A free-to-play MOBA game

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena game, where teams of five fight each other in an attempt to destroy the other’s “Ancient Fortress”. The main fighting takes place between these two bases in lanes with defensive towers that must first be destroyed. The game has a variety of cosmetics that can fit any style if you’re willing to spend the money on each item.

Many champions

Dota 2 is a sequel to what was once a mode in Warcraft 3 and has improved in many areas since that mod first went live. The game uses many technical mechanics during player combat that can be confusing to new players and is one of the reasons for the serious difficulty of the game.

The title’s recent update has added new item sets to customize some of your heroes that you enjoy playing. This is done through “the Treasure of Unbound Majesty” which holds a chance to contain one of the new sets and a few rare sets. This game should not be confused for Dota Underlords, a card game that relates to this one.

The game is relatively light on resources and can run on any computer that has at least 4Gb of RAM, a dual-core 2.8Ghz processor or better, and a modest graphics card. To download the game you will need at least 15Gb of free space on your hard disk.

Heroes

The Dota 2 hero pool is immense, featuring 117 characters for you to choose from. Unlike with many games from the same genre, you can play any character at any time without having to purchase them first. It’s due to this that you could play a million games and not feel as though anyone was a repeat of another.

Each team takes turns to pick their champions before the match starts. The massive variety that you can pick from allows you to play a supportive or aggressive style based on your pick. Each hero has its own specified range that will impact how you attack the opposing team.

The process for selecting which hero you ban and play is is known as the drafting stage and is always the start of every match.

Items

One game mechanic that changes everything is the item shop that both teams have access to shopping. The items players purchase will affect their stats and improve their hero’s attack damage, movement speed, or a host of other impactful stats. The strategy of knowing what to buy at what time can change the outcome of a fight or the entire match.

Of these items, wards are one of the most important as they provide vision to an area without the need for a player or minion to venture there. Another useful item is the boots which speed your character up as they move along the map. The gold used to buy items is earned during the match by killing minions and other players.

Additional aid

There is a variety of additional software and add-ons for you to use while playing Dota. These tools can give you the edge while playing. One of these is Dota Plus, a tool that helps you during the drafting phase of the game by showing you the best possible bans, picks, and counters to improve your winning chances. By using applications that provide in-depth info during the drafting and battle process, you have a higher chance of destroying the opponent’s base.

Skills

Each hero that you can play has its own set of skills that change your strategy for playing. Heroes such as Oracle provide buffs and debuffs for allies and enemies respectively while healing your teammates if you can successfully initiate a combination with his skills. Other heroes have their own best set of combinations that can deal immense damage to foes and sway the tide of battle once you have your ultimate ability.

Professional play

There are tournaments held for Dota 2 all around the world, including the Internationals that allow professional players to win a large sum of money. In the past, there have been tournaments in the Netherlands and Sweden.

Players

As with most online games, the experience you’ll receive from your teammates and opponents will change with each match. However, as this is a skill based game, many competitive players can become toxic towards you if you miss actions or get killed too often during the match. The other half of these players do understand that you may be learning a character or are simply new to the game, and may even offer you advice while playing.

Guides

There are many websites with guides that you can follow for each of the 117 heroes that you can play. These wikis will teach you how to buy items and when to use skills as well as other game mechanics.

Alternatives

If Dota 2 is not a game you enjoy, you may like other alternative titles that offer just as much competitive multiplayer action. The game is equally as fun as it’s alternatives, but has a different style of play to them.

League of Legends is a more organised MOBA that categorises its champions into roles and classes. The game is free but has a large selection of skins to change the appearance of the character you play for sale.

Smite is a third-person MOBA which is a change from the common top-down that is seen in games such as Dota2 and LoL.

CSGO is a very competitive first-person shooter that has professional teams and tournaments for its top players. There are many purchasable items to customize your weapons, similar to the equipment options on Dota 2.

Heroes of the Storm is a top-down MOBA that has a variety of changing battlegrounds with each one offering unique quests and objectives.

Complex and fun

Dota 2 is a good game that will take you some time to learn and figure out. Fortunately, there is a large side of the player base that is welcoming to new players, some of which create guides that help new players easily learn their chosen heroes. This is one of the reasons that, despite its age, Dota 2 remains so popular.

The game often receives updates, some of which are like the recent additions of purchasable items that change the appearance of a hero. The battle pass changes allow for other ways to earn new cosmetics.