+ years veterans that seem very bitter and lack the patience towards new players. I've been yelled at several times for not realizing subtle mechanics or how the players/map flows during a match. I'd say a new player needs a thick skin if he really wants to get into it and learn it to be competitive, but that can take a very long time, due to the game's complexities.

In LoL, there are people that yelled at me too, but most of them are noobs and just the regular douches that populate pvp games. In most cases, they are terrible players too and have no idea of what they are doing. I guess since LoL's playerbase is very big at the moment and it attracts a lot of casual gamers for being free to play and Dota is a lot harder to get a hold of a beta key, I imagine it's mostly Dota veterans that play the game now, making it a lot harder for new players like myself to start playing.

Anyways (sorry for my little rant above ), I think I enjoy both games for different reasons. I'll add you guys to my Steam list and see if I can watch you play and maybe join a game so you can carry me hehe. And psoplayer, I'll be hitting the LoL thread too and try to get in touch with you guys. Thanks!

Received another DOTA2 invite. So free to a good home!

I wouldn't mind taking a DOTA 2 key.

I plan on playing with only Goodjers and other associates and friends. No more pubbies for me. I might be 40 years old but goddamn I've got feelings!

I find it strange, I'm playing almost pubs exclusively and have hundreds of games and the excessive insults and flames have been very few so far. I actually prefer them to completely incompetent players (99% of the time Russians). Maybe it's just when you start playing and you're in the lowest of MMR leagues but the more I play the less the flaming is. I hope I can get of this ELO-russian hell, every game is 8/10 russians and, sadly, 9/10 times they can't or simply won't speak english, respond to you and which is worse they will do the opposite of what you ask from them.
And I'm not saying all Russians are like that but since the game is free and it attracts a lot of players from EEU naturally the amount of "idiots" coming from there will increase.

MoonDragon wrote:

I wouldn't mind taking a DOTA 2 key.

Will give you mine tomorrow then.

So installed last night.

I see links for tutorial on the play screen but they were greyed out. Is that not available yet?

Played a lot of LoL so I understand the basic ideas and controls. But never played original DOTA. Is there a quick list of differences somewhere in this thread or a guide for a LoL > DotA2 player?

EDIT: Googled a guide at dotafire. Guess I'll read.

Guide at dotafire wrote:

While you're here you might want to turn off Auto Attack.

Oh, snap. I asked every Dota loving friend I had where a setting like this was. They didn't know and I couldn't find it. This changes everything.

I guess I could actually stand to give it another try now.

Sparhawk wrote:
MoonDragon wrote:

I wouldn't mind taking a DOTA 2 key.

Will give you mine tomorrow then. :)

Sent it to you MoonDragon. So you have to go online to receive it.

psoplayer wrote:
Guide at dotafire wrote:

While you're here you might want to turn off Auto Attack.

Oh, snap. I asked every Dota loving friend I had where a setting like this was. They didn't know and I couldn't find it. This changes everything.

I guess I could actually stand to give it another try now.

You don't like pacing back and forth (especially ranged) so you don't attack?

And for the newbies, you can "deny" creeps, towers, and even your teammates, reducing gold/xp gains for the other team. Hit a then click on your unit, but it needs to be under a certain health threshold.

Sparhawk wrote:
Sparhawk wrote:
MoonDragon wrote:

I wouldn't mind taking a DOTA 2 key.

Will give you mine tomorrow then. :)

Sent it to you MoonDragon. So you have to go online to receive it.

Thank you!

KillTrash wrote:
Happytime Harry wrote:

So friend up the people in here, we have a wide range of experience levels, some with more patience than others, that can help out along the way.

One thing I noticed though, is that Dota2 has 10+ years veterans that seem very bitter and lack the patience towards new players. I've been yelled at several times for not realizing subtle mechanics or how the players/map flows during a match. I'd say a new player needs a thick skin if he really wants to get into it and learn it to be competitive, but that can take a very long time, due to the game's complexities.

In LoL, there are people that yelled at me too, but most of them are noobs and just the regular douches that populate pvp games. In most cases, they are terrible players too and have no idea of what they are doing. I guess since LoL's playerbase is very big at the moment and it attracts a lot of casual gamers for being free to play and Dota is a lot harder to get a hold of a beta key, I imagine it's mostly Dota veterans that play the game now, making it a lot harder for new players like myself to start playing.

Anyways (sorry for my little rant above ), I think I enjoy both games for different reasons. I'll add you guys to my Steam list and see if I can watch you play and maybe join a game so you can carry me hehe. And psoplayer, I'll be hitting the LoL thread too and try to get in touch with you guys. Thanks!

It has been my experience that most of the grief I've gotten in pub matches in dota 2 has been from douchebags rather than experienced players. They think they know what they are doing and occasionally are even right, but most of the time they haven't been significantly higher skilled.

Also, it hasn't been very hard to get a beta key, so it isn't all veterans. Dota 2 is my first moba and I started playing at the beginning of September. I've definitely met many people who have a long history with dota, but I have met a surprising number of new players. And after reading so much of the unforgiving community, I was suprised to meet many supportive players that offered patience, guidance and encouragement. I wasn't surprised by all the asshats.

Happytime Harry wrote:
psoplayer wrote:
Guide at dotafire wrote:

While you're here you might want to turn off Auto Attack.

Oh, snap. I asked every Dota loving friend I had where a setting like this was. They didn't know and I couldn't find it. This changes everything.

I guess I could actually stand to give it another try now.

You don't like pacing back and forth (especially ranged) so you don't attack?

And for the newbies, you can "deny" creeps, towers, and even your teammates, reducing gold/xp gains for the other team. Hit a then click on your unit, but it needs to be under a certain health threshold.

I often do this, usually when I have opponents in lane and I have to be on my toes, but in League I can also just press "S" to stop my character from doing anything at all until I issue another order, even standing in the middle of a wave of enemy creeps. For someone like myself who isn't comfortable with the specific timings of last hitting with Dota's style of animations, this is really helpful to be able to position myself in range of the next creep I need to hit (getting the far more laborious pathing out of the way up front) and waiting for the right moment to give it a good smack. Without it, I would be pacing around and end up missing last hits due to the far more restrictive pathing and collision rules between champions and creeps. (i.e. delaying your wave by blocking the creeps on their way down the lane isn't possible in League) I probably wouldn't need it so much after 100 or so games, but it was a huge issue in being able to perform up to my own expectations coming directly from a similar yet very different game.

Trust me, i know the frustrations, "s" doesn't work the same way as it does in LoL and it annoyed the heck out of me too.

This is why you have H in Dota. Hold Position. I guess it's an RTS legacy thing.

liquid wrote:

This is why you have H in Dota. Hold Position. I guess it's an RTS legacy thing.

That's still not quite the same. Sure, they'll hold position, but don't they still attack anything that comes inside of their attack range? It's slightly less of an issue with melee characters, but still completely fails to serve the purpose of allowing me to stand within range of a dying creep in order to eliminate any pathing and travel time before my attack animation starts.

Oh right. But it still has turn on/off auto attacking in options so I didn't even notice the difference.

liquid wrote:

This is why you have H in Dota. Hold Position. I guess it's an RTS legacy thing.

I still have problems with range attacking things inside of range, maybe i'm mistaken.

liquid wrote:

Oh right. But it still has turn on/off auto attacking in options so I didn't even notice the difference.

Yes, that was the missing ingredient I needed. Hence,

psoplayer wrote:

This changes everything.

Strangeblades wrote:

I plan on playing with only Goodjers and other associates and friends. No more pubbies for me. I might be 40 years old but goddamn I've got feelings!

Amen!