Tips for DoTA 2 (beginners read)

hope this helps, welcome to a small guide i'm writing based off my own mishaps that will help you.

This game is based of Warcraft 3's mod DoTA, if you've played LoL you'll know it's pretty much like that game style, if you've played HoN then you'll know that DoTA 2 is almost exactly like HoN, anyway on to the basics!

1. This game is entirely skill based for kills, auto attacking almost gets you nowhere there are only a few characters that NEED auto attacks, otherwise, utilize your skills! *auto attacking minions isn't a good idea, regardless of who you are, LAST HITTING IS THE BEST WAY TO GET GOLD WITHOUT PUSHING YOUR LANE.

2. mana is depleted INSANELY fast, so i recommend starting with 1-2 mana pots or using your abilities sparingly until you've got mana regeneration.

3. You're pretty damn squishy, yes i'm aware there is such a thing as "tanks" however, in DoTA 2, they don't exist. simply put, TRY not to get hit with a skill as much as possible, use heals if needed or an ability that blocks damage, if you get ganked, most of the time you'll die.

4. The best way to start out (and this is how i learned) is getting 3 iron branches, a tango, a mana pot, rest of the gold is decided based on your char, for example, intelligence should get a +3 int item located under attributes, strength a +3 str item, and agility +3 agi item. now, i usually get 3 iron branches, but some builds don't necesarily need it right away, normally there is a built-in recommended build, usually the starting items section works out well, i have not failed using it with many champs so far.

5. Wards ARE NEEDED! even if you're not support GET ONE, if bottom or top, put on in the river, MIA's are a MUST, ganks happen quite a bit and can happen at any time, CC's in this game last a long time, and hurt. Observer wards don't reveal invisible units and cost less, Sentry wards reveal enemy units but cost more, only get Sentry wards if there is an enemy that can go invisible for long periods of time like "Riki".

6. it's recommended to start with range heroes first to get used to it because you can keep a distance from minions and last hit them from a ranged area, it works that way. ranged heroes normally win lanes early game, you better hope you have at least a ranged ability or ranged hero with you in lane to farm creeps.

7. THIS GAME IS ENTIRELY TEAM BASED, 1v1's don't normally happen, if they do, you better hope you have better abilities due to the fact that your abilities don't scale with AP or AD or attributes.

8. FARMING IS NEEDED, farming is what wins the game, sorry i meant gold, gold is what wins the game, farming is the means, yes hero kills help, but they're not top priority, TOWERS are the main objective, if you have a choice of a tower, or a kill, take the tower, no matter what. farming is but a means to getting gold as well towers give gold.

9. if you die, you lose gold, it's not like HoN or LoL if you die, you lose gold, DON'T DIE.

10. Feeding is extremely deadly in this game, if a champ is fed, they snowball like mad and are normally unstoppable, 1 kill/assist gives you 1 level normally out of 25 levels, not once have i killed someone and not gained a level (either coincidence or true)

11. yes you can buy-back, but don't do it unless absolutely necessary or fed! it's pointless especially early game! waste of gold...

12. Towers attack fast, they may not do much damage, but don't get hit by them! the damage will rack up!

13. Don't let minions hits you! get the minions to attack each other! they hurt otherwise

14. play co-op matches until you get used to the game, the community is nice in the fact that they know it's just a bot match. *bot matches don't count for anything*, you can also make your own game and have just bots, no human players except you, doesn't help except with learning a character.

15. to Deny creeps (meaning killing your own, to prevent enemies from gaining exp/gold) press "A" then click on the creep to auto-attack it, try to last-hit it, otherwise you're just weakening your forces, also abilities won't work on your own minions, UNLESS ability specifies it, just like Doom Bringers "Q" ability.

16. Pulling: Pulling, which can be done in Top Lane (for Scourge) or Bottom Lane (for Sentinel), is where a hero attacks a jungle-creep spawn and lures them up/down to where your teams' attack forces (AKA 'players' Red and Green) march by and have them chase the jungle-creeps back to their spawnpoint. While somewhat effective, it can also be taken advantage of if done late game due to exposing your teams' towers to the other team, allowing either for them to destroy the tower or critically damage it.

17. Push-Back: Similar to Pulling, however instead of requiring the use of neutral creeps, or Jungle-creeps, or a specific lane (since it can be done in any of the 3 lanes) it simply requires key movement strikes of your hero or another players' hero. When your teams' attack forces spawn, they will eventually (By the time they reach the 2nd of the 3 towers in the lane) line up into a single-file line. By moving your hero directly in front of their movement line and repeated stop-and-go movement, you'll slow your attack forces' down to the point where when they reach the 3rd tower, that tower will be able to help attack the enemy teams' attack forces, allowing easier XP gain, and somewhat easier gold gain, as well as the possibility of ganking the enemy heroes.

18. It is highly advised that you read up on what skills do what damage, and if they are time-based, such as if they're better used during daytime or nighttime.

19. Some more hero based tips:

If you are playing an initiator (prime examples include tidehunter, sand king, or earthshaker) be sure to get a blink dagger! It helps so much to be able to blink into a fight, pop your ulti, and the other team takes a bunch of AOE damage.

19a. For the gankers out there:

Most gankers have fairly low base health. With the rare exception of maybe nightstalker or pudge, depending on your build, you can get killed pretty easily. So a helpful tip would be to always gank with a buddy. Don't just roam the woods looking for someone on your own, because most likely, they have more teammates just around the corner.

19b. And for the Carries:

Please try your best to not die. Carries are the prime targets for any harassers/gankers, especially early game. Just try and stay alive until mid game, where you become just ridiculously awesome.

19c. Lastly the Supports:

Be sure to play the support role. I know a lot of supports that don't buy the courier or any wards. It is very important that you do this. It is perfectly acceptable for a support hero to have little to no kills or last hits, but as long as you play the support role, you're doing good. (There are a few exceptions, ie Invoker based on how you play him. But I guess if you play Invoker, you aren't reading this thread...)

20. One Last Note:

Before you try out a new character, it can help immensely to watch a game of them playing, either through DOTA or YouTube (I recommend watching Purge @ purgegamers). Then try them out vs bots. Once you're ready, then go for the pub game.

DoTA 2 Glossary: http://www.dota2wiki.com/wiki/Glossary

*NOTE* i will update this if i get more tips
nick game : RenZukyno