Why is Dota 2 dying

How does a game work?

As in classic sports, the games follow a certain sequence. A Dota 2 game can be divided into four phases, each with their own peculiarities, strategic subtleties and exciting scenes:

The pre-match

In the "Pick and Ban" phase, the team captains of both teams take turns blocking certain heroes, which are then not allowed to be played by any team (bans). In addition, they take turns choosing the heroes for their team (picks). The captains not only have to pay attention to which heroes their teammates can handle best. But also how they can best counter the skills of opposing heroes and whether the composition of the team fits together. For example, you can direct your team to shine in large group battles with all ten heroes; or that the heroes are particularly effective lone fighters who split up in order to put the opponent under pressure in several places at the same time. Each composition has its advantages and disadvantages.

While there isn't much action to be seen at this stage, the pre-match is somewhat of a poker game. Both captains watch each other, bluff and lay wrong tracks. Sometimes they forbid everyone to have a hero whom they normally like to play themselves. Sometimes they snatch their favorite heroes away from the enemy. Only then - after almost 15 minutes - is it clear with which ten heroes the players will compete against each other. For the uninitiated viewer, this may be the most puzzling phase of the whole match, because initially they cannot imagine anything among the many heroes. Dota 2 fans often have a good idea of ​​which of the two teams is the favorite in the actual game thanks to the team line-up.

Early game

After this prelude it goes to the arena, in which the two bases are fought. The first third of the game is about strengthening your heroes as quickly as possible. That means: to collect as many experience points and gold as possible as quickly as possible. Both teams usually play a little more defensively at the beginning. To do this, the players split up, kill the weak creeps on the three lanes and try to ambush individual enemy heroes who have ventured too far into enemy territory. If a hero dies in Dota 2, he is revived after a few seconds in his own base. At this point, the players have little influence on the outcome of the battle between the two creep armies, which takes place automatically.

Mid game

When one of the two teams feels strong enough to be at the front, the mid game begins. The heroes gather. The point now is to get closer to the goal of the game. Depending on the strategy, this can mean that you concentrate on what is known as pushing. They attack the towers on the lanes to clear the way to the enemy base. Or they force outnumbered fights, attack two opponents with five heroes. You can also try to hunt down the mighty Roshan, a particularly powerful creep. His death gives the team that defeated him a decisive advantage in the next fight.

Late game

If one team has put the other back on the defensive, they dedicate themselves to the actual goal in the late game: to destroy the opposing base. To do this, the attackers must take a greater risk to turn their stronger position into a victory. You move further away from your own fortress, deep into enemy territory. If one of the attackers dies, it takes much longer before he can participate in the battle again than if one of the defenders dies. The phase is characterized by confusing five-on-five battles between the teams, until one team finally overruns the enemy base. The effect of a wrong click, the slightest mistake can decide the game.

A game lasts on average between 30 and 60 minutes, and in particularly tight games it can sometimes drag on for two hours. At the World Cup, a team has to win two out of three games in order to advance to a knockout round, in the final even three out of five games. A tournament round between evenly-matched opponents can therefore take many hours - with expert discussions between the individual games.