Anybody have some tips for starting with Dota 2?
* Don't play with Gaffers, its worse than playing with randoms. I'm not trying to stir the pot, but you will get called all sorts of names by them.
* Play Bot matches to learn the basic mechanics and how each hero works so you can counter and use them
* Recommend item builds are a good place to start for newbies (try and get some boots with each hero)
* Play in Practice matches to start with as thats what they are their for. Get some experience before going into matchmaking.
* Watch some streams or in game matches to learn how things work. Observation is a good learning tool.
* Don't be afraid to ask questions in a Practice match.
* Runes spawn every 2 minutes in the river (either top or bottom). Runes are basically temporary power ups
* If playing a support hero buy Vision Wards or a courier, the gold investment is beneficial to the team.