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DotA – A Beginner’s Guide – Part 2

December 24, 2011 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

Before we begin, make sure you’ve read through DotA Beginner’s Guide – Part 1 of this series. Well, now that you have been conveyed the basic idea of the game in brief, I shall now proceed into detailing the various and diverse aspects of this game. The fact that a strong strategy is your ‘primedirective’ has already been stressed in the previous part.

The main characteristic of DotA, above all else, 
is the different heroes you can choose from. There is a huge array of characters (heroes) in the game, 
each with his or her own set of skills and combos. We will now take a look at the different classes of
heroes in the game and how each type of hero must be handled.

dota heroes

Agility Heroes

Agility Heroes DotA

These heroes are the fastest attackers on the map, and are easily able to start the killings in the initial stages of the game. The ranged agility heroes are great at harassing opponents and denying creeps. 
At times, the game beginnings are entirely dependent on them while the remaining heroes try and 
level up. The Dwarven Sniper, Venomancer or Drow Ranger are perfect for starters. The melee ones
 are cool too, and some such as the Bounty Hunter are amazing heroes with their invisibility and wind
 walking features. A major advantage of an agility hero is that it is easy to control and understand for a 
beginner. However, many-a-agility heroes have the disadvantage of being fragile and are often good
only as supporters. Pitting a weak Agility class hero against a Strength hero in the later stages of the
game without backup or a way to run away is nothing but foolhardy. Of course, heroes like Anti-Mage
and Bloodseeker level up to be formidable enemies, but playing them requires a good level of mastery.

Intelligence Heroes

Intelligent Heroes DotA

This class of heroes includes characters with a good deal of mana at their disposal. Intelligence heroes
 are great both as support and as solo killers. Lina has a very powerful nuke and can stun multiple heroes 
in an area for a good deal of time, leaving them vulnerable to attack from her allies. The invoker is often
 useful for his versatile nature. Bane elemental can eliminate even the toughest of opponents with ease.
 A common trait, observable from the above examples, of the intelligence heroes is their ability to trap 
opponents and render them defenseless. Also, many of them can heal their allies, an often helpful 
characteristic. Therefore, intelligence heroes are often used by players to support the strength heroes 
who can deal massive damage and finish of enemies quickly. For some beginners, the intelligence
 heroes may be as comfortable to play with as the agility heroes or even better.

Strength Heroes

Strength Heroes  DotA

As the name would aptly suggest, the strength heroes are the pillars of any DotA clan team. Known as
 Carries, they become very powerful in the later stages of the game, majorly because of the huge health
bar. A strength hero well played can tilt the game in his favor against insane odds. Strength heroes can 
take and deal massive damage, once an opponent falls into their grip. Pudge is one of the most feared
 heroes in this category mainly because of its meat hook which can pull an enemy from a distance right
 into the middle of an ally get-together. The Sand King has the ability to stun an enemy and create a high
intensity earth-quake which mostly kills any character in its wake. Barathrum, controlled with good skill,
 can be the most intimidating hero in the entire game. Moreover, most of the strength heroes are able to run faster than other heroes. It is to be noted however, that strength heroes are only able to dominate 
in the later stages of the game, and must be well farmed in order to be powerful. Hence, they are only
 well controlled by experienced players and do not suit beginners very well.

Even after understanding the categories of players, be warned that some heroes are dominating in front
 of certain opponents but weak in comparison to some. Also, when choosing heroes for a team, some
 heroes best support a few heroes and do not accompany a few quite so well. These details can only be 
figured out after playing multiple games with different combinations of heroes. And I wish u the best for 
the same.

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: DOTA

DotA – A Beginner’s Guide – Part 1

August 15, 2011 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

For those of you who may have not known, DotA (as we now call it) is just a short for Defense of the Ancients. It’s a custom multiplayer map for Blizzard’s Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, which is arguably more popular than Valve’s Counter strike 1.6. As opposed to Counter Strike, DotA is a real-time strategy game which requires excellently co-ordinated teamwork, being the only gateway to victory.

This guide is intended to serve as a brief guide to educate the newbie DotA enthusiasts and hence, the simplicity has been stressed throughout the article. 

dota all stars
Dota All Stars

Teamwork is the most important constituent of streaming a good DotA game. Never dream of going about the world, thinking you can pwn opponents all on your own; it will simply get you and your team killed/ defeated. I’m not going to bore you with talks that are already covered on thousands of websites. DotA being a widely appreciated game, has a lot of “how to’s” covered at it’s dedicated websites. However, a good beginner’s guide is hard to find, and we aim to acquaint you with the world of DotA.

Map Layout

dota-map
Map Layout
  • The Warriors

Now let’s begin with what really happens in the game. There are 2 warring sides – the Sentinel and the Scourge, each with its respective set of heroes who fight for their sides. Each team has a monument (or an Ancient) which must be protected. The team which destroys the opponents’ Ancient wins. However, these Ancients are placed deep within the enemy territory and are protected by powerful towers, you will need to fight and push your way through!

  • The Heroes

Coming to the heroes, all heroes are classified into 3 categories, namely – agility, intelligence and strength, wherein the category tells the primary attribute of the hero. The agility heroes are a good starting point for beginners and after some practice, a player may wish to graduate to intelligence or strength category heroes.

After choosing a hero, one must look to improve attributes by purchasing items from the shops around. Some items may need to be constructed by a combination of other items and (at times) recipes.

For example, to construct a Butterfly (a popular item in the game), one must buy a quarterstaff for 900 gold, a talisman of evasion for 1800 gold, and an eaglehorn for 3300 gold. The players who hits and enemy last is the one who gets the gold. Gold may be denied to enemies by killing own-team creeps when their health is less than 25%. It is good to practice to get last hits and collect gold fast.

Initially, it is advisable to start off by playing some games alone or with AI computer players in 2v2 or 3v3. One discovers things only when he starts exploring the map. There are 3 lanes – top, bottom and mid by which the team creeps tread. All around the map, in the jungles one can find neutral creeps and have some good kills for gold and experience for level-ups.

Gaming Jargons

Here are a few gaming jargons that players often use in the game:

  • Gank – when multiple heroes of one team come together to one place to surround and kill less number of enemy heroes.
  • Farm – when heroes go with team creeps in lanes and kill enemy creeps for gold and experience.
  • Hunt – when heroes go to farm on neutral creeps.

There thy go, happy hunting, farming, ganking and pwning! J

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: DOTA

The Best PC Game Mods Of All Time

August 4, 2011 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

Mods have been one of the most popular aspects of PC gaming for a long long time. They haven’t been established on the consoles in a very effective way. This has resultantly been cited as a very important advantage for the PC over the consoles. They give the user the ability to modify the game to make it more efficient, stable, and fun. They range from graphics overhauls to weapon customization to entire levels. Thus, they they add an extra layer of content to a game.

Over the years, there have been many mods released for many games. Some have helped improve the quality of the game, some have become standalone sensations. Below is a list of what i believe are the best mods of all time:


The Unofficial Oblivion Patch

The Elders Scroll 4: Oblivion was a great game. But it wasn’t without its problems. There were a lot of bugs in the game which caused problems for many users. This patch removed over 1800 of such bugs. It also removes the problems the modders faced while creating mods for oblivion. Hence most of the mods will require you to install this patch before you can try them out. And the best thing is even after so many years of its release, its still being updated which shows the dedication of the creators to make oblivion a better experience for everybody.

GTA 4 Icenhancer Mod

This is one relatively new but has already made waves in the PC gaming world. Since GTA 4 was released on the PC, there have been many graphics mods which have tweaked and improved the look and feel of the game. But, no mod has made it look this good. Check out the video below to fully understand why we at Upcoming Technology are big fans of this mod. And it does not hit the system as hard as you might expect. So if you’re still playing GTA 4, there’s no reason not to try this out.

Half life – Heart of Evil

Quite possibly the best half life mod ever released, this mod is a total conversion for the single player game. Set during the vietnam war, your mission is to assassinate a certain colonel who goes by the name of Kurtz. Its based on a movie which a similar premise, one which i shouldn’t mention since that would spoil the story. The only hint i can give you is that both the mod and the movie share something in common; both are masterpieces. And both shouldn’t be missed.

Half Life – They hunger

Originally a half life mod, it is now being made into a standalone game. This is another total conversion for the game, and is usually considered to be of the best half life mods. You’re a writer who is travelling to a cabin in the woods. You car gets forced off the road by a lightning bolt which lands you in a pool of water. And this is where the nightmare starts. Its a brilliant experience which am sure must have inspired the development of left4dead in more ways than one.

Half Life 2 – Minerva

This is probably the best mod for half life 2. Brilliant level design, perfect pacing, long campaign, and strong relevance with the half life universe make this an absolute must play for the fans.

Oblivion – The Lost Spire

This is my favourite oblivion mod. It adds a new archaeology guild to the game along with a number of quests and unique dungeons. With a 15 hour campaign and a brilliant story, its easily one of the best mods i have ever played. Plus you can loot all the soul gems you can possibly desire, which is epic.

Half life – Team Fortress Classic

Originally a quake mod, TF was later ported to the half life engine, resulting in one of the most popular mods of the time. It is a team and class based multiplayer game which is based on a certain set of objectives. What makes this game so exciting is that each class has its own unique set of weapons and equipment, which is different from the other classes. This adds a level of depth to the gameplay, and makes you think as a team before going into a fight. A sequel was released in 2007 which took the game to a new level of popularity. But the original is still considered to be one of the best multiplayer games even today.

Half life – Counter Strike

This one needs no introduction. Released originally as a mod, it was later distributed as a standalone game, and has since sold over 10 million copies. It is widely considered to be the best multiplayer game out there, and has the biggest fan following of all online shooters. To sum it up, the word e-sport exists because of this game (and Starcraft).

Warcraft 3 – Defense of the Ancients

How popular can a single map be? The answer is – IMMENSELY! Released as a mod for Warcraft 3, it became more popular than the game ever was. The objective is simple; you have a hero, your opponent has a hero; all you have to do is defend your forces and destroy your opponents. But the map is so well designed, and the mod is so well balanced, that it has garnered a legendary status in the gaming world. If there ever was a mod to make people switch over from counter strike, this is it. The good news is that Valve is making a sequel for the game, so expect there to be a lot of maps, a lot of heroes, and plenty of support for the game for a long long time after its release.

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: DOTA, half life