Wondering how to get into Dota 2 in 2024? Here’s everything you need to know to get started
Getting into Dota 2 as a new player, without any friends helping you, is like trying to learn quantum physics from scratch. Even if you focus solely on learning the core mechanics of the game, ignoring all the micro-plays and decision-making that veteran players rely on, you’re going to have a tough time figuring out the game on your own.
In fact, that’s one of the many reasons why new players are often hesitant about picking this game up. And frankly, it’s a huge disappointment. Once you get over the initial learning curve, Dota 2 is a pretty fun game. Its layers of intricate systems, hardcore mechanics and strategic elements like drafting, make the game one of the best MOBAs of all time.
If you’re a newcomer to the game and want to give it your best shot, then we’re here to lend a helping hand. Think of it as the orientation program for your first day in class.
With that said, here’s everything you need to know about Dota 2 to give you the best possible start.
6 Tips to Help You Get Into Dota 2
Dota 2 is a 5v5 hero-based MOBA where you control one hero for your team. The game has three lanes with an interconnected jungle and a river that travels diagonally along the map.
Each lane has two outer towers that you need to destroy before you can break into the main base. The game ends when a team destroys the enemy team’s primary base, known as the Ancient.
This is the basic gist of the game. But since each hero is unique, there are thousands of items that are available for you to buy in the game, and the enemy team will also use everything you know to stop you from taking their towers, things become complicated.
Here are six simple tips to help you get started in Dota 2.
1. Play the Tutorials
If you’re completely new to the game, Dota 2 has a decent tutorial that teaches you the core concepts of the game. You can find it by going to the Learn tab located at the top of your Dota 2 Home Screen.
While the tutorial doesn’t cover everything, it does a pretty decent job at explaining the basics. So our first tip would be to go through the tutorial, multiple times, if needed. Finishing each tutorial also gives you some free goodies that you can use in the game.
2. Learn the Heroes and Spells
Dota 2 when it first launched back in October, 2010 had only around 20 heroes that you could choose from. But now there are 124 unique heroes available, each with their own set of abilities, strengths, weaknesses and play style.
So how do you remember them all? You start with the easier ones and take it from there!
Practice playing with easier heroes first. You can filter the heroes by complexity by navigating to the Heroes tab from the Home Screen and clicking on the Low Complexity filter at the bottom of the hero list.
Pick any hero that you like from the list and head into the Demo Hero mode. Test out his skills and get a feel of how his abilities work. Then play a couple of games with the hero in the practice mode of the game.
It’s also worth checking out a couple of guides online for help. For example, if you want to play Muerta Support, check out this guide for some basic tips.
3. Use the Play vs. Bots Game Mode
The Play vs. Bots feature in Dota 2 is its practice mode, where you can boot up a full game playing against the bots. Now, the bots in Dota 2 are pretty decent and will pose a decent challenge if you’re new to the game.
Once you choose a hero you like, try using him in the Play vs. Bots mode. Since you’re playing against bots, you don’t need to worry about your teammates raging at you for feeding.
Start with Easy or Medium difficulty bots first, and when it becomes too easy for you, switch to Hard or Insane. Playing against bots puts you in a no-pressure situation and helps you learn the game at your own pace.
4. Use the Hero Build Guide Feature
Dota 2 has a handy Hero Build Guide feature in the game to help new players build Items that are effective for the hero they are playing with. To access this feature, hop into a Dota 2 game.
Click on the Gold button at the bottom left of your screen. This will open up the Shop window, which shows all the items you can buy for your hero. By default, you should have a basic item suggestion beside the Purchasable Item window.
At the top of the item suggestion box, you’ll find the option “Browse All Guides.” Clicking on it will give you access to all the guides that are available for the hero. These guides are made by other players in the Dota 2 community.
Try out a few different guides, and they should tell you how you should itemize or which spells you should take first on the hero that you’re playing.
5. Experiment with Items
Dota 2 is an extremely versatile game; that’s what makes the game so special. While using the Hero Build Guide feature gives you a general guideline on which items you should build on your hero, don’t feel like you’re not allowed to branch out.
Which items you should build on your hero mostly depends on the situation of the game and what you’re trying to do. Yes, in low-ranked games your item choices don’t matter much, but as you climb higher up the ladder, buying an Eye of Skadi over Butterfly could be the decider between you winning or losing.
So feel free to experiment and try out the popular meta items on your hero. This will help you learn how each item in the game works and how you can counter your opponents with it.
6. Watch Professional Games
The best way to learn the game is by watching those who are the best at it. The Professional Dota 2 scene is massive, and there are many tournaments that are organized throughout the year. Watching these games and listening to the analysts and casters giving you the play-by-play is the best way to get better at Dota.
Even if you don’t want to watch a tournament, the Watch tab in Dota 2 lets you spectate live matches. Watching a seasoned Dota player do his thing in Player Perspective mode can help you pick up a thing or two about how to play the game.
Don’t Give Up
Dota is a hard game to learn and an even harder game to master. But as long as you don’t lose hope and keep at it, you will get the hang of it. Think of it this way – even the pros had to put in hours after hours to get good at the game. So you’re going to do just fine.
Using the tips we dropped in this article, you should be able to make the early stages of your Dota 2 journey a lot easier. Good luck!
When he’s not sighing at sub-standard teammates in Dota 2 and CS2, The Old One is writing about those two games (among other things). If you see his name around the site too many times for your liking, well, the guy just never stops writing. Yes, we’ve tried an intervention.
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