Why is DoTA so popular?

[Maximilian]

Ive read the wiki and it said it was based on a starcraft map, the concept of it sounds like it could have been based from hundreds of different starcraft maps, some of the "special forces" maps on starcraft or anything where you level up and earn minerals and push forward against the enemy.

Why is DoTA so popular? Is it just that there isnt many good customs for WC III and this was the best they had or what? How come there hasent been any good custom starcraft maps that got recognition and fame... the thing and the WWIII ones are great! Hot potato and room wars and even the really simple but fun (and often rigged) simpsons madness games are great.

 

[Anubis]

no idea i never liked it

 

[BassBomb]

ask the koreans in my class

 

[Malladine]

i suppose you'd have to try it, but 80+ heroes to choose from, each with unique abilities, plus items you can buy and combine to make more powerful items...can't go wrong there

Throw waves of npcs attacking from both sides, 5 heroes on each side and bases/towers to destroy/defend into the mix and you have a great game. I spent more time playing DoTA than 90% of the regular PC games i've purchased.

 

[Vidda]

It's popular because it's very well balanced (mostly), and has been around for awhile. And yes, it is by far the most polished map for WC3 with custom spell animations/icons etc. Just looks like it could've been released as a standalone game/mod.

 

[Jakeisbest]

I think it has to do with the simplicity you only have to control 1 character, but then, that character can have many different item and skill combinations to suite your play style.

I have written a few guides on how to play specific heroes on dotaportal. For some reason the DOTA community is extremely dedicated. What other game like that has several in depth guides written for every hero?

The other thing that makes dota so unique is the time span and attachment you get for your hero. The game has a lot of RPG elements like leveling up, buying items, learning skills, you become attached to the hero you are playing. Which makes it even sweeter when you pawn some other player's hero!!

Nothing in gaming (imho) is as satisfying as hearing the voice screaming "HOLY SHIT" as you stop the enemy team and destroy their base.

 

[Molondo]

I thought it was based of the early starcraft map called defence of the temple.

 

[esun]

It's like playing WC3, except instead of micromanaging a hero plus a bunch of units, you only have to worry about the hero. And the hero is super, super buff and can get ridiculously awesome items. The large number of heroes gives the game a lot of variety, and it's really fun to play with friends.

 

[Aikouka]

Never got into Dawtuh.

 

[mushroom3]

it's more balanced than the actual game of wc3
for those who are going to argue against this statement, you don't hear people whining about any heroes in games with decent players while you hear many about human towers

 

[AstroManLuca]

I suck at RTS games, but I can handle DoTA because it's fairly straightforward. You only have to control one guy. I actually really despise playing War3 if I'm not doing a custom game.

I also like Battleships. That's a fun one.

 

[Dangerer]

wasn't into it at first, took several days of playing with good friends before i really got addicted. It's really no fun to crush noobs but I get really good joy out of outplaying people who are more skilled/geared than me

 

[esun]

Originally posted by: mushroom3
it's more balanced than the actual game of wc3
for those who are going to argue against this statement, you don't hear people whining about any heroes in games with decent players while you hear many about human towers

Heroes are regularly banned from tournament play because they are too unfair. There are some huge imbalances in heroes. I won't say it's less balanced than WC3, but still it could be better in that regard.

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: esun

Originally posted by: mushroom3
it's more balanced than the actual game of wc3
for those who are going to argue against this statement, you don't hear people whining about any heroes in games with decent players while you hear many about human towers

Heroes are regularly banned from tournament play because they are too unfair. There are some huge imbalances in heroes. I won't say it's less balanced than WC3, but still it could be better in that regard.

Eh, I think you can pretty much dominate with any hero, it just depends on game mode and team match ups. I don't think you can go as far as to say "huge imbalances."

 

[Modeps]

So, I just tried it for the first time. For about 10 minutes or so, I had no clue what was going on. Didn't even realize you could buy items... then I started killing some map monsters, and leveling up, and before I knew it, I was taking down full lines of these, what I guess were, other team created monsters. Basically, my dude would spin around and kill groups of things in two hits. It was a neat feeling. Too bad I became tough too late, and we lost. I didnt come in last though.

 

[demenion]

Dota is good because of all the variety.. you can always be a different hero vs a completely different team. There is a lot more skill and team work required compared to most of the other custom games.

Creeping and deny efficiently early game, pay attention to mini map constantly, ganking, using environment and trees to juke.. etc.

its' a balanced game that balances itself by being unbalanced... (public & TDA games) However league, certain teams are just banned because it's way too overpowered.

I highly recommend playing TDA games (goto channel Clan TDA on bnet east) You need to have a safelisted account by either having a war3 icon (25 wins) or posting on the forum. This does a good job of eliminating most of the annoyances of public games, plus the general skill level is a lot higher.

 

[Modeps]

Alright, so I played my second game and was not too happy with the other players, I told them I really didn't have much of an idea what to do after somehow (5 minutes in) they started saying that I sucked. Instead of giving me some pointers, they just ignored me, kept saying I was a noob, and finally quit turning over control to me of their Heroes.

It wasnt labeled a "pro" or "league" game, it was just called "DOTA apem" In a game that's basically only multiplayer, the community sure doesn't make it easy for a new person to learn or even want to keep playing.

 

[demenion]

If you are serious about learning the game, I would check out the dota forums...

Dota has a very simple concept, but still a hard learning curve.

You basically need to play all the heroes atleast once to get a feel for the game.

 

[FallenHero]

Originally posted by: Modeps
Alright, so I played my second game and was not too happy with the other players, I told them I really didn't have much of an idea what to do after somehow (5 minutes in) they started saying that I sucked. Instead of giving me some pointers, they just ignored me, kept saying I was a noob, and finally quit turning over control to me of their Heroes.

It wasnt labeled a "pro" or "league" game, it was just called "DOTA apem" In a game that's basically only multiplayer, the community sure doesn't make it easy for a new person to learn or even want to keep playing.

Good to know the community hasn't changed since I played it over a year ago. No help from anyone, just insults. Kinda sad really.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: FallenHero

Originally posted by: Modeps
Alright, so I played my second game and was not too happy with the other players, I told them I really didn't have much of an idea what to do after somehow (5 minutes in) they started saying that I sucked. Instead of giving me some pointers, they just ignored me, kept saying I was a noob, and finally quit turning over control to me of their Heroes.

It wasnt labeled a "pro" or "league" game, it was just called "DOTA apem" In a game that's basically only multiplayer, the community sure doesn't make it easy for a new person to learn or even want to keep playing.

Good to know the community hasn't changed since I played it over a year ago. No help from anyone, just insults. Kinda sad really.

The first game was alright, people were saying I was a noob, but when I told them it was my first game, they chuckled and one guy at least pointed me in the right direction... at the end, some were cheering for me as I brought havoc to some of their army, which was nice.

The fact that you've gotta learn acronyms just to understand what kind of game you're going to join is a bit off putting. I'm almost thinking that this would be better off as a standalone game with several maps and some sort of training (yes, I understand its a mod)... as I understand it, everyone online just plays on one map.

 

[LumbergTech]

personally, i dont like dota at all...seems like someone thought warcraft 3 wasnt good enough and made a horrible mod for it

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: LumbergTech
personally, i dont like dota at all...seems like someone thought warcraft 3 wasnt good enough and made a horrible mod for it

Dota is shitty

I used to play Tides of Blood... that was so much more awesome. People liked DOTA more because it was completely unbalanced, allowing players to essentially go crazy with ridiculous characters. ToB felt like something Blizzard might actually release; it was balanced, challenging, and tons of fun. Alas, Battle.net is full of retards, so DOTA won in the end.

 

[Modeps]

Yeah, I think I'm done with this mod. Third game I went into, first thing I said "I'm a new player, so if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it" Some people seemed ok with it, but I was left to fend for myself... about the time where I died for the 4th time, people started cursing and saying that I sucked and what not. I really dont need that when I'm trying to learn.

Oh well. Back to console gaming.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Modeps
Yeah, I think I'm done with this mod. Third game I went into, first thing I said "I'm a new player, so if anyone can help, I'd appreciate it" Some people seemed ok with it, but I was left to fend for myself... about the time where I died for the 4th time, people started cursing and saying that I sucked and what not. I really dont need that when I'm trying to learn.

Oh well. Back to console gaming.

yeah i played dota with a few guys and was at such a huge disadvantage because there are certain builds that simply trash everything else.

 

[Jax Omen]

Originally posted by: esun

Originally posted by: mushroom3
it's more balanced than the actual game of wc3
for those who are going to argue against this statement, you don't hear people whining about any heroes in games with decent players while you hear many about human towers

Heroes are regularly banned from tournament play because they are too unfair. There are some huge imbalances in heroes. I won't say it's less balanced than WC3, but still it could be better in that regard.

DotA tournaments allow each team to vote on 3/4 heroes to be banned. The teams get to pick whichever of the 90 heroes they want. That is NOT the same thing as "heroes being banned because they're unfair". Most teams ban the couple heroes that are most likely to screw up their intended team lineup.