The Glossary of e-sports Part III
Another member of the genre of MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games is the one that most people know as DoTA 2. The title is an abbreviation of Defense of the Ancients and it’s the second most popular game after the League of Legends that we discussed about in the second part of our glossary of e-sports. In many ways the two titles are similar in concept and gameplay. Perhaps it’s the reason that they are both so beloved by the younger generations. Let’s begin our exploration of the basics of the game.
A DoTA 2 map
Two teams of five players each defend an Ancient in their side of the map and attempt to destroy the other side’s. To do that they control 10 out of a selection of 124 “heroes”. As the game progresses, they collect experience points which the players can use to increase their abilities and buy items to assist them achieve their objective. Each hero starts with at least 4 abilities, all of them unique. They also have three attributes: intelligence, agility and strength.
On the map one team plays as Radiant and the other as Dire. The heroes of both teams collect gold by killing neutral creatures called “creeps” and they use it to buy items. There is no “team economy” for this. Each player has their own pile and they cannot share it amongst each other. Items are purchased in dedicated locations on the map, called “shops”. Players battle against their opponents in three lanes. Now, let’s begin the exploration of the terms.
Map terms
Let’s understand the map itself:
- Ancients are the two structures that exist in each team’s base. However, there are also the Ancients (neutral units) which are actual neutral and very strong units that offer additional experience points and gold to the players that kill them. They are hostile to both teams. Doing the Ancient is an expression that declares a team’s intention to cooperate in order to kill one of those units.
- Lanes are the three corridors that they players fight each other. The lane at the top of the map is the Safelane for the Dire team, while the line at the bottom is the respective one for Radiant. Safelanes offer a relatively safe space for farming and killing. The lanes at the left and right sides of the map are the Offlanes or Hard Lanes for the two opponents. They offer less protection for the heroes. The Midlane is the diagonal that connects the 2 opposing bases. Gaining control of it is a critical aspect of the game.
- The Towers are guardhouses of stationary defense in front of the base guarding the three lanes. They also provide a line of sight for incoming troops. Losing them is quite detrimental to the course of the game. In certain positions on the map, players can place the wards. Those allow for a vision of the surrounding areas. Sentry wards have the purpose of tracking enemy movements, while the observer wards are used to provide intel for offensive operations.
- Map Control refers to the areas where a team can move around in relative safety. Good map control is crucial for determining the tactics and strategy during the game.
- The area between the lanes is the Jungle. Here, players can find alternative sources for experience points and gold through killing the junglers, i.e. the computer controlled creatures that spawn inside. As a matter of fact, good mastery of farming there, can give a team a decisive advantage.
DoTA 2 terms
During the course of the game, spectators will hear the following terms:
- Before the game begins, the two teams start the This phase is not just crucial. Arguably it’s 50% of the victory. Hence, it requires discussion beforehand within the team. The reason being that it is the stage where they pick the heroes for their team, while they have the ability to ban others and prevent the opposing team from selecting them.
- The Creeps are non-player-controlled creatures that form a critical part to the most crucial part of the game. That is the need for experience points and gold. There are two kinds. First, those that are spawn at each of the combating bases and are hostile to the opposing team. Second, those that are spawn in the jungle by Those are hostile to both teams. XP is gained by just being near a dying creep, while the delivery of the last hit (the killing blow) earns gold for the player. The practice of hunting and killing creeps is known as farming.
- The reason that it exists as a multiplayer game is that it requires good skills of coordination and communication between the team players. If those do not exist then the Rotation is poor. In plain terms, the word refers to the movement of heroes on the map so that they can work together to apply pressure on the opponent and trap and kill their heroes. In fact, the actions that lead to a surprise attack and a kill of a hero, are known as Ganking.
- A frequent and most important term are the Denies. If there is a ganking, or for other reasons, then the members can decide to kill their own creeps, or an allied hero, to prevent the opponent from gaining XP and gold.
- Killing as many creeps as possible allows for greater accumulation of both XP and gold. There are techniques that allow for greater production of those creatures than usual. For rather obvious reasons the application of those techniques has been given the name Stacking. Good stacking means faster acquisition of items and upgrading of the heroes.
- The existence of a player in a team that can control multiple units at the same time is an advantage that cannot be overlooked. Especially when the heroes in play are Meep and Visage, as they require strong skills in that regard. This control is dubbed as Micro (short for micromanagement).
- When players use a spell, an item or an ability, it takes some time until they can use it again. As expected, the term that belongs to this period is Cooldown. Understandably, the proper control of a cooldown is imperative for the success of the player.
The Roles of DoTA 2 team members
Let’s take a look on what each player does during a game:
- Position 1
Proper term: Hard Carry/Safelane Core
Probably the most isolated role in a team. Their job is to farm extensively for the purpose of collecting items to become effective towards the end of the round. They only get involved in ganking after they have acquired an item advantage.
- Position 2
Proper term: Midlaner
Their job is to control the midlane. However, they can also move from lane to lane and help in ganking. Their performance during the first 5 minutes sets the pace for the entire round.
- Position 3
Proper term: Offlaner
Arguably, they have the hardest job. This is why the players choose heroes that afford great initiation abilities. Usually, they collect tanking items to increase their durability in taking damage. They farm in the most dangerous areas of the map. Furthermore, they protect the hard carry from getting ganked.
- Position 4
Proper term: Support
The term is actually valid for both 4 and 5 positions. In both they are a crucial element in team operations by making sure that there’s always vision and safety from ganking. Supports usually do not get much XP and gold. Therefore, they need to exercise good positioning and efficiency.
- Position 5
Proper term: Roamer
Unlike the Supports they can work either on position 4 or position 5. Ultimately, their job is to create opportunities for the rest. They set up and secure kills, they initiate engagements and, in general, they make things happen.
We conclude the presentation of DoTA 2 for the newcomers and we want to believe that they are now ready to understand the nuances of what it is that they are watching on a live stream of the game, or being present themselves in a venue, where one is played. Therefore, when they open an account via agent to placed their bets on the winning side, they have a better idea on where to place their bets.