DAILY MANIFESTO

Five Reasons Dota 2 Is My Most Anticipated Game

Posted on Saturday, June 30 @ 11:12:59 Eastern by Jonathan_Leack

About seven days ago I received an e-mail from Valve stating that I got into the Dota 2 closed beta. My first reaction was that I really didn't care since I played Dota a few times and wasn't able to get into it. However, after spending a week denying creeps, destroying towers, buying epic loot, and setting up ganks, it has shot to the top of my wishlist.

There are a lot of reasons why I'm madly in love with Dota 2 right now, but there are a few main reasons that make it one of the best upcoming releases. Below are five of those reasons.

Over 100 Heroes

If there's one thing that makes Dota 2 rich and satisfying, it's the sheer amount of characters to play as. There are already over 80 of them in the beta, and by the time it releases there will be 108, if not more. I've played over a dozen and each character has its own skills, look, and personality. It's time-consuming to learn how each hero behaves, but it pays off in a big way. Since each character has its own stats and skills, knowing how to counter them is incredibly important.

There are heroes who specialize in things such as support, initiating, ganking, laning, and carry. Playing each of these roles can take weeks, if not months, to master and when you pair that with a high level of teamwork you have a game that is complex but extremely satisfying.

Valve

I can't remember the last time Valve released a game I didn't like. Team Fortress 2 is still one of the three most popular first-person shooters five years after release, and the same can be said about Counter-Strike which is much older. A lot of that has to do with the amount of support Valve offers. Patches are deliberate with new content added, such as Team Fortress 2's slew of new items and maps this year. All of this is added at no cost, which is something that few other developers do.

Another great thing about Valve is that they're very community-friendly. User feedback has been critical to the development of Dota 2 and other Valve games, so this won't be a situation where the common voice isn't heard.

Oh, and as usual Steam will back Dota 2, which is arguably the most full-featured platform in gaming. There are community features, a friend list, chat, voice communication, and a lot more. You can even look up Dota 2 strategies while in-game by using the overlay; I know I've been doing that a lot.

Competition

Dota 2 is one of the most teamwork-oriented games you can play. Without communication it's impossible to win against skilled opponents. Teamwork and skill are the deciding factors when it comes to winning matches, and it feels great to use communication with teammates to pull off timely kills, not to mention fun to watch.

As a result of Dota 2's tournament-friendly design, it's very likely that it will join StarCraft II and League of Legends as the few games that you can find at every LAN tournament across the globe. In other words, it'll have a hardcore community that promotes practice and grouping. Heck, maybe you can make a few bucks if you get good enough.

Social Features

One common theme I seem to find in every game I spend hundreds of hours on is a strong set of social features. Dota 2 includes a few of them such as live replays, where you can spectate games and talk with people while watching, as well as a lot of chat and community functionality. The entire main menu is geared toward communication and includes an integrated Steam friends list. Dota 2 might not be an MMO, but it sure promotes meeting new people and playing with them like one.

Free-to-Play

Even though Dota 2 is a high-budget game with a lot of play value, it won't cost a single penny to play. Instead, Valve will offer—and has already unlocked for beta players—a series of vanity items. The items are completely optional and have no impact on game balance, so while it's free-to-play it certainly isn't pay-to-win. Ultimately, you can download and play the game to see if you like it without any commitment. That's one heck of a demo!

I'm extremely excited to see Dota 2 release, and until it does I'll be playing the beta like a madman. See you there!

Related Games: DotA 2

Tags: dota 2, Valve

Comments

213EDD
Joined: Sep 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 6:39 pm
You're forgetting the fact that it is not buy to win. All heroes are playable (when released) and buys are only cosmetic and are even created by the community

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:37 pm
I added an additional sentence to my free-to-play paragraph to emphasize that you can't pay-to-win. Thanks!

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sliverstorm
Joined: Jun 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 6:43 pm
DOTA 2 is a ton of fun to watch, but pretty much everything I read makes the game play seem very rigid and unforgiving--one bad player can throw a game, and your teammates will let you know in no uncertain terms if that player is you. As someone who has never touched the genre, I am definitely not motivated to start learning.

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Ditto. It's one of those games where you have to have played from day 1, otherwise no one will play with you because you know nothing about the game.

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:38 pm
Yeah, it's a bit daunting at first but you can definitely catch-up. Think about it, isn't it a good thing that it's skill based? At least you can't say that your gear is out-of-date so you're screwed until the next expansion as with World of Warcraft.

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Yeah but it can also create a chain reaction where unless you got friends or random people willing to show you the ropes, it can be quite defeating to keep hearing from people that you suck or how you're a n00b all the time while you're just trying to feel your way around the game.

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Siruss
Joined: Jul 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:35 pm
You are correct, however there is a fairly effective matchmaking system so typically you are matched with people with a similar amount of games/wins The best advice is to not play with friends until you are good, so that you don't get stuck against really good people while you are learning Also, you can practice against varying levels of bots which will allow you to learn different heros/skills/items/etc You don't have to jump in and get pubstomped.

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sliverstorm
Joined: Jun 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I didn't know they had bots--might give this game a shot, at worst just to learn about MOBAs.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:04 pm
It'll be interesting to see what sort of impact this has on the League of Legends crowd.

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Bretimus_v2
Joined: Jan 2009

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:07 pm
As someone who likes LoL, I'm excited.

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:10 pm
It's more punishing than LoL. I've been playing it for months. If anyone wants an invite me a holler. I may even host a contest. ;D

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:40 pm
LoL is an amazing game. It'll be nice to have two high-quality current-generation MOBA games to enjoy!

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:54 pm
Well yeah the OG staff is working on both LOL and DOTA 2. But I feel the polish of most Value games will rub off of Dota 2 and push it to the top. Right now the defense is going on as well as internationals 2 soon. Really high level playing going on. Jonathan give me your steam stufffff

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OdiousLupous
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Never played the moba style games but f2p means Im always game to give it a shot. You had me at 80-108 characters.

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Check out the screenshot I took of the character list. There's so much personality in there. It's almost like a strategy Pokemon game. Haha!

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OdiousLupous
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Me like variety.

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 10:00 pm
The lore is amazing too, They give new life to characters that originate from WC3

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 7:53 pm
Hey Jonathan been having fun with those awesome Russian or BR players? Or Supports that don't buy couriers?

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:14 pm
Haven't run into any Russian players and I play support which includes buying couriers.

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Trust me you'll find them or they'll find you. They are the bane of my life. Also which support do you play? Lich is a great learning character. I play either Rubrick or Omni for support.

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 10:28 pm
I've been using Venomancer, actually. I am about to run again and try Lich. I'm a bad player but I'm trying hard, lol.

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 11:02 pm
It'll take you a month. Lich teaches you the foundation of the game very easy. He's a good support and offensive hero. Venom is very very good with jugg, he can wipe out teams and push out lanes almost instantly with his wards and ulti. I learned the game through lich. trust me there will be times that this game will just beat you down like no tomorrow but you learn from it. It's like playing demon souls just enjoy how hard it is at times.

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LawnGnome
Joined: Apr 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:23 pm
The main thing I want to see in this is a system where people who drop out during a game are replaced somehow. People dropping on either team and the effect it has on the game has basically killed LoL for me.

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Siruss
Joined: Jul 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:40 pm
DOTA2 handles this pretty efficiently. If someone drops out, especially just after the threshold of making the game entirely not count (~6 min) you still have a equal chance of winning. Since the person drops, you are sharing XP with one less person. You can out-level your opponent and as a team, be just as strong and sometimes stronger than your opponents even if they have the extra person. It's never simply GG when someone drops in Dota2.

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OdiousLupous
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Gotta admit thats a nice option, wish alot more games did something similar.

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Depends. It's gg when your carry drops.

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:40 pm
I agree with every fiber of my being.

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Josh_Laddin
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:33 pm
According to Steam I've logged 308 hours on Dota 2 so far. Can anyone top me?

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Siruss
Joined: Jul 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:40 pm
518

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Jonathan_Leack
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Siruss means business.

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Josh_Laddin
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Siruss business?

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Noritama
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 9:12 pm
1071

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Siruss
Joined: Jul 2012

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 8:48 pm
518

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Nether
Joined: Jul 2007

Posted: Jul 1st, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Im glad to see Dota not getting the pay to play treatment...I love diablo 3 but thats where they messed up...the RMAH

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GodofallEnds
Joined: Sep 2007

Posted: Jul 2nd, 2012 at 6:00 am
I'd play dota2 if my pc was sufficient. But its not :(

Secondly, I prefer the gameplay variety LoL offers as far as Dominion and the new Proving Grounds map go (TT is a joke XD) and they will be hitting champ 100 within the next 1-2 weeks. LoL is also F2P for those who dont know already.

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Guernica
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jul 2nd, 2012 at 7:48 am
Used to play HoN a ton and have been looking forward to dota2 for a long time.

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