I'm beginning to test the waters with Dota2 and was wondering if there was some commentator along the lines of Day9 for the game. You know, someone who shows replays and gives tips - stuff along those lines. Watching some of Day9's videos really helped me learn my way around Starcraft 2 and anything to help me get better at Dota2 would be great.

@breadfan said:

The closest I could think of would be Purge. He does general how-to videos and hero-specific videos, though the difference is it is him playing the hero rather than going over a replay of someone else playing. He doesn't do a structured show like Day9 but he has a huge number of Youtube videos and a livestream you can watch.

Here's his site:

http://www.purgegamers.com/

Purge is the first person that came to my mind as well. His Youtube channel has videos on practically every hero and good commentary to go along with it. I've definitely learned a thing or two from watching, especially when I find a hero that I just can't seem to nail down. I'll watch him play a game with that hero and learn the skill/item progression and why they were done that way (which is the important part for me).

Bradley "rudds" Shoemaker.

@subjugation: @ben_h: Thanks. I'll be sure to check out some of his videos.

I've watched a few of the Daily Dota videos, but it's sort of hard to follow, as a new player, without much context as to why Brad is doing a certain thing. Plus he totally blew out my speakers in the newest one when he screamed BLACK HOLE incredibly fucking loud. So thanks, Brad.

@breadfan: you are alive BLACK HOLE was not yelled loud enough.

Purge and Merlini are probably your closest bets.

It's been said already but I'll say it again: Purge.

His videos on individual heroes are great primers on how to use their abilities and what to buy.

People have mentioned Purge and his individual hero videos already, but they haven't mentioned his Purge Casts a Pub series. I feel this is a good series for newer players as it's Purge watching a replay of low level players while commentating on common newbie mistakes and why they're bad choices/actions.

Purge Casts a Pub playlist!

Purge is really good for learning pretty basic ways to play heroes effectively in the current metagame. However, once you have a decent understanding of the game, you should watch merlini. He doesn't explain himself as much as Purge, but he definitely plays at a higher level, and exhibits really good efficiency that nearly anybody can learn from. He doesn't post on youtube much, but he streams pretty frequently, and the streams are always archived so there's that. Here is his stream

Also, don't go too deep into either players catalog, dota is an evolving game and some strategies become dated and/or nonviable as time goes on.

Sheever

Purge for general purpose and Merlini for some more in-dept analysis on specific subjects.

There are a ton of good players with stuff out there, Like pro players streams and such. But there won't be explanations of why they did it or why what did they was important. So that might only be good once you are deeper into it.

TobiWan is a great caster! But Purge is more like Day9 for sure...

Honestly, watching Brad's videos are a great way to learn the game. It's really difficult to watch some of the "how to be good at DOTA" videos by pros like Purge. These guys are at such a high tier that when they show off simple concepts like last hitting or jungling, it's shown off at their level and looks perfect. When you attempt it, it's an abysmal failure.

Even though Brad doesn't explain what he's doing in the Daily DOTA very often, you're seeing someone who's not perfect. It's kind of like learning a game together with someone. I've actually gotten into DOTA a little bit because of Brad, because I feel like this is something that a human being can accomplish.

Purge is great for learning the game. He's not my favorite caster but the's definitely what your looking for.

I wouldn't entirely agree on this. Some would call Purge a knowledgeable mid-level player. Although I wouldn't say anything about that I think he keeps the "crazy" stuff pretty low. He is a pretty "by the books" player (by design, I would think since he makes guides) and great to watch if you're a beginner. But seeing Brad struggling could be a way to learn to, I guess (if nothing else, it's fun). All in all, if you've done the tutorial, played some bots, it's not wrong to dive into a Purge guide.

But for the love of god, don't load up an Alliance vs Navi match and think you could learn from that.

This is what I think the key difference between Starcraft 2 and DOTA2 is when it comes to spectating games. Even at low levels, you can learn from watching professional Starcraft 2 games. You can learn new builds, you can understand how important scouting is and where to place units for optimal vision, what the counters are, etc. Every game is a learning experience. My wife, who had never played Starcraft 2 before, did really well her first game because she watched GSL with me.

In DOTA2, you learn... um... teamwork? I don't know. DOTA 2 is like professional sports in this regard, you can't ever learn to be better at sports by watching, only by playing.

Pyrion Flax.

Purge is a knowledgeable caster with how to vids but he isn't really like day9. Day9 is something unique to SC. There isn't a big enough Dota fan base for someone to make a living off of breaking down dota matches. Plus they are too long. If you do watch Purge's how to videos you will eventually understand the mechanics of dota enough to follow a competitive match. Although I would recommend reading some of the Dota 1 guides on playdota.com. They are written and some might be a tad outdated but for learning the more in depth core mechanics they are still fantastic.