Image by Melchiah and UC Lina is the number one carry of the patch and it is not even close. Great laning stage, high farming speed, impressive scaling and flexible builds make her a little bit too strong in the current patch. Strong, but not unbeatable and today we would like to talk about how to deal with Lina. One potentially exploitable quirk of the hero is that she is usually picked in the second phase and sometimes even the first one. There is time to adapt to her pick. In lane, she is often paired with midgame melee supports…
Author: DOTABUFF
Between the DPC games and a ton of third party tournaments, it is easy to figure out which heroes work and which heroes don’t. Today we are going to look at each position individually and tell you what hero tends to perform the best in it. Treant is very good right now. Between high lane elusiveness, great damage, multiple sustain abilities, global heal and a mostly unique tower repair mechanic the hero is undeniably strong. To get the most out of him, go for a 1-2-0-0 build by level three and a 1-2-4-1 by level eight. Nature’s Grasp is definitely…
There is a huge difference between giving unconventional carries a try and doing the same with supports, especially in ranked matchmaking. Supports are typically picked first and as such, they usually need to be very flexible, straightforward and fit multiple different strategies. Supports we are going to discuss today are not necessarily the best idea in your everyday solo pubs, but given their popularity and success in the professional scene, they are worth giving a try in a party. Riki support is a pretty weird concept. The hero is often thought of as a pubstomper: a character that is good…
Last time we touched on the topic of Dota Battle Passes and today we would like to expand on it. Playing Dota is already one of the most rewarding gaming experiences one can have and a more engaging Battle Pass could elevate it even further. Here is our Wishlist for the next Battle Pass. We don’t think it is possible to outdo Immortal Gardens or Sanctums of the Divine with their clean looks and maybe even a bit of an unfair juking advantage. That said, the lack of Terrain this year was definitely disappointing. If anything, it provides a bit…
Dota roles can be very flexible and one of the recent trends is a showcase of that. A lot of professional teams are currently experimenting with somewhat unconventional position one heroes with great success. Today we want to have a look at how and why that works so well. Lina used to be one of the most reliable mids in the game. As such, whenever she was in meta, there was little need to try and play her unconventionally: she doesn’t really have bad mid matchups. Lately, however, a safelane position one Lina became incredibly popular and there are a…
Week eleven is all over the place in terms of difficulty. The Diretide quest is absolutely ridiculous and from our testing doesn’t even work consistently. Some of the quests are trivial, while others require meeting an impossible condition: actually having friends. There are two quests that work in co-op vs. bots, as is usual on a non-bonus week. Getting a total of ten kills before minute ten shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Get a highly aggressive core hero and just run around killing people. Losing against bots is generally quite hard. Second quest that works is “Who Needs…
Patch 7.33 is not guaranteed to come any time soon, but we can hope. It is usually the case that we get a smaller, letter patch in a couple of weeks after the International, and a bigger, more fundamental update in a month or two. Today we would like to discuss things we would like to see from a big update. A lot of players think that map needs a rework, but we don’t think change for the sake of change is necessary. If anything, the current map iteration feels balanced and great, with a couple of exceptions. Most notably,…
By far the easiest week so far, which is a nice respite after an absolutely devastating week eleven. With a straightforward Diretide quest and multiple quests that work in co-op bot matches, this week should be a breeze. This quest works with bots, but to maximize the effectiveness of your time, you need a hero with a lot of regeneration who doesn’t mind standing in the front lines, tanking hits and generally being a nuisance. We think that Timbersaw fits the bill the best. He is very unlikely to die to bots, doesn’t die himself even when diving towers and…
Leshrac is easily one of the most powerful heroes in the current meta. He isn’t as frustrating to play against as Arc Warden, Tinker and Broodmother, but he also doesn’t need a whole lot of skill to utilize effectively, so today we want to talk about how to deal with the very balanced Disco pony. In many regards, this TI was very reminiscent of TI4. A single-region, underwhelming grand finals, with the lead up being dominated by Leshrac. Only for the latter to be countered in the final Bo5. This time around, dealing with Leshrac is considerably more straightforward, courtesy…
The bonus weeks are over and that means we can safely ignore Diretide and still get all the necessary stars. If, like us, you are experiencing a Diretide fatigue, this guide is for you: we are trying to find ways to make the star-collecting process as easy as possible. This quest works in Co-Op bot matches, meaning you can simply pick Terrorblade, CK, PL or Naga and be done with it in a single game. The reason we would advise going this route is simple: with the amount of Leshrac and Pudge pickers in the game right now, playing an…