Official DotA 2 thread - Printable Version

Spoiler: What is DotA 2?

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena video game and the stand-alone sequel to the Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and it's expansion, Frozen Throne. Developed by Valve Corporation, the game was released on July 9, 2013 for Microsoft Windows, utilizing a free-to-play business model. OS X and Linux versions of Dota 2 were released on July 18, 2013. Dota 2 is exclusively available through Valve's content delivery platform, Steam.

Dota 2 consists of session-based online multiplayer matches in which two teams of five attempt to destroy the opponents' fortified strongholds. Each player controls a player character called a "hero" and, over the course of each game, will improve their hero's abilities, acquire items, and attack the enemy team whilst applying pressure on their base defenses.

Dota 2 combines the real-time strategy elements of traditional top-down perspective, while also incorporating the leveling and itemization functions of a role-playing video game. Players are pitted against each other as two factions called the Radiant and the Dire. The Radiant faction is based at the southwest corner of the map, while the Dire faction is based at the northeast corner. Utilizing one of six hero selection modes, players select one of 101 "heroes" – strategically powerful units with special abilities, who, through combat experience, may progress to a maximum level of twenty-five. The heroes' methods of combat are heavily influenced by their primary property, which can be strength, agility, or intelligence.

The basic setup of Dota 2 places two strongholds containing critical structures called "Ancients" at opposing ends of a geographically balanced map. These bases are connected by three main paths (referred to as lanes), which are guarded by defensive towers and groups of units commonly referred to as "creeps" which traverse their lanes, attacking enemy units and structures upon sight. Players are split into two teams, each consisting of up to five players, to compete as the primary defenders for each Ancient.

The overall objective of each match is to battle through the opposing force's defenses, and destroy the opponents' Ancient. Because Dota 2 is highly team-oriented, players must coordinate with their teams in order to achieve victory. The towers and stronghold defenses are invulnerable to attacks, so long as the towers nearest to the enemy side still stand, and must be destroyed sequentially – a team cannot destroy the enemy's Ancient without first destroying all towers leading up to it in any one lane.

The currency of the game is gold, which is granted steadily at a slow rate. Gold can be accumulated at a much higher rate by killing enemy units, destroying enemy towers, or killing heroes. Killing units grants gold solely to the player who killed it, killing heroes grants gold to the killer and allies in a close area, and destroying towers gives gold to all players on the team. Killing enemy creeps, heroes, and towers also provides experience, which allows the player's hero to level up, granting access to more powerful skills and abilities. "Denying" is a feature of the game which allows players to inhibit the enemy's ability to accumulate gold and experience by killing an allied unit or destroying an allied structure before an enemy can do so. Denying reduces the amount of experience and gold the enemy faction can receive for the kill. Allied heroes may also be denied if they are on critically low health and have a fatal spell applied to them.

Featured across the map are units referred to as "neutrals", which are not aligned to a faction, primarily located in the forests. Located on the southeast side of the river is a boss called "Roshan" who typically requires multiple team members to be killed. Following his death, Roshan will drop a powerful item which allows for a hero to instantly respawn at the location of their death if they are killed.