A Review of Dota 2. The Things We Love And Hate
Dota 2 is one of the most played pc game on the planet right now and although loved by many, has its flaws. Here are some things we love and hate about Dota 2.
Things I Love:
1. I Don’t Need to Spend $10 to Play a Hero, They’re All Free
You can't pay for her even if you want to
Without question the most important part of Dota 2 and the biggest advantage it has over it’s competition is cost. There isn’t one.
Too many MOBA’s are trying to make money from buying heroes. This puts people who can’t afford or don’t want to pay at a huge disadvantage.
Dota 2 is open to anyone and everyone.
This is one of the major reasons I don’t play as much of the other similar games like LoL and HotS. I don’t want to have to worry about which heroes I can or can’t play.
It is very easy to get sick of certain heroes. When I have to pay for a hero, I don’t want to get bored with them.
I get bored with Dota 2 heroes all the time. It doesn’t matter because there are so many more to choose from.
If I want to change their appearance I can pay money for that, but I don’t have to. There are even enough ways to get new appearances (random drops), that I don’t even have to do that.
2. Dota 2 is the Deepest MOBA on the Market
Spirit Breaker and Dagon are peanut butter and jelly, they go so well together
I could go on about this for 50,000 words.
Dota 2 has everything. Huge diverse hero choice, hundreds of items, slower pace for more exciting teamfights, last hitting creeps, denying creeps, advanced jungling, thousands of different ways to play heroes. Yeah I could go on and on.
Dota 2 gives you infinite freedom for how you play each game.
Don’t like jungling with Nature’s Prophet? Play him as an offlane.
Bloodseeker is viable in any lane as any role.
Buy an Aghanim’s Scepter with Sven and play him as a support.
Spirit Breaker with a Dagon could be a fun way to play.
The laning phase is also so much more advanced in Dota 2 than any other MOBA. Last hit creeps for gold and kill your own creeps to deny the enemy heroes gold and experience. You can’t take a second off to look away from the screen because you need to be paying attention to everything.
You’d better make sure you’re pulling lanes so you don’t push too much.
Whoever wins the last hitting and denying battle in mid is going to have a huge advantage.
Other games just don’t give you this kind of depth.
3. Watching the Majors
History being made on ESPN
Who didn’t love watching Team Evil Geniuses win The International 2015? Or how about the cinderella story of CDEC gaming? No one even expected them to be in the tournament and they cruised to the finals.
Esports is changing the world of both video games and sports. MOBA tournaments are being shown on ESPN and other major TV networks. Dota 2 is being featured on ESPN regularly.
Doesn’t it feel great to be a part of it?
As the Esports scene grows so will the production and the quality of the broadcast.
Dota 2 is already fun to watch, just wait until it is getting the respect and production quality it deserves. The Majors are only going to grow.
4. Trolling is Just so Much Fun
Not this kind of troll
I hate trolls. They are the scum of the earth.
Except when it’s me.
Sometimes it just feels so good to piss someone off.
Listen to them have a meltdown on their mic. It just sounds so glorious.
Maybe I just feel like using Tiny to Toss someone into the whole enemy team.
Maybe teleport someone to the enemy fountain with Io.
Maybe I’ll just decide to last hit with Treant Protector.
So many choices, so little time.
Dota 2 is a pretty stressful game. There is so much going on, so much to think about.
Sometimes you just have to blow off some steam and have some fun at your teammates expense.
Well I should say I need to do that sometimes.
If you troll me, you’re a noob shit who’s getting reported.
5. Custom Games in The Arcade Expand the Game Modes
You thought 1 was scary
Tired of getting hooked by Pudge? I’ve got an idea for you, how about a game where every player is Pudge!!
How about a game where you get to customize your hero’s skills?
What about 10 vs 10 Dota 2?
Or some great tower defense games with Dota 2 characters and graphics?
All of this and so much more exists in the Arcade. I remember all the fun custom games from Warcraft 3, there Dota originated. The Arcade brings all of that back from Pudge Wars to Legion TD.
Everything is back and I love it. The updated graphics and new custom games are great. It’s a perfect change of pace after a few tough losses in a row.
Watch out for Dota 2 Imba, it’s a riff on WTF mode where every hero is super IMBA as if they only got buffed in each patch. It’s a bit of a crazy game that will drive you up the walls the first time you play it.
Things I Hate:
1. 60 Minute Games I Know I'm Going to Lose
Do not feed Spectre
Dota games are usually pretty long, which is a great aspect of it. The problem comes when you get a scrub or two on your team that just isn’t very good.
30 minutes in and your opponent’s team has a 10-2 Spectre.
The game is over, I just want to move on.
Or how about when your Legion Commander has only won 1 duel in 25 minutes and has lost 5.
I don’t want to waste that extra time playing out a game that I have no hope of winning.
Dota 2 is about winning games to increase your MMR. When I only have time to play 2 games in an afternoon, I don’t need to waste it in a game that I know can’t be won.
Of course there are plenty of comebacks in Dota 2 games, and this new patch has made it even easier to make those great plays and turn a game around. There are certain situations like I highlighted above that it simply isn’t feasible.
2. When Someone Starts A Draft With "Mid or Feed"
Just an excuse to show Queen of Pain
Man does this drive me crazy. Not only because it’s obnoxious, but because the people who say this are serious.
Why do you even join a game when you’re willing to ruin it and lose MMR just to prove a point? An idiotic point at that.
When you feed on purpose you just make people tune you out and not listen. No one is going to change because you ruined their game. If anything, I’m going to make sure if I ever play with you again to troll you even more.
More importantly, if you say this you had better be the best damn mid player in the history of Dota 2.
If you miss 1 hook with Pudge, you’re getting reported.
If you don’t gank enough with Queen of Pain, you’re getting reported.
You see where I’m going with this.
There’s a very high expectation on you if you’re going to mid or feed.
And so help me God if you Mid AND Feed.
3. It is so Addicting
Might as well have been about Dota 2
You play a 50 minute game and lose.
“Dammit that sucked, I’m gonna win the next one.”
You start a new game and someone feeds and you lose in 25 minutes.
“That was BullSh!t, playing another”
Lose again.
“God this game is such crap”
Play another.
Dominate and win.
“Hell yeah this is f-ing awesome”
It’s a never ending cycle, we just can’t stop playing.
We need to get that win. We need to turn it around. That win is going to feel so good once we get it.
Dota 2 is basically video game heroine. The highs from winning are so high and the lows so low. That euphoria from a win, especially when you know it was you who dominated, is just so good.
We crave that feeling, we need it, we can’t get enough of it.
Then 12 hours later we realize we haven’t eaten or slept.
Dota 2 is life.
4. Getting Trolled Sucks
This has something to do with trolling I'm sure
While trolling other people can be incredibly fun, it really sucks to have someone troll you when you want to win a game.
How many times has an Earthshaker decided to block the team out of spite? Or someone buy 25 couriers because they didn’t get to be the jungler? There is always a support who decides he wants to last hit creeps in the lane.
It just sucks when it happens and you know you’re about to lose 25 MMR. That precious MMR that is so tough to get but so easy to have stolen from you.
5. MMR Hell
Every Dota 2 player has been here
That never ending cycle.
Win 1 lose 2 win 3 lose 2. Total MMR change = 0.
Or even better: Win 3, lose 25. Total MMR change = Kill me in my sleep.
You think 3k sucks? Try 2k, or even 1k the epitome of horror.
I’ve been in all 3 tiers and moving up is about as tough and annoying as laning against Bristleback. The grind to move your MMR is just so influenced by other players. Most of them being trolls and game ruiners.
You just have to get lucky with teammates and grind your way up little by little.
Remember your last 8 game losing streak? All those people ruining games? All those people who didn’t communicate or work together? No one who wanted to support? Carries who fed?
It all contributes to being stuck in low tier MMR’s.
Good luck getting out.
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