If you’re a lover of MOBA games, chances are you’ll love DOTA 2.
DOTA 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game and is the sequel to the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) mod for Warcraft III.
It was developed by Valve Corporation exclusively for Steam and was released on July 9th, 2013 as a free-to-play title. DOTA 2 is a creative blend of online RTS and RPG action.
Each match of DOTA 2 is independent and involves two teams, The Radiant and The Dire, both consisting of 5 players and each occupying a stronghold at either side of the map. Each stronghold has a building called the “Ancient”; to win, a team must destroy the other’s Ancient. Each player controls a “Hero” character and focuses on leveling up, collecting gold, acquiring items and fighting against the other team to become victorious.
Seems simple enough, right?
Ha! You’d be wrong if you said yes. As a new player, you’ll be bombarded with tons of information from the game and encounter unforgiving competitive players in the community. It will be hard, trust me. Keep at it though, and you’ll be rewarded with the most intense team-based experience in gaming.
This extreme madness is constructed on specific systems. Once you learn each one, you’ll survive.
These include:
- Learning to work as a team member of a coordinated team to the counter-productive practice of destroying your own AI units to deny the enemy team of experience points and gold.
- Understanding effects of tons of complex abilities like Bloodseeker’s Rupture, which deals massive damage with every step you take. Even then, managing which of the 102+ (you read that correctly) hero choices this ability will suit best will be a challenge.
- Learning to adapt based on the choices of other players on your team and the opposing team.
This Intense Chaos is Not to be Treaded on Lightly.
You’ll really need to work at it. The tutorial is pretty quick and doesn’t fully give a new player all the information that they’ll need. There are tricks to DOTA 2 that experienced players are well aware of such as grabbing neutral monsters from their homes to spawn as a new group to double rewards.
Valve has delivered a masterpiece of a MOBA!
Everything from the massive hero choices, to the various abilities, matchmaking, guilds, game modes, the appearance of the game itself, all deserving of its reputation and reviews.
Keep in mind that DOTA 2 is not for the casual player who doesn’t want to invest lots of their time.
DOTA 2 has been praised by critics, who have expressed that the game remains faithful to its predecessor while also increasing the level of production quality, as well as its engaging and rewarding gameplay experience. IGN’s Best of 2013 award series, named DOTA 2 winner of both Best PC Strategy & Tactics Game and Best PC Multiplayer Game. Game Informer also recognized DOTA 2 for Best PC Exclusive, Best Competitive Multiplayer and Best Strategy of 2013.
Keep in mind that DOTA 2 is not for the casual player who doesn’t want to invest lots of their time. If you are, however, up to the challenge, you’ll enjoy an experience as you’ve never had before.
