Dota 2 is a competitive game of action and strategy, played both professionally and casually by millions of passionate fans worldwide. Players pick from a pool of over a hundred heroes, forming two teams of five players. Each match of Dota 2 involves two teams, both containing five players and occupying a fortified stronghold at either end of the map. Victory is achieved by destroying the enemy’s Ancient, a building that is invulnerable until certain objectives are achieved. Each player controls a “Hero” character and focuses on leveling up, acquiring items and fighting against the other team to achieve victory during each match.
GamePlay
Utilizing one of seven selection modes, players choose one of 102 player characters called “Heroes”, strategically-powerful units with special abilities that are tasked with defending their teams’ Ancient while also looking to destroy their enemies’ Ancient. These Heroes may level up through combat experience and progress to a maximum level of twenty-five. The Heroes’ methods of combat are heavily influenced by their primary property, which can be Strength, Agility, or Intelligence. In addition, players are given six inventory slots, which allows for obtainable items to influence their Hero’s performance. The overall objective of each match is to battle through the opposing force’s defenses, and destroy the opponents’ Ancient. Because Dota 2 is highly team-oriented, players ideally coordinate with their teams in order to achieve victory. The towers and stronghold defenses are invulnerable to attacks, so long as the towers nearest to the enemy side still stand, and must be destroyed sequentially—a team cannot destroy the enemy’s Ancient without first destroying all towers leading up to it in any one lane.
The currency of the game is gold, which is granted steadily at a slow rate. Gold can be accumulated at a much higher rate by killing enemy units or destroying enemy structures. Killing units grants gold solely to the player who killed it; killing Heroes grants gold to the killer and any nearby allies; and destroying towers gives gold to all players on the team. Killing enemy creeps, Heroes, and towers also provides experience, which allows the player’s Hero to level up, granting access to more powerful skills and abilities. “Denying” is a feature of the game which allows players to inhibit the enemy’s ability to accumulate gold and experience by killing an allied unit or destroying an allied structure before an enemy can do so.
