A Complete Beginner Here

Hey, everyone!

I'm completely new to this type of gaming. Although I've been playing video games ever since I was a kid, I've never touched anything in the realm of MOBA, MMO, etc. The closest I've ever come to then would be The Elder Scrolls (not the new online version) and Fallout, but those are technically RPG.

When I was browsing through Steam looking for some new and interesting games to play, I came across DOTA 2, which was marked as free to play. I did some basic research and decided I'd give it a try to see what it was all about, and I have to admit, I kinda like it! The problem is that I completely suck at it.

I've done all of the training that there is to offer, and played my first multiplayer match not too long ago, and I didn't do very well. From what I've read, that's to be expected, but I've decided that I want to stick to playing against the bots until I'm experienced and comfortable enough to play multiplayer without dragging the rest of my team down.

To do that, I need to read through some guides; as many as I can find, if that's what it takes. I'm not worried about the controls or anything; I've gotten the hang of those. What I'm looking for are guides for everything else; . How to farm, how to play your character effectively, which characters are best for new players, etc. As much knowledge as I can take in, the better, whether it's written or in a YouTube video.

Can you guys help me with that? If there's a section for that sort of thing here on the site, on another site, etc, I'd appreciate links! :)

TL;DR - I'm new and need links to as many reputable guides, tutorials, glossaries, etc. as I can find so I can learn how to become a good player.

this is the best site to learn and improve on your game.
we have very experienced moderators and veterans who will be willing to play with you so that they can instruct you in-game.

our guides are flawless and varied in their build and items to adjust to your play-style.

we have many forum games and discussions which are vital to your knowledge building.

Well, Purge's guide is the normal place to start, but I get the feeling you've already read it X{D

TIME FOR SHAMELESS ADVERTISING!!!

I'd also check some of Sando's Guides. There'll be a few he's made that should help you. 8{)

My advice would be to take it one step at a time, learning to get 1 general skill down before trying to learn the next, e.g. Map Awareness, Last Hitting, Adapting your Skill and Item Builds, etc.

Try to stick to a few Heroes that you find fun and easy to play ( Lion with Finger of Death is always fun). <}3

Let me just copy this post i wrote a while ago on this forum.

If you want to play the game for a prolonged period of time and get semi-decent/good in your matchmaking pool i would follow these steps:


Step 1: Read welcome to dota 2 you suck. http://www.purgegamers.com/welcome-to-dota-you-suck
Everyone who gets into the game should read this.

Step 2: Play every single hero, or atleast the ones you think are interesting. If you dont play all heroes then get to know them by watching all 107 of dotacinema's hero spotlight video's that explain hero skills but not the hero themselves in about 2 minutes.
Learn the standard hero roles and pick according to that.

Step 3: Play a lot of dota. Get good at some heroes and try to play any role to some extent.

Step 4: Read a lot of guides and people's responses to them. Try to think for yourself why a certain build is better in a specific situation. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DONT (BLINDLY) FOLLOW THE STANDARD RECCOMENDED ITEMS IN THE GAME!!!!!11!!!!!111!
Learn basic hero synergy and why certain heroes are better in certain situations.

Step 5: Watch the competitive scene. This will help you massively in understanding the game. From items to skill builds to why a certain hero is so good in a certain situation.
I have been watching it since before the international 2013 in August and i still learn things and get better at the game from watching it.



You can stop at any step but that will mean that your progression will stall and you will hardly get better. Atleast relative to your matchmaking pool.
See for yourself how much you want to commit to dota.


Wow lazy of me huh. :P

I dont know what region you are from but you can add me anyway if you want any help with the game. http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198063345537
I play in europe west.

I can help you as well.

Add me if you want: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198074194137/

Same, but I can easily play in EU East or US East as well

http://steamcommunity.com/id/xyru3/

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198068218678 Here you can add me as well and a I'll give you all the help you need. I can play on EU West and East and US East.

I had a feeling this was a great forum to learn about the game from. :)


I'll take a look at the guides you linked and see what I can learn from them! I agree that learning each skill one by the one is probably the best way to go about this. As for playing Heroes that I find fun, so far I really like playing Sniper, but I don't use him well at all according to those on my team in the match I played. :/


Thanks for the information! I'll take a look at that guide you linked me to, but as for "reading a lot of guides," I have to find the guides first, haha. That's partially what this post was for; finding links to reputable and reliable guides. :P

I'm located in New York State, so my primary region is US East, but I can play US West with a ping only a little over 100. I don't know what my ping would be like in the European regions; probably not great, haha.


Thanks!


Thanks!


Thanks!

Hey,
Another guide that might be helpful;
http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide/learning-the-ropes-a-beginners-guide-to-dota-8
Also for guides on heroes and other stuff read Sando's and Peppo_oPaccio's.

Thanks for the links! I'll give them a read. :)