Games We Play
It has been a while since I did a more personal Blog Post, mainly focusing on interesting trends in Dota 2, however the release of the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt not so gently reminded me that I am not only a Dota player, but also a Gamer in the broader sense of the word.
My adventures in the imaginary worlds have started a long time ago - almost 18 years now. The first game I remember playing consciously was the Heroes of Might and Magic 2 at the age of 5 and I believe it to be the start of my gaming career. Then came Half-Life/Counter-Strike, Knights of the Old Republic (until recently the best game I have ever played) and, of course, Warcraft 3 and Dota - a map I have rejected for the longest of times, focusing more on the pure unmodded strategy gameplay the game provided.
I have started actively playing Dota when it was in the 6.14 era - strategy in drafting was unheard of in my local gaming clubs, farming was never a priority and 
Lich was considered the most OP hero in the game. Back then there were no imaginary "skill" numbers, games were started as soon as there was an even amount of players, be it 6, 8 or (rarely) 10 and the release of Garena was considered a blessing.
It was also the time when you could swap players in-between teams, provided the majority of players agreed. For the most part it was done to make games a lot longer and "more balanced" in the late game, especially with the amount of leavers present at the time. To say the least, it was not "good" Dota - it was a fun experience, but never something any of our friends believed to become an economy/cult following monster it is now.
But enough reminiscence - it is probably not so interesting to read, especially in the context of Dota 2-related Blog Post, hence I shall no longer bore you with it. Instead, today I shall look at other competitive games I have personally played and have found to have an impact at the way I perceive and analyse my Dota 2 games. Without further ado - the "Games We Play".
Counter Strike
"The bomb has been planted."
Counter Strike has a very similar history to Dota - started off as a mod and developed a persistent enough cult following to become the major e-sport. Similarities do not end there - it is also a 5v5 game with a focus on strategy and asymmetrical gameplay.
I have played my fair share of the game when it was 1.1, 1.3 and 1.6 - the games were shorter then and if you had leftover time on the "gaming club's" clock CS was a way to go - it also loaded very fast, which at the time was a concern.
CS: Source was something I never got interested in and I only picked up CS:GO to settle up an argument with one of my former Dota 2 teammates - I was to reach a higher rank than he had in 2 month time. I failed miserably, to say the least, but it did come with at least some form of compensation - I got better at Dota.
Many of you would automatically assume that the mouse precision as well as mouse/keyboard coordination improvements are the most important skills one can develop for Dota 2 while playing CS:GO. To a certain degree it is true - since then I have reduced my mouse DPI from 1500 to 600 with little to no cost to the speed (I move my arm more) but a very noticeable buff to precision. I no longer have problems identifying enemy heroes clumped up in other heroes/creeps and it does pay off in the long run - at least I think so. Missing crucial spells can be a huge problem, even for "advanced" players.
But the most noticeable change was not that - it was the cautiousness and patience one has to develop to play CS:GO - even Gold I players can shoot accurately in most cases, but it takes a lot more training to quickly evaluate each of your steps and develop map awareness enough for it to come naturally, without straining your limited brain resources.
Heroes of the Storm
-"Sir, we are surrounded!"
-"Excellent. We can attack in any direction."
I know I will get a lot of hate for this, but I shall still say it - both League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm are good games when it comes to core gameplay.
Personally, I do not object to most of the simplifications these games have introduced to the Dota formula - there was a demand for simpler games and it was met. If anything, these games can be used as a means of transition to a more complex game of Dota.
What I do object about these games is their business model. Having a limited roster of heroes available is ridiculous both from the balance perspective and gameplay appreciation. The runes/masteries system in League of Legends is another layer of content-gating which makes no sense in a highly competitive environment. And it is the reason I've never started the LoL client again after playing 30 or so games and realising how slow the progression is.
Heroes of the Storm is a slightly different beast. It got rid of its "runes" equivalent, following a major outcry from the community. Talent gating is not a problem for higher level accounts, since once you reach a certain level, all of the talents on all heroes become available. And in this game you tend to level up pretty fast. Most importantly, it was different enough from Dota to justify spending time in it. Different in its approach to gameplay and a very strong focus on teamfights.
Many new players have problems when it comes to teamfights - the frantic nature of them makes it almost impossible to keep check on everything. Focusing on a single aspect, on the other hand, can "tunnel-vision" the player and make him miss the bigger picture. Worst of all - many players simply "shut-down" once there are 5 or more heroes on the screen at the same time and stop functioning altogether.
The big problem/benefit of Dota is that there is literally no way to train yourself to every teamfight - they are varied, given the amount of freely available heroes, and they are scarce. A typical pub game has maybe two or three full team-on-team fights, after which the game is decided. Getting used to them, therefore, will take some time.
And here comes Heroes of the Storm - every single match of this game is a never-ending teamfight with a relatively low risk and low pay-off. You will get lost in the many effects/buffs/debuffs/disables, but your ability to predict enemy movements and to utilise your own resources to a higher potential in a frantic environment will improve. These skills will not directly transition into Dota 2, at least I do not believe they will, but they can help with overcoming some barriers faster.
Magic: The Gathering and Android: Netrunner
"You may be winning games by more, but are you winning more games?"
For some reason Collectible Card Games are looked down on. Hearthstone is slowly solving the issue, but to be perfectly honest, it is quite simplified - something I feel is unnecessary in a turn-based game.
The games I mentioned are certainly not simple. They are overwhelmingly complex to a point where even in professional tournaments there are precedents when certain interactions between card effects are debated. These interactions are vast - even the relatively new A:NR already has a Card Pool of almost 700 cards many of which come with unique effects. And that is where parallels to Dota 2 come to my mind.
There are many strategic decisions you make playing Dota - it starts off with the Draft. Almost every professional draft has some idea behind it (usually multiple ideas). All of it is dependent on the interactions between your and enemy heroes. And identifying the possible interactions during the draft can prove very helpful.
Then there are different skill and item-builds. Many times we have seen unconventional builds in professional games and they are often misunderstood by casters. In many cases, they prove to be the most efficient choices. Latest proof of it was the "no-maledict" build from Secret.KKY.
Finally, based on these interactions and the "plan" for item and skill builds, you get the time frames for when a team excels. E.g. a 
Medusa or 
Spectre are generally associated with a late-game plan, while 
Chen screams early-game.
How the skill of creating a deck derived from playing CCGs can help in drafting is self-explanatory - for the most part you are trying to make the best "deck" possible, while having limited information about the opponents "deck".
Same goes for item and skill-builds - depending on the available information, you are trying to make the most of your cards. Returning to the game linked previously - 
Leshrac played by Secret.RTZ skipped Diabolic Edict hence a lot of pushing potential in favour of teamfight capabilities with extra levels in nukes. Is it the most efficient skill-build for the hero? Not necessarily - it gives up a lot of early game pressure on towers - something that can be abused in certain games. Was it the most efficient build for the game? I believe so - it was playing the cards right/in the right order.
You learn very similar things by playing CCGs:
Do not try to "Win More" (Maledict was a "Win More" kind of spell in this game) - there are many situational "Win More" cards in CCGs which more experienced players can identify (In Hearthstone Ysera/Hogger/Gruul/Bloodlust come to mind, for MTG read this).
Do no overcommit to "the table". When you have an advantage, it is best not to risk it all, but rather slowly, but surely press it. If you have a stronger board presence it is unnecessary for you to put more cards on the table, saving them for later, in case the enemy has a mass removal in hand. Similarly, if you are ahead in Dota you do not commit to an all-in push, but rather lock the enemy and gain "card" advantage.
Linking to "early-middle-late" game plan - you have to know when you are the "aggressor" and when you are the "beatdown" and who has the tempo. You absolutely must avoid fights which are not beneficial to you - something a lot of players tend to forget.
Time-Killers: Osu!, Super Hexagon, Stepmania
"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."
Last, but not least there are flow trainers. I did an extensive Blog Post a while ago and I suggest reading it, if you haven't already. Not much has changed since then - I am still a casual Dota player, yet the Flow moments in the game did become more frequent. I believe experiencing it once certainly helps with achieving this state again, while dedicating time to train yourself to keep this state can prolong the effect.
And this is where the games above help a lot. Since then I have ditched Danmaku and have almost stopped playing Stepmania, finding Osu! a better alternative, especially given the higher level of Mouse+Keyboard coordination it requires. It is also a lot more fun, to be honest.
There isn't really much to say in this regard - read the original Blog Post if you are interested.
Closing Comments
I thoroughly missed free-form writing for Dotabuff - there was too little to inspire a subjective monologue for me to create something which is not an objective explanation and analysis of statistics. And here lies one of the problems of this type of writing - at the end of the day it will still be subjective.
Some of you will find linking CCGs and Dota too far-fetched and I will absolutely understand you - I have been playing CCGs for as long as I have been playing Dota (if not longer) and they are quite connected in my mind, but might not develop a link in yours.
Some of you will bash me for even mentioning LoL and HotS or will disagree with my views on their business model, which I find abysmal. It is your right to do so, yet I believe the argument about "teamfight training in HotS" to be quite objective.
Some of you will disregard the "flow" part completely - if I have never experienced it personally I would find the concept dubious at the very least.
At the end of the day, you can be a completely different kind of Gamer, only having passion for Dota connecting you to the author. And, I guess, it is one of the beauties of the game - drawing together completely different people from across the globe, each with a different story. Tell us yours.
But I was instructed by gaben that dota was the only game (and life) I'd ever need...
edic pidor
Well I tried heroes of the storm. It's way to basic for me :/ Not nearly enough happening and not nearly enough impact.
dick boobs poop
Interesting read.
I guess if you're accustomed to how complex dota is, it isn't really satisfying to go a step back to a simplified version of it (just an assumption, never played any other MOBA than DotA). On the other hand LoL or HotS can be a good introduction to Dota or generelly to MOBAs.
The thing is, after playing DotA 2 quite regularly I felt like I gained a quite different view to gaming/other games. I've always been playing games reclusively for fun, but with Dota I slowly gained the urge to WIN. 99,9 % of all dota matches I lost were definitely not fun, while with every win dota feels like the best game ever.
I for example did not care to lose in a round of BF3, CS:go or COD. As long as I was having fun, everything was fine, which kinda stopped after I started to play Dota.
#dotalife
I have to agree with ackermax. I used to play Smite, then Dawngate, before settling for Dota 2, and while I enjoyed all those games, I couldn't go back to Smite even if I wanted to (and Dawngate neither, but that's a different story ;__;). I tried recently, and frankly, I found it boring. Everything is so undefined, so dull and unengaging. I guess that I've been crooked by the higher standards.
I wouldn't go as far as calling "simpler Dotas" bad games. They're for different kind of gameplay, and since people like simpler things more, it's only natural that LoL gathered more popularity than Dota. And it not being a bad game helps.
Onto the original topic though.
What I've found myself wanting for is a less complex, faster game than Dota to play during breaks from it. I've found just that in Dirty Bomb. It's a fast-paced, Enemy Territory-style multiplayer shooter with some neat tricks of its own. It's F2P on Steam, and while the pricing for the different mercs (classes) is a bit steep, there's 5 out of 11 available instantly (some unlocked, some in a rotation), and the funds for the first purchase come very quickly. It's only like 3GB, so no harm in trying it at least.
It's also the first game I've seen that combined characters being "down but not out" with ragdoll. So no more silly lounging across the stairs, or halfway out of a window.
Worth noting that its developers are the same guys that were behind Brink, so if you thought it had potential, you should definitely give Dirty Bomb a shot, as it's more or less "Brink done right".
I only play dota and poker
CSGO is a nice break from dota from time to time. Fast paced, shoot people in the head... there is some strategy, but for the most part you can just run around shooting people in the head.
If you could, you could expand more on your first part of the essay. Where you reminisce about your Garena days. I think that would be a good read :)
You actually never really defined what 'Flow' is, or why it's important in regards to DotA.
Otherwise, interesting arguments.
counter strike is ded for me since csgo was released. with releasing their "new game" they simply destroyed 1.6 with new patch and now I refuse to play both of them. 1.6 became unplayable for players like me (10+ years of playing).
DotA is probably more fun anyway, but still Its quite sad for me that they can just destroy probably best FPS game ever with 1 fucking patch and almost no one from pro scene gave fuck.
sry for bad englandsky / OT
I realized I didn't even respond to the actual topic of the article lol.
(tl;dr at the bottom)
Interesting is what DJ HARD DIK wrote
If I'm not playing Dota, I have to play something which is totally different from it, too.
For example, I'm currently playing The Witcher 3 and it's just about the whole deep story and sidequests and stuff what I'm looking for. The gameplay itself has some more or less difficult aspects (like preparing for certain kinds of monsters etc.) but overall it's quite easy to get into and to enjoy it.
I couldn't just play a similar complex (in terms of gameplay) game, because Dota quite frankly can be quite exhausting to play (regarding concentration). That's why I also love Skyrim, it's pretty relaxing to play ( I'm level 56 or so and I#m basically just screwing around lol). Same goes for sports games like the NBA 2k series or Skate 3. It's just quite relaxing to play and it isn't too complex.
Otherwise I like "short" games like Risk of Rain, FTL (although FTL is kinda hard to get into after you haven't played it a while) or Plants vs Zombies.
They aren't as deep regarding gameplay and they offer a quick start into the game itself.
About flow:
Kinda hard to explain (also because my mother tongue isn't english):
An important thing is that you're so into the gameplay itself that you're absolutely focused on it. Super Hexagon is a good example, as you'll fail badly the first attempts you're trying to play it. But you'll get into the flow (or the "zone") eventually and this is when everything works out without thinking about it.
I guess same goes for dota. If you have been playing a while of dota you'll see how certain things happen without even thinking of it. That's because your brain actually has everything already ready and you probably have seen a certain situation before (more several situations).
You'll do the "right" thing without even thinking about it. I guess that's what flow is (at least to me). Had a game with tusk where a sven was towerdiving me with his ult and I had like 5 % hp.
I blocked his way with Ice Shards so he would have to take a detour and get more tower damage. Next I snowballed him (again=more tower damage) and finished him off with a walrus punch.
All that happened without thinking about it and it was pretty badass lol (still lost that game :(
tl;dr:
I like to play games which are totally different from dota when I'm not playing dota and flow means: being a badass without thinking about it because you're so into the game (in the zooone) (also the author refers to a blog post which explains it far better than I did)
@Meh : That's me!
Dota and Poker only. :D
but-but-but.... i play osu! mania lol
Osu! makes everything slower in Dota 2 because of how fast this game Osu! is. AR 7 is already considered fast for my dota friends and I cant play AR 7 because of how slow it is (I mostly play AR 9-9.5 and its pretty normal to me). It actually helps on timing the last hits or when using a skillshot ability (like Meat hook or Mirana's Arrow).
Just dont play too much or your fingers get injured disabling you to play both games. (Streams of Death :P)
I started gaming back in 1998 when CS was in the rage. back then, there were 20 vs 20 slugfests... (missed those days).
moved on to other games when I spent more time dead than alive in cs...
started dota in 2003 and never looked back since.
only played doto because played smite
For me there are 1 or 2 things in my mind that led to me playing Dota, firstly i remember watching a jungling guide on youtube years ago, (i got there from watching wow videos or something) from there it just kinda planted the seed for me, a couple of years later (and a cancelled WoW subscription) i saw it free to play on the steam store and got it. at first i played it irregularly mixed in with things like SC2, but then TI3 happened (just a month or so after i started) to this day, the TI3 grand final is the best series of competitive gaming i have ever seen, and thats where it became a thing.
It's like ackermax said, in dota unlike other games, winning is a much more intrinsic part of its enjoyment, i find if i lose a few games i'll stop for a while almost demoralized, and play hearthstone or something silly like TF2.
and thats the problem, i try other games, like HoTS, and there isn't that edge to it.
and im a simracer who also plays dota
always used to Play only cs till then somehow i started of with d3 and saw a game named smite which got me into moba and then somehow i kept playing the stuff while still suck at it despite i have a good amount of hours by now in doto, doesnt seem to improve anymore which recently leads to not playing much doto anymore
we're all playing different games and i like that you point it out that every single one of them helps to improve in others.
p.s. i think i'll try to lower my dpi too)
"Worst of all - many players simply "shut-down" once there are 5 or more heroes on the screen at the same time and stop functioning altogether." ------------------------------ Wow do you know me? I am really surprised.
Please actually tell us more about the old DotA days! Those stories are always fun to read
The author starts talking about Dota history, how it changed through the years... interrupts everything, saying it's uninteresting for Dota players... and proceed to talk about other games! LOL!l
C'mon! It woud actually be awesome if you made a huge article talking about Dota history and all changes, concerning the map, gameplay and meta. I started during 6.54 (soon before Kunkka and Wind came in), when the clan MYM was all the rage, with TI1 Na'vi-like aggression, and still have fun watching the meta change all the time.
Random trivia, for starts:
- When DotA 6.66 was released, they buffed doom ridiculously on purpose (c'mon, it's 666, and his name in Dota 1 is Lucifer!)
- In the last years, DotA has undergone a good number of powercreeps. Which means heroes and items were way less powerful back then. Examples: Divine Rapier used to provide +200 dmg.... then +250... then +300... now +330.
- During 6.6X era, broodbother had 315 move speed outside of the web and spiderlings were extremely tanky and plus other stuff. As result, the hero was an obnoxious first ban in almost every fucking captains mode game. BKB was nerfed as a result (duration reductions got introduced)
Well... you get the idea
For me Witcher is the book, not a game, and always will be.
osu! would be good if it actually had a decent selection of music
I like that they mention Leshrac's Diablolic Edict skill in the MTG section. That is also the name of a Magic: the Gathering card! I am sure that is not a coincidence.
I really want to see the Author make a huge article about Old DotA, the one before icefrog even touch dota ( like the really first time where tiny was magic immune LOL ) and how the genius manage to balance dota2 till today.
C'mon just let the oldfags remember the day of the past, it might also interest new players to see the history of DOTA too!
One more lesson learned from card games:
- Do not make too complicated combos.
The more cards/heroes/spells required for the combo the less likely you will get it off, thus making the overly complicated combo-wombo combos "win more, loose more often".
i agree after cs 1.6 somehow cs feels like like a different game to me thats how i started dota
Riki deathward anyone? Possibly the most imba (and fun) hero in dota history. His skills were: 1 - perma invis, 2 - blink, 3 - crit strike, 4 - death ward (WD's current ulti on crack).
csgo sucks dick. codol best fps, shame you can only play it in china. it's developed by activision's raven located in madison wi, and yes it's run by the same company that owns riot
as for heroes of the storm, well it's a shit game for clusterfuck 5 man groups. solo players can eat shit there, a casual game that focus on teamplay means solo players can seriously eat literal shit, cus one shit player will fuck the whole team over, and most of the time it's more than 3 shit players
and dota 2 has been the same for couple years now thanks to hots and lol influence, i'll check back after ti5 see if the meta still sucks black monkey dong I'll check the news see if a custom game made it into the next big thing but meanwhile fuck dota 2 and source 2
I played dota from 6.28, currently I play witcher 3 and heroes of the storm the most. HotS is the game to play for having fun, it is definately more fun than dota. I don't know why people hate it because it is less complex! do games really need to be complex to be good or fun? another point I'd like to talk about is that HotS is less complex for all players who play it not only you, which means game is not easier at all! complexity in multiplayer games =/= game being harder.
Hots is just stupid
I played DotA since 6.xx patch where they gave IceFrog a "tribute", Slark & Ancient Apparition (Get it? IceFrog.) I constantly played it until CS 1.3, it was such a hit for us in the next 2 yrs. but DotA evolved & I started to download and watch War3 replays of Pro Games, the legends were born (Classic EHOME, Classic LGD.Dota, StarsBoba, DTS, MYM etc.). apart from DotA i'm still playing Rhythm games such as Osu! , Cytus, O2Jam (both in Androind & PC, via private server.) Those games gave me a handful of songs just to be "fast-hands" (but not that fast though lol, enough for being a Support 4 & 5 player :) And having map-awareness. I really loved the combination, i never played any console game except Tekken (as it also involves intricate finger moves lol).
This post bring back a lot memory. I started Dota 1 before even Garena came out. We only played LAN in my local computer cafe. None of us had an idea about items/builds/heroes and whoever could remember the receipts for each items would be considered PRO. I started CS with Beta 6.1. People could run and awp at same time.