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[H3xum]

Ok so bare with me, this is going to be long and a potentially frustrating read for you seasoned vets.

Last night was my first night with dota. Went through the basic training and then just did a few bot matches. I made an effort to learn skills/builds/strategies in that environment and I think I have a relatively good grasp on things (of course that'll all change when I play with actual people), but I just kinda looked at 3 people with what I believe have the ability to play 3 different roles.

I played Drow just looking at the "carry" role, so I have her in my pocket. Pretty straight forward. I also did a Crystal Maiden for the strong support role, or whatever it's called. Practiced with wards, but don't quite get the jungling yet, however, I worked on my denies mostly and my slow down skills, rewarding but a slow burn. Then for a semi support I worked on Lion. His stun/mana absorb seems super nasty. I didn't work on the wards with him, rather got the support in with the stuns and lots of em.

So, few questions. With those 3 people in those 3 roles, (i'll eventually get jungling down, I'll just look up videos) am I ill-prepared to take a game online? Are there any other characters/roles that I should look into before getting online? How did my above strategies sound?

Thanks in advance

 

[ink4n3]

Only 2 player cards left for a complete set. That swordbeta site is awesome for card trading. Made over 20 trades this morning. It's quick and easy.

 

[shira]

Thanks in advance

Humans are so much different than bots.
You have to communicate what you want and in a very fast manner with your team and adapt to the enemy.

Player skill ranges from severly learning disabled to haha we are professional team GG 10 minutes. So I think for a noob it is hard to judge if you suck really bad or they are really good.

Try your roles, I mean it's one thing to say what you want - another thing to be able to last-hit sucessfully enough to buy items. Report back - if you are feeling confident post the match ID's and someone will take a gander.

 

[RubxQub]

Only 2 player cards left for a complete set. That swordbeta site is awesome for card trading. Made over 20 trades this morning. It's quick and easy.

Do you trade through the website, or do you still need to link up on Steam to trade?

 

[shira]

Do you trade through the website, or do you still need to link up on Steam to trade?

You list your have/wants and they match up results and list steam ID's.
If you want to do it - add friend.

 

[ink4n3]

Do you trade through the website, or do you still need to link up on Steam to trade?

You sign in through steam but it doesn't see your inventory. You just click the cards that you have and the cards that you want. It make a list of people looking for what you have and have what you want.

 

[andregnreis]

When I clock to search a match does it match me with players of a similar skill level or it just searches the territories you marked? When you level up you just get cosmetic itens, its not used for search purposes?

 

[finalboss2]

Guys... Thoughts / tips on bounty hunter?

i like starting stout/tango/salve/wards and going offlane solo. you can usually pull the first wave over to your tower for easy levels/farm b/c people are bad and don't look for it. always go windwalk first. i build phase ASAP, it makes your ganking ridiculously better. dont spam skills for no apparent reason in the lane, especially dont use shuriken for last hits.

 

[TommyT]

When I clock to search a match does it match me with players of a similar skill level or it just searches the territories you marked? When you level up you just get cosmetic itens, its not used for search purposes?

I'm not an expert on the search but... I'd imagine it searches for people of similar skills in your selected territories and languages. The longer it takes, the more broad the search gets in terms of skill.

The levelling system has nothing to do with matchmaking, or any type of skill level.

 

[Archie]

Doto broke 350k concurrent.

Dat stagnating player base.

 

[Haly]

DOTOGAF 2013 - TOP 5 HYPE MOMENTS

5. http://i.minus.com/iCAmRFZIcpUNn.gif

4. http://i.minus.com/iTYje5X8xUQWn.gif

3. http://i.minus.com/iOGrgqGPjt3ay.gif

2. http://i.minus.com/ibfRx6yAaKgdig.gif

1. http://i.minus.com/iHZySZWk6H6xj.gif

 

[TommyT]

DOTOGAF 2013 - TOP 5 HYPE MOMENTS

5. http://i.minus.com/iCAmRFZIcpUNn.gif

4. http://i.minus.com/iTYje5X8xUQWn.gif

3. http://i.minus.com/iOGrgqGPjt3ay.gif

2. http://i.minus.com/ibfRx6yAaKgdig.gif

1. http://i.minus.com/iHZySZWk6H6xj.gif

One of these is not like the others... >.>

 

[Wunder]

so many magnus

 

[Gully State]

Ok so bare with me, this is going to be long and a potentially frustrating read for you seasoned vets.

Last night was my first night with dota. Went through the basic training and then just did a few bot matches. I made an effort to learn skills/builds/strategies in that environment and I think I have a relatively good grasp on things (of course that'll all change when I play with actual people), but I just kinda looked at 3 people with what I believe have the ability to play 3 different roles.

I played Drow just looking at the "carry" role, so I have her in my pocket. Pretty straight forward. I also did a Crystal Maiden for the strong support role, or whatever it's called. Practiced with wards, but don't quite get the jungling yet, however, I worked on my denies mostly and my slow down skills, rewarding but a slow burn. Then for a semi support I worked on Lion. His stun/mana absorb seems super nasty. I didn't work on the wards with him, rather got the support in with the stuns and lots of em.

So, few questions. With those 3 people in those 3 roles, (i'll eventually get jungling down, I'll just look up videos) am I ill-prepared to take a game online? Are there any other characters/roles that I should look into before getting online? How did my above strategies sound?

Thanks in advance

Three heroes is enough to go online. Just keep in mind that no matter how prepared you are, you're going to get yelled at for something. It may or may not be your fault but you'll get bitched at. I was in a game the other day with an online friend that is leagues better than I and he got bitched out by a feeding teammate who called him a slow farmer with antimage (got battlefury at like 15 min.).

 

[Volodja]

so many magnus

It was all the same match, wombo comboed to oblivion basically every teamfight.

 

[Haly]

I may have played the best ET world that game but Magnus was our foundation.

Shoutouts to:
tsunami who made it all possible
One Man Carnival who never lost heart
Bacon who sucks at feeding
Puppetyuber who lost $15 worth of items in a 1v1 moneymatch against ellen pudge in a previous game

 

[Schweinehund]

fffffffffFffffff I think dota 2 is slowly turning me into an ethnocentrist. Is being a macho man/carry a big part of south american culture? because I have experienced a disproportionate amount of south american trolls :/.

 

[h0pper]

fffffffffFffffff I think dota 2 is slowly turning me into an ethnocentrist. Is being a macho man/carry a big part of south american culture? because I have experienced a disproportionate amount of south american trolls :/.

there are definitely so many South American trolls playing dota. The Brazilians are the worst.

 

[Gully State]

Guys... Thoughts / tips on bounty hunter?

No Battlefury ever.

If you're solo offlane don't go for last hits like you have free farm,just soak the EXP until you have level 6-7 and go gank,should be easy

i like starting stout/tango/salve/wards and going offlane solo. you can usually pull the first wave over to your tower for easy levels/farm b/c people are bad and don't look for it. always go windwalk first. i build phase ASAP, it makes your ganking ridiculously better. dont spam skills for no apparent reason in the lane, especially dont use shuriken for last hits.

All great tips. Don't forget to periodically check opponent's inventory with BH (the more the better- it's a skill that translates to all heroes but you learn to do it more with BH). I can't count how many times I've saved myself from a bad laning situation simply because I saw they were carrying sentry wards/dust (as well as late game with gem). Also, you can actually harass pretty well and even score a free kill in a 1 v 2 lane by managing your windwalk cooldowns properly, provided your opponent is stupid enough to not buy sentries/dust

 

[Pratfall]

Ok so bare with me, this is going to be long and a potentially frustrating read for you seasoned vets.

Last night was my first night with dota. Went through the basic training and then just did a few bot matches. I made an effort to learn skills/builds/strategies in that environment and I think I have a relatively good grasp on things (of course that'll all change when I play with actual people), but I just kinda looked at 3 people with what I believe have the ability to play 3 different roles.

I played Drow just looking at the "carry" role, so I have her in my pocket. Pretty straight forward. I also did a Crystal Maiden for the strong support role, or whatever it's called. Practiced with wards, but don't quite get the jungling yet, however, I worked on my denies mostly and my slow down skills, rewarding but a slow burn. Then for a semi support I worked on Lion. His stun/mana absorb seems super nasty. I didn't work on the wards with him, rather got the support in with the stuns and lots of em.

So, few questions. With those 3 people in those 3 roles, (i'll eventually get jungling down, I'll just look up videos) am I ill-prepared to take a game online? Are there any other characters/roles that I should look into before getting online? How did my above strategies sound?

Thanks in advance

As someone who is just getting their feet wet in online matches, I've found watching some pro-dota matches to almost be more helpful than any number of bot matches in terms of understanding the game flow. You really don't learn much about what you are supposed to be doing and when from those bot matches. That's not to say you aren't getting a grasp on the basics, but in terms of knowing when to push, when to pull back or when to TP, I think watching pro-players is the most helpful. I've found bot-matches to be best for learning the basic mechanics of a hero (what the ranges of their abilities are and what they actually do).

Also, don't be afraid of jumping into those limited hero matches. As long as you don't just walk into getting killed you will be better than 50% of the other players you will find in those. They are truly the best practice.

Also, take all of this advice with a grain of salt because I am a very inexperienced player.

 

[Übermatik]

Mac client! Woo!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Hi-five*

 

[Dodecagon]

fffffffffFffffff I think dota 2 is slowly turning me into an ethnocentrist. Is being a macho man/carry a big part of south american culture? because I have experienced a disproportionate amount of south american trolls :/.

I hate to say it, but I hate playing with south americans and russians. Communication is such an important part of dota.

 

[Übermatik]

I hate to say it, but I hate playing with south americans and russians. Communication is such an important part of dota.

I on't mind playing with them, as a nationality, but when I choose to play on English speaking, western european servers, that's when it gets to me. You just can't talk to them.

 

[TommyT]

I hate to say it, but I hate playing with south americans and russians. Communication is such an important part of dota.

What's worked out the best, it doesn't solve all problems mind you, is at the beginning of the match just say something like "Do you guys at least understand/speak English so we can coordinate ganks?" They usually say yes if so. If you don't get a reply, then just strap in for the ride.

I on't mind playing with them, as a nationality, but when I choose to play on English speaking, western european servers, that's when it gets to me. You just can't talk to them.

I have US East and US West servers selected, English language only. Yet I'll still get people that don't speak English (well, if at all) or will complain about ping while being from another country. So you queued here for better queue times yet are having a bad gaming experience and making it bad for others as well? It's pretty disheartening.

 

[BeesEight]

How do you feel about winrates though? People use that for some kind of analysis for where they stand or how good they are, and I kind of think that is innacurate too. I can't keep myself above 50%, and I do a good amount of both solo queue and parties. Right now I'm sitting at 49.61% with 966-981 in my W-L. Some people think that's good, others think that's garbage. I think it's kind of irrelevant, as you are only 1/5 of your team.

Not that my opinion matters much, but I don't think win rates account for a lot either. I'm above 50% and have never been below that and I'm absolute rubbish at the game.Going through the dev threads, it's really impossible for any player to gauge the balance of their games since so much information is blocked from them. Honestly, I think the biggest factor that leads to feelings of imbalance are people that queue together with large skill discrepancies.

But the only way to get around that would be to prevent them from teaming up which isn't really an option. I think if a player is really concerned about balanced games, they're probably best queuing in the solo queue mode. At least the skill levels will be similar even if communication/friendliness is not.

 

[Sliver]

Think I'm gonna bet some rares on mouz, they've been doing very well lately.

 

[Gully State]

I wish Valve were a bit more transparent about metrics. I get that you don't want it to be public but allowing the player to control that information for himself/herself would be really helpful to gauge progress.

 

[LTWheels]

How to correctly use the 'Report' function

 

[JustinBB7]

Bo5 winner $5k, loser $3k

#2 WIFESTELLAR.ukraine

#4 MOUZ.germany

Caster = Ayesee + Milk
http://www.twitch.tv/d2l

1830cest/1230est/930pst
I heard that the actual games aren't till 30 minutes after, it's also LAN everything is late.

http://www.d2l.gg/
http://dota2lounge.com/match?m=692
71% navi so far

That prize money is barely worth the trip.. but ok..

 

[Raxus]

Haly really makes me want to play him again and own him


HARD.

 

[ink4n3]

Got my complete player card set with the dyed crab. Is there any way to get the other mounts?

 

[shira]

That prize money is barely worth the trip.. but ok..

What if it was Liquid vs Dignitas? I don't know how they could have done it.

 

[Freakinchair]

Haly really makes me want to play him again and own him


HARD.

should be ez haly is garbo

 

[ink4n3]

Think I'm gonna bet some rares on mouz, they've been doing very well lately.

Are the bots working? I've been trying to be all morning and it says the bots are offline.

 

[TommyT]

I guess I forgot to mention one point in that: The IXDL used to have a rule that you had to have a 50% winrate. They dropped this rule, and rightly so, as I don't think it was that fair.

Well, IXDL went the ways of just about every IHL that there ever was even going back to the early (original?) IHLs from DotA. You have this 'exclusive' league that has some metric to gain access, but also has a vouch/invite system. I won't particularly go into why, as there are many reasons, and instead into what it is now: IXDL-O ( The "O" standing for "Open" meaning that it's an open league and anyone can join it, there's no exclusivity).

Many, if not all, exclusive IHLs went dead after their open variant came along. Queue times and finding matches was just unbearable. The pools would get stagnant, vouches hardly ever happened, and it just became less fun as more people started playing in the open league. Maybe they've since merged it (I haven't played or looked at it in quite some time) into one league now.

If you were a top-tier player on a team and wanted to play with others of the same caliber, you would just join a scrim league at that point and have those matches played in much longer intervals.

How to correctly use the 'Report' function

Dustin Diamond plays DotA 2?

 

[Fake Charlemagne]

Was wondering if anyone else was having odd experiences with matchmaking. Last night I was just trying to go through the training mode the game provides, and it tossed me in a match that I had no business being in. I mean I read guides, I practiced with bots, and all that but there's still a world of difference between experienced players and newbies like me. It's frustrating on both ends because I'm sure my team wanted a better teammate than me, and there's not much I can learn when I'm getting handled by vets despite my best efforts.
Was that just a fluke, or is this something that commonly happens where skill levels are wildly unbalanced in matchmaking?

 

[Haly]

Haly really makes me want to play him again and own him


HARD.

Who were you last night?

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

I'm pretty sure I played Earthshaker yesterday with the old model...

This new one is amazing, fucking love it.

 

[Ken]

I don't understand the long lane thing. Is the long lane where you want to send the solo laner, but the long lane is top for the Dire and bot for Radiant? So you end up with 1v2 situations a lot or...?

 

[TommyT]

I don't understand the long lane thing. Is the long lane where you want to send the solo carry, but the long lane is top for the Dire and bot for Radiant?

You have that backwards. Long lane for Dire is the bottom lane and for Radiant it's the top lane. You want to send someone there who will not die (first priority), get gold, and get exp... without dieing.

edit: This is known as the 3 position, hard lane, off lane, and/or suicide lane.

 

[Haly]

I don't understand the long lane thing. Is the long lane where you want to send the solo laner, but the long lane is top for the Dire and bot for Radiant? So you end up with 1v2 situations a lot or...?

The lanes are radially symmetric, not mirrored across the river.

I personally dislike "long lane" because it's somewhat ambiguous, since "long" refers to the distribution of towers, and not the length of the lane which is more or less equal. I prefer easy-lane/safe-lane and hard-lane/suicide-lane.

 

[JustinBB7]

I don't understand the long lane thing. Is the long lane where you want to send the solo laner, but the long lane is top for the Dire and bot for Radiant? So you end up with 1v2 situations a lot or...?

Suicide/Off-lane are better names indeed.

 

[Des0lar]

I don't understand the long lane thing. Is the long lane where you want to send the solo laner, but the long lane is top for the Dire and bot for Radiant? So you end up with 1v2 situations a lot or...?

The safe lane is where you send your carry most of the time, because it gives you easier access to farm. Top for dire, Bot for radiant. In pub games, you will seldomly send your carry alone but with a support who can keep him from being dived and killed.

Many times, especially if a team has a jungler, this lane will face a solo hero. These are called offlaners. They go 1v2, but the goal is not to kill, but to grab as much XP as possible and surviving means doing well. Just don't die as a offlaner. The typical offlaner has skills to prevent being killed to easily, like invis, blinks, burrows, stuns....Most of the times these heroes don't need a lot of gold, but just want to level fast so they can start ganking/roaming. Escept for Dark Seer. This motherfucker ruins every lane haha

 

[Ken]

So what does that mean for who to send to each lane? Does the solo laner go suicide lane?

^ is there only one carry per game usually?

 

[la_briola]

I hate d2l.

<dota2lounge.com>

Bots are currently offline, they are unable to connect to steam servers.

For like two hours now.

 

[Emerson]

People who actually decline matchmaking games should probably be put to death. Why does this even happen?

 

[snack]

People who actually decline matchmaking games should probably be put to death. Why does this even happen?

Frustrating! I feel ya.

 

[Anteo]

People who actually decline matchmaking games should probably be put to death. Why does this even happen?

Accidents happen

 

[MKAllDay]

People who actually decline matchmaking games should probably be put to death. Why does this even happen?

I know there have been a couple times where a friend logged on/accepted a party invite right around when my queue popped and so I or another party member have declined.

Though those situations are rare so I do not know why it happens as often as it does.

 

[Haly]

So what does that mean for who to send to each lane? Does the solo laner go suicide lane?

^ is there only one carry per game usually?

Speaking from the radiant side:

Lanes (top-mid-bot) are usually 2-1-2 or 1-1-2 + Jungle. 1-1-3 (called a trilane) is also common but only in parties of 3-5 because of the coordination involved. There is also a 1-2-2 comp, which is a fringe strat that puts the hard carry mid and assigns them a baby sitter who also doubles as a roamer/ganker. It's intended to throw off typical team comps by forcing them to shuffle their lanes.

You almost always want your hardest carry to be in the safe lane. Sometimes you'll have two people in the hard lane, sometimes one. That's why it's also called the suicide lane, because you're basically being sacrificed so the jungler/trilane can do their thing. There are specific heroes that are suited to being suicides, specifically ones with a lot of mobility early game.

Teams are often described by assigning a number, 1-5, to each player where 1 means they get the most priority on farm, while 5 means they get the least priority on farm. In a typical team comp you'll have:

1 - Hard Carry
2 - Mid/Semi-carry/Jungler
3 - Mid/Semi-carry/Initiator/Jungler
4 - Initiator/Soft Support/Roamer
5 - Roamer/Soft Support/Hard Support