Before we begin, make sure you’ve read through DotA Beginner’s Guide – Part 1 of this series. Well, now that you have been conveyed the basic idea of the game in brief, I shall now proceed into detailing the various and diverse aspects of this game. The fact that a strong strategy is your ‘primedirective’ has already been stressed in the previous part.
The main characteristic of DotA, above all else, is the different heroes you can choose from. There is a huge array of characters (heroes) in the game, each with his or her own set of skills and combos. We will now take a look at the different classes of heroes in the game and how each type of hero must be handled.
These heroes are the fastest attackers on the map, and are easily able to start the killings in the initial stages of the game. The ranged agility heroes are great at harassing opponents and denying creeps. At times, the game beginnings are entirely dependent on them while the remaining heroes try and level up. The Dwarven Sniper, Venomancer or Drow Ranger are perfect for starters. The melee ones are cool too, and some such as the Bounty Hunter are amazing heroes with their invisibility and wind walking features. A major advantage of an agility hero is that it is easy to control and understand for a beginner. However, many-a-agility heroes have the disadvantage of being fragile and are often good only as supporters. Pitting a weak Agility class hero against a Strength hero in the later stages of the game without backup or a way to run away is nothing but foolhardy. Of course, heroes like Anti-Mage and Bloodseeker level up to be formidable enemies, but playing them requires a good level of mastery.
Intelligence Heroes
This class of heroes includes characters with a good deal of mana at their disposal. Intelligence heroes are great both as support and as solo killers. Lina has a very powerful nuke and can stun multiple heroes in an area for a good deal of time, leaving them vulnerable to attack from her allies. The invoker is often useful for his versatile nature. Bane elemental can eliminate even the toughest of opponents with ease. A common trait, observable from the above examples, of the intelligence heroes is their ability to trap opponents and render them defenseless. Also, many of them can heal their allies, an often helpful characteristic. Therefore, intelligence heroes are often used by players to support the strength heroes who can deal massive damage and finish of enemies quickly. For some beginners, the intelligence heroes may be as comfortable to play with as the agility heroes or even better.
Strength Heroes
As the name would aptly suggest, the strength heroes are the pillars of any DotA clan team. Known as Carries, they become very powerful in the later stages of the game, majorly because of the huge health bar. A strength hero well played can tilt the game in his favor against insane odds. Strength heroes can take and deal massive damage, once an opponent falls into their grip. Pudge is one of the most feared heroes in this category mainly because of its meat hook which can pull an enemy from a distance right into the middle of an ally get-together. The Sand King has the ability to stun an enemy and create a high intensity earth-quake which mostly kills any character in its wake. Barathrum, controlled with good skill, can be the most intimidating hero in the entire game. Moreover, most of the strength heroes are able to run faster than other heroes. It is to be noted however, that strength heroes are only able to dominate in the later stages of the game, and must be well farmed in order to be powerful. Hence, they are only well controlled by experienced players and do not suit beginners very well.
Even after understanding the categories of players, be warned that some heroes are dominating in front of certain opponents but weak in comparison to some. Also, when choosing heroes for a team, some heroes best support a few heroes and do not accompany a few quite so well. These details can only be figured out after playing multiple games with different combinations of heroes. And I wish u the best for the same.
