Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! I'll take a break for a while. DOTA Guides and Strategies will resume in a couple of days.

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Off Topic

This blog, mydotaguide.blogspot.com, has been disabled by google for a few days including my other blog progdiary.blogspot.com. Their bots mistakenly thought that this was a spam blog. Good thing it's back now after 5 days.. :( But my other blog is still disabled. I hope they get it back soon.

In case any of you experienced or are experiencing the same thing, please let me know.

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Sven Guide

Sven (Rogue Knight)
A follower of the great God of Order, Paladine, Sven has sworn to uphold the rights of all. Born of a Knight and a Night Elf and ostracized since birth, Sven has lead a solitary existence of meditation and training. He has come out of his wanderings determined to guard the innocent against evil. Armed with his blessed cleaving blade Justice, and harnessing the power to strike down his enemies with the might of God's Strength, Sven's wrath toward the unjust is a sight to behold.(From Warcraft III: Frozen Throne)

Hero Skills

Storm Bolt - A magical hammer is thrown at an enemy unit, causing damage and stunning the target for 2 seconds.

Level 1 - 100 damage.
Level 2 - 150 damage.
Level 3 - 200 damage.
Level 4 - 250 damage.

Great Cleave - Sven strikes with such force that all nearby enemies take damage.

Level 1 - 10% damage is splashed.
Level 2 - 20% damage is splashed.
Level 3 - 30% damage is splashed.
Level 4 - 40% damage is splashed.

Toughness Aura - Sven is here to pump you up!

Level 1 - Increases base armor by 2.
Level 2 - Increases base armor by 3.
Level 3 - Increases base armor by 4.
Level 4 - Increases base armor by 5.

God's Strength - Sven gets pumped up! Adds bonus damage for 25 seconds.

Level 1 - Adds 100% damage.
Level 2 - Adds 125% damage.
Level 3 - Adds 150% damage.

Hero Builds

Semi-MVP Build - This build is best if you have another option to be a primary mvp in your team

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - power threads, 2 bracers, town portal
  
• Late game items - black king bar, mask of madness, heart of tarrasque
  
• Skill Build : storm bolt, stats, storm bolt, stats, storm bolt, god's strength, storm bolt, great cleave, stats, great cleave, god's strength, great cleave, toughness aura, great cleave, stats, toughness aura, god's strength, toughness aura, toughness aura then the rest to stats.
  

Gameplay :

During lane battles, concentrate on making last hits. Don't worry about denies too much. Let your teammate on the same lane with you worry more about that. It is best that you get most of the last hits(therefore getting the gold) so you can secure your early items. While doing last hits, keep an eye on your enemies if they go out of position while doing last hits or denying or even harassing your lane themselves. At any chance one of them is exposed, cast storm bolt right away then follow up with some spells from your teammate. Always try to go for the kill if this happens but don't go in their tower yet.

Once you reach level 6 or so, go back to regenerate your mana and health. Shop for items too like boots and bracers. Go for power threads if there is enough. Once you have at least 2 bracers and power threads, you are now ready to do some hunting. Try to visit every lane possible and go for the kill. Be aggressive. Sven is very strong early game with just 2 bracers and power threads together with level 1 god's strength and level 4 storm bolt. With good team play, you are sure to get the kill. Make sure that you always come from the blind side for surprise. Always check for rune from time to time. When going for the kill, don't hesitate to use god's strength. At the early stage, one storm bolt and 2-4 attacks kills an enemy with god's strength enabled. Slowly get black king bar and mask of madness while repeating the process. This is very helpful for your team because it pressures the enemies and at the same time you are preparing yourself for middle to late game clashes. Get black king bar first. When you have this item you can now go inside clashes without being interrupted of any disabling spells like bolt or voodoo. And if you have mask of madness, it will just make things quicker for you to kill enemies.

During later game, get heart of tarrasque so you can still endure physical damage in case the enemies decide to focus on you with their physical attacks. If you still have extra gold after that, try to experiment what items are best for your gameplay. You can get another heart of tarrasque, sange& yasha, eye of skadi or dagger of escape. Just try it out what works best and it also depends on what are the enemy heroes. If they are blinkers, get dagger of escape...you get the idea. :)

MVP Build - This build is best sven is your primary option for mvp and you really rely on him for the late game

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - boots, black king bar, mask of madness, town portal
  
• Late game items - heart of tarrasque, sange & yasha (or another heart of tarrasque if you have lots of gold)
  
• Skill Build : storm bolt, stats, storm bolt, stats, storm bolt, god's strength, storm bolt, great cleave, stats, great cleave, god's strength, great cleave, toughness aura, great cleave, stats, toughness aura, god's strength, toughness aura, toughness aura then the rest to stats.

Gameplay :

Lane battles is the same with semi-support build. Sven gets the priority on all kills would it be creeps, heroes or structures. The main difference on this build is sven focuses on farming and securing his items early. He will not go hunting but will stick on the lane. He will also be fully supported with wards and support heroes by his side if really needed. You can go for the kill but on enemy heroes on the same lane. Use your town portal to escape gank attacks and to help your teammates from other lanes if you are absolutely needed or else just keep farming. You don't need threads early part. Boots is enough but you can get power threads if you want. The important thing is to secure black king bar as early as possible then at this point you can help on clashes and then go back to farming your next items. You will come out middle to late part of the game with good items. If done correctly, you will have way better items compared to other heroes making you a very big threat to the enemies.

Note : On clashes, remember to cast black king bar first before casting god's strength. Casting god strength first will cancel it out when you cast black king bar after that.

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Dynamic Duo for the Week

This week's dynamic duo is a fun one. I like to play with this with a close friend specially on public games like battle.net. This is best to use if you play DOTA games for fun and for the sake of doing trash talks with your friends. :)

So this week's dynamic duo goes to Lion and Lina. I think you already see where this leads. heh. But I will discuss it deeply here so you will know how make this combo really work. Thus making your friends very annoyed. :)

First, buy mana regen items for both heroes and starting items that will boost their stats. These are most probably ironwood branches and clarity potions. Other one can also make ring of basilus for mana regeneration on both heroes. The best you can do is equip Lion with the ring of basilus and then have Lina buy sobi mask. This way Lina can spam her two offensive spells, Dragon Slave and Light Strike Array. Lion only needs to cast one offensive spell during the early part of the game which is impale. Let Lion get mana drain too so he can absorb mana from enemy creeps or heroes when he is almost out. At this point, both heroes will have the ability to spam their spells.

During lane battles, always cast your spells in combo. It is important that Lion will cast impale first then Lina will follow it up with light strike array and then dragon slave. Keep doing this to harass your enemies on the lane but be sure that you will have enough mana to cast level 6 when you are almost leveling up from level 5. This way your enemy will be very pressured of getting killed so he has to go back to heal. At this point concentrate on farming while harassing the remaining enemy with seasonal attacks(if there are two enemies in the lane). When you reach level 6, you can go back to the base to purchase items and heal or you can attempt to kill an enemy on the lane with low hp. When both Lina and Lion are level 6, this is the fun part. Choose one hero then let Lion cast impale. Lina will cast light strike array after that for chain stun while lion is doing a normal attack at the same time. Lina will then cast dragon slave then Lion will do the finish with finger of death and if the enemy is still alive, Lina can make sure of it by casting laguna blade. :) The best scenario is if you are able to kill one enemy with only one ultimate like finger of death. If this happens, you can harass the remaining enemy on the lane with normal attacks while getting creep kills and denying at the same time. When Lina has enough mana to cast laguna blade and one spell at least, you can attempt to kill the remaining enemy. Keep repeating this process killing enemy heroes alternately unless they will switch to another lane. lol.

At this point, Lion and Lina are near or about level 11. Get dagon for both heroes as their next items. This is will make them more deadly doing chain stuns and then making sure that the target hero is dead because even though the enemy has higher health points at this point because of item and level, Lion and Lina have additional offensive which is dagon and if they reach level 11 their ultimate is deadlier. With both heroes having dagon, always go together for the kill. Visit enemies who have been farming for long to kill them and waste a portion of their gold. Push every time you killed a hero. You don't want the game to take so long that the enemy will have the time to recover and the mvp heroes will get their desired items.

If the game lasted long enough to reach level 16 or more, get aghanhim's scepter and refresher orb for both Lion and Lina. This will make their ultimates' damage even greater and also reduce their cooldowns. And with refresher orbs, Lion and Lina can cast dagon, minor and ultimate spells twice ensuring death to the enemy. :) If you still have enough gold, experiment with other items. You can buy heart of tarrasque if you have problems on staying alive during clashes or you can buy guinsoo to increase damage, mana, mana regen and to be able to disable a target enemy making chain stun even longer. You can also choose to upgrade dagon to max level at this point.

Note : For advanced gameplay, you can get dagger of escape for proper positioning, good element of surprise therefor executing attacks effectively and for escaping death.

So there we go. I hope you like this week's dynamic duo. Now try it out with your friends or against your friends. :D

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DOTA Lane Control Guide

Today, I was going to post a comprehensive DOTA guide to lane control but I found this very good guide by Blaow which pretty much said it all and it is complete with screenshots and advanced techniques. But the you must have at least a basic understanding of DOTA to fully understand the guide. Here is a part of it :

Preface: This is a guide to early game lane dominance. I assume the reader has a basic knowledge of DotA and can refer to other sources to look up heroes/items/abilities. If I use an abbreviation or term you do not understand please refer to Malle's excellent DotA game commands and common abbreviations list. I will be focusing on non em since lane control in em is less important, although I will try to point out some points for em as well. If you disagree or have something to add please post and back up your points with a valid argument, I'll try to include other's view points with credit if they are good even if they disagree with me. Sometimes there is more than one right way, or different things work in different situations. Please post your comments, opinions, and disagreements, constructive criticism is welcome! Anyway, on to the guide.

What will I learn from this guide?
This guide is an effort to comprehensively cover every aspect of lane control and early game strategies within reason. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of lane control I suggest you read all of it. However more advanced readers will certainly be familiar with some or many of the ideas covered so if you belong to that group feel free to skip sections. If you wish to explore a certain aspect of lane control use the table of contents - hit ctrl-f and type in the section you wish to go to.

Brief Table of Contents

1. What is Lane Control?
2. Your Hero
3. How to Build a Lane Controller
4. Choosing your Lane Control Style
5. Harassing
6. Map Awareness and Ganks
7. Creeps and Towers
8. In-Depth Scenarios
9. Secret Paths and Juking
10. Replays and Other Reading Material

To read the rest of the guide, visit this link. This guide is very helpful. I assure you that it will improve you lane gameplay when you read this guide.

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ASUS Autumn 2007 won by sP

Congratulations to sP[Palit] for winning the Asus Autumn edition, the biggest LAN Tournament in Russia. More details can be found here.

It is good to know that DOTA is included on the biggest LAN tournaments from around the world.

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DOTA players unite! Let's help dota get into WCG

This article was posted November 18, 2007 by Naz of Dota-allstars.com. Article can be found here. I figured I should also post it here to help DOTA get into the biggest e-sports event in the world.

Here is the article:

DotA-Allstars needs your help!

Most of you already know what the World Cyber Games is, but for those who don't, WCG is the biggest ESports event in the world.. With about 1 300 000 participants from 75 countries and 12 titles to obtain for honor, glory and money prizes.

However, these 12 games currently don't include DotA. There is an official vote to include other games, but DotA isn't included in this vote, how can we became a part of this mega esports event if we aren't even considered an option? The community will need to show to the WCG Administrators that we are a large community with competitive interests and show them that our game and our community is worth to be part of this amazing tournament. To achieve that, all that you need to do is to write an e-mail to ICM, the company behind the WCG, and tell them why DotA should be a part of the World Cyber Games.

In your e-mail, state why you want DotA to be a part of this tournament, things you can point out are the huge community and the already present prize tournaments. For more suggestions of things you can include in your e-mail, visit this forum topic

If we want to see DotA at next years WCG we will need to fight it.There is no big gaming company behind dota like Valve, Blizzard or EA, the one and only thing that makes DotA interesting for the ICM is how big our community is and how many people are going to see the commercials of the WCG-main sponsors. We have more then 500 000 members, which is very big for game standards, we can join the WCG with the backing of the entire community. We need to be a part of the WCG main vote, because there is no USA WCG and there are no votings for the European WCG. This is our only chance - we need to fight for the WCG main event. And if you help us we have a very high chance of getting accepted into this prestigeous tournament!

Besides nice games and replays to watch everyone of you will have the chance to participate in the national qualifiers with your clan or team. The finals will be played offline on LAN much like the exciting tournaments of Dreamhack or the upcomming Fire and Ice. A very strong aspect of the World Cyber Games is that every country can have some spots, smaller countries with not so well-known Clans which normally don't have a big chance of making the playoffs of other big tournaments can take part in the LAN-finals of the WCG.

Thank you for reading, I hope you will help us to get DotA to the next level!

So everyone let's do our best to help our beloved game into wcg!

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Dynamic Duo for the Week

This week's dynamic duo, which is one of my favorites, is Omniknight and Tormented Soul. The reason that I like this combo is because it is strong on lane battles, very good for early push if you that's your team plan, they are a strong combo during clash and they are also strong on any part of the game even during late game. Maybe the only drawback on this combo is it is not very good when it comes to ganking heroes on the map. That is compared to other hero combos where you have double stun combo, etc.

From the start to the last part of the game, Omniknight will play as a full support hero giving his all out support to Torment Soul while Tormented Soul will act as an mvp(most probably secondary mvp because of the usual case of having a main str hero or agi hero). During lane battles, Omniknight will just keep getting xp from a distance letting Tormented Soul spam his skills on the creeps and enemy heroes so get mana or mana regen items. When creeps go up to the enemy's side, let Omniknight pull the neutral creeps from the nearest creep camps to fight with your next creep wave(also known as creep pulling). That way, the enemy creeps will go again to your side balancing the control of the creeps and at the same time getting more experience than the opponent because Tormented Soul gets the experience on the lane while Omniknight gets experience from the neutral creeps and your enemies will not get that much experience because some of your if not all creeps will be killed by the neutral creeps. At this point, you are on the advantage during the lane battles. Just keep doing this and let Omknight heal Tormented Soul once in a while if needed.

The important items for Tormented Soul on this combo are Aghanhim's Scepter and Linken's Sphere. You can get the next items of your choice. I suggest boots of travel and dagger of escape then items to boost your health points to stay longer on clashes. If you still have extra, get guinsoo to increase your damage, increase mana, increase mana regeneration and to disable a target enemy. Omniknight might have boots and mass bracers because he won't have that much gold due to dedicating full support giving creep and hero kills to teammates and at the same time providing sentry and observer wards during the game.

During clashes, cast repel on Tormented Soul then he can just go in the middle of the battle spamming all skills while having pulse nova activated. With Aghanhim's Scepter on your inventory, this can deal quite an amount of area effect damage. If you also have Linken's Sphere, you automatically counter the enemy's chance of dispelling repel through Medusa's purge and Diffusal Blade. If the enemies focus on you with their normal attack, you have Omniknight to cast Guardian Angel. This will drive them crazy taking away their hope of winning the clash. lol. But remember to keep Omniknight on a safe distance and guarded by the other heroes. This is very crucial because if they are able to cast Eul's or worst kill Omniknight first before he can even cast Guardian Angel then this combo won't work. Don't worry about Omniknight a being few distances away from Tormented Soul because level 16 Guardian Angel has a wide affected area and ha a 9-second duration(this might change on next versions).

Do the same during pushes. If the enemies just wait from a distance, cast diabolic edict on the structures(most probably tower) then go back to Omniknight before repel wears off and have it casted on you again then keep repeating until they're forced to engage in a clash. Tormented Sould should not be afraid being alone in the front line for a while because he is immune to magic and you have Guardian Angel if they do physical attack so there is a little chance of killing you and you will have your teammates to back you up anyway in a flash when the enemies go near. :)

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Spectre Guide

A darkness who was ancient even in the early days of the world's existence, Mercurial is the embodiment of rage and vengeance in the souls of those long dead. Haunting her enemies with relentless fervor, she is able to throw a dagger-like projectile that allows her to chase her prey beyond physical boundaries, and the fear and the desolation struck in the hearts of those who have the misfortune of encountering her alone is a pain impossible to withstand. Spectre's thirst for destruction is insatiable, and the upcoming struggle seems to be just what she was waiting for.

Hero Skills

Spectral Dagger - The Spectre launches a deadly dagger that trails a Shadow Path. Deals damage to the targets in its path. Units hit by the dagger will also trail a Shadow Path. The Spectre becomes phased (gains zero collision) while on the path.

Level 1 - Spectre gains 5% movespeed, enemies lose 5%. Deals 50 damage.
Level 2 - Spectre gains 9% movespeed, enemies lose 9%. Deals 100 damage.
Level 3 - Spectre gains 14% movespeed, enemies lose 14%. Deals 150 damage.
Level 4 - Spectre gains 18% movespeed, enemies lose 18%. Deals 200 damage.

Desolate - Deals bonus damage that cuts through armor when attacking a hero that has no nearby allied units. Works on Illusions.

Level 1 - 15 Bonus Damage.
Level 2 - 25 Bonus Damage.
Level 3 - 35 Bonus Damage.
Level 4 - 45 Bonus Damage.

Passive

Dispersion - Gives Mercurial a chance to avoid damage and disperse it to an area around her. Has a minor stun effect. Can only disperse for as much hp as she has. 400 AOE.

Level 1 - 4% chance.
Level 2 - 8% chance.
Level 3 - 12% chance.
Level 4 - 16% chance.

Passive

Haunt - Creates a haunting image beside each enemy hero. These images are uncontrollable, take 200% damage, deal 50% damage and each of them will attack only its pair. Cooldown goes down with level.

Level 1 - Lasts 4 seconds.
Level 2 - Lasts 5 seconds.
Level 3 - Lasts 6 seconds.

Hero Builds

MVP Build I - This is best if your role is the main mvp of the team and you are being given priority by your teammates when it comes to items. This includes letting you farm as you can at the same time protecting you as much as they can so you can secure your items.

• Starting Items - 4 tangos, 1 flask, rest to branches
  
• Early to mid game items - power threads, 2-3 wraith bands (or vanguard), sacred relic
  
• Late game items - radiance, sange & yasha or(manta style), butterfly
  
• Skill Build : dagger, dispersion, dagger, dispersion, dagger, haunt, dagger, dispersion, desolate, dispersion, desolate, haunt, desolate, desolate, stats, haunt, rest to stats
  

Gameplay :

Play safe during early lane battles specially if your enemies on the lanes are very strong and aggressive. Hopefully you have a good support hero with you early in the game(like lich and warlock) so you will feel secure. Concentrate on getting gold on last hits. Don't let your enemies attack you freely so only get close when you will do last hits to get gold or else keep distance. Use your dagger wisely. Use it only when you will go for the kill or to run away. You can use it to cross trees to escape death. Other than that, reserve your mana. Don't use it to spam. Recharge your health and mana when you reach level 6. Be sure you have enough for haunt in case your teammates ask for it. That's the beauty of spectre. She(yes, mercurial is a girl) can help early game offensively anywhere on the map while still farming on the lanes unlike other mvp heroes. Get items when you recharge on the fountain at level 6 or so. Get boots and wraith bands(or vanguard). Buy wraith bands if you are going to be aggressive on killing enemies early. Specially when your game plan is to cast haunt always and go for the kill. If you fele you're going to have any difficulty on the lanes or you might resort to farming on the creep camps, buy vanguard. Buy power threads after that. Power threads is very important to mercurial whether for farming or hunting for kills. After that, concentrate on farming for relic. Your priority from this point on is to get sacred relic. This is only the hard part. Once you secured radiance, it will be a lot easier later on. You can get your next items easily and you will now be a big threat to enemy heroes. Haunt along with desolate will hurt them badly once you have radiance specially if you got it below 30 minutes in the game. Whenever your teammates or opponents do a push, just farm on the free lane then cast haunt during the clash and go there when haunt is almost finish to sweep your opponents. Always target the weakest and most vulnerable heroes first(these are usually the support heroes or could be the mvp hero with low hp). After that, go back to farming. This is what you will always do. Go to a free lane or go to creep camps. You will only join your teammate during clashes through haunt. This is the reason why mercurial is one of my favorite heroes. She can push a different lane by herself and when your teammates need you, you can go there just in time.

Your next items would be Sange & Yasha(or manta style). Assess carefully which item is best. Manta style is best if most enemy heroes rely on mana or crucial enemy heroes are dependent on mana just like Skeleton King for reincarnation. Other than that, buy Sange & Yasha. It will boost your attack speed, health points and damage. Then buy butterfly after that so you will have higher damage and you will attack very fast which will make haunt very effective. You can experiment what item you want next. I like going for refresher orb. Two haunts will hurt your enemies very much. hehe.

MVP Build II - Do this build if you are not the main priority for the team when it comes to item meaning you are not given that much time and protection to farm for relic early part of the game. Use this build too as an alternate build for MVP Build I if you are having a hard time securing radiance.

• Early to mid game items - power threads, 2-3 wraith bands(or vanguard)
  
• Late game items - sange & yasha(or manta style), butterfly
  
• Skill Build : dagger, dispersion, dagger, dispersion, dagger, haunt, dagger, dispersion, desolate, dispersion, desolate, haunt, desolate, desolate, stats, haunt, rest to stats
  

Gameplay :

Almost the same as MVP Build I except you will not go for radiance. You will directly go for sange & yasha(or manta style) instead of getting radiance first. The good part on this one is you are flexible middle part of the game unlike the first build on which you will really come out late game. You can be actively hunting with this build middle game. This is also your best alternate solution if your enemies keep killing you. So instead of waiting for sacred relic, just go for sange and yasha instead. The drawback on this build is your items won't be as fast as the build with radiance and most likely you won't be as strong as the first build late game.

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Lich Guide

Kel'Thuzad (Lich)
Forcibly raised from the dead by the Lich King to serve as his elite magical guard, the Lich has the burning cold of Northrend in his realm of control. Evoking numerous freezing blasts, his talent in life still remains in death. Delving into the essence of cold magic, he has the power to cause ice to condense into an orb that bounces from foe to foe, causing tremendous pain in its wake. Sacrificing his allies for magical power, the Lich is a murderer without a trace of warmth.

Hero Skills

Frost Nova - Blasts enemy units around a target enemy unit with a wave of damaging frost that slows movement and attack rates for 4 seconds.

Level 1 - 50 target damage and 75 nova damage.
Level 2 - 100 target damage and 100 nova damage.
Level 3 - 125 target damage and 125 nova damage.
Level 4 - 175 target damage and 150 nova damage.

Frost Armor - Creates a shield of frost around a target friendly unit. The shield adds armor and slows attacking melee units for 2 seconds.

Lasts 40 seconds.

Level 1 - Adds 3 armor.
Level 2 - Adds 6 armor.
Level 3 - Adds 9 armor.
Level 4 - Adds 12 armor.

Dark Ritual - Sacrifices a target friendly unit to convert its hit points into mana.

Level 1 - 15% of hit points to mana.
Level 2 - 30% of hit points to mana.
Level 3 - 45% of hit points to mana.
Level 4 - 60% of hit points to mana.

Chain Frost - Releases a jumping breath of frost that jumps 6 times.

Level 1 - Deals 280 damage per hit.
Level 2 - Deals 370 damage per hit.
Level 3 - Deals 460 damage per hit.

Hero Builds

MVP Build - This is not a good build for lich if you are looking for good team play. Use this build only if there are no other options for mvp or you are playing with random players and your teammates suck at playing.

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - bracers, boots of travel
  
• Late game items - Eye of Skadi, Aghanhim's Scepter, Heart of Tarrasque
  
• Skill Build : dark ritual, nova, nova, dark ritual, nova, chain frost, nova, dark ritual, stats, dark ritual, chain frost, frost armor, frost armor, frost armor, frost armor, chain frost, the rest to stats. (Note: if you plan on being aggressive at level 1 like getting a first blood, you can get nova first but it's best to get dark ritual first for early creep control)
  

Gameplay :

The moment the creeps starts to spawn, cast dark ritual on on melee creep. That way, you have one less creep so your enemy on the lane will automatically have less xp and gold. Cast dark ritual every cooldown and keep harassing the enemy with your frost nova and occasional normal attacks. You have almost unlimited mana because of dark ritual so don't be afraid to cast nova every cooldown. Just be careful to have enough mana to cast dark ritual again. Keep doing this to keep giving your enemy a hard time. When you reach level 6, if he has low hp it is a sure kill. If the hero with you on the same lane(teammate) is a stunner, it would make things easier to get a kill. If the enemy goes back to base to heal, it is also good because it means that he is now behind on experience and that also means easier farming for you and your teammate. It will also affect the hero he left on the lane. That hero can't afford to get himself exposed so he will most definitely hide behind their tower. Keep doing this until you're forced to go back to base and buy items. When you do, buy boots and bracers first. Boots of travel if you have extra. When yo have these items, you can easily support your teammates or go anywhere on the map for the kill. As much as possible use chain frost to go for a kill every cooldown.

Late Game you go for Eye of Skadi, Aghanhim's Scepter and Heart of Tarrasque. Eye of Skadi is a good item for lich for the slow effects. It also adds health, mana and damage. Get Aghanhim's Scepter after this to increase your ultimate damage and decrease its cooldown giving you more chances on casting chain frost with also an improved damage. Get Heart of Tarrasque after this to make you harder to kill. Expect that by this time, your enemies have good items too so you need lots of health if you want to stay long in combat. You can experiment for your next items after this. You can go for refresher orb or anything you like. Just try things out.

Support Build - best build for lich for team play. Lich is one of my favorite support characters. It is the very thing that Lich is good at while also having the ability to do massive damage

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - observer wards(or sentries if you need it more), bracers, town portal
  
• Late game items - dagger, mekansm, Eul's Scepter of Divinity
  
• Skill Build : dark ritual, nova, nova, dark ritual, nova, chain frost, nova, dark ritual, stats, dark ritual, chain frost, frost armor, frost armor, frost armor, frost armor, chain frost, the rest to stats. (Note: if you plan on being aggressive at level 1 like getting a first blood, you can get nova first but it's best to get dark ritual first for early creep control)
  

Gameplay :

As soon as the creeps spawn, cast dark ritual on the melee creep right away. Remember to cast dark ritual every cooldown. Your role is to support your teammate's hero on the lane. Give all creep kills to him as much as possible and focus on denying your creeps and harassing the enemy heroes. Use frost nova every now and then but be sure to reserve mana for dark ritual. If you get constant visits from other enemy heroes, go home and buy observer wards. Buy sentry wards if your opponents have skills like vendetta and windwalk. Remember to always support your team's mvp hero. Buy lots of wards if you have to. Don't worry about your item too much. All you need is to be in a safe distance then cast spells every now and then every cooldown. If you are having a hard time, buy 1 to 2 bracers to give you more health. Buy boots and town portal too so you can also help your other teammates whenever they're being attacked. You can leave the mvp hero every now and then to harass other enemies on the other lanes but be sure to bring tp so you can always go back to your lane whenever you are needed by the mvp hero. Keep doing this until you have extra money to buy items of your own like dagger of escape. Dagger of escape is a good item to help you escape the enemy's mvp heroes. Get mekansm too if you still have extra gold so you can heal yourself and your allies during clashes.

During clashes, the most important thing is for you to cast chain frost before you die. Always make sure that you casted chain frost on the clash. You also need to have good timing for maximum effect. Don't go out front before clashes. Avoid being caught by the enemy first thing like being stunned or swapped then get killed before you can even cast chain frost. Be sure to cast frost armor on your teammates too. This is good specially against melee opponents. If you did all this during the clash, you are already good. It's ok to die as long as you have casted all the spells that you needed to cast.

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Dynamic Duo for the Week

I will be posting once a week what I call as dynamic duo. They are two good combo heroes. It could be that they are a good pair during lane battles, during clashes, etc. So our dynamic duo for the week is sven and chen.

It's not because they are both knights(rogue knight and holy knight ^_^) but it is because they really a very good pair in every aspect of the game. They are good during the early part which is the lane battles. Chen should get possession and sven should get storm bolt at level 1. As soon as the creeps spawn on their side, chen should get 1 creep immediately. The best creep to get is the centaur or the fulborg. Both have area effect stun so when sven throws a storm bolt, the creep should immediately go and follow up a stun. This is a very good combo and can get hero kills most of the time. Specially when chen has penitence too which makes the enemy take additional damage and slow him at the same time making it hard to escape. If there is no fulborg or centaur, get satyr as second priority. It helps a lot because it can cast mana burn up to 4 times which burns 100 mana and damages 100 health. Imagine how much it would hurt the enemy being drained 400 health and 400 mana so early in the game.

During clashes, chen and sven provide a good chain stun. By the time chen should have around 3 stunners so when sven storm bolts a hero. Those creeps will get near to that hero stunning alternately for maximum effect while sven attacks with god strength on him. Sven should have a black king bar by this time so he can go to front lines without worrying of being disabled or casted high damaging spells. And if sven has low hp, chen can cast mekansm then hand of god to heal him. :)

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Viper Guide

Viper (Netherdrake)
A malicious Drake tamed by the Lich King himself, Viper is a fierce, acid-spitting beast whose speed and agility surprises the most hardened of warriors. Cursing himself into a maddened rage, Viper charges into battle without regard of his own safety. His salivary glands produce stinging poison that causes enemies to writhe in pain, severely damaging their nerves. Be careful when facing this powerful monster...its dark silhouette may be the last thing you will ever see.(From Warcraft III: Frozen Throne)

Hero Skills

Frenzy - Increases attack speed for 20 seconds, at the cost of taking additional damage.

Level 1 - 25% increase, 5% damage taken increase.
Level 2 - 50% increase, 10% damage taken increase.
Level 3 - 75% increase, 15% damage taken increase.
Level 4 - 100% increase, 20% damage taken increase.

Poison Attack - Coats Viper's attack with poison. Slows movement and attack speeds and lasts 2 seconds.

Level 1 - Slows speed by 10%, deals 6 damage per second.
Level 2 - Slows speed by 20%, deals 12 damage per second.
Level 3 - Slows speed by 30%, deals 18 damage per second.
Level 4 - Slows speed by 40%, deals 24 damage per second.

Corrosive Skin - Viper's body is covered with poison. Any unit that attacks it becomes infected. Reduced movement and attack speed and minor damage for 3 seconds. The poison also absorbs some of the damage from spells.

Level 1 - 5% reduction, 5 damage per second. 5% magic reduction.
Level 2 - 10% reduction, 10 damage per second. 10% magic reduction.
Level 3 - 15% reduction, 15 damage per second. 15% magic reduction.
Level 4 - 20% reduction, 20 damage per second. 20% magic reduction.

Viper Strike - Strikes with a vicious bite, slowing movement and attack speeds significantly and dealing poison damage over time.

Lasts 5 seconds.

Level 1 - Deals 60 damage per second and slows speeds by 40%.
Level 2 - Deals 100 damage per second and slows speeds by 60%.
Level 3 - Deals 145 damage per second and slows speeds by 80%.

Hero Builds

Semi-Support Build I -This is best if you want viper to hunt around the map looking for kills early game

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - dagger, boots of travel, dagon, wraith bands(not necessary if you have gained lots of gold)
  
• Late game items - Sange and Yasha, Monkey King Bar
  
• Skill Build : poison attack, stats, poison attack, stats, poison attack, viper strike, poison attack, corrosive skin, stats, corrosive skin, viper strike, corrosive skin, frenzy, corrosive skin, stats, frenzy, viper strike, then assign the rest.
  

Gameplay :

Keep harassing the enemy hero/es on the lanes. If you are with an mvp hero, give the creep kills to the mvp hero and concentrate on denying your own creeps. When you reach level 6, attempt a hero kill by using viper strike. When you reach level 7, go back to base and shop for items. You should be able to buy boots of travel by this time if you were careful or if you made the hero kill. If not, buy boots, some circlets and town portal then farm for your boots of travel. Be sure to watch out for enemies trying to kill your teammates. Always help them when you have the chance by using your town portal on the nearest tower. You can also earn lots of gold if you are lucky and were able to kill a hero when doing the rescue.

When you already have dagger, boots of travel and dagon it would be a lot easier to kill enemy heroes. You can even do a combo attack like when you have a teammate who is a stunner, make him stun the opponent while you travel on the creeps near to them. By the time the enemy recovers from stun, you will be there and cast viper strike on him then attack him with poison attack. If the enemy can almost escape, cast the dagon on him. lol. Just keep doing while slowly buying your next items. This is a good way of supporting your mvp heroes because you divert the enemy's attention on your constant visits and killing attempts. You can also help anywhere on the map as long as there is a structure to creep to use your boots of travel on. Your hero is still very useful late game if you got Sange & Yasha andMonkey King bar(or perhaps more).

Semi-Support Build II -This is best if you want viper support the team's mvp hero on the lane

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - dagger, power threads, mekansm, wards(if needed), wraith bands(not necessary if you have gained lots of gold)
  
• Late game items - Sange and Yasha, Monkey King Bar
  
• Skill Build : poison attack, stats, poison attack, stats, poison attack, viper strike, poison attack, corrosive skin, stats, corrosive skin, viper strike, corrosive skin, frenzy, corrosive skin, stats, frenzy, viper strike, then assign the rest.
  

Gameplay :

When you choose this build, you are most probably with another hero(most likely an mvp hero) in the lane. Just keep harassing your enemies with poison attack while denying your own creeps. Give all the creeps kills to the mvp hero as much as possible...even the hero kills. If you are constantly ganked in your lane by enemy heroes, provide wards. Keep your mvp hero safe while maintaining a safe distance so the enemy heroes can't attack you directly with ease. When you already have dagger, it's time for you and the mvp to be aggressive. Always try to go for the kill whenever you have your viper strike ready. And when you already have the mekansm, you can even hunt the enemy even if he is hiding behind his team's tower. You must have town portal with you every time so you can also support your other teammates. With mekansm, you save them lots of time and yourself too specially that you have your dagger. If you play this very well, you can buy Sange & Yasha, Monkey King Bar and others later on and still become very useful late game.

MVP Build -This build is best if you will rely on viper to be a strong killing machine on your team

• Starting Items - 2 tangos, 1 flask, the rest to branches
• Early to mid game items - relic, power threads, wraith bands(if you have hard time getting relic but go for relic after this)
  
• Late game items - Radiance, Sange & Yasha, Heart of Tarrasque or Black King Bar(if enemy has lots of stunners and/or very damaging spells), Monkey King Bar
  
• Skill Build : poison attack, stats, poison attack, stats, poison attack, viper strike, poison attack, corrosive skin, stats, corrosive skin, viper strike, corrosive skin, frenzy, corrosive skin, stats, frenzy, viper strike, then assign the rest.
  

Gameplay :

Farm for items from early game to mid game. Even in late game depending on the sitution. Focus on getting your items specially relic because this is the most difficult part. When you have radiance, it will be easier after that. Always get the creep and hero kills and ask for your teammates' help if you are having a hard time. You can even switch lane or go to creep camps if that is what it takes to get your items. Always bring town portal so you can use it to escape enemy attacks. You can also use it to help your teammates from other lanes but only do this if there is a little chance that you will die specially if you can kill at least 1 enemy enemy hero when you go for the rescue. Aside from that, just keep farming. You will come out later on....very strong. :D

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DOTA Heroes Guide Part I

I will start my guide on hero builds and strategy. This is very important because before you can actually play together with a team, you must at least know what hero to use and how to use it effectively. This guide will not only help you teach the best strategies but can also help you decide what hero suits you best. Are you better as a support hero? Or an MVP hero? You will know.

Here is a list of heroes that I will include in part I of my heroes guide. They will not be posted in the same order but their guide will be posted first before the others that are not listed :

1. King Leoric (Skeleton King)
2. Kel'Thuzad (Lich King)
3. Sven (Rogue Knight)
4. Rigwarl (Bristleback)
5. Nortrom (Silencer)
6. Mercurial (Spectre)
7. Razor (Lightning Revenant)
8. Viper (Netherdrake)
9. Demnok Lannik (Warlock)
10. Leshrac the Malicious (Tormented Soul)

I will also be posting a team strategy guide like team lineups, team lanes, etc. in between hero guides so just keep checking.

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DOTA Heroes

Players should choose their heroes(1 hero per player) in order to play DOTA. It is very important to know the hero very well so you can use them very effectively. Heroes can be classified in to different types. They can mainly be classified by attributes( strength, agility and intelligence).

Strength increases a hero’s maximum hit points and hit point regeneration. Each time a hero gains 1 strength his maximum hit points is increased by 19 and his hit point regeneration is increased by 1. Base damage of strength type heroes are also increased by 1 for every 1 strength gained. Agility increases a hero’s armor and attack speed. Each time a hero gains 7 agility his armor is increased by 1. Also for each 1 agility gained, attack speed is increased by 1% and adds 1 base damage for agility type heroes. Intelligence increases a hero’s mana regeneration and maximum mana points. Each time a hero gains 1 intelligence his mana is increased by 13 and his mana regeneration is increased by 1. Heroes with intelligence as their primary attribute increase their base damage by 1 for every 1 intelligence gained.

By the way, heroes gain additional attribute when they level up which varies on different heroes. There is also an option where players can assign it when heroes gain a level. Hit point and mana regeneration means the number of hit points or mana regenerated every 1 second. Armor increases hero defense against physical attacks.

So going on with classifying heroes by their main attributes. Here is a little overview:

• Strength Heroes - these heroes have strength as their primary attribute. They have a melee attack meaning they can only attack units that are next to them(this might change if ever new strength heroes are released on the future versions of DOTA). These heroes have lot of hit points and have a high hit point regeneration meaning they can sustain lots of damage and can quickly go back into battle after taking a lot of damage compared to heroes of different types.
• Agility Heroes - these heroes have agility as their primary attribute. They are probably highest damaging heroes in the game mainly because of their fast attack speed. They can also sustain a lot of physical damage because of their high armor.
• Intelligence Heroes - these heroes have intelligence as their primary attribute. They mostly ranged heroes because what they always do and most effective at is by casting spells. It is best to keep these heroes from a safe distance to strength and agility heroes because they have little physical resistance compared to them. These heroes also have the highest mana pool and mana regeration in the game.

Heroes can also be classified by their roles on the game. These are mvp heroes, support heroes and semi-support( or semi-mvp) heroes.

• MVP Heroes - these heroes are the strongest heroes during late game. Meaning they’re best when they have gained a higher level and good items in their inventory. They are usually weak during the early games(compared to other heroes) so they are going to need some very good support. They will usually just farm for items from the early to middle part of the game then later comes out very strong on the late game part. They can kill almost, if not, an entire team and even the opposing team’s mvp heroes if they get left behind on items.
• Support Heroes - these heroes are the ones that takes care of the mvp heroes during the game. From lane battles to clashes, they are very important to the mvp heroes’ survival. They are usually strong on the early part to the middle part of the game because of their support and offensive spells. Support heroes should do everything they can to protect the team’s mvp heroes even if it means they are going to die on the mvp’s place. Players using these type of heroes should be extra cautious specially during clashed because they can easily be killed when exposed.
• Semi-MVP or Semi-support Heroes - these heroes are very versatile. They can be play as support on the early part and later become as mvps. They can also play as hunter where from the early to middle part of the game they keep going for hero kills on different lanes even without that much items. Although they are not as strong as mvp heroes, they can become stronger if they are played very well.

Heroes can also be classified on other types like tank, spammer or sweepers. Tank heroes are the ones who can take huge amount of damage and usually enters the clashes first to draw out the attention of the opposing team. They want to be attacked first because they can’t be killed easily therefore giving their teammates free attacks without being bothered. Spammers are heroes who have lots of mana(or mana regeneration) and have area of effect spells(AOE). They are very effective in hitting lots of creeps(even enemy heroes) and is very important when defending or pushing an attack. Sweepers are heroes that have a very high damage. They are called sweepers because they usually come a little late during clashes to avoid being killed first or being disabled with stun, euls, etc. They come in when the attention is on another teammate(hopefully the tank. heh) and then kill what’s left of the enemy starting on the weakest ones.

Again, heroes are mainly classified by attributes. You may not encounter the other types I mentioned here but I said it because these are very important when I post my guides later on. So when I say “mvp agility hero” or in one of my guides “support build, mvp build, etc.” you will know what I mean. :)

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What is DOTA?

So, what is DOTA anyway?

DOTA, short for Defense of the Ancients, is a custom map made for Warcraft III: Frozen Throne. DOTA is a team strategy where players can choose sides and his own hero. There are two sides on the games, Sentinel and Scourge. Players on the same side fight the other players on the opposing side to win the game. The objective of the games is to destroy the opponents’ base together with AI controlled units called creeps. Heroes start at level 1 and levels up to level 25. Heroes level up during the game while killing opposing heroes and creeps. Heroes gain skill when they gain additional levels. DOTA can be played as starting 1v1 up to 5v5. This could be against human players or AI controlled heroes which can be played on DOTA AI maps.

DOTA was originally developed by a mapmaker named Eul. There were different DOTA variations that time. The most popular one is DOTA All Stars which was developed by Guinsoo. When Guinsoo retired, IceFrog took over as the main programmer for the map.

DOTA is more on strategy than individual play. Even though players have their own heroes, it is their teamwork that is very important to winning the game. Although factors like individual skills also matter, a very good player with team mates that doesn’t care a lot about the team can’t just win by himself against all his opponents(unless of course he’s far too good and his opponents are new to the game).

This blog will be about DOTA all stars and the different strategies to win the game. All will be discussed here from individual strategies to team strategies… best items for individual hero to best items for the same hero but this time for teamplay… different roles of each heroes in a team like who is the mvp type hero or the support hero… the different team lineups with their own unique combo or counter lineups for another lineup… well, just anything that I can share and think of.

I’m also open for comments and suggestions so feel free to say what you think about my posts.

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DOTA gamer creates his own DOTA blog

To start my blog, I would like to do a little introduction about myself. I am a 24 year old guy who loves playing computer games(PC and console games). One of the games that I love so much is DOTA. For those who doesn’t what DOTA is, I will be posting it on my next post. Aside from playing games, I like watching movies specially TV series and anime. I also like to go out and hang out with friends. I also work as a programmer for an outsourcing company. You can check my other blog here.

I dedicate this blog to posting information and strategies on DOTA based on my experiences as a part of a DOTA team and also from all the things I’ve learned from watching replays to playing with random people in Battle.net and GG Client.

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