I'll admit i'm not as well versed in all the champs in this game as i was once was back in my wc3 days. Post here with who you play frequently and other champs you've dabbled in.

Weaver- love his "w", however maybe it's just me but his "q" does absolutely nothing

Venomancer- he seems to be a very easy to play champ with his constant mini turrets and a AoE ult

Nature's Prophet- Until recently did i realize the combo of his entrapment turned into ents when there aren't any trees around (i know i know, how did i not notice this in the beginning)

So who have you duders been playing as and why?

Enigma and Broodmother and Zeus because they're pretty easy to learn.

Sladar, Huskar and Sand King.

I like having stuns/slow while being pretty beefy also.

I'd wish they would put in Abadon (Lord of Avernus) in already. He is by far my favorite DotA hero.

Am I the only one who gets super pissed when people call DOTA's heroes champions? On the giant bomb forums I mean... Fuck LoL.

Anyways dota is the deepest completitive game ever so it will take a lot of time for the new guys to learn how to play properly. Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

I've been playing random every game to learn the heroes. So far my favourites are probably Drow, Anti-Mage, Slardar, Vengeful Spirit and Windrunner.

Shadow Fiend seems extremely cool but I am terrible with him D:

@phrosnite said:

Am I the only one who gets super pissed when people call DOTA's heroes champions? On the giant bomb forums I mean... Fuck LoL.

Anyways dota is the deepest completitive game ever so it will take a lot of time for the new guys to learn how to play properly. Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Who cares?

Anyway just played clockwerk and i tried to spec him for burst but kept getting rolled throughout the game

I really like playing with Shadow Shaman, Crystal Maiden and Nature's Prophet.

@phrosnite said:

Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Aside from Riki I wouldn't call any of them "noob heroes".

@phrosnite: champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions, champions.

@Mr_Skeleton said:

I really like playing with Shadow Shaman, Crystal Maiden and Nature's Prophet.

@phrosnite said:

Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Aside from Riki I wouldn't call any of them "noob heroes".

Really? Then maybe you need to spend more time playing the game :)

Edit: or maybe I'm just that good so many heroes feed easy to play :P

I like playing support heroes, if i die i don't get pissed off.

Lich - I don't care what anyone says, but if you throw down frost blast then follow it up with chain frost, you can absolutely destroy fools. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have gotten anywhere from 2-4 kills just using that combo both in team fights obviously and all by my lonesome. It's not even that hard to avoid either. Just spread out once Lich pops it and you're safe, but I guess a lot of people get caught up in the moment.

Death Prophet - Personally, I don't find that she fits my style as much as lich, but I still like using her from time to time because you can practically solo a tower with Exorcism provided there are enough creeps to keep the tower busy for a second. And when I mean solo a tower, I mean this bitch will lay the smackdown on it.

edit: They fit my style which is why I really use them at the end of the day. What I listed was just the icing on the cake so to speak.

I've been having fun with Skeleton King since I really only have to hit one button.

I usually just random since I've played every hero multiple times from DotA in WC3, But I'm a big fan of a couple specific heroes:

Natures Prophet: Relaxing early game jungle with tree circle gank opportunities, teleport around the map for the entire game spamming ult to farm gold. Nothing is like teleporting in, killing a guy, and teleporting out as his friends run up to you.

Dark Seer: Speed, pull = you can never be caught if you're careful enough, and can work extremely well with any AOE based teammates (Yurnero comes to mind). Just fun in general.

Tiny: Blink Dagger + Stun & Throw on any int hero for the entire game = almost guarenteed kill, and DotA 2 makes his ult awesome looking.

Leshrac: Just generally amazing.

I am the Juggernaut! By far my favourite hero in the game; I love his flexibility inside of a match. With his "W", he can heal himself, as well as allies, left and right without a second's consideration. The totem itself is moveable (but also targetable, watch out) so you can keep slaying even while you're doing your team a favour and giving them plenty of heals. His passive is great, as it's basically a very high crit chance that, at later levels, makes his auto-attack possibly the strongest one in the game. His "Q" is ofcourse lovely, both doing plenty of damage, be it single-target or aoe, and rendering him immune to all spells/abilities. If used right, it can fuck up any ult in the game. (SAY NO MORE!) And well, he's also got a pretty awesome Ult that will one-hit anyone; as long as the conditions are favourable. If any minions are nearby, the damage will be split up onto them, as well, which is simply what makes it a great ult and not an OP one. "There's a thin line between bravery and stupidity."

Doombringer - Another one of my favourites; with his "Q", he can absorb any creep, which is a great way of getting high sums of money early game. Mid-game, it's time to start applying it to neutral creep in order to steal buffs from them. I mostly play a carry Doombringer, and absorbing the wildcats gives him not only a cleave, but 35 % more damage, passively. There's plenty of fun options to experiment with, as well; making doombringer just a "fun" guy to play with. His "W", while doing some decent aoe damage at higher levels, is for me mainly a boost to melee dps or a way to close the distance in order for me to use my "E", a single-target damaging spell of ridiculous proportions. Finally, we have his ult, which is a long-duration dot and silence. At lvl 3, I think it easily drags 75 % off an enemy champ over some 15 seconds, also rendering him silenced all the while. With a decently short cd, it makes me laugh maniacally with glee.

These two are definitely my first go-to guys, and I'm usually able to get some 20 kills each game; but I'm definitely not shabby with Slardar, Bloodseeker, Lich and admittedly, I kick all kinds of ass with Nightstalker, but try not to play him too much.

Lich - Absolutely LOVE Lich because he has insane lane control and doesn't really need items. I get Sacrifice right away and use it on the first wave of creeps + block, and usually I can Sacrifice again before the first wave is dead. Constant Sacrifice means I'm never too far from the tower or out of mana for Frost Nova harass. Lich is amazing.

Axe - Beserker's Call is my favorite ability in the game. It's so fun targeting an enemy hero early game, to get creeps to attack and help proc Counter Helix, especially since many people don't realize Axe wants to be attacked. It's a great harass.

I recently tried Huskar and found him actually really fun. Haven't tried Bloodseeker in DotA yet, but I used to love him in WC3 DotA.

@Do_The_Manta_Ray said:

I am the Juggernaut! By far my favourite hero in the game; I love his flexibility inside of a match. With his "W", he can heal himself, as well as allies, left and right without a second's consideration. The totem itself is moveable (but also targetable, watch out) so you can keep slaying even while you're doing your team a favour and giving them plenty of heals. His passive is great, as it's basically a very high crit chance that, at later levels, makes his auto-attack possibly the strongest one in the game. His "Q" is ofcourse lovely, both doing plenty of damage, be it single-target or aoe, and rendering him immune to all spells/abilities. If used right, it can fuck up any ult in the game. (SAY NO MORE!) And well, he's also got a pretty awesome Ult that will one-hit anyone; as long as the conditions are favourable. If any minions are nearby, the damage will be split up onto them, as well, which is simply what makes it a great ult and not an OP one. "There's a thin line between bravery and stupidity."

Doombringer - Another one of my favourites; with his "Q", he can absorb any creep, which is a great way of getting high sums of money early game. Mid-game, it's time to start applying it to neutral creep in order to steal buffs from them. I mostly play a carry Doombringer, and absorbing the wildcats gives him not only a cleave, but 35 % more damage, passively. There's plenty of fun options to experiment with, as well; making doombringer just a "fun" guy to play with. His "W", while doing some decent aoe damage at higher levels, is for me mainly a boost to melee dps or a way to close the distance in order for me to use my "E", a single-target damaging spell of ridiculous proportions. Finally, we have his ult, which is a long-duration dot and silence. At lvl 3, I think it easily drags 75 % off an enemy champ over some 15 seconds, also rendering him silenced all the while. With a decently short cd, it makes me laugh maniacally with glee.

These two are definitely my first go-to guys, and I'm usually able to get some 20 kills each game; but I'm definitely not shabby with Slardar, Bloodseeker, Lich and admittedly, I kick all kinds of ass with Nightstalker, but try not to play him too much.

Could i ask what build you go with Jugg is? I just recently played him last night and he was tons of fun but i am still unsure of what items fit him best

I've only played a few games and they've all been with Enigma. Seems like a great game and Enigma's still pretty fun to play.

@Mr_Skeleton said:

@phrosnite said:

Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Aside from Riki I wouldn't call any of them "noob heroes".

As a DoTA player for six years now, I agree.

@XlxLionhearTxlX said:

@Mr_Skeleton said:

@phrosnite said:

Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Aside from Riki I wouldn't call any of them "noob heroes".

As a DoTA player for six years now, I agree.

Agree with whom? Skeleton? And you have been playing DotA for 6 years? rofl

@The_Drizzle: You'll need this link: DOTA 2 Items.

Well, first of all, he's a huge mana-whore, the good Jugger; it'll become much less of a problem later on in the game once you get the mana ring ("Voidstone") needed to make "Battlefury". I'd suggest you get 4x mana pots at the beginning of the game, as well as the two of the three items (2x Slippers - 1 Stout Shield) you need in order to build "Poor Man's Shield" and one health pot. Then you want to get the standard boots, upgrade them to "Powertreads" and align them to agility; jugger isn't supposed to take many hits, so I wouldn't use strength. Next up, I really don't advice getting the "Wand" for any character, I feel it's a near-useless item and that the money is spent better elsewhere. At this point, if I find that I've used a lot of mana, I tend to get "Perseverence" ring right away, starting with the "Void Stone" to get more mana. If I feel I've still got a decent supply of mana (keep buying mana-pots through the game), I get the sword "Yasha"; and then finish the "Battlefury" set before completing "Sange" to fit in with "Yasha". And from here on, it really just depends on how much money you have and what you feel comfortable spending it on; you'll have plenty of damage, hp/mana regen thanks to "Battlefury" and even a cleave, "Sange&Yasha" will provide you with speed boost plus slow on strike. I really like "Monkey King Bar" for the damage and stun ("Basher" is a cheaper and alright alternative, as well.); but another great option is the "Vladmir" helm for the Vampiric Aura. I'd also suggest the "Ultimate Scepter" as a very late game addition, as it'll simply allow you to kill two players at once with one burst of your ult and give you much more mana/health.

- So to sum that up: 4x mana pot, 2 Slipper, 1 health pot at start > Poor man's shield > Powertreads (Agility) >Perseverence/Yasha (Depending on how much mana you think you're using) >Battlefury >Sange&Yasha > Vladmir/Monkey King Bar (Depending on money) - AND KEEP BUYING MANA POTS! - And don't forget to shout in a really high voice for someone to "BUY A FUCKING COURIER, DAMN IT!"

- As for abilities: I usually tend to get his "Q" (Bladefury) first level, his "W" (Totem) at the second level, then another spot in "Q" at lvl 3 before I get in a point in his passive, then simply max "Q" > Passive > W in that order; and ofcourse get ult at 6-11-16. (Upgrade your stats at lvl 14, then get last leven totem at 15.)

That's about it. Make sure you're laning with someone who's got a stun, and simply "Q" the unlucky bastard. Remember also that it's a great escape move AND that it's probably the best ability in the game for dealing with a stealthed enemy as you can still see the hits it inflincts on him (Small, orange slashes on the screen where the enemy is located.) Hope this helps, mate.

@Do_The_Manta_Ray said:

@The_Drizzle: You'll need this link: DOTA 2 Items.

Well, first of all, he's a huge mana-whore, the good Jugger; it'll become much less of a problem later on in the game once you get the mana ring ("Voidstone") needed to make "Battlefury". I'd suggest you get 4x mana pots at the beginning of the game, as well as the two of the three items (2x Slippers - 1 Stout Shield) you need in order to build "Poor Man's Shield" and one health pot. Then you want to get the standard boots, upgrade them to "Powertreads" and align them to agility; jugger isn't supposed to take many hits, so I wouldn't use strength. Next up, I really don't advice getting the "Wand" for any character, I feel it's a near-useless item and that the money is spent better elsewhere. At this point, if I find that I've used a lot of mana, I tend to get "Perseverence" ring right away, starting with the "Void Stone" to get more mana. If I feel I've still got a decent supply of mana (keep buying mana-pots through the game), I get the sword "Yasha"; and then finish the "Battlefury" set before completing "Sange" to fit in with "Yasha". And from here on, it really just depends on how much money you have and what you feel comfortable spending it on; you'll have plenty of damage, hp/mana regen thanks to "Battlefury" and even a cleave, "Sange&Yasha" will provide you with speed boost plus slow on strike. I really like "Monkey King Bar" for the damage and stun ("Basher" is a cheaper and alright alternative, as well.); but another great option is the "Vladmir" helm for the Vampiric Aura. I'd also suggest the "Ultimate Scepter" as a very late game addition, as it'll simply allow you to kill two players at once with one burst of your ult and give you much more mana/health.

- So to sum that up: 4x mana pot, 2 Slipper, 1 health pot at start > Poor man's shield > Powertreads (Agility) >Perseverence/Yasha (Depending on how much mana you think you're using) >Battlefury >Sange&Yasha > Vladmir/Monkey King Bar (Depending on money) - AND KEEP BUYING MANA POTS! - And don't forget to shout in a really high voice for someone to "BUY A FUCKING COURIER, DAMN IT!"

- As for abilities: I usually tend to get his "Q" (Bladefury) first level, his "W" (Totem) at the second level, then another spot in "Q" at lvl 3 before I get in a point in his passive, then simply max "Q" > Passive > W in that order; and ofcourse get ult at 6-11-16. (Upgrade your stats at lvl 14, then get last leven totem at 15.)

That's about it. Make sure you're laning with someone who's got a stun, and simply "Q" the unlucky bastard. Remember also that it's a great escape move AND that it's probably the best ability in the game for dealing with a stealthed enemy as you can still see the hits it inflincts on him (Small, orange slashes on the screen where the enemy is located.) Hope this helps, mate.

Thanks man that was extremely helpful

As a dude who played a bit of the WC3 Dota and has finally gotten back in the swing of it with Dota 2, I thought I knew what was up. Apparently not.

I find a lot of the heroes being suggested here not fitting my style. For people really new to this game I found guys with less active skills to be the best. Skeleton King, Lifestealer, and Riki are the ones that come to my mind immediately. A new player might not be able to play them optimally, but with the high amount of passive skills they (probably) won't drag the team down too much while they get a hang of things.

I find INT heroes in general (with a few exceptions) very tough to play as a relatively new player due to the importance of positioning in battles. An INT hero who gets too aggressive will quickly get owned over and over if they are not very careful. That's why I usually recommend something like a STR/AGI carry for the new players. Usually those type of characters are more item dependent, but won't keel over and die when the opposing team looks at you funny.

Who knows, maybe it's just me? There are TONS of valid ways to play this game, and since so much of it comes down to teamwork, the hero choice isn't very important in pub games anyhow. The important things to learn are the basics (how to last hit, when/where to farm, who to focus in team fights, etc), the rest of the hero countering and stuff like that will come as you play more games and learn more about the different heroes.

@XlxLionhearTxlX said:

@Mr_Skeleton said:

@phrosnite said:

Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Aside from Riki I wouldn't call any of them "noob heroes".

As a DoTA player for six years now, I agree.

I'm not sure if i agree with Riki being noob, i mean, he's good against anybody who doens't know what they're doing, but man, if you play against anybody competent without really learning him well, you're pretty screwed.

@Shirogane said:

I'm not sure if i agree with Riki being noob, i mean, he's good against anybody who doens't know what they're doing, but man, if you play against anybody competent without really learning him well, you're pretty screwed.

Well yeah, but hopefully by the time you are playing against those people you can move to other heroes.

Already posted in this thread, but whatever...

Good lord, I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally like Lich. I don't know where else to post this since it really doesn't deserve it's own thread.

I just went 14-0-13 with Lich. The other team was not good. I went solo mid and killed Ursa all by myself a good 3-4 times before he came with backup and I killed them too. Chain frost is just stupid and i mean that in the best way possible lol. I credit most of my kills to that just now because that, along with the shitty items the other team had, was just all sorts of 'fucking shit up.'

Alas, the victory feels bittersweet because even though I'm by no means a good player, I know a bad one when i see it and these guys were just making all sorts of mistakes.

@BabyChooChoo said:

Already posted in this thread, but whatever...

Good lord, I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally like Lich. I don't know where else to post this since it really doesn't deserve it's own thread.

I just went 14-0-13 with Lich. The other team was not good. I went solo mid and killed Ursa all by myself a good 3-4 times before he came with backup and I killed them too. Chain frost is just stupid and i mean that in the best way possible lol. I credit most of my kills to that just now because that, along with the shitty items the other team had, was just all sorts of 'fucking shit up.'

Alas, the victory feels bittersweet because even though I'm by no means a good player, I know a bad one when i see it and these guys were just making all sorts of mistakes.

When your team has no silence or good stun-chain combo, dealing with Lich in a team environment is a bitch.

Had a team yesterday that was being wiped out again and again because some people are still unfamiliar with dealing with Lich ulti.

I just want to let it be known, me and 4 other duders won a game that was at 32-56, with the power of friendship, we were able to overcome and win what will be known as "The Great Duder Retaliation"

Jorbear

The Hunger Gabes

Expiration

darkwhitehair - Pour one out fellas

But in all seriousness, if you're on the fence about getting in some games with duders, you really should, it makes the game MUCH more enjoyable and allows for epic moments like these

I haven't played a lot recently, "or at all for that matter". But I had some good games with Lina, so far she is my favorite. I think mostly because she feels the most like a LoL champ, Skillshots FTW. I tried out Huskar a bit, and it worked out waaay to well, he feels broken IMO, so I don't really want to take credit for those wins. Easiest hero I've played in a long time.

@phrosnite said:

@XlxLionhearTxlX said:

@Mr_Skeleton said:

@phrosnite said:

Noob heroes? Lich, Viper, Night Stalker, Tidehunter, Huskar, Dragon Knight, Riki, Lion, Queen of Pain.

Aside from Riki I wouldn't call any of them "noob heroes".

As a DoTA player for six years now, I agree.

Agree with whom? Skeleton? And you have been playing DotA for 6 years? rofl

What's so "rofl" about playing DotA for six years? People still play games like Counter-Strike, Quake (the first one!), Ultima Online and so on, I don't see what's so funny about it. DotA has a lot to offer and it takes a very, very long time to master, and it constantly changes with new heroes and content.

@Do_The_Manta_Ray said:

@The_Drizzle: You'll need this link: DOTA 2 Items.

Well, first of all, he's a huge mana-whore, the good Jugger; it'll become much less of a problem later on in the game once you get the mana ring ("Voidstone") needed to make "Battlefury". I'd suggest you get 4x mana pots at the beginning of the game, as well as the two of the three items (2x Slippers - 1 Stout Shield) you need in order to build "Poor Man's Shield" and one health pot. Then you want to get the standard boots, upgrade them to "Powertreads" and align them to agility; jugger isn't supposed to take many hits, so I wouldn't use strength. Next up, I really don't advice getting the "Wand" for any character, I feel it's a near-useless item and that the money is spent better elsewhere. At this point, if I find that I've used a lot of mana, I tend to get "Perseverence" ring right away, starting with the "Void Stone" to get more mana. If I feel I've still got a decent supply of mana (keep buying mana-pots through the game), I get the sword "Yasha"; and then finish the "Battlefury" set before completing "Sange" to fit in with "Yasha". And from here on, it really just depends on how much money you have and what you feel comfortable spending it on; you'll have plenty of damage, hp/mana regen thanks to "Battlefury" and even a cleave, "Sange&Yasha" will provide you with speed boost plus slow on strike. I really like "Monkey King Bar" for the damage and stun ("Basher" is a cheaper and alright alternative, as well.); but another great option is the "Vladmir" helm for the Vampiric Aura. I'd also suggest the "Ultimate Scepter" as a very late game addition, as it'll simply allow you to kill two players at once with one burst of your ult and give you much more mana/health.

- So to sum that up: 4x mana pot, 2 Slipper, 1 health pot at start > Poor man's shield > Powertreads (Agility) >Perseverence/Yasha (Depending on how much mana you think you're using) >Battlefury >Sange&Yasha > Vladmir/Monkey King Bar (Depending on money) - AND KEEP BUYING MANA POTS! - And don't forget to shout in a really high voice for someone to "BUY A FUCKING COURIER, DAMN IT!"

- As for abilities: I usually tend to get his "Q" (Bladefury) first level, his "W" (Totem) at the second level, then another spot in "Q" at lvl 3 before I get in a point in his passive, then simply max "Q" > Passive > W in that order; and ofcourse get ult at 6-11-16. (Upgrade your stats at lvl 14, then get last leven totem at 15.)

That's about it. Make sure you're laning with someone who's got a stun, and simply "Q" the unlucky bastard. Remember also that it's a great escape move AND that it's probably the best ability in the game for dealing with a stealthed enemy as you can still see the hits it inflincts on him (Small, orange slashes on the screen where the enemy is located.) Hope this helps, mate.

I'd like to point out that a lot of the stuff this guy said is bad advice. It's not all wrong but I'm going to correct a few things

- Don't get 4 mana potions at the start of the game. You only need one, maybe two. Spend your money on stat items (ironwood branches), regeneration and on a stout shield. Typically, I buy 2 branches, a shield, a tango and a healing salve. You need your stout shield to handle harass and tower dive. If your lane is hella aggressive and you need mana to keep Blade Furying, buy a mana potion or two and bring them to you with the courier.

-Get boots before your Poor Man's Shield. Staying in range to do damage with your Blade Fury is insanely vital, and extra movespeed lets you do that

-Keep your Power Treads on strength most of the time. You need all the health pool you can get. Turn them to agility later on when you have your BKB and stuff

-Get magic wand on every hero. It's the best item in the game. I'm serious.

-Finish your Battle Fury as soon as possible. The reason you get it is to farm with the cleave. Don't finish any items before you finish your Battle Fury, except your treads.

-Don't build Sange&Yasha. Build BKB instead. You absolutely need magic immunity as a kiteable melee carry. Your Q's magic immunity is poor since you can't attack while you're doing it. Only use it to escape after you finish your Battle Fury and BKB, you do more damage with your autoattacks by then. Also, don't build basher, it's a bad item for almost every hero. Vlad's is situational for most heroes as well. Scepter is also a shit item for Juggernaut, especially for late game

-I recommend taking stats at level 2 and 4 so you can combo your Blade Fury and Omnislash at level 6.

Also some other stuff

-You need to be aggressive as Juggernaut. If you're not getting kills on your lane, you're effectively losing. Juggernaut is a poor carry and needs to get fed on his lane to be able to stay relevant.

@Minorkos said:

-Get magic wand on every hero. It's the best item in the game. I'm serious.

I would second this. Magic wand is easily one of the best items in the game and should always be purchased. After every teamfight there is at least 7-15 charges on it and will be the difference between you winning and losing. Short on mana and can kill an enemy with 1 more Gush while playing Tidehunter? Pop wand, gush, get a kill. Or running away from a fight but have only 15 health while being chased? Pop the wand, get that extra 100 health and all of a sudden that Gush that would have killed you didnt and you live. Plus it gives you +3 to all stats which is amazing early game.