[Megathread] DotA 2

[Sackman]

Who knows? Sometimes it really does seem like heroes start being used and stopped being used completely independent of existing data, but just based on whim. He seems to do fine every time I've seen him used, though obviously I haven't seen every game.



But wait. Didn't his assigned playstyle used to be arcane boots and blink dagger and run around instagibbing supports and some carries in the midgame with toss combos and scepter was considered optional rather than required?

Again, when you buy scepter, his entire gameplay style changes. He goes from a ganker/roamer (which I don't think I've even seen pros use him as anytime recently, they just start building as a carry right from the start) to a walking siege engine that can conceivably one-shot or two-shot entire teams like a Kunkka or Sven.

I'll admit Night Stalker's scepter upgrade is also a dramatic boost, but it doesn't really change his role... just makes him better at it. By time you're building scepter on him, you've already transitioned from a roamer/ganker into some sort of weird utility-carry (what's the preferred term? semi-carry?) in most cases, and giving him a scepter and a gem just kind of enhances what you're already doing - scouting around for your team with your crazy move speed and high inherent durability. It doesn't suddenly turn you into someone that eats towers or can actually fill in the hard carry role.

Again, why does Tiny's scepter need to do so much for him? Or, why can't everyone's scepter make similarly sweeping changes for them, opening up completely different playstyles and tactics for them?

Why do you always ask or say such stupid things.

It's because it's how the game is. It's how Icefrog and whomever he talks to wants it to be. It's not overpowered, it's part of the game, and most people enjoy that diversity.

You want a game full of 100 hero's who get the exact same upgrades from items? Homogeneity is bad

[Lysah]

Homogeneity is bad

Works for LoL.

[Enkidulgaa]

Works for LoL.

I dont know what you consider "working". It works because LoL is a very casual game that gets played mostly by teenagers who dont know better or adults that play maybe 2 games per week
I played the game multiple hours per day for 1 year before it became boring.

[Ichy]

I dont know what you consider "working". It works because LoL is a very casual game that gets played mostly by teenagers who dont know better or adults that play maybe 2 games per week
I played the game multiple hours per day for 1 year before it became boring.

I don't wana bash, so don't take it the wrong way... but... it took you a year? I was done after about 45 days (say 5 hours a day, 8 on weekends), and I still feel that even that was to long to play... I had such high hopes for HoN though... sham it didn't do as well as hopped.

[Glorious Leader]

I never understood why HoN didn't take off. I enjoyed it more than League almost as much as Dota. Theirs heros in HoN I really hope they bring over to Dota.

[Hermanni]

I never understood why HoN didn't take off. I enjoyed it more than League almost as much as Dota. Theirs heros in HoN I really hope they bring over to Dota.

Because S2 completely failed with their business model and marketing and gradually started disregarding things like game balance and stability in order to milk more money with their new heroes and increasingly obnoxious skins. And their staff members were infamous for acting like idiots in public games and banning people for no reason.

[Lysah]

Charging money for DotA when DotA, itself, is free was never going to work.

[Valedus]

Because S2 completely failed with their business model and marketing and gradually started disregarding things like game balance and stability in order to milk more money with their new heroes and increasingly obnoxious skins. And their staff members were infamous for acting like idiots in public games and banning people for no reason.

This. I played HoN back during beta and after launch for like 2 months. They kept adding like a new designed hero every week and some were just plain overpowered, untested, etc. On the forums and in-game, S2 employees had terrible manners and banned people for very minor offenses.
And, as Lysah said, they tried to compete with a game people were already playing and had bought(WC3) and HoN wasn't much better. DotA already had a community, and HoN's community and infrastructure was crappy.

[Deleted]

When you play against a pudge mid with mirana and does not specc leap untill level 7. How the heck are you thinking? I had the easiest time ever with pudge that game

[Intropid]

I am in love with playing Broodmother, his ability to control an entire lane with exceptional harass and burst damage with his ultimate is extremely fun. Also using his Spin Web ability to de-forest just in case ganks come about makes her all the more playable and don't forget her ability with a fully upgraded Spawn Spiderlings to create an entire army. If done efficiently and with enough spiderlings you can surround your enemy with your dozens of spiders so they cannot move, pop your ultimate and you're on a joyride or you could use those spiders with decent micro to jungle for you.

So much fun @_@.

[cudomix]

I love spiderlings, especially when playing alchemist.

[Sargerus]

So, how is the Sniper? Balanced or overpowered?

[Underskilled]

You've got 800 health 22 minutes in, if any of them even considered buying dust, your streak would have ended.

[Xothic]

So, how is the Sniper? Balanced or overpowered?

Only as overpowered as Drow ranger is underpowered.

[Lysah]

Sniper isn't bad, with items he is one of the worst carry heroes to deal with because the absolutely massive attack range of take aim allows him to attack from completely outside a team fight and the ministuns from headshot can actually lock down a hero completely, much like a ranged and target focused battery assault. I've stood toe to toe with Lycan late game and won because he just had a hard time attacking through headshots.

Unfortunately for him, he is one of the easiest to gank, even easier than Drow, and his damage does not scale like hers does, so he has a very hard time farming. People are just about forced to go mid him, utilizing take aim to farm the river from tower range, however, high picks like NS completely counter Sniper in this regard.

[axell]

This. I played HoN back during beta and after launch for like 2 months. They kept adding like a new designed hero every week and some were just plain overpowered, untested, etc. On the forums and in-game, S2 employees had terrible manners and banned people for very minor offenses.
And, as Lysah said, they tried to compete with a game people were already playing and had bought(WC3) and HoN wasn't much better. DotA already had a community, and HoN's community and infrastructure was crappy.

Despite all of this i still find myslef playing and enjoying HoN the most. You just can't beat that fluidity. Everything just flows there.

[PizzaSHARK]

Why do you always ask or say such stupid things.

It's because it's how the game is. It's how Icefrog and whomever he talks to wants it to be. It's not overpowered, it's part of the game, and most people enjoy that diversity.

You want a game full of 100 hero's who get the exact same upgrades from items? Homogeneity is bad

Why ain't you raging about Lion and Lina, who basically have the same ultimate?

Some homogeneity is required if you want a game to be balanced because there has to be a baseline that everything operates around. Tiny's scepter upgrade is currently WAY above what others get from their scepters, so it needs to be cut down to size, or others need to be brought up to its level. Tiny's scepter essentially acts as an upgrade to his ultimate like other skills, but it also essentially gives him a free Battle Fury on top of it. Tiny's ultimate gives him huge attack damage and bonus damage to Toss; why does his scepter upgrade give him cleave in addition to bonus damage (this time vs buildings) and bonus Toss damage?

[NotValidAnymore]

I'm not gonna advocate LoL here, but I'll just mention that it's more suited for casual players and is a lot more easy to approach.
Dota 2, however, is definitely the more challenging and hardcore game. Although unfriendly to beginners.

I enjoy both, though I play LoL a lot more because of friends, playing the occasional Dota 2 game is incredibly fun too, even as terrible as I am.

[PizzaSHARK]

I don't think LoL is better than Dota, or that Dota is better than LoL. They cater to entirely different demographics; the only problem exists when people get into dick-waving contests over which game requires more skill, or who is more "hardcore."

Personally, I think LoL's Dominion mode is the most fun you can have in a MOBA game, but I also greatly prefer Dota to LoL's Summoner's Rift Dota clone map.

[NotValidAnymore]

Yeah, Dota 2 also caters more to the "old school", while LoL is more about expanding the MOBA-genre.

But the dick-waving reminds me about the "great console wars" that goes on all the time. Rivalries, rivalries everywhere.