First foray in to Pro Dota: It's Exciting AND Boring?

I've dabbled in to watching Pro Dota ever since TI3 but have never really gotten in to it. Until recently. This month I probably watch at least 2 pro games a day. I find it really thrilling to watch. The ganks, the strategy, the skill. I watched one guy play as Meepo and I swear it looked like 3 people were playing Meepo at the same time.

However it is also kind of boring because they all choose the same characters and it plays out as the same match. From watching this month, all I really see is: Lycan, Ember Spirit, Batrider, AA, Mirana, Naga, Nyx, Invoker, Rubick, and Doom. I may be forgetting some more but what makes it boring is they only choose these characters.

So here is my question: do pro Dota scenes have these trends or is from the updates? Or both? I like to think a lot of it has to do with updates but AA has gone from never picked to picked in almost every game but his ulti hasn't changed since 6.78. So why now is he such hot ****? Or for that matter, Batrider got a big nerf on the grab distance of his Lasso but yet he is still played a lot.

I find this all pretty fascinating stuff. Just in general what are your thoughts on trends in pro dota?

Yeah, it's a combination of both, obviously, new OP Heroes like Ember Spirit are going see a lot of play. Naga was originally a Top Tier Carry for her ability to Farm and Split-Push with a Radiance build, then she got Nerfed and disappeared from the Meta, then she was a surprisingly strong Mid Hero in one of the Star Ladders (around 6.78), then she was a Top Tier Support during TI3, then she dropped again, and now she's back as a Carry....and a Mid.

Same thing happenned with Treant Protector a while back, Living Armour got reworked, everyone knew he was OP, but it still took time for him to suddenly appear as the new Top Tier Support...until he got Nerfed. Sometimes the Meta is slow to catch on.

It's true you have to Blink right on top of them now, but that doesn't rule him out as a good Initiator. Batrider used to be the most OP Hero in the Meta, hence the massive Banhammer strikes.

You'll either see the same boring thing you see in many other matches, or something crazy and illogical like Mjollnir on Axe. 8{3

I think that the current meta is a lot more entertaining then the 6.78 ti3 meta.
During that time batrider was picked or banned literally 100% of the time for several months straight.

In 6.78 12 heroes were picked more then 60% of the time.
In 6.80 its only 6 heroes more then 60%.

In 6.78 the only offlaners were basicly batrider, dark seer, prophet. And they would always just go into the jungle. With sometimes clockwerk, bounty hunter or timbersaw.
And the supports just used to pull and get as much out of the jungle, while nowadays they also gank a lot.
The hard carries where also a lot the same, naix, gyro, weaver, alc, anti mage.

There are also pretty much no WTF picks anymore. Apart from bloodseeker, spirit breaker, and phantom assasin becouse they are bad.

I kind of thought on it at work and I think the most popular strategy right now is for the quick, early gank.

And also people are starting to realize how useful global skills are, which is why I believe AA, Invoker, Mirana, and Treant have become more popular. To be a presence in a battle when not actually in the battle can be the difference between losing the battle or losing it.

With the emergence of love for the global skills, and how well it work with ganks, I think that is why these heroes are getting so much love.

Those points don't help Lycan but he is straight up OP. And you can't pass up an OP hero. Those wolves at lvl 4 are devastating early game and they allow him to farm so quickly. I'm expecting those wolves to get nerfed in the next update.

Pros are learning to deal with lycan already though.
The last 2 days in starladder he hasnt been particulary impressive. He is still strong though.

If it ain't broke then don't fix it.

Pro teams are not gonna pick something completely crazy in matches in hopes of winning. (Not counting Na'Vi)

Basically the meta of the game shifts after each patch due to certain heroes getting buffed/nerfed. Back in TI3; matches rarely got done quickly. It was rare when matches finished before 30 minutes. Ever since the passive gold buff and the rise of the supports, matches have been able to get finished sooner. So late game carries fell off. That's why you don't see Anti-Mage anymore.

Also; there are just so many heroes that don't synergize well with overall team builds.

There have been some pretty crazy picks.
DK appearently watched n0tail becouse they are also using support meepo.
Wraith king support also sees some play and even sniper gets picked in some games.

DK also destroyed Empire with an aghs Faceless Void + Invoker combo, Burning actually played a different carry each game in the tournament. The meta shifts and Lycan is manageable by a few teams, Dk specifically, who can change their lineup and still pressure early and take control of the map, not allowing Lycan to farm and push. The meta shift isn't as extreme as it was from TI2 to TI3 but the larger hero pool also contributes to that. The meta is based on buffs, nerfs, availability, prevalent strategies, and hero combos (ie.invoker + centaur, mirana+bane) etc.
You will see a handful of heroes disappear than resurface (lycan, naga, Morphling, AA) as well as certain teams picking surprise picks to counter/throw off their opponent (navi, fnatic, DK). Pro dota is a hell of a spectacle at times so keep watching!

That's an interesting argument. I find competitive Dota really exciting, not only for the Hero selection but also for the team composition itself: I once saw a Centaur Warrunner + Slark combo making early ganks and pushing towers after picking off some Heroes; Treant Protector + Ember Spirit is another very common strategy (used a lot by RoX.KIS if I recall correctly) that makes you able to tower dive 5 minutes into the game. I've also seen some Tiny plays without Io, mostly by Fnatic, and even core Leshrac!

The current meta is focused on mid game pushes (Lycanthrope, Nature's Prophet, Clinkz, Treant Protector...) and early ganks or teamfights ( Ember Spirit, Mirana, Invoker, Centaur Warrunner , Doom...). There's also a huge emphasis on the laning, as a winning lane basically grants you an early tower: that's when Dazzle, Ancient Apparition and Mirana shine.

My guess is that Ancient Apparition will fall off the meta within a month. You read it here first.
Oh, and people might realize that Ogre Magi is actually useful, though I doubt it. Morphling is also surprisingly strong.

I'm not so sure about AA "falling off". Maybe he'll get picked a bit less, but he offers too much to dissappear completely again without nerfs.

http://dotabuff.com/matches/616233245

Mirana + Ancient Apparition + Rubick, there's no better Tri-Lane.

P.S. If you want to see a Rubick get a Rampage, watch this match, it's part of the Insomnia51 Tournament though, so you'll probably have to buy a ticket, but it's cheap...although it is only British Doto 8{3

First match I've watched so far, and it pays for the ticket itself! <}3