Dota 2 is an action RTS computer multiplayer team game developed by Valve Corporation. The game was announced on October 13, 2010, and released on July 9, 2013 for Windows, and for Linux and OS X on July 18, 2013. The game is distributed according to the Free to Play model. Dota 2 is an implementation of the famous Defense of the Ancients map for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the StarCraft map Aeon of Strife.
Dota 2 is a combination of RTS and RPG. Players are divided into two competing teams (the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness), each containing up to five players. The main goal of the game is to destroy the enemy Ancient and protect your own. The ancients are protected by three towers on each side. Each player controls a hero, a strategically powerful unit with unique abilities and stats that improve over time. The hero can gain experience to increase his level, earn gold, buy and collect items that strengthen him. Each player constantly receives a small amount of gold, and also earns it by killing creeps, heroes and destroying buildings.
Dota 2 has a strong emphasis on tactics and teamwork, and strategy is often tied to speeding up power, optimal item selection, and order of ability upgrades.
, lead developer of the original Defense of the Ancients, was hired by Valve Software in 2009.
The beta test started in 2010 and officially ended in July 2013 right after The International 2013 when the Windows client was officially released with the queue system implemented. Clients for Mac and Linux were released a week later. Dota 2 runs on the Source 2 engine and replicates some small details from the original DotA in order to preserve the gameplay.
Main article: Map
The map is the playing field of all Dota 2 matches. It consists of two sides, one of which is occupied by and the other by . To win, players must destroy the enemy Ancient One, an important building in the center of each team’s base. The map is duplicated in the interface as a mini-map. It’s also important to know that there is only one map in the game, but custom games can use maps created by the community.
Main article: Heroes
All heroes are unique characters in Dota 2. At the beginning of each game, players are divided into two teams of five people, and then choose a hero. Each player controls their hero and controlled creatures (for example, neutral creeps under the effect of ).
The hero gains experience when an enemy creature is killed near him. All heroes start the game at the first level and increase it as they gain experience. With each new level, the hero’s attributes increase and new abilities are learned.
Heroes are divided into three categories: , and .
There are currently 160 playable heroes in Dota 2. 112 of them were in the original DotA, but since they were ported, Monkey King, Dark Willow, Pangolier, Grimstroke, Mars, Void Spirit, Snapfire, Hoodwink, Dawnbreaker, Marci, and Primal Beast have been released.
Items are used to give the hero new abilities; to increase experience gained or restore health and mana. Items are sold at the Home Shop or Secret Shop, more powerful items require some basic items and a recipe. Items take up space in the hero’s inventory, which consists of 6 main inventory slots and 3 backpack slots. Items in the backpack are inactive and do not provide passive stats. When moving items from the backpack to the inventory, they will become active only after 6 seconds.
Gold is given out periodically, but in large quantities it can be obtained by killing enemy creatures (creeps, buildings, enemy heroes). Depending on who was killed, gold can be given to the killer (creep bounty) or his team (towers, barracks, couriers and Roshan).
Dota 2 is a Team Based Multiplayer MOBA video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The game is a sequel to DotA, a custom map modification for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its add-on Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The game depicts the battle on a special kind of map; each match involves two teams of five players each controlling different «heroes» — characters with different sets of abilities and characteristics. To win the match, the team must destroy a special object — the «fortress» belonging to the enemy side, and protect their own «fortress» from destruction. Dota 2 works on a free-to-play model with elements of micropayments.
Dota 2 gameplay.
Awards and nominations
The International at GamesCom 2011
In 2015, a series of The Major tournaments, also organized by Valve, started. The first one took place in November 2015 in Frankfurt.
Positions (roles) of heroes
The first three roles are key (cores), the fourth and fifth are supports. The difference between the two is that cores kill more creeps and get more gold, while supports take the remaining creeps. Some heroes can be both cores and supports, others are not: the support needs abilities to help the cores, the core needs to quickly kill creeps and scale with the level.
