Dota 2

The tutorial explains the basic mechanics and how to use the menus, but the game is much more complex ...

For those who still don't know, Dota 2 is the official, but not too much (for legal issues related to the name then resolved) sequel to Defense of the Ancients, an amateur mod developed for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne. This mod is generally considered the father of the MOBA genre, which stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. In Dota 2, two teams of five players each face off on a single map with the aim of destroying the opponents' Ancient. This objective is located at the south-west and north-east ends of the map, which is framed with the isometric view typical of strategists in real time. Each player controls a hero chosen from the hundreds available and must coordinate with his teammates to get the better of the opponents. Described in this way, Dota 2 would seem rather simple, but the reality is very, very different. The two ends are connected by three lanes, one central and two lateral, while a river divides the map in half. Lanes have six defense towers each, three per team, which attack any enemy units that enter their range. These units obviously include the heroes controlled by the players, but also the so-called creeps, of the creatures controlled by artificial intelligence that start from their Ancient at regular intervals and advance like automatons towards the enemy one, engaging any opponent they encounter along their path.

The player-controlled heroes start every level 1 game (the maximum is 25), there are no permanent statistics and equipment that are kept from one match to another, and to gain experience and money you have to eliminate opponents and learn to give the coup de grace to enemy creeps. This last operation is one of the fundamental basic mechanics of the game because, without money and experience, it doesn't go very far in Dota 2. This aspect of the game is comparable to role-playing games and, although personal skill is always very important being better at playing is no longer enough when the difference in terms of experience and equipment between us and our opponents becomes too pronounced.

As said, the heroes available at the moment are more than 100, 102 to be exact, but in the future the total will reach 112. Each hero has four skills, three common with four degrees of enhancement and a "final" with only three levels (selectable at hero experience level 6, 11 and 16); some are passive while others are active. Although the heroes can be broadly classified according to their role and function in battle, a bit like a common role-playing game, each character's four abilities are unique, so each one offers mechanics and very different gaming experiences. Even learning about their animations and attack speed to deliver creeps a hit takes time and effort. This not only makes Dota 2 extremely varied, but also decidedly complex, more than the average of modern games is nowadays. Fully mastering a hero is already in itself a process that requires a not inconsiderable amount of games (which varies from our individual ability and the complexity of the individual hero), but knowing your character is useless if you do not have the slightest idea at the same time of what other heroes do, whether they are on our team or among our opponents. The amount of possible combinations between 102 heroes is enormous, so it is easy to imagine how each game could potentially hold huge surprises, and this makes you quickly forget that you are always playing on the same, unique map.

One of the most popular modifications to Warcraft III , or Defense of the Ancient, is widely considered the precursor of all MOBA games. This title is so popular that even today it has a large crowd of fans and, if that was not enough, is still being developed. It is no wonder then that when in October 2010 the American company Valve officially announced the arrival of the full-fledged sequel to Dota , the community centered around this fashion considered it a premature Christmas gift. After less than a year of waiting, the first playable version of Dota 2 debuted, to which access was initially granted only to professional players and people directly associated with the community centered around the original. A moment later, there was a real breakthrough, as The International was announced, with a record prize pool of $ 1.6 million. It's hard to imagine a better start (at least in the media) for your new production, right?

The next two years were extremely hard for Valve employees. Dota 2 has undergone a complete transformation - many graphics elements have been improved, animations of individual units have been refined, a lot of additional content has been introduced, and the number of available heroes has been significantly increased. In the meantime, the growing interest in the game could be seen on the list of Steam's most popular titles. Sequel gradually climbed to the top, breaking new records to finally dethrone the current king - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ,

Is it really worth going crazy about Dota ? Absolutely. This is a great product, created even for fans of competitive gameplay and e-sport . While beginners and fledglers in MOBA games should be armed with enormous patience, veterans of the genre looking for demanding and addictive fun will be delighted. Once again, Valve has proven that everything it touches turns to gold. Dota is a true legend, while Dota 2 is its absolutely worthy successor.

Gameplay basics

The map available in Dota 2 looks relatively transparent and is almost perfectly symmetrical . It is crossed by three trails that connect two enemy bases located in its opposite corners. It is within them that we will have to kill, die and destroy subsequent towers, and, above all, to finish off enemy units. The tactics we choose on the road to victory can be varied. The most common solution is the 2-1-2 division, which means that there are two heroes controlled by players on the upper and lower path respectively, and only one on the middle. More advanced resort to some variations, such as 1-1-3, or 1-1-2 + heroes gaining gold and experience in the forest by killing neutral opponents. It also often breaks with the unwritten tradition and sends two (and sometimes even three) players to the center line. It all depends on the team, each way has its pros and cons, and their effectiveness is due to the individual skills of the characters and their managers.

However, before we get into the game for good, we must choose a hero who we will lead to glorious victory. And there is a lot to choose from, because in the game you will find as many as 102 characters representing one of three attributes - strength, dexterity and intelligence. In addition, each has a specific function - one is the typical carry, who after gaining the right amount of gold and experience are able to decide almost alone the fate of the battle, others are great as support to help the struggle of others, and some proudly act as initiators, starting single battles . In addition, in the game we also come across such professions as: disabler, durable, escape, jungler, lane support, nuker and pusher. Each of them has unique properties, while a particular hero can have several functions assigned at the same time.

Gameplay mechanics seem relatively simple. Players gain experience and gold, as part of their paths, by eliminating subsequent waves of enemy units . The most important thing in the early phase of the game is to finish off the opponent's creeps, because they provide a large and fast cash flow. Once we collect the right amount, we can purchase special items that increase the statistics of the character we control, and even give it new, unique abilities. On the map we will find secret stores, where the most powerful, but also the most expensive equipment in the game is waiting for us, the capture of which will undoubtedly tip the scales of victory on our side.

On each line we encounter three enemy towers, the destruction of which allows you to attack the enemy's barracks . If we manage to demolish them, our creeps will grow in strength and thus more effectively cope with units of opponents and cause more havoc in their base. However, our main goal is to destroy the Ancient located in the center of the enemy territory. His fall definitely ends the game.

In addition to the aforementioned elements, the map also includes several groups of neutral units located in the forests in its upper and lower parts. They are usually killed by jungleers, i.e. heroes who can successfully hunt them in the early stages of the game. In the later stages of the game they are mainly a source of additional income for carry classes. The exception among neutral creeps is Roshan, whose cave is located near the middle line . He is extremely strong and defeating him is not a piece of cake, but the reward for the effort is really high. After death, he drops a unique shield that provides resurrection to the wearer. Roshan himself is reborn every 10 minutes - if we kill him three (or more) times in one game, we'll also find in his couch cheese that restores significant amounts of life and mana.

From the above description it can be concluded that Dota 2 is not a particularly complicated production. However, the devil is in the details. Just knowing more than a hundred heroes can give beginners a toll. Novices can feel overwhelmed by the excess of knowledge and content, because all characters in the game are available from the beginning and do not require unlocking .

Difficult good beginnings

Let's be clear - Dota 2 has a huge barrier to entry . This is not an exaggerated statement, new players simply have it uphill. Experience in MOBA games proves to be very helpful, although you have to remember that all the skills you have acquired from similar titles will be put to the extreme test here. The second part of Defense of the Ancients is the hardest and most hardcore production of this type . Although no one maintains similar statistics, but you can risk saying that for every satisfied player in Dota 2 there are at least two frustrated people who gave up this position after a few matches.

Dota 2 and esports

Dota 2 is primarily e-sport . Valve drew conclusions from his Counter-Strik experience and from the beginning focused all his strength and intentions on creating a solid stage and a consolidated community around his latest product. So far, it's been great, every Doty 2 tournament is extremely popular, and all players are carefully watching their favorite teams. With a candle, look for someone who plays the second installment of Defense of the Ancients on a daily basis and at the same time is not interested (at least a bit) in its competitive side. There are hundreds of gadgets related to professional teams in the game client's built-in store. Those willing can buy couriers and even pennants in the colors of their idols, and although it may seem at least strange - they come down like fresh rolls.

The spiral wound by Valve seems to have no end. On the Twitch platform, streams run by the best Doty 2 players break absolute popularity records, on YouTube you will find hundreds of videos with interviews with stage stars or their company plays, while the facebook pages of professional teams are bursting at the seams under the pressure of thousands of fans. The atmosphere before each major tournament brings to mind the fan madness that takes place before all major sporting events.

It is very easy to see how successful the e-sports scene in Dota 2 is during all major competitions. When the struggle for the highest stake takes place, not only the lack of those willing to play, but also the matches look like a little longer . Valve deserves a huge plus for all of this - he organized this well-functioning orchestra and constantly conducts it and introduces new notes.

Shopping

The store debuted for the first time in the May 31, 2012 update. From the very beginning, it offers cosmetic items that we might as well get ourselves (with a good dose of luck) during the game. There is a real amount of them - you can buy almost anything, from special equipment elements that give our heroes a unique look, to new couriers, sounds or interface skins. The available content turns out to be really extensive and varied, and the only thing that limits us is the wealth of the wallet.

It is worth highlighting here how Valve managed to gather all talented and creative artists under its wings. Well, the American company is offering them a very attractive contract - if you design any item that its representatives like so much that they decide to include it in the Dota 2 Store offer, they will share with you some of the profits from its sale. The idea was truly brilliant in its simplicity - it contributed to a real flow of work and thus significantly made the store's store more attractive and enriched.

In addition to the things that typically have a beautifying application in the Dota 2 Store , there are also items targeted at part of the community that is eagerly interested in e-sport. In addition to the aforementioned pennants and couriers on sale, we also find tickets to track the struggles of our favorite teams. For the last The International tournament tickets were also available for the tournament finals in Seattle via the shop.

At this point, you cannot fail to mention certain individuals who, with pleasure and consistency, try to spoil the pleasure of the game for others. This is obviously not the problem of Dot 2 itself , but its community. And I do not mean only trolls, because they can go everywhere, it is more about arrogant users who at some point forget that Dota is, however, team fun. This condition most often affects our neighbors from beyond the eastern border, in which Dota is particularly popular. The number of complaints coming from users to Valve prompted the American company to act, resulting in special servers dedicated to the Russian community. Paradoxically, this is only a partial solution to the problem - a large part of the Russians "run away" from the game with their compatriots and continue to choose other European servers.

The system of selecting opponents is also far from perfect. This is mainly due to a compromise between the "quality" of a given match and the waiting time. Nobody but the developers themselves knows exactly how it works, but the whole thing comes down to fairly simple calculations. For example, suppose each player has a number between 1 and 10 that indicates his skill level. If a person designated as 7 is looking for a game with someone who is just starting (i.e. 1), they will most often come across a group of users whose abilities will oscillate within 4-5. What does this mean in practice? A fair challenge awaits the "seven", while the "one" literally collides with the wall and will be completely dominated. Slightly better if the beginner is looking for a match alone. It happens, however, that experienced players use second accounts, on which the system flags them as newcomers, after which they make a total chaff with rookies.

A worthy successor

Big hit sequels don't have an easy life. It is difficult to face a true legend and many productions have already failed in this field. With all the greater pleasure I am hurrying to report that Dota 2 did not share the fate of most of the second installments. This is a great title, for which the value for money falls somewhere within the infinity . Although the rookies have a lot of cracks in it, when they manage to control the initial chaos, they will discover a completely new and highly satisfying level of gameplay. However, this is not an offer for everyone, people who value peaceful and undemanding fun should look for some alternative that is just enough in the MOBA genre. However, all fans of competitive gameplay, who love the arduous grinding of a whole range of various skills and tactics, will certainly love the latest production of Valve.

Dota 2 may be used alone, but it fully spreads its wings only when we sit down with a group of friends. If everyone in the team represents a similar level of skill, there are hours of great fun and hundreds of exciting matches ahead of them. Soon, an equally demanding and addictive game will appear on the market.