I would like some helps on playing dota better.

(Not sure if this belong in the mentor section, but since this is the general discussion, might as well post it here.)

Hi guys.

I have been playing dota for 2 years now, I have more than a thousand games and my win/loss ratio is about 3:2, and my current mmr is 3024. I'm not new to dota and I'm quite good in terms of number crunching, when to initiate, etc. And I used to thought that I was at least decent and dreamt of the 4k just like any other 3k players.


After losing 3 game with a very negative K-D-A, I feel that the problem to losing, might be me.

I'm very optimistic and never gives up, in fact the most said sentence I say every game is to not give up, but even I can't take myself seriously since most of the time I'm the one with the most death. The person with the most death telling his team not to give up? What a joke. Every game I tell myself to play safe because 80% of my matches have a negative K-D-A, but I always end up with more deaths than kills and assists.

I feel lost, really lost. More than when I first entered dota. Sure, dota is complex to get into, but back then, everything was fresh to me, everything was a learning experience. Now, I feel like I have no places to get better, which is obviously wrong, but I don't know how and where to learn anymore.

I've read many guides, watched many videos, and even tried to absorb those massive wall of text guide to everything, but I just can't force myself to read all that. It makes me feel like I'm memorizing off a text book and expect myself to still remember all those facts years later.

I'm not sure what to do now, and now that school is here, I have less time to play dota, possibly a game per day.

Positioning, when to do what, where to be, these three area are my weakness.

It's like there's a trillions buttons that I can press, 1 of them is the correct one, and no matter what button you press, you will go to the next stage without knowing you make the right choice or not, and that stage have another trillions button. It repeats like that until the game is over.

Should I just abandon rank and try to learn while playing pubs? Should I try to play specific roles and only those roles? What should I do? Any kind of helps would be hugely appreciated.

Being a 1K PubScrub myself, with ambitions of, really, any competent MMR, I feel your pain.

But, I think I might try and lend some advice anyway. It's your call on if you want to trust it.

Basically, in every game, before it begins, take a look at the teams and see what you need to look out for. If you're a Storm Spirit in lane, and you get hit by a Sacred Arrow, you're dead. Once that Sand King gets his Blink Dagger, he'll be looking to gank you.

At the same time, see who you can kill. Know the strengths of your heroes, and realize the exact moment when pickoffs are possible. If you're a Windranger offlane, and a CM walks into the middle of a pushing wave, they're dead.

If the heroes that you're worried about all show on the other side of the map, feel free to farm aggressively or try and go for a solo kill if they can't TP support.

Stuff like that. If you're playing support, it's different too, and if you're playing Offlane, realize when it's advantageous to leave your lane and don't feed.

Party up with better players who are above 4.2k+. Not someone who gets to a certain point like 4, 4.5, 5k and sits there I mean an actual player who tries to climb and is able to stay consistently 4+ or 5k+. I would advocate to watch your own replays but you probably don't know what to look for aside from the obvious. Based on what you said so far though, you probably need to work on positioning above all else but without a replay to see or a dotabuff/relevant stat page to look at nobody can help you that much.

What heroes are you playing? What's your average GPM relative to the position/role you play? Are you getting the core/ideal items at a consistent timeframe? Are you rotating, ganking and carrying tps? Are you stacking jungle? Are you farming jungle? Are you being efficient? These are the questions you should be asking yourself but do each one at a single time until you don't even think about it anymore.

If you have the Reborn client, I highly recommend you play Solo/5v5v5s mode. Overthrow is really good at refining mechanics so if you think you're lacking in that (which I think you are) you should practice in it. Above 4.3k, how teams win are based heavily on decision making while having decent mechanics.

Thank you so much for the reply! I don't really take mmr seriously before 4k so we're equal. :) I will try to work on the when to be aggressive and when to back down, thank you for the tips!



Thanks for the advice! As for dotabuff, here's mine: dotabuff.com/players/141193229
I don't have a 4k+ friend so I'll probably scratch that idea lol.
I been playing a lot of support/mid lately, only one game of carry (my last match) and if it wasn't for the other carrys in my team we probably would have lost. My GPM and getting core item in timeframe probably isn't too exciting, in fact, most of my support match I have nothing but brown boots. I try to rotate but I don't think I'm doing it at the right time, ganking I try to do as much as possible and I mostly carry a tp. I only stack ancient and if I were right there at the right time I would stack it. I will try to play some overwatch in the future, thanks for that tip as well!

I SheepCrys!

I mostly play support so I know the struggle, KDA is not always on our side. But looking at your Dotabuff you are indeed dying a bit too much, and I since I have more or less the same experience as you have (been playing for two years as well), I'm gonna try to give my piece of advise also (my dotabuff: http://www.dotabuff.com/players/175327573, although recently I've been away from the supports and noobing a lot in consequence :D)

Let's focus on a problem at a time: dying too much seems to be the main problem now. How does one normally die less?

Positioning. If you're playing with a support, you're probably squishy, and you're probably the one being focused first in teamfights and being ganked. How can you remedy this?
a) be less squishy (buy survival items);
b) don't be in front when a teamfight occcurs;
c) make sure to have vision - Observer Wards in key points so you're not ganked as much or you see the gank coming.

If you have disables you can also try to have these leveled up asap so they help you escape hairy situations.

A specific example: this game (http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/1777945692) where you were Crystal Maiden (a hero I feel very comfortable talking about).

She's one of the toughest supports to play because she's so squishy and slow. Just by looking at your skill/item build I know you could have done some things better:

• Level up Frostbite first. They have a lot of heroes that will mess with your positioning or that can nuke you down if given the time to do so, and the only real disable on your team is the unreliable Sacred Arrow, so if you max this skill asap you can help Mirana land those arrows, and stop for instance Leshrac from approching everybody to deal his proximity damage.
• Buy wards, sentries and dust, at all stages of the game - Bounty Hunter is completely nullified if you see him in advance.
• Buy an item that makes you more beefy, like a Bracer or/and an Urn of Shadows. This way you're harder to "nuke" down.
• Before buying something like a Pipe of Insight for your team, consider a positioning item. CM is useless without it unless it's a really easy game. If you don't have a Force Staff, you won't be able to escape anyone that's running besides you, let alone be behind in teamfights and come in at the right moment. Also be a bit more selfish: you're the hard 5, granted, but you can't be doing aura and block items for your team if that means you're feeding (also what good are those items if you're dead). This game you really needed a Force Staff and a Glimmer Cape, which would certainly help you survive more.
• Never, ever, initiate a fight, or come rushing into one that's developping. If you're a well intentioned support but that is not working out for you because you rush in to help and you die, try to think like a greedy core who just wants to get the last hit - get in when most disables have been used, and don't go in the middle of the fray, try to help in a distance with your spells. Even if this in the first games makes you feel useless and you're flammed, you will die less, and gradually you will learn better when you can/should risk it more and when you shouldn't.

I would say an excellent improvement should be finishing with a KDA along the lines of whateva-5-15. If you manage to do this, you're in a good place. To consistently improve you should, indeed, concentrate in only one hero, one that you like a lot, do 10 games with him bearing this in mind and see if you're not improving. I would also advice staying out of initiators and tanks, because you're probably too reckless now and you should learn how to stay back before relerning how to go manly all in :)

Hope these help as well! Good luck.

Looking at the 3 games you mentioned, your Item choices look like they need improvement. Overall, you seem to favour rushing bigger, flashier Items over cheaper Items.

http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/1779826974

For example, in this game, you rushed an Aghanim's Scepter on Zeus. Aghs provides a bit more damage to your Ult as well as some Stats, but it has a very minor impact in this game. If you were looking to get more damage in Teamfights, a Veil of Discord would have done much more work for a lot less Gold.

To be honest though, a Eul's Scepter of Divinity would have achieved a lot more this game. Eul's on Zeus is a great Defensive Item allowing you to disrupt the other team, e.g. after Lina tries to Eul's you into Light Strike Array, you can immediately Eul's yourself again to dodge it (just make sure to wait until you see the actual Nuke as doing it as soon as you see the animation gies her time to cancel and use your own Eul's to land it). You can also use it on Legion Commander or Bristleback after they activate Blademail. You can even dispel Guardian Angel with it (provided the target isn't Repeled).


http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/1779777825

I'm not entirely sure what the Soul Ring is for, with careful Mana Management, you shouldn't need any Regen on Axe aside from a few Claritys here and there. Ultimately, this is slowing down your Blink Dagger.


http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/1777945692

In this game, you chose to Farm a [Pipe of Insight]] on Crystal Maiden. If you're having issues with the other Team's Magic Damage, a Glimmer Cape can get a lot of work done for a lot less Gold. If you're dying to Magic damage as well, then a Bracer or 2 to Tank up is usually a good idea.

I notice you play a lot of very different heroes. Try to stick to as few heroes as possible and learn how to play them properly, the extends of what their abilities do, the limits of the hero, advantages and disadvantages against certain matchups etc.
Watching pro players on the heroes you chose if those are among their signature heroes is a great way of learning the things mentioned above.

Start off with one hero that you like and spam it like crazy... you will get better with it eventually.
Then hop on to another one...

It is also important to know the role that you are willing to play like carry, support, offlane, mid and play heroes in its accordance. It wont do you any good if you are playing Lion in one game and antimage on the other one

...from now on, if I lock a thread and don't say why, it's because it's a necro

P.S. pls no more necroes T-T