Guild Reference Guide

Counter-Spell Reference Guide

This is some of my opinion of dota2 team play, I created this for my guild
-Braids


Lanes

Offlane -- Your teams short lane
Safelane -- Your teams long lane
Mid -- Middle lane


Positions

Dual-lane -- 2 hero's in each lane (2 carrys, 2 supports, 1 core)
Trilane -- 3 hero's in 1 lane (1 carry, [2 supports] or [1 support, 1 jungler] and 2 cores)
Offensive -- Opponent's side of the river
Defensive -- Your side of the river
Laning Phase -- Start of the game up until around the 10-15 minute mark
(Make sure you call missing during this time of the game)


Roles

Carry -- Needs gold[items]
(Lanes in Safelane and/or Offlane, never have 2 carrys start the laning phase in the same lane)
Core -- Needs gold[items] and xp[levels]
(Lanes in Mid and Solo lanes, these heros need the lane to themselves during the laning phase)
Support -- Needs xp[levels]
(Lanes in Safelane and/or Offlane, never solo lane during the laning phase)
Jungler -- Starts the laning phase in a teams jungle


Sub-roles

Hard -- Needs to buy Flying Courier, Observer Wards and situationally Dust of Appearance if needed until the laning phase ends
(Start the game with Courier and Observer Wards, give 1 ward to Offlane)
Greedy -- Needs 1 expensive item before laning phase ends, takes over buying consumable items at the end of the laning phase
(Start the game with Smoke of Deceit and Sentry Wards, give 1 ward to Mid)
Roaming/Ganking -- Instead of laning this hero goes around the map influencing area's of interest to benefit the team
(Start the game with Smoke of Deceit and Sentry Wards, give 1 ward to Mid)
Solo -- 1 hero in a side lane
(Needs an escape and/or a way to last hit from a safe distance)
Semi -- A mid-game hero that fills half a role
(Carries the early game after the laning phase until the carry can take over the late game)


Play Types

Rat -- A lineup that relies on heros and items that avoid teamfights and pushing towers faster than the opponent to win the game
Backdoor -- A lineup with 1 hero that pushes empty lanes while the other 4 heros farm and defend towers to steal a win from the opponent
Teamfight -- A lineup that looks for opportunity's to quickly roam and tower dive to overwhelm the opponent as well as counter-initiating when necessary to defend areas of interest


Player Position (1-5)

Position 1 is the carry
Position 2 is the core mid
Position 3 is the solo core hero or semi-carry hero
Position 4 is the greedy hero, roaming/ganking hero or jungler
Position 5 is the hard support


Team Composition

Practices -- Needs to be in captain's mode, there should only be one captain per team
(Do not suggest picks and bans or argue with your captain during game)
Schedule -- Teams need to set aside at least 10 hours a week to play together with an emphasis on learning as much as possible during their time spent together
Topic Discussion -- Pregame time for the captain to go over what he would like team members to practice and work on during their free time as well as what kind of lineups and play style the captain is wanting to tryout
(Do not have open topic discussions during games, the captain can take notes on what he wants worked on after the game for further discussion next practice)
Beginner Practice -- Needs to be in unranked until the team feels comfortable together
Intermediate Practice -- Needs to be in ranked until the team feels accomplished
Advanced Practice -- Needs to be in team ranked


Items

Buyback -- Use this item to re-initiate in a teamfight to ensure a victory as well as to push after a team wipe to win the game, or to backdoor in a base race
(Do not use this item just because you have the extra gold if it doesn't have a positive outcome)
Gem of Truesight -- Keep this item in base until needed
(Used for dewarding and teamfights)
Consumables -- One time use items
(Teleport Scroll[100], Tangos[125], Healing Salve[115], Clarity[50], Observer Wards[150], Sentry Wards[200], Smoke of Deceit[100], Dust of Appearance[180], Courier[150], Flying Courier[220])
Disassembles -- Can be taken apart anytime
Ring of Basilius[525] -- Ring of Protection[200], Sage's Mask[325]
Ring of Aquila[1010] -- Wraith Band[485], Ring of Basilius[525]
Arcane Boots[1450] -- Boots of Speed[450], Energy Booster[1000]
Helm of the Dominator[1850] -- Morbid Mask[900], Helm of Iron Will[950]
Sange and Yasha[4100] -- Yasha[2050], Sange[2050]
Shiva's Guard[4700] -- Platemail[1400], Mystic Staff[2700], Recipe[600]
Ethereal Blade[4900] -- Ghost Scepter[1600], Eaglesong[3300]
Manta Style[4950] -- Yasha[2050], Ultimate Orb[2100], Recipe[800]
Mjollnir[5700] -- Maelstrom[2800], Hyperstone[2000], Recipe[900]
Abyssal Blade[6750] -- Skull Basher[2950], Sacred Relic[3800]


UAM (Unique Attack Modifier) -- Items and abilities that a hero cannot use together at the same time

Items
Orb of Venom[275] - passive, can be stacked with a lifesteal UAM
Morbid Mask[900] - passive
Mask of Madness[1800] - passive
Helm of the Dominator[1850] - passive
Maelstrom[2800] - passive, only considered a UAM when the ability is set off
Diffusal Blade[3150] - passive
Desolator[4100] - passive
Eye of Skadi[5675] - passive, can be stacked with a lifesteal UAM
Mjollnir[5700] - passive, only considered a UAM when the ability is set off
Satanic[6150] - passive

Abilities
Anti-Mage/Mana Break - passive
Broodmother/Incapacitating Bite - passive
Drow Ranger/Frost Arrows - the player has the choice to use or not to use this UAM
Enchantress/Impetus - the player has the choice to use or not use this UAM
Invoker/Forged Spirit:Melting Strike - passive
Jakiro/Liquid Fire - the player has the choice to use or not to use this UAM
Outworld Devourer/Arcane Orb - the player has the choice to use or not to use this UAM
Sand King/Caustic Finale - passive
Silencer/Glaives of Wisdom - the player has the choice to use or not to use this UAM
Viper/Poison Attack - the player has the choice to use or not to use this UAM


*There are a lot of hero's that can play different roles depending on their item and skill builds. This is my attempt to encourage the dota2 enthusiast to use their imagination to try new idea's, distribute hero roles and excel at known lineups. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this.