Dota 101 for the Young Dota-er

Introduction

Hello Everyone! My name is Akar and this guide is written to all you new DoTA-ers. (What else could I say?) As I myself was once a "noob" I knew exactly what it feels like to not know which hero to pick. What items to get, and if I get the same items all the time? These are all things we will cover as well as a few other things. Please read the guide in the order that the chapters are listed. There is a reason for that.

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-A lot of work and time went into this guide so if you like this guide or if it helped you, please give it a +1. Thanks!

Terminology

You may be new, you may not know what the heck you are doing, but at least you can sound like you do(or at least try). Terminology may be the most complicated thing in Dota(apart from actually playing the game). It can also be very confusing if some is shouting in their mic: "DEFEND TOP! NO NO NO! THATS BOT! THE PA IS PUSHING THE TOWER!!!!! STOP GETTING CS AND GET UP HERE!!!" And that's where you need the *drumroll please* ALL POWERFUL TWO-WORD ABBREVIATIONS! here is a short (no promises) list on some of the abbreviations that you will need to know.

Top - The lane that runs through the top part of the map.

Mid - The lane that runs through the middle of the map.

Bot - The lane that runs through the bottom of the map

CS - Creep Score; the number of last hits you have. (i.e. "I have 5 CS")

AoE - Area of Affect; a spell that can his multiple targets in an area. (i.e.

Call Down

Miss - Missing; when an enemy hero is not in their lane. (i.e. "Lina miss")

Gank - When a hero leaves their lane to attack another lane from the side and/or the behind

Harass - Dealing damage to an enemy hero forcing them to retreat and/or keep them from getting last hits

Juke - Moving to a position in trees where an enemy can't see you.(Used when on low health to teleport Away.

TP - Using a Town Portal Scroll to teleport away.

You may find abbreviations like PA, AC that may stand for a hero or item. To figure out who/what it is talking about take their initials such as Phantom Assassin which would be PA or Assault Cuirass which would be AC.

AM -

Anti-Mage

BB -

Bristleback

BKB -

Black King Bar


There are a few more but these are a few you need to know. You will also learn more as your Dota skills progress.

Items

Before I get into heroes at all, I would like to talk about items. When you first start playing, you will notice a box on the side of your shop window with some recommended items. When you first start out playing a hero, it's ok to use these once or twice. But eventually you will want to create what is called a build. Basically, a build is a set of items that you will build throughout the game. However, as you get better in the game, you will not need item builds. Why? because EVERY GAME IS DIFFERENT. You may need to buy different items depending on your needs, what heroes you are playing against, etc.

(Edit: builds also tell you which skills to level)

Making Builds

Here is a video on how to create a build.

Thanks to ZedOnTheReg for making this video! Play Video
Here is another video showing how to enable your build

Thanks to Frozen Brains for making this video! Play Video

Heroes You Should Know

This chapter is not about heroes you should play, but heroes you should take note on when they are picked in a match.

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Also check out HamsterTamer's guide on: Countering Common Pubstomp Heroes.

- Pudge: You most likely have seen him in matches already. You may have also noticed that he always goes to the middle lane. Pudge is one of the best (if not THE best) Gankers in the game. You will find his hook extremely annoying. They big mistake a lot of new players make when running way from him is running in a straight line and hoping he'll miss his hook. Instead, you should be running in a random pattern so he won't know where to cast his hook.

- Slardar: You won't see him pick much in pub matches but he can get pretty annoying. His ability, Amplify Damage looks like a wierd cloud above you and will minus armor from you (making you take more damage from rightclicks) and give true sight of you wherever you are. I didn't know this when I was first playing and if I was to tell you one thing it would be not to be where your team is if you are going to initiate a fight. It will give your whole team away the the enemy.

- Riki: I will talk about Riki later but I am going to touch on him quickly now. This guy can be a pain. But countering him can be a piece of cake. Sentry Ward and Gem of True Sight can help but in my opinion Dust of Appearance is the best counter. (Heroes like Bounty Hunter and Slardar can counter him as well) He is only strong when you are running from him.(because of Backstab) If you man up and face him head-on than he puts out hardly any damage.

- Lich: The only thing I want to note about is Lich's ultimate: Chain Frost. It can be annoying especially when he has an Aghanim's Scepter. The only way to counter is is to spread out until everyone is out of range.

- Lone Druid: The only thing that makes Lone Druid good is his bear. All things that are useful will go to the bear. KILL THE BEAR!

Heroes NOT to play (as a beginner)

I know, I know, you're shouting at your computer to get to the heroes I can actually PLAY! The reason for this is you are going to read the list of heroes to play and go off and not come back here and read this section and start playing heroes that develop bad habits. Now; you will see these heroes played in public(pub) matches and owning everyone. However, Dota is not about getting kills. You DON'T need kills to win. I can't stress this enough. You will want to go out and play Riki every game but that develops bad habits. (I'm using Riki but any "noob" hero can be interchanged) Riki is like a drug, it will feel good and you cant stop. But in fact there are other heroes that you could play instead and widen your variety, overall making you a better Dota player. So; I hope that did not seem too long but I wanted to give you an over of the big mistakes players make in Dota.

- Riki: You knew he would be on the top of the list didn't you. The reason I put him here is because he develops bad habits. With Permanent Invisibility you can basically go wherever you want.(As long as they don't have detection) and if you think that if you are playing another hero you can be setting your self up to fail. He may get kills, but Dota is not about getting kills. It't about getting better.

- Alchemist: I put this hero on the list is because you need to be able to last-hit quite well. He does not develop bad habits he will just be difficult to play.

- Morphling: He is characterized by his manipulation of Strength and Agility Stats. This can be confusing at first so I don't recommend him as a beginner hero.

- Sniper: I put him on the list but this is not a definite DO NOT PLAY warning. He does not really develop bad habits but he is quite hard to stop playing. Try to exercise self control when temped to play him.

- Bloodseeker: This guy is almost as bad a Riki. I wouldn't say he teaches you bad habits but you rely on his Thirst. Which reveals enemy heroes on low health. Plus, he is easily countered by Abaddon.

- Spectre: Basically for the same reasons as Alchemist. You need to be able to last-hit well.

- Ursa: I wouldn't say he develops bad habits but he is very tempting to pick. He is also very counterable with Blademail.

- Meepo: With him you can possibly have 7 versions of yourself and if one of them dies you all die. He is very hard to micro-manage.

- Invoker: He can have ten skills at his disposal but you have to remember the combinations which can he very difficult. (even for me :D)

- Faceless Void: Again, you need to be able to last-hit well.

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You may have noticed that there are a few heroes that you can play later on but not when you are first starting out.

Heroes TO play

Are you happy now? We finally got the part where you are going to know which heroes to play. Due to the length that the guide would be; I can't put a whole guide in this one guide. However Peppo_o'Paccio and Sando make great guides for so many heroes and in my opinion they are two of the best guide creators on the website. So here we go!

Sven

Sven is a great hero to start off with because all you really have to do is Storm Hammer use God's Strength and you're golden.(Actually you turn red so I guess I have to correct that.

Pros

+Has a stun that deals AoE stun and damage
+Ultimate more than DOUBLES current damage
+Has decent armor throughout the game
+Built in cleave
+Great survivability
+Stun cannot be dodged by blinking, teleporting, etc.

Cons

-Needs farm to get going
-Cannot initiate easily(Can get burst down before he gets to the fight)

Centaur Warrunner

Centaur Warrunner is not normally seen on the "beginner heroes" list. But I think he is pretty standard to play and has great initiation and chase abilities with Stampede.

Pros

+Good AoE stun
+Ultimate is good for initiation, chasing, and escape.
+ Double Edge is great for securing close kills
+Good survivability

Cons

-Heavy mana issues early game
-Can get blamed for killstealing with Double Edge

Wraith King

I think Wraith King is a great hero when you first start playing Dota because he only has one active skill(meaning you have to press a key to activate it), Wraithfire Blast. It is a decent stun with a cooldown of 8 seconds.

Pros

+Only one active skill you have to focus on
+All you have to do is stun then rightclick away!
+Ultimate Reincarnation is basically a free Aegis of the Immortal
+Good movement speed from level one

Cons

-Needs items to solo kills
-Does not have a good escape ability

Juggernaut

Juggernaut is a great all-around hero. You see him played in pubs, ranked matches, and even some tournaments. He is a great ganker because of Healing Ward. You can gank one lane, heal up, than gank another. Or if you just barely escaped a fight than you quickly heal up than get back in there.

Pros

+Basically free health
+ Blade Fury is a good escape due to free magic immunity*
+Omnishlash at level 3 with Aghanim's Scepter you can pretty much solo kill two semi-squishy heroes.

Cons

-Very mana dependent early game
-Omnishlash makes random, unpredictable jumps(like Lich's Chain Frost

*: I'm not sure if this is true but if you activate Blade Fury and than a TP scroll. you cannot be stunned to cancel your teleport.(although there may be spells that pierce the magic immunity)

Razor

Razor is by far one of the best gankers, mid laners, and teamfighters in the game. There are so many ways to go about playing him so he can be very versatile. However I need to note that he is a good early-mid game carry but he drops off late game. You will need another carry(such as Sniper) to help carry at the latter of the game.

Pros

+Has great AoE and teamfight skills
+Does well in solo situations as well in the middle of a fight
+ Eye of the Storm will deal damage to towers if an Aghanim's Scepter is picked up. Making him a good late-game pusher.
+Can quite literally steal damage from enemies for himself


Cons

-Very mana dependent early game
-Somewhat squishy throughout the game

Crystal Maiden

Crystal Maiden is one of the greatest support heroes is the game. She has pretty much anything you want. Slows, disables, more mana regen, big teamfight ultimate. Yep, thats Crystal Maiden

Pros

+Anything your team wants, she has it
+ Arcane Aura buffs the whole team wherever they are
+ Frostbite not only disables the enemy over time; but does damage as well.

Cons

-She is as slow as ****

Windranger

Windranger (formally Windrunner) is played in almost any role. She has great escape and pushing power(With Powershot and Focus Fire)

Pros

+A well positioned Shackleshot can disable two enemies at once
+Good pushing power
+ Shackleshot is good for securing close kills

Cons

-Mana issues

Lich

Lich is a great support because Chain Frost can wreck teamfights and with an Aghanim's Scepter, it will bounce forever or until the enemies are out of range

Pros

+Pretty much infinite mana with Sacrifice
+Gives free amour to everyone
+Ultimate, Chain Frost does INSANE damage with Aghanim's Scepter
+Good movement speed

Cons
-No cons

Lion

Lion is a support but with his skillset it doesn't really look like that.(Exept Hex) He is a nuker with HUGE 1v1 potential.

Pros

+Can 1v1 pretty much anyone and win
+Who need a Scyth of Vyse when you have a free Hex?
+ Mana Drain is good for harass and keeping your mana full
+ Finger of Death does insane damage with or without an Aghanim's Scepter

Cons

-Tends to killsteal with Finger of Death

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this guide everyone! I hope it helped in one way or another. Some of you may feel like I missed some heroes on the list but I think that any more would be overwhelming. A lot of work went into this guide so please leave a +1 if you liked it or it helped you in any way.

Thanks!