Jumping back in after 2 years off

Alright lads.

I gave up playing DOTA a couple of years ago because I realised I wasn't playing any other games. I've decided to get back into it as it seems like a great time to be playing right now, so I downloaded it earlier today. Now, I have been watching dota streams almost every day since then. I watch Waga and Pyrionflax, so if anything, I'm more knowledgeable about the game now than I ever was. I Was just wondering if anyone had any tips/advice/hero recommendations for me to play to get back into playing DOTA 2.

I used to play, almost exclusively- Clockwerk/Tidehunter/Bounty Hunter/KOTL and Treant protector, so they were the heroes I was planning on picking back up when I get into playing later on this evening.

If anyone has any sort of input, I'd totally love to hear it, Thanks!

@matoya: Well it's not an explicit tip, but Day9 of Starcraft fame has been running a great video series with Purge lately as he has been working his way up the ladder. If you wanted a another source of info, that's been a highly informative series. And it's current which is important given how different post 7.0 DotA is.

Right now Day9's mmr is around 2800k~. Think he started out a couple months ago around 2k. But a lot of the lessons apply to higher MMRs as well.

Treant I believe is still banned from Captain's Mode, so if you intend to play that you may wish to try practice somebody else.

I also second the thought about listening to day 9 and purge!

From what I hear, spirit breaker seems to be the way to increase mmr if you're stuck in 2k. I saw forsen and day 9 play this hero alot during patch 7.00-7.02. I don't know if this is still the case since they just nerfed roaming and ganking a bit with 7.03.

• AoE hero kill Gold and XP bounties reduced by 10% (including comeback gold and XP
• Passive gold income reduced by 10%

I've been out of the loop for a couple of months myself but the last time I checked in I was still fairly knowledgeable, if also still abominably bad at this game.

Definitely stick to the heroes you were comfortable with if you can - neither Clockwerk or Tidehunter have changed much in the last 2 years in terms of their fundamental abilities and roles, so you should be at home there. Treant Protector has changed quite a bit though, so you'll want to read up on what he does.

Just dive in, really. Play a few solo games and see how the game flows now. There's nothing better than to just play a lot to get accustomed to the changes that've been made.

Lastly, the community is as toxic as ever, if not worse, and is still the fundamental reason I enjoy the game less than I used to. Well, that and the realisation that my progress as a played had completely stagnated, leading to me being frustrated + realising there were better uses of my time. Still, at its' best, the current DOTA is fantastic.

My first game back was the absolute worst game I've ever had. Probably worse than my first game. Went 3-12 as Omni, and was constantly out of position. I was buying wards ALL GAME so I didnt even have brown boots till 18 minutes.

Totally awful. I wish there was a "Im not very good at this game" queue, so I dont spoil it for the other people who have to play with me while I get back into the game

@matoya: you could always do ARDM or one of the sillier modes, people realize those games aren't serious and can help you your sealegs back mechanically.

Or you could do Limited Heroes which is designed for new players.

I'm also trying to get back into Dota 2 and this sounds like some good advice. I've been playing mostly co-opt with some other players but that has taught me some bad habits.

played one pub match and i was pretty much done. someasshat got on my case for the hero i picked. the giant bomb channel/group seemed pretty warm and welcome to noobies, ended up not sticking to it though.

i feel if i ever wanted to really enjoy this game id have to play and play and play and it would end up becoming like work for me. plus id need a crew to roll with. it's always kind of intrigued me, though.

i feel id really appreciatebetter bots/ai or a good single player mode to practice, though i know it wouldnt be the same.

It's really brutal heading back in after a long break. Your secret matchmaking MMR is still at the level when you left so the first 30-40 games may well be complete trash until things even out and you start getting games which match your newfound trash skill level. I was consistently playing VH level before a year long break and hoo boy did the game torch me for the first month back. Wasn't that i was out of the meta loop, never stopped watching just about every tournament and digesting content daily. Mechanically it's a tough road back if you were playing at a really high level.

GLHF

Try out Underlord. He got added a couple patches back, and he's a really good offlaner who's pretty easy to play. He's super tanky, has tons of AoE magic damage, and his aura makes him an excellent pusher and teamfighter. The only tricky thing is his ult; it's an AoE teleport for your entire team. It's really useful to escape bad fights or transition into taking objectives after a team wipe, but just be careful not to screw over your team with it by mistake. Also, solar crest is one of the best items in the game right now and nobody ever buys it, so consider picking it up on any right-clicker.

Also, don't ever play All Pick. It's a garbage mode filled with the worst people in the game. Random Draft is probably the best overall mode, but Single Draft is a really good way of forcing yourself to learn new heroes.

It looks like my last match of Dota 2 was way back in 2014.

I'm looking to (maybe) play this game again.

What have i missed? Am i crazy? Does anyone want to be my internet friend? :>