5punk

I'll put a thread here in case this takes off with a few of us. It's not really a 5punky game, and is apparently one of the worst culprits for MOBA trolls, but it stands out because we don't have to play with randoms - we can have any number of 5punkers and bots (up to ten), which instantly elevates it to king MOBA for 5punky pissabouts. However, all MOBAs are slippery fish and can easily turn you off if you go in blind. I was going to write a quick beginner's guide (I'm a beginner too), but PCGamesN's Phill Cameron (also PCG staff writer) has written a great one which explains the basic terminology and tactics, and might give you a pointer on where to start. My suggestion though, which I can't see him mention, is that you try a few characters out and persevere with them over a few bot matches - all of them seem shit until you get the hand of them, but in the hands of a player who knows them they become devastating. So play about with the ones you like the sound of, google them, get an idea of how to play them, and you'll hopefully enjoy the game.

Things I've learned:

Start with a ranged char, melee is just a bit of a pain in the arse until you're used to moving etc.

You will lose lots, and you will die to fuck, all the time.

Playing with 3 easy bots and 1 normal bot on your team, vs 4 easy bots on the other team gives you a fair chance of not losing horribly enough to get the hang of what you're playing.

Oh yeah. and RUN AWAY.

After hunting around a lot I've found here to be about the best (and only) place for decent guides.

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:Oh yeah. and RUN AWAY.

This is probably the most important thing in the game. Not dying is almost always more vital than anything else you might be trying to do, so running away early is a better option than trying to run away later and failing.

Dog Pants wrote:After hunting around a lot I've found here to be about the best (and only) place for decent guides.

oooh handy, i was looking for something like that last night but couldnt turn anything up looking through the forums or wiki

Someone throw one of these invites at Roman if there are any knocking about. He has no choice in this matter.

HereComesPete wrote:Someone throw one of these invites at Roman if there are any knocking about. He has no choice in this matter.

I'd like one if there's one left, I probably won't like it but I want to play more games with you bums.

Another good DOTAy evening had with berk and bits. I have discovered I seem to naturally gravitate towards characters who spam out lots of friends.

I'm really starting to enjoy this. I'm sure I'm still at a level that would cause the general DOTA population to pile scorn on me in generous heaps, but I'm definitely getting the hang of it. I still need to work out denying and what I'm supposed to be buying (I go in with no purchase strategy at all, I'm just grabbing whatever looks shiniest), but I'm killing more and dying less.

Joose wrote: I still need to work out denying and what I'm supposed to be buying (I go in with no purchase strategy at all, I'm just grabbing whatever looks shiniest), but I'm killing more and dying less.

I'm not sure if every character can deny or just certain ones and the link that Doggers posted has lots of guides telling you what to buy. I'm still doing lots of dying, I'm really shit at this game but will stick at it.

Pnut wrote:I'm really shit at this game but will stick at it.

I find it doesn't really matter a lot if you lose the game. It's like a game of golf, you have good and bad shots. The bad shots give you the rage, the good ones make you feel like the best player in the world. Winning the game is entirely incidental to getting more of those good shots (or in the case of DOTA killing enemy heroes).

Anymore spare keys floating about?

Handy Tip: You can edit the default list of suggested items in the shop, and then save the new list so you can load it up in future games. For instance, I now have the default list of items and a list specifically tailored to my Broodmother build. Just go in to the shop, click on the little pencil icon at the top left, then drag an drop to reorder the list. Click the tick when you are done and it prompts you for a save name. You then switch between premade builds using the icon at the top right of the suggestion list.

Course, you can only do this from within a game, which is a bit daft. You can get around that easy enough by making a bot game against a single passive bot though.

No more spazzing about mid game going "aah, ah, cant remember what items I should be getting, fuck it I'll buy that" and ending up with totally wonky items for me!

I just have a text file on my other monitor with my skill and gear progression. Ghetto, yo.

Dog Pants wrote:I just have a text file on my other monitor with my skill and gear progression. Ghetto, yo.

I have been using those guides from the site you linked to up on my second monitor. It works well enough, but I get flustered mid game and cant find things

Browser in the steam overlay + http://tinyurl.com/arghdota =

I fancy a game tonight, about half eight. Anyone?

Should be home by then. Save me a spot.

Today I learned that buff stacking is quite amusing in certain situations.

http://www.dota2wiki.com/wiki/Item_passive_stacking