The Possibilities - How to play like a pro

Being in the 50th percentile of the great Dota 2 player base, accented as "Normal", doesn't mean that you need to play like an average player. In fact, one of the reasons you continue playing Dota 2 (enjoyment hopefully being the most important reason), is to improve yourself. What better way than to watch the pros do it.

There is various ways to do this. Going on Twitch.tv will give you various streams that you can watch which features all the major tournament games between pro Dota teams. All games of the large Dota 2 tournament hosted by Valve, The International, is free to watch inside the client itself. Not only is this a lot of fun, its a great way to learn tactics that you otherwise wouldn't normally encounter in public games.

But just because you only play soloques doesn't mean that you have to play like a solo quer. That extra TP support, that random call for a smoke gank. It can all help you and your team improve and win, even if it might not always synchronize well with other player's idea of playing.

Some advanced "pro" techniques to consider practicing.
- Help your team mates immediately. If you see a gank happening, TPing in instantly can mean the difference between losing the gank, or performing a successful counter-gank. Or at least saving your carry.
- Buy wards as a support. Really its obvious, but I'm still surprised at how many games have no courier for 5 minutes, and no flying courier at the end of the game. Wards are also super important to get that anti-gank vision. If you play a support hero, try to resist the urge to make a Carry Crystal Maiden, and buy that extra ward or sentry to detect that enemy Riki.
- Protect your towers. They are the most important part of this game. If you are going to lose a Tier 3 tower you need to get there and defend it. Even Tier 1 towers have importance in keeping map control and leaving your enemies farther away from their goal of killing your Ancient. TP in when you see your tower dying. It has feelings too.
- Prioritize. In everything. If you have to sacrifice a Tier 1 tower to take down a Tier 3, then the trade-off is worth it. Having your 5th slot Hard-Support die to save your ganked Carry is a worthy trade-off. Sacrificing a hero to take out both of the enemies' barracks is a worthy sacrifice. But having your carry die because you chased a kill on an enemy Support is a fairly big no-no.

I hope you'll go watch some pro games, even if only on Youtube. Familiarizing yourself with the nuances of pro play will help you become better yourself. Trust me. ;)

Thanks for reading!

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In the spirit of helping average players become better, I'll list some guides I read here on Dotafire that I find interesting and informative.
This time its the Full Support Guide by Sando.
Read it and you'll find a lot of useful info on playing a Support. Some people would say that the support is the most important part of a team, because without them, the Carry can't get farm to dominate mid/lategame.

A Full Support Guide - Beginner to Intermediate