Edit listing :
Initial post upon request - 2/16/2014
Edited and 90% complete on "Hotkeys" section.
Added twitch clicking definition and examples. - 2/17/2014
More minor edits, will resume writing soon~ 2/19/2014
APM, where is mine at and where should it be? Twitch, Trick, Reactive, and Spam clicks - 90% completed
Also added videos 2/23/2014
Special thanks and tons of credit goes to Iwin4Poland for effort, time and creativity in creating video guides for heros.
(this will be expanded as the guide is created.)
^dota_apm in console
My record in wc3 as pudge was 650 apm. Managed to keep it for a minute from start.
only micro is needed in dota...
macro and APM is usually just for starcraft 2...
@ Dk.Peniel
I'm sorry you feel that way. Hopefully this article can change your view once completed.
@ muted for russia,
I have a few games on record where I'm either playing visage or chen, and playing another hero that had disconnected, and proceeding to win.
A few were, Darkseer, Pudge, Dragonknight, and a Naga Siren. As far as 5 heros, I don't see that happening. I do still play starcraft broodwar, and maintain a D+ to C- on Iccup Ladder. I average 250-300 apm per game, and top out at 450.
@emptyjar
u might be spamming? i have an APM computing program but i think it also measure spam such as multiple clicking of mouse at the same location... there is thing that i reacall but i dont remember, i think its called effective APM where it excludes spams and records actual APM
and yes i can do 650+ apm by just spamming.. as a starcraft player i challenge you to control 48 zerglings or units at once EFFECTIVELY......... lets see how good ur apm is fuck retard...
as a former SC2 player i used to have an average of ~200 APM, when i started dota 2, that figure dropped alot while i figured out what to do. i think at the lower levels of play while youre still learning the game, APM should be the least of your worries, instead you should focus on macromanagement and game mechanics.
once you develop a better decision making sense, good positioning and last hitting/ denying, and overall map awareness, APM does start to impact the way you play. for instance on a ranged hero say you are just farming in a lane.
you have to consider their team, do they have a pudge, mirana, invis etc, and then look for them. my general rule is if you cant see them on the map assume you are about to be attempted to get killed. next, a little bit of positioning coems into play, am i standing behind a creep to block a hook or arrow from angles? do i have a tp in order to go and help my team if they get dived on etc. thats also when decision making comes into play, will it benefit the team if i go in there, or will i die without being able to attribute anything to the fight?
these are all things to consider while still trying to focus on farm. APM comes into play when those processes become second nature, and then when you are farming a lane, you can move closer to ensure more accurate last hitting then move back behind that creep for safety from skillshots. then instead of going further in the lane with 5 heroes missing, head towards the jungle or safer, just back up to tower or team mates.
sorry for the poor formatting and structure i find it hard to focus on a specific point because in dota there isnt just generalities, every game is different and you have to think differently and adapt to every situation. if you want clarification ask me a specific question and ill do my best to answer or perhaps reference you to something if i cant help
@ Dk~
You are correct, there is a difference between Effective APM and APM, which I will cover.
Nicely done, thanks for your time. I didn't even think of the more common heroes like NP and Shaman from my last thread lol, looking forward to this
Lol I don't really care and Scarlett isn't even my regular Steam name lol, most people call me Chu (Chu4Lyfe). Anyway, lol I guess you can do Enigma, since I've been trying desperately to bring his portrait into my top 3 heroes lol, or Enchantress, since she can become a semi carry and such. Whichever hero you play more of between those two can be your first one. Thanks!
My casual APM is around 150 with carries.
I am surprised my tinker's average is around 140 APM, I think because the 3 second tp lessens the amount of APM u can get.
180 APM in the first 8-10 minutes, i.e. laning phase.
I reached 700 once in WC3 by using courier's skills, spamming e+r+t+w+d+f+some other key, just spam spam spam and BAM !!
But really, who cares?
Watching the replays of many people from pros to nubs I have noticed that everyone has to some extent a bad habit of spam clicking. People do not do this intentionally (as if to increase apm count). Instead it is a lack of control of the fine motor skills that hold your finger steady.
If you watch pros, the very best players their have minimal, near zero, extra clicks. Muscle cells on a microscopic level are in fact just like spells in dota. They have a cooldown. If you stress them with spam clicking many of them will fire randomly producing more spam clicking and reduce your control and increase your response time. When you send an order to do an intentional move your finger cannot respond until it has completed the spam clicks which put muscles and nerves "on cd".
I have seen players do 4, 5, 6 all the way up to 10 and 12 extra move clicks before responding to a gank on themselves in the first 0.5 seconds that they are attacked.... they could have hit a bkb or blinked, but their finger was "on cd" finishing the spam clicks.
So try not to spam click; it makes you slower.
@ Relentless,
As I edit this out there are three different kinds of speed clicking, Twitch, Trick, and Spam. I'll cover as I get to it~. What you said is correct however.
how the fuck are you supposed to know how many extra move clicks players make just by watching a replay.
i spam clicks all the time but i never thought about it much other than it shortening the lifespan of my mouse
Spam clicking does not make players slower. There are multiple reasons why it is done. There are times when it is most effective, and times where it is not necessary.
Not sure pros relentless has been watching, but players like iceiceice and dendi and EternalEnvy spam click, move their screen constantly etc. Hell, EE spends is constantly click alt for the minimap.
Pro players often using spam clicking for movement in order to ensure a mistake in their movement does not occur due to unintended pathing from the map placing them out of position. Spam clicking for positioning and last hitting is also very common for pros and high level players during last hitting phase, especially those pros that keep auto attack on.
No Concede they do not. EE does nearly zero wasted clicks. I've watched him plenty. He does click a lot and fast but if you want to understand you can easily see the difference. His clicks are for actually doing things.
EE checks the map a lot, he checks items, he checks the scoreboard for levels, moves his hero intentionally, he micros his position to be in a specific position not nervous spamming. It really NOTHING like what a pub player does.
A typical pub player often moves spastically, clicks 4 or 5 even ten times on the same spot as if it will get them there faster. Pubs spam click attacks on a unit they are already attacking. They cause TONS of misclicks because they do this. I estimate the average pub player does 3000 to 6000 misclicks per game. Clicks that do nothing.
Probably EE moves are to fast for you to see what he is really doing. I have not watched much iceiceice but I would be shocked if he did real "spam clicking". If you slow down to 0.25 speed on replays you should be able to tell the difference.
Nothing if you spam. A high "effective APM" will severely increase your over all performance. I'll cover that shortly.
woa i just know that there is something like apm in dota lulz
I suggest u should add who is pro competitive player who using effective apm so we learn from him.
lycan micro wolf block > auto win.
i'm not even responding to Relentless's post in full (I am fully capable of understanding what the players I listed are doing with their clicks). How that spam reflects what a "pub player" does, is irrelevant. The difference is the pro player has significantly more purposeful actions, with spam and redundant actions in between. Telling inexperienced players to limit their actions is bad advice. They need to learn to constantly be making actions, rather than try to limit their actions. We disagree.
What inexperienced player need to learn is last hit, positioning their own hero, and using skill on the right place and on the right time (Manage their own mana). If they can do that, literally they can step up to the next level of doto.
Generally nice to see people who are contributing to the otherwise mostly crappy Dota 2 community. Thumbs up for all the posts that you've lately posted, mate!
@flop
Agreed. Most players will have an easier time learning to last hit with auto attack off, but will also end up standing still too often and be vulnerable as a result.
^
Yeah, by the time they learn to last hit with auto attack off. They will learn how to aggro creep and tower, so basically what they need to do is not just playing and playing witohut no purpose but also read some knowledge about dota and try to applicate in while they play.
I'm pretty sure pro players spam click all the time. I've seen EE, Merlini, and Dendi do it in their streams. They're not like some robots who does calculated moves with the perfect efficiency. Saying that they have near zero extra clicks is a huge no no.
I remember even singsing does it. He always spam the control button for his hero even if sometimes it isn't necessary
tsss... ive seen AKKE used his creep blocking the hero while attacking with impetus and not autocast... insane micro and APM!
@Melody: "Console programmed hotkeys :" section, pealse help with this, a link or anything is appriciated.. I was looking for this option (keybind camera to x location like towers) for ages now, kinda gave up... Probably searched for it with wrong key words but couldnt find how to do it. So now you gave me hope :D Could you help more with this? Do i need a keyboard with macro keys or can i just use F1 etc?
You don't need a keyboard with macro keys. You can do this with a regular keyboard and the Dota 2 Client.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=337793
^ Okey, from now I love you :D
edit: With this link you solved 90% of my problems with playing dota... I can press any weird combinations of keys just cant click, thats why i was a lot better in wow than in dota, i could bind everything... wow.
edit2: Ok i need a mouse/keyboard with extra keys... probably mouse .. or keyboard.. or .. both... or... omg... i want to play doto noooow
edit3: can i have you on my friendlist? *.*
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[size=20][Color=#afeeee]I GUESS THIS IS AN INTRODUCTION[/color][/size]
Hi, welcome again to another Melody-San post. ITT, I will be talking about Micro, Macro, APM, and managing these things as they are are very hard to control. We will attempt to cover as much as I know about these things, and how to apply them in Dota 2. This will be a VERY large article, so I will attempt to break it up into heros, and edit it over time. Before we get started with anything you should most likely know what these terms mean, where they came from and how they are applied in Dota 2, as you may have heard them from other games.
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Micro[/color][/size]
Micro : A term coined in Starcraft, as well as other RTS (Real time strategy) games. Micro is applying precise and constant control, and guile over the units you control to get the most bang for their buck. Common things that this include:
[*]Using your ranged units to Kite the enemy around, while attacking them using "Hold Position", "Stop" or "A move" features.
[*]Precise positioning of the units you control in order to flank or cut off the enemy from escape routes.
[*]Scouting with units that have good vision in order to gain a sense of map awareness or enemy unit positioning.
[*]Using the abilities of several units in succession to a point of where it reaches maximum effectiveness.
[*]Taking a unit that is receiving damage, and moving it away, so that it is no longer the focus of attack, and therefore making it attack more times than it would have, increasing cost effectiveness.
In short, Micro is effective in the short term, inflicting more damage then should have been allowed.
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Macro[/color][/size]
Macro : Another term coined in Starcraft and other Real time strategy games. This term means Macromanagement, effectively spending your resources to be the most cost effective, while maintaining them properly and positioning of non unit structures and icons.. Common things that this include :
[*]Spending your Gold in a way that is cost effective, while still pertaining to the late game.
[*]Knowing how to position wards and similar things in ways that they are more effective than they should be.
[*]Saving enough resources or the order in which you buy items or skill abilities, so that you may still progress at a healthy level while maintaining dominance over the enemy.
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]APM[/color][/size]
APM : APM stands for actions per minute. This, yet another term created in Starcraft or other Real time strategy labels how many actions a player can make and be functional per minute. An action is defined as attacking a specific target or location, rally a unit, selecting a skill, making a purchase, casting a spell, selecting a unit or using an item on a target or location.
Casual players in Starcraft and Dota 2 alike commonly have APM scores from about 60 (One action per second) to around 85 (1.4 actions per second). Profession Dota 2 players such as Aui_2000 can commonly have an all game average APM of around 250 (4.1 Actions per second). However in the heat of combat, their APM can spike or peak at around 400 (6.6 Actions per second.) The highest recorded APM was in a game of Starcraft Broodwar, where the player Park Sung-Joon, also known as "JulyZerg" is noted for the record APM of 818 (13.6 actions per second).
[color=#9370db]Accuracy and Effectiveness regarding APM :[/color] While maintaining a high APM is a good habit, if the habit is developed that you are doing nothing with your actions, (Spamming to increase score) then it is a worthless skill. A player with a lower base APM, that is more effective with his actions can dominate a player that spams actions to increase APM.
[color=#9370db]A Move :[/color] A move is short hand for attack move. The common game hotkey for this is the "A" key. By pressing the "A" key and clicking a location, you attack any hostile targets you encounter on the way to the location you targeted.
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Hero's, units, and items in Dota 2 and micro:[/color][/size]
[color=#9370db]Beastmaster :
Brewmaster :
Tusk :
Elder Titan :
Lycan :
Chaos Knight:
Undying :
Juggernaut :
Templar Assassin :
Lone Druid :
Naga Siren : Written coming soon.
Video
Venomancer :
Broodmother :
Spectre :
Phantom lancer :
Meepo :
Morphling :
Terrorblade :
Shadow Shaman :
Natures Prophet :
Enchantress :
Chen :
Enigma : Written coming soon.
Video
Deathprophet :
Invoker :
Shadow Demon :
Warlock:
Visage :
Courier :
Necronomicon :
Helm of the Dominator :
Manta Style :[/color]
[color=#ffa500]To be edited...[/color]
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Unit positioning and placement :[/color][/size]
[color=#ffa500]To be edited...[/color]
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Macro : What to spend, skill and use & When, Why, and Where? :[/color][/size]
[color=#ffa500]To be edited...[/color]
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Hotkeys, and how should I have them?:[/color][/size]
Well what are hotkeys? Hotkeys are common quick bind settings to make actions faster in game. Knowing and having hotkeys that you are familiar with are very important when it comes to proper Micro, Macro, and APM control. Your fingers should be accurate and comfortable when playing. If your settings are in a strange arrangement, you could accidentally use an item, or jumble your fingers and waste spells, putting them on cooldown. This can leave your team vulnerable and unarmed, so it's important to know and have your hotkeys set to something that you are comfortable with as well as something that you can repeat frequently and fast.
Hotkey settings can be changed via the Dota 2 Game Client's settings menu, and there are an array of options or you can change them to something custom. For this example, I will explain how my hotkeys are set up and why I have things where they are currently.
For starters, I currently use a Razer Naga mouse, and a Razer Black Widow Ultimate Mechanical keyboard. (Yes, yes I know. Don't even start.) Now I know other products can do similar things, and they could even be better, but it's just what I've used for a while and I'm comfortable with it. Changing your equipment can cause devastating effects on gameplay and your overall performance. The keyboard is mechanical, which offers fast and reliable inputs compared to a membrane keyboard. It also features 5 individual macro keys on the left hand side. The switches are replaced with Cherry MX Blacks, instead of the standard Cherry MX Blue. The mouse has 12 different buttons where your thumb rests, and you can set different profiles to have quite a few different settings.
The majority of my hotkey settings are set so that they are similar to Starcraft Broodwar settings, as I've played that game for quite some time. Now let's talk about the importance of the hotkeys. Some I have may be some what excessive however there are a few that are crucial for increasing speed, performance, and reaction time. I will add extended notes to hotkeys I feel are core to APM management, Micro and Macro.
[color=#9370db]Attack move - A[/color]
[*] Attack move lets you move a unit, hero, or selection of units to a area. While taking the fastest route they will attack anything they encounter. This is useful so that you can focus on other tasks while the unit takes the desired path. If the selection of units or hero encounters something on the path that is hostile, whether it be creeps or another hero, they will begin to attack the target. If you had just used a move feature, your hero could possibly be attacked while traveling to it's destination. Instead of trading blows, you are now just blindly walking a path getting attacked.
[color=#9370db]Stop action - S[/color]
[*] Stop action is as much of an art as it is a hotkey. When a hero or unit cast's a spell, ability, or begins to attack they start what an animation. The animation shows something such as, Earthshaker taking the totem off of his back and slamming it to the ground. This can be canceled with Stop action. Your action is canceled and you will return to a neutral position. This can be useful for stopping your attack on a hero using blademail, or to show your enemy that you are starting to cast a spell. It's somewhat of a mind game. When you cancel the animation, a hero or player might gain a false sense of security or change direction of movement. You can plan for this accordingly such as mid to higher tier "Pudge" players. Fake a hook to make a unit change direction, then throw a hook because that is where you wanted them to move all along. Another common use is for Venomancer wards. Using stop action prevents them from attacking, changing what might be a rather weak single ward attack, into a focused multiple ward strike, extremely effective in out denying a hero, and preventing gold gain.
[color=#9370db]Move - M[/color]
[*] Move can be used to take a path without attacking something along the way. Useful for smoke ganks and other times when you would rather retreat than attack.
[color=#9370db]Hold Position - H[/color]
[*] Hold position makes the selected target or targets stay in the same location regardless of if someone attacks you or walks within your attack range. This is useful for hiding in tree lines, jukes, ganks and other somewhat stealthy measures.
[color=#9370db]Select hero - Mousekeypad 1
Select other units - Mousekeypad 2
Select all units - Mousekeypad 3[/color]
[*] These hotkeys are rather important. During a game you select many things. Creeps to check health, enemy or ally heros to check stats, items, current mana pool or gold, towers, shops and other things. Pressing these will allow you to change the selection from what you have to the corresponding target. Used in fast selection of newly summoned units or controlled units that you have not yet set Control groups for.
[color=#9370db]Ability suite - Q - W -E - D - F - R
Item suite - Z - X - C - V - B - N
Ability learn - L
Level stats - O[/color]
[color=#9370db]Camera pan - Arrow keys (Alternate setting for accuracy, MB11 - Change to profile 2. MB2, MB4, MB6, MB5.)
Cast Glyph - F7
Pause - F9
Console - F12[/color]
[*] Special note : Camera pan will allow you to control the camera in a WASD manner, giving you more control over what is in your hero's line of sight, giving you an increased allotted amount of time to respond to what enemy heros are dong.
[color=#9370db]Control Groups - 1 to 0 numbers.
Control Group tab - Tab [/color]
[*] Control groups are are the basis of micro. Being able to control multiple selections of units and or heros while assigning another selection to a different task. To bind something to a control group, select what hero and or units you would like to have in that group. Hold CTRL and then press a key which you would like to assign it to. After you've done this, any time after you press that key which it is assigned to, you can select it. Having multiple control groups allows you to control, in example : Visage and his familiars individually. You can have Visage attack the enemy tower, while your familiars fly in and out of vision along a tree line, posing a thread of an impending stun. The enemy hero/player can be influenced by this and might make different decisions rather ran if you selected Visage and his familiars and told all units to attack the tower. Control groups can be overridden, simply by selecting something and rebinding the key with the CTRL key. You can fast swap between individual units in one group by hitting the Tab Key.
[color=#9370db]Voice ingame - Profile 1, MB 10
Skype/Vent/Ts push to talk key - Profile 1, MB7
Chat wheel - Space
Select courier - F2
Rally courier - F3
Courier Speed - F4[/color]
[*] These binds are important to decrease the time in which you don't have your hero selected. You are able to quickly select the courier and have it deliver items, rather than to scroll back to base, manually select the courier and have it deliver items by clicking on the icons. This gives you more awareness of what is happening around you, so that you do not have to advert your eyes from your hero. Useful in increasing speed and performance.
[color=#9370db]Open Shop - T
Purchase Quick Buy - Y
Take Stash - G[/color]
[*] Similar to above, except with purchasing items, whether you are in lane, in the middle of a team fight, or on the verge of death. Useful for increasing speed and performance.
Console programmed hotkeys :
[color=#9370db]Keyboard macro key 1 - Camera bind : Dire Top Tier 1
Keyboard macro key 2 - Camera bind : Dire Mid Tier 1
Keyboard macro key 3 - Camera bind : Dire Bottom Tier 1
Keyboard macro key 4 - Camera bind : Dire Ancient
Keyboard macro key 5 - Change to profile 2
Keyboard macro key 1 (profile 2) - Camera bind : Radiant Top Tier 1
Keyboard macro key 2 (profile 2) - Camera bind : Radiant Mid Tier 1
Keyboard macro key 3 (profile 2) - Camera bind : Radiant Bottom Tier 1
Keyboard macro key 4 (profile 2) - Camera bind : Radiant Ancient
Keyboard macro key 5 (profile 2) - Change to profile 1
Keyboard bind - "-" : Top rune spawn location
Keyboard bind - "=" : Bottom rune spawn location[/color]
[*] These following commands are available via creation of an AutoExec file for the Console in Dota 2. You can set custom functions to where you can change a vast list of in game features. These binds are for map awareness. You can quickly scroll or filter between locations, giving you a better overall sense of perception, increasing your knowledge and awareness of events that are occuring in game, or what the enemy hero is building. You can check the locations of lane creeps, filter between rune spawns at every 2:00 minute mark, or check tower damage. Useful for general map awareness.
[color=#9370db]Delete - Say Current Game time
End - Nothing
Page down - Executes autoexec again
Insert - Say Well Played!
Home - Nothing
Page up - Show Netgraph and APM chart[/color]
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]APM, where is mine at and where should it be? Twitch, Trick, Reactive, and Spam clicks.[/color][/size]
Apm can be a very touchy subject. Focus on APM can divert a players attention from other focuses, therefore actually hindering their performance. Finding the balance between art and spam is hard for an unaware eye to notice, hence why some Dota 2 players think that APM doesn't matter. What may seem like mindless clicking to increase APM can actually be precise calculated adjustments to what is a flawless execution. So let's start to uncover the different kinds of actions/clicks that can so that you can tell a difference between skill and technique and what is spam.
[color=#db7793]Twitch Clicking :[/color]
[color=#9370db]Twitch Clicking[/color] is somewhat invisible to an untrained eye. [color=#9370db]Twitch Clicking[/color] is defined by when a player makes an ever so slight adjustment to what they are currently doing. Example: A hero is in this location.((Image)) Now when you look at this picture, Visage is facing the South-west exit towards the river. The familiars are facing each other. [color=#00ff00]Green Arrows[/color] represent where the units are facing. [color=#ff0000]Red arrows[/color] represent paths that can be taken from this area.
An example of [color=#9370db]Twitch Clicking[/color] would be taking Familiar 1, and turning it so that it faces the north instead of south-east, how it is currently facing now. Now this doesn't seem like much, however it is a calculated move. By taking and facing the familiar that direction, if an enemy were to come from the north the familiar would not have to turn the 180-ish degrees to attack. This calculated move shaves some fraction of a second off of it's attack. Without the familiar having to preform the turn animation you will have an advantage in damage that you could cause with familiar attack.
This small precise action is called a [color=#9370db]Twitch Click[/color], because of the twitch like movement to face the familiar at the perfect angle to achieve the maximum effectiveness. This can also be preformed with visage and the other familar as well, creating a massive advantage in positioning and increased damage output. Eternal Envy does this [color=#9370db]Twitch Clicking[/color] method frequently in his games. While it may seem like he is just moving in place, he is actually angling his units to achieve the maximum amount of effectiveness. This is considered [color=#ffa500]Effective APM[/color] if preformed quickly and you do not absolve more than a second or two preforming this action. Players often do this repetitively and methodically, sometimes without noticing because it has became a forced habit. This is another characteristic trait of this type of clicking.
[color=#db7793]Trick Clicking :[/color]
[color=#9370db]Trick Clicking[/color] is far less rapid than [color=#9370db]Twitch Clicking[/color]. [color=#9370db]Trick Clicking[/color] is when a player consistently checks control groups in a rhythm. For example, : A player has set four control groups in this example we will use Naga siren. The player has set a control group for each illusion that Naga can spawn, and is split farming the jungle. The player will select a control group and set it to farm a jungle camp or something similar. After all the control groups have been given set tasks/commands, the player will re-select the control group that he gave the first order to. He used "A Move" to sent the groups to the individual camps. When he selects the first control group he notices that the unit is attacking a lesser creature in the jungle camp. He will reaggro that control group to be more effective, making it attack the larger creep spawn that empowers the lesser creeps.
He proceeds to do this with each control group making it more effective than before. After he finishes with his fourth control group he reverts to the first group again. The camp has just finished and so he moves the control group to the safe lane and attack enemy lane creeps. He proceeds to the second and sends it to scout the enemy secret shop. The third to head to mid lane, and the fourth to scout the nearest rune.
This methodical and balanced form of control is referred to as [color=#9370db]Trick Clicking[/color]. Chen players usually need to show some form of this when playing. Aui_2000 uses this form of clicking when he plays Chen. Each creep he dominates has a task. He uses this form of control to stack multiple camps at the minute mark and then proceeds to farm them with dominated wildkins. While Chen absorbs exp while the tornado damages the stacked camps, he will glance around at the rune spawns, and check on each individual lane and how his team mates are performing to see where he should rotate to.
[color=#9370db]Trick Clicking[/color] is a habitual form of [color=#ffa500]Effective APM Management[/color] that allows a solid form of control while playing a hero. It is formed through the player being extremely familiar with the hero he is playing and very comfortable with the micro he is performing. It earned it's name from players who would use little "tricks" to keep themselves in rhythm.
[color=#db7793]Reactive Clicks:[/color]
[color=#9370db]Reactive Clicks[/color] are impulses that your fingers make either to an event occurring in game or an outside influence effecting you to miss-key or something similar. [color=#9370db]Reactive Clicking[/color] is defined as clearly as it is stated. It is an involuntary action that you make due to a reaction to something. This something can happen outside the game, but more commonly they are referred to in-game. A player starts an animation for a spell and you activate your Black king bar. Shortly after you realize that he had animation canceled and that you had wasted a bkb charge for the incoming team fight. Another example could be that I myself have from time to time. While on visage you are attacking a target. You position your birds cutting off his path, but because you're either excited, nervous, scared or another feeling you drop both birds too fast. The stun isn't timed long enough and the target escapes.
[color=#9370db]Reactive Clicks[/color] can also be bad habits that you have may have as well. Examples of this can be multiple clicks to preform a single action. A lot of players tend to click multiple times when moving to a single location. This has a negative effect and is regarded as [color=#ffa500]Non-Effective APM[/color]. While these extra clicks are occurring you are losing actions that you could be starting or in the process of completing. You are basically losing time that you could be spending more effectively.
[color=#db7793]Spam Clicks :[/color]
[color=#9370db]Spam Clicking[/color] is exactly how it sounds. Performing repetitive actions in order to achieve a higher APM, or performing actions with no effective purpose. I touched on this subject earlier somewhat. Players sometimes get carried away with keeping their fingers busy in order to stay on focus when playing. These actions do nothing productive however they can be used in some positive ways. For example, a common mini game in Starcraft Broodwar called "1a2a3a". (Watch a video here)
What this refers to is a series of actions.
[*]Select control group 1
[*]Attack a target
[*]Select control group 2
[*]Attack a target
[*]Select control group 3
[*]Attack a target
The game is repetitive and holds no effective purpose, however it can be repeated to acquire speed and accuracy when performing this series of actions. If you look at the keyboard, how would you position your hand? To press 1, then a, 2 then a, 3 then a? You might think this feels unnatural, and it is to you. [color=#9370db]Spam Clicking[/color] can be used in an effective manner by repeating a series of actions that you will need to memorize. As you repeat the set of actions you will feel more comfortable, and perform them more quickly over time. Some players will make a habit out of performing certain tasks such ask, if the courier is in motion to select it and glance at the inventory of the courier, then glancing at the lane it is flying to. While walking back and forth with a hero waiting for a creeps health to drop so he can get the last hit. While even if a player says "Using courier, completing Mek" the player will still complete the series of actions. This keeps his fingers limber and makes his fingers familiar with the locations of the key so that he can perform it more effectively in the future.
Most newer players have [color=#9370db]Spam Clicks[/color] that in no way can be considered productive. Examples of these can be : Pressing an action multiple times to "assure" the action happens, such as rally the courier to drop of items, and perhaps the most common would be continuously clicking a path in order to move. Nothing more than wasted time and actions.
So now that this is out of the way. What should yours be at and how to check it. Well checking yours is actually really simple. You can check your current apm of the game by opening console while in a game and typing "dota_apm in console. In my opinion the easiest way to do this is to have a bind with the "Auto exec" file to check this. It's much more simple that way rather than to open in the console in game and check this. That would actually be counter productive to what we are talking about here Haha. Anywho as I have stated before commonly players that are familiar with the game have somewhere around 65-80 APM. Anything above this is great. Anything you are doing over this that is not Spam clicks or Bad Reactive clicks, and that is Effective APM, is good. I range around 160 - 250 in most of my dota games. If I am "tryharding" I could pump out a lot more. Think of things you should be checking or watching for while being map aware, informing your teammates and more so controling your own units correctly.
This is Bisu, one of my favorite Broodwar players to watch. Feel free to watch the first 20 seconds of this on fullscreen. This is 350 apm.
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Accuracy within your APM limits - APM vs Effective APM :[/color][/size]
There is a grave difference between just pressing buttons to press buttons and actually doing something with the buttons you press. Pressing the wrong button might as be counted as nullifying the last few buttons you pressed. Not only did you just miskey and have to correct the action you pressed but you might have used an ability and have to wait for it to come off cool down or perhaps even your ultimate. Being accurate with your keystrokes is very important and this only comes through familiarity with what you are pressing and how much of a second nature it is.
If you can't handle what you are trying to do and that is causing you to be inaccurate, it is better just to do what you can and practice doing more on your own time. Not your teams time.
[color=#ffa500]To be edited...[/color]
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Cost effectiveness and Management[/color][/size]
[color=#ffa500]To be edited...[/color]
[size=20][Color=#afeeee]Closing[/color][/size]
[color=#ffa500]To be edited...[/color]
[color=#9370db]Notes : This will be a enormous guide and I will try to cover heros as they are requested. Feel free to add anything you would like or comment on something I might have missed as this will be an immense post.[/color]
[Url=http://dotabuff.com/players/120827563]Melody-San[/url] is a 25 year old single father. His free time is spent playing Dota 2, Starcraft broodwar, Osu, and other games. He is a free lance writer and occasionally produces music. If you need help with the [Url=http://dotabuff.com/]forums[/url] or in-game play feel free to message him on Steam. He plays a 4-5 support role and throws consistently. His favorite heros are Visage and Crystal Maiden. He is in no way affiliated with Valve or [Url=http://dotabuff.com/]Dotabuff[/url] Staff.