What I Learned in my first 100 Hours of Playing DOTA

"There are no new DOTA players" - Ancient Proverb

"There are no new DOTA players..." - At least, that's what people keep telling me every time they ask what I'm playing at the moment. "Still playing Overwatch?" a regular customer asks. "No!" I enthuse, "I actually started playing DOTA!"

"Started? But... there's no such thing as a new DOTA play-"

I feel the crackling of atoms on the surface of my skin, threatening to combust me in a gentle puff of smoke - removing me from existence. There are no new DOTA players...

One month down the rabbit-hole. One-hundred hours deep, and I don't see myself climbing out anytime soon.

I don't meet the criteria for a gaming addiction (...yet), but when you find yourself picturing Leshrac standing in your dark hallway as you make your way to the bathroom, you start to wonder... She's got DOTA on the brain, and she's got it bad. So, I'm here to take a writing break - a gentle reprieve from the toxicity that arises once you've sunk your first hundred hours, and thus, have now gained enough game sense to realise that your teammates were born with smooth brains (I jest, of course, every DOTA player has their smooth brain moments, so let's just be a tad kinder in chat, yes?).

If there's one thing I can say from my first 100 hours it's that learning DOTA is a process of slowly collating pieces of information that eventually form a cohesive picture. And this process takes forever. But once the pieces begin to fall into place DOTA can be an immensely relaxing game... Assuming you have chat turned off. So, for the DOTA veterans, I salute you, and I invite you to embark with me on an exploration of my first 100 hours of gameplay, in the hopes that I can spark a hint of nostalgia and remind you how it felt to make those initial game-changing discoveries.

Let's go!

One: Two-Star Characters are Harder than you Think

I look at the roster of characters and only one stands out to me; Dawnbreaker. I'm still engaging my Overwatch brain as I'm using her abilities, so I wait much longer than I need to between popping cool-downs, and I lose every. single. game. But that doesn't stop me pursuing bigger an brighter things. "I'll learn someone new!" I enthuse. Winter Wyvern stands out, and my poor (but patient) team-mates warn me against it. "How hard can it be" I muse - after all - I've been playing this game for eight hours now. Very hard, actually... Whoops.

Two: There's a Recommended Build Guide for Every Character

I insisted on being independent when I first started playing, which meant that any advice given to me was thrown to the wayside. I learn that way, from ignoring advice and letting it seep into my subconscious, so I can access it at a later time, after I have had the opportunity to fail over and over again. If I had of listened, I would have known that there was a recommended build guide to the left of the general shop, and I could have saved myself precious brain-power by micro-managing other things, like denying creeps and getting last hits.

You don't have to follow the guide forever, but it's a handy resource for when you're first starting out and learning the scope of items. (There's a lot).

New character attempted: The Keeper of the Light

Three: You can Share Neutral Items

Whaddya know, the little treasure chests that the jungle creeps drop can be shared between team mates! Thirty hours in and I was too focused on gauging the battlefield, learning new heroes, and aiming for last hits to focus on the items collecting in my bag. I didn't know you could 'teleport to neutral stash' and I thought that what you ended up with in your item slot was merely luck. Thus, I couldn't quite understand why DildoBaggins69 was so distraught over my strength character (Dawnbreaker) donning a cloak that gave her extra agility. It was a nice cloak, after all.

New character learned: Riki

Four: Jungle Creeps Spawn in the same Location every Time

I can't believe this one took me so long to figure out, and it will be another 30 hours before I realise they spawn on the minute. I couldn't understand how every player was ending a game with so much more cash than me. I was fighting the jungle creeps whenever I could find them, and my last hit game was getting pretty strong. I started following the tiny stacks of red arrows on the map, and realised that jungle creep spawns were somehow associated with them. I still didn't know exactly where they would appear, but I had a pretty good idea.

New character learned: Abaddon

Five: You Have to be Around Level Nine to take on Jungle Creeps

Those big fellas in the jungle will do a number on you if you're not prepared, so don't go in thinking you can take on an angry rhino (is that what it is?) before you're beefy. I made the mistake of running into the jungle as soon as the game allowed it, and I also didn't realise the importance of using abilities to clear the wave faster. Of course, the level at which you can take them on is dependent on your hero and which jungle creeps you're targeting, but level nine is a good enough indication for me.

New character fascination: Morphling - but I'm told not to learn him yet.

Six: Unlocking a Stun or Slow at the Start Guarantees you a Bounty

During my first fifty hours I opted for an 'escape' ability to unlock at the start of the game. Until I realised Dawnbreaker is a badass, and if you run at anyone brandishing your fiery hammer and threatening a stun they will simply run away. That's right! Jog on! And if they don't? Bop them with a stun and take that bounty ruin. Same goes for freezing and slow abilities. Pop your frostbite as Crystal Maiden so the enemy can watch through an icy wall as you take what they thought would be theirs.

New character learned: Medusa

Seven: Jungle Creeps Respawn Every Minute on the Minute

Ah look, she's figured it out. The game-changer. Yep. Jungle creeps respawn every minute on the minute AND (bonus points) if you're standing in their spawn area as the clock ticks over they simply won't appear. I wonder how many times that one stung me in my first 60 hours. I don't wanna think about it. Having acquired this knowledge, I no longer end a game with half the cash of every one else, and my character builds are getting beefy. Yum.

New character learned: Crystal Maiden

Eight: You can Buy Teleport Scrolls and Salves Even When You're Building an Item

...

Yes I am aware this is something I probably should have known within my first 10 or so hours, but what can ya do.

Simply right click the teleport scrolls and they'll be delivered to you. I remember a particularly humiliating scenario in which a team-mate and I had managed to escape a gruelling fight with a margin of our health bars in tact. They teleported back to base, and told me to do the same. "Haha, yeah no worries" I say, pretending I totally meant to run out of teleport scrolls. The race between my scroll delivery and the Bloodseeker pursing me mercilessly was... Well, you can guess what happened next.

New character fascination: Kunkka

Nine: You Don't Have to be at Base to Collect Neutral Items

Aaah yes, well if it isn't another titbit I should have known 80 hours ago. Logically, it makes sense. The chest that houses the neutral items is at the base, so *in real life* that would be where you have to go to collect.

But this is a video-game, and that's not how that works. Turns out you don't have to run all the way home or wait until you die to grab a new item. Simply click on the neutral stash, choose your item, and your courier will drop it off, easy peasy.

New character fascination: Queen of Yes Please- I mean. Pain.

Ten: Positioning and Timing is What Wins you a Fight

In my first fifty hours I couldn't quite fathom why my team wasn't going in blindly to a 5v4. As it turns out, positioning and timing are two things that are much more integral to a fight than numbers. It is key to line up an ability to hit as many targets as possible (given your ability benefits from that), and it simply won't do to stack all of your best abilities and team-ults at once. You have to be patient. The second you get hungry you lose.

In saying that though, some characters are much more forgiving than others. I've found that the slightest of mistakes with Dawnbreaker can cost a team fight, but characters like Medusa are pretty forgiving. My current goal is to learn and perfect Morphling, but I don't think that will be happening any time soon. But Morphling, if you're reading this I just wanted you to know that I see you, and I want you.

Speaking of which

A question I like to ask DOTA players is this;

Which heroes would you least and most like to find standing in your hallway in the middle of the night?

The easy answer for me is Lifestealer. Yeah, he can get right out of my hallway thanks. Go terrorise someone else's village. The harder question of the two is who you'd most like to see. After much deliberation I've landed on Lesnack- ... I mean... Leshrac.

I mean...

Doesn't matter.

And on that note, I'm going to see myself out.

See you in the rabbit-hole. And if you do see a new player there, please be nice!

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Thanks for reading! For more on gaming check out my article detailing my most embarrassing moment while working at a game store here