DOTA 2 Game

DOTA 2 Game

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Introduction of DOTA 2



The most competitive game of action and strategy played both professionally and casually by millions of fashionate fans worldwide.

Dota 2 in game 5 versus 5

DOTA 2

Dota 2 is played in matches involving two teams of five players, each of which occupies a stronghold at a corner of the map. Each stronghold contains a building called the "Ancient", which the opposite team must destroy to win the match. Each player controls a "Hero" character and focuses on leveling up, collecting gold, acquiring items and fighting against the other team to achieve victory.


Heroes

Heroes are the essential element of Dota 2, as the course of the game is dependent on their intervention. Players are split into two teams of 5, and can select a Hero from a selection panel. Heroes all have different play styles that stem from unique abilities and combinations of attributes. Over the course of the game, Heroes will accumulate experience. Once a Hero has enough experience, they will level up, making them more powerful than before and allowing them to level up new abilities. Most Heroes have a distinct role that defines how they can affect the battlefield, though many Heroes can perform two or more of these Roles.



Strength Heroes

Strength Heroes are tough warriors and can withstand more damage than other Heroes. Because of their high Strength, these Heroes have the greatest natural Health and can regenerate quickly, keeping them in the fight and dealing damage. Strength Heroes can fit a variety of roles, and are almost always Melee Heroes.








Earthshaker

• A real force of nature, Raigor Stonehoof delivers seismic Fissures that stun and isolate his foes. Never outgunned when outnumbered, Raigor's Echo Slam is known to obliterate legions of attackers at once. 

Axe

• A one-man army that demands the enemy's full attention, Mogul Khan taunts his foes into unwinnable melee duels and Culls the weak from his sight with fell sweeps of his Axe.

Sven

• Proud in his exile, Sven has only his own rogue strength to count on and such mighty strength it is! Smashing opponents into the ground with his Storm Bolts and cleaving them apart, the Rogue Knight is invincible in close combat.

   

Pudge

• More meat than man, Pudge's long range Meat Hook reels in surprised victims from the battlefield and onto the Butcher's workbench, ready to be dismembered and eaten alive.

Tiny

• Big things come in little packages - Tiny can cause Avalanches at a whim, Toss his targets through the air, and Grow to immense sizes, treading over his enemies as a hulking Stone Giant.

   
Sand King

• Whipping around disabling enemies like the shifting sands themselves, Crixalis the Sand King calls upon the power of the deserts to stun and destroy his foes.

Kunkka

• The Captain and sole "survivor" of a doomed navy, the Admiral Kunkka wields the legendary sword Tidebringer, capable of destroying enemy armies, manipulating huge Torrents and summoning the Ghost of his ill-fated Ship to dash his enemies to the rocks and buff his allies.

   


Slardar

• Determined to chase down his prey, the Slithereen Guard Slardar can mark someone with Amplify Damage to make it impossible to hide from his savage bashes and stuns.

Beastmaster

• Wild and dangerous, Karroch the Beastmaster calls upon ferocious allies to scout and hunt, and causes chaos among enemies with his Primal Roar and Wild Axes.

   
Tidehunter

• Tougher than the seas themselves, Tidehunter Leviathan shrugs off blow after blow, clobbering enemies with his anchor and summoning abyssal gods to Ravage everything with flailing tentacles.

Dragon Knight

• More than meets the eye, Dragon Knight Davion tips the scales by stunning his foes and breathing fire, and taps his draconic heritage to unleash his Elder Dragon Form.

   


Wraith King

• Ostarion the Wraith King is neither brief nor cowardly, utilizing brute strength and the essence of the wraith against his enemies, gashing them with soul-shattering blows, and Reincarnating should he fall.

Clockwerk

• A mechanized warrior full of tricks and traps, Rattletrap in his Clockwerk armor uses flares and cogs to damage enemies and closes in with his trusty Hookshot from far away to sow chaos and disorder.

   
Lifestealer

• Fearsome and vicious, N'aix the Lifestealer Feasts upon his foes as he attacks them and Infests Creeps to Consume them whole, all for his so-called Master.

Omniknight

• Fear nothing! Purist Thunderwrath the Omniknight turns the tide of battles with strong heals and buffs, calling upon his Guardian Angel to make his allies almost invulnerable.  

Night Stalker

• When the sun sets, the Night Stalker rises. Fast and agile at night, Balanar stalks his prey relentlessly, crippling and murdering his unlucky foes, and even forcing the world into Darkness at a whim.

Huskar

• Sacrifice is strength, and Huskar puts that strength to use. Channeling pain into power, the Sacred Warrior burns his foes with spears and cuts enemies in half with his powerful Life Break.

   
Doom

• Destructive and cataclysmic, the Doom-bringing Lucifer Devours weaker enemies whole, unleashes the fires of Hell and locks rivals in an unholy curse to ensure their Doom.

Alchemist

• Brains and Brawn combined! Razzil Darkbrew the Alchemist is a chemically fueled powerhouse, hurling Unstable Concoctions at his foes and sending his Ogre into a Chemical Rage, becoming incredibly difficult to kill.

   
Spirit Breaker

• Capable of quickly disabling and killing lone targets, Barathrum Spirit Breaker charges into enemies and crushes the lights out of them with powerful bashes.

Brewmaster

• Drunk and aggressive, Mangix the Brewmaster smashes the ground with Thunder Clap, intoxicates his enemies (while fighting intoxicated himself) and splits into three elements with unique abilities during his Primal Split.

   
Lycan

• A ferocious and deadly shapeshifter, the Lycan Banehallow summons powerful wolves, grants his entire team damage with his fearful Howl, and even assumes the form of a wolf himself.

Treant Protector

• Hidden amongst the trees, Rooftrellen the Treant Protector protects his allies and buildings with Living Armor and traps his enemies in place with verdant Overgrowth.

   
Chaos Knight

• The knight of chance, Chaos Knight sows disarray upon his enemies with his Reality Rift and Chaos Bolt before summoning powerful Phantasms of himself to aid him in battle.

Io

• The phenomenon that is Io makes its presence felt throughout the battlefield, Tethering itself to allies to strengthen them before temporarily Relocating them both to anywhere in need.

Undying

• A dead man walking, Undying summons hordes of zombies with his Tombstone, rending his enemies' souls and decaying their bodies, and amplifying damage with his horrible Flesh Golem plague, to spread the dire Dirge wherever he walks.

Centaur Warrunner

• A brute centaur capable of dealing huge damage and returning damage inflicted upon him, Bradwarden Stomps and Stampedes over his enemies to pave his road with their fallen corpses.

   
Magnus

• The mighty Magnus the Magnoceros charges into his foes, Skewering them upon his coveted horn before pulling them all into his reach with his feared Reverse Polarity, destroying enemy positioning.

Timbersaw

• With chaotic and terrified hatred towards trees, Rizzrack in his Timbersaw suit zips around the battlefield with his long-ranged tree-latching hook and cuts enemies to pieces with his fast acting saw blades.

Abaddon

• Abaddon rides into battle, shielding his allies and cursing his enemies with the mysterious power of the mist, and even when he reaches low health, enemies will find that they are fighting an insurmountable battle against the Lord of Avernus.

Bristleback

• Rigwarl is no coward, and can deal large amounts damage to both single and multiple foes in battle. But he is one to turn his back on a fight, as he takes less damage when attacked from his Bristleback.

Tusk

• A brutal and aggressive fighter, Ymir the Tusk traps enemies with shards of ice, rolls himself and his teammates into battle with his giant snowball, and gives foes a total knockout with his devastating Walrus Punch.

Elder Titan

• Make way for the Worldsmith! The creator known as Elder Titan uses the forces that shaped the world itself to split and shatter the world he created so that it may be reborn again!

Legion Commander

• Ever the brash, aggressive commander; Tresdin sows chaos among the battle and demands Duels of her opponents - duels they have next to no chance of winning.

Earth Spirit

• With the force of the earth and knowledge of the ages, Kaolin uses stone remnants of his fallen army to crush, stun, and damage his foes in a variety of ways.

Phoenix

• Harnessing the power of long lost suns, Phoenix burns a path through the universe; with every rebirth leaving even more destruction in its wake.

 Agility Heroes

Agility Heroes are finessed and dexterous, masters of weapons and fighting techniques. These Heroes have high attack speed and Armor, and focus on using their regular attacks and any Items they have, but can fall back on their abilities in a pinch. Agility Heroes will often be played as carry and gank roles, because of how well they scale.



Anti-Mage

• Deadly and elusive, Anti-Mage blinks through combat, using his Mana Break to devastate enemy casters and then finishing them with his Mana Void, hoping to bring an end to magic.

Bloodseeker

• Thirsty for blood, Strygwyr the Bloodseeker will chase down heavily damaged enemies, healing himself for each unit he kills and Rupturing foes that try to escape.

Drow Ranger

• Traxex the Drow Ranger is a fierce archer, slowing targets with Frost Arrows and silencing dangerous ones in a gust of icy wind, while striking them for colossal damage.

   

Shadow Fiend

• Nevermore blasts his enemies with his powerful Shadowrazes, consuming their mortal coil for enormous attack damage and unleashing huge power with his Requiem of Souls.

Juggernaut

• Yurnero the feared Juggernaut attacks with a flurry of blades, spinning into enemies with Blade Fury and slicing his foes with a fierce Omnislash.

   

Razor

• Quick as lightning, the Lightning Revenant can channel the electricity in him to sap the strength of his enemies and call upon the Eye of the Storm to ravage enemies and buildings alike, calling them down to the dreadful Narrow Maze.

Mirana

• Princess Mirana is a skilled huntress, hitting enemies with well timed Arrows and calling upon powerful Starstorms that strikes every opponent near her; cloaking her allies in a lunar shroud to escape certain death or pull off a surprise attack.

   

Venomancer

• Insidious and serpentine, Lesale the Venomancer summons lethal Plague Wards, poisons enemies with a Venomous Gale, and infects all nearby foes with his Poison Nova for huge damage.

Morphling

• As versatile as the tides, Morphling takes on whatever form it needs for battle, Replicating Heroes and taking their positions to create havoc for his enemies.

   

Faceless Void

• Time stops for no one, except Faceless Void. Darkterror manipulates time to hinder enemies and avoid harm, trapping foes and allies alike in a timeless Chronosphere.

Phantom Lancer

• Azwraith the Phantom Lancer wields a magical lance, creating a phantom army of himself wherever he attacks, and crushes his opponents through sheer and overwhelming numbers.

   

Phantom Assassin

• A Sister of the Veil with a divine purpose, Mortred stalks her prey without being detected, then slaughters them in a heartbeat with a sanguine Coup de Grâce.

Vengeful Spirit

• Crippling enemies with stuns and debuffs, and recklessly endangering herself to save her allies, Vengeful Spirit fights selflessly to sate her thirst for revenge.

   

Viper

• Striking from above, Viper the Netherdrake pins down singular targets, almost completely stopping them in their tracks with his virulent toxin and his deadly signature Viper Strike.

Riki

• Silent and mysterious as smoke, the Stealth Assassin Riki stalks the battlefield using cunning and stealth to Backstab enemies under the veil of his Permanent Invisibility.

   

Clinkz

• Tormented by a longevity spell that backfired horribly, Clinkz the Bone Fletcher is eager to get his revenge, and will do so by strafing his enemies with Searing Arrows, burning them down to ashes.

Sniper

• Kardel the Sniper is one with his rifle, blasting his enemies' heads with incredible accuracy and Assassinating rivals from impossible distances.

Broodmother

• The Broodmother spawns her bloodthirsty Spiderlings and Spins Webs to conceal her own presence, striking her enemies down in an Insatiable Hunger with help from her army of devoted children.

Templar Assassin

• In defense of the temple, the assassin Lanaya is able to lay Traps for the unwary, Meld into the shadows, and strike devastating blows with her Psionic Blades.

   

Weaver

• Scuttling around the battleground unseen at high speeds, Skitskur the Weaver kills his prey quickly, and manipulates time to undo damage to himself.

Luna

• Luna prefers to fight at night. The Moon Rider runs in and burns her enemies with Lucent Beams and cripples them with ricocheting Moon Glaives, before obliterating them in an Eclipse.

   

Spectre

• A confused and dangerous entity from another plane, the Spectre can be anywhere and everywhere at once, and running from her is futile.

Bounty Hunter

• A cunning hunter, Gondar the Bounty Hunter Tracks and collects the bounties on the heads of his enemies, striking from the shadows, crippling them with his powerful Jinada, and tossing a Shuriken to finish the job.

   

Meepo

• A conniving Geomancer who uses the power of many to outmaneuver and out-level his opponents, pummeling them with disables and burst damage.

Ursa

• A powerful ursine warrior who gains more damage with every attack, and tears unsuspecting opponents to shreds in the blink of an eye.

   

Nyx Assassin

• True to his title, the Nyx Assassin stalks his chosen prey and obliterates them in the name of his dark goddess, punishing enemies foolish enough to strike back at him.

Gyrocopter

• Aurel is back from retirement! Armed with explosives and special ammunition, foolish youngsters don't stand a chance against him.

   

Slark

• As slippery as you could imagine, Slark is a sneaky assassin who kills quickly and is almost impossible to pin down.

Lone Druid

• An exile with a sacred purpose, the Lone Druid Sylla fights alongside his trusted Spirit Bear, with the ability to morph into a powerful melee beast himself in order to destroy his foes.

   

Medusa

• Knowing that the only true beauty is power, the hideous Gorgon Medusa uses her mana pool as a shield, steals mana with her snakes and turns enemies into stone with a mere glance, then destroys all of her assailants at once.

Naga Siren

• Slithice the Naga Siren fights again to restore her lost honor. Armed with powerful disabling abilities and the dreaded Song of the Siren, she and her choir of illusions crescendo to horrifying power like the rising tide.

   

Terrorblade

• Terrorblade the Demon Marauder unleashes the fears of opponents unto themselves, reflecting their inner demons and summoning forth his own to fight alongside him in battle.

Troll Warlord

• An ill-tempered troll , Jah'rakal the Troll Warlord is blessed by increasing attack speed, and the skill to swap between both melee and ranged attacks.

Ember Spirit

• Fire is the best teacher, and Xin is eager to teach his enemies the power of flames with searing chains, a blazing shield and the strength of scorching remnants of fire.

Intelligence Heroes

Intelligence Heroes are masters of spells and abilities. They tend to have larger Mana pools, and much greater Mana regeneration than other Heroes. Because of this, they often rely on their abilities to help allies and harm enemies, rather than physical attacks. Most Intees, axe, sven, pudge, tiny, sand king, kunkka, slardar, beastmaster, tidehunter, dragon knight, dk, wk, wraith king, clockwerk, lifestealer, omniknight, Ns, night stalker, huskar, alchemist, doom, spirit breaker, bara, barathrum, panda, brewmaster, lycan, treant, treant protector, ck, chaos knight, io, ud, undying, centaur, centaur warrunner, magnus, timbersaw, abaddon, bb, bristleback, tuskar, tusk, elder titan, Lc, legion commander, es, earth spirit, phoenix, earth shaker, lligence heroes are fragile, though this doesn't necessarily mean they're easy to kill. Intelligence Heroes are often played for support, gank, and pusher roles. Most Intelligence heroes are also Ranged Heroes.



Crystal Maiden

• Princess of Ice, Rylai the Crystal Maiden entraps her enemies in ice and blasts opponents with a wave of frost while restoring mana to her whole team, calling forth a devastating blizzard to sow icy death.

   

Bane

• The very representation of fear and nightmares, Atropos the Bane Elemental possesses dark and sinister abilities that he uses to cripple and disable multiple foes at once.

Puck

• Mischief and merriment is the game of Puck, as the Faerie Dragon silences foes with choking dust and ensnares rivals in volatile coils, specializing in tricking enemies into wasting their attacks while invulnerable.

   

Lich

• Chilled to the core and bad to the bone, Lich Ethreain summons waves of cold to damage enemies, create armors of ice, sacrifices his creeps for mana, and annihilates his opponents with Chain Frost.

Storm Spirit

• Raijin Thunderkeg, the gleeful Storm Spirit, blows his foes away with explosive decoys and pulls them into an electrical vortex, then ricochets past enemies at lightning speed.

   

Lion

• With sheer rage, Lion the Demon Witch delivers violent pain to his preys, impaling enemies with shards of stone, transforming opponents into frogs, and turning insolent foes inside out with one touch.

Windranger

• Lyralei the Windranger is fast and devastating, a master of arrows and quick on her feet, and like the wind itself she is both impossible to catch and to escape.

   

Witch Doctor

• Zharvakko the Witch Doctor turns the tide of battle, launching casks of paralyzing powder, healing his allies and cursing his enemies, and bringing forth an extremely deadly Death Ward with a dark ritual.

Zeus

• You can't run from heaven! High, noble and mighty, Zeus summons down thunderous bolts of lightning to smite his enemies, capable of damaging them wherever they may be.

   

Enigma

• Puzzling as the void between stars, Enigma bends the nature of the universe itself to summon mysterious Eidolons, dark magics, and an inescapable Black Hole.

Lina

• Cocky and volatile, Lina calls upon powerful flames to incinerate, scorches the earth with mighty pillars of fire, and blasts foes to ashes with torrid bolts of energy.

   

Necrophos

• Like a slowly spreading plague, Rotund'jere the Necrophos bides his time, eating away at their health and sadistically anticipating the moment when his foes finally feel their demise from his horrible Reaper's Scythe.

Shadow Shaman

• Calling forth devastating shadow magic, Rhasta the Shadow Shaman shackles enemies in place, transforms them into chickens, zaps them with energy and summons serpentine wards to unleash destruction.

   

Warlock

• A master of the arts of dark magic, Warlock Demnok Lannik calls upon healing and destruction with a whisper, and calls out fiery Demons onto enemies to wreak havoc and destroy all that they touch.

Tinker

• With the power of science at his fingertips, Boush the innovative Tinker blinds his foes with intense Lasers, fires off Heat-Seeking Missiles, summons an army of robots, and can Rearm himself at will.

Queen of Pain

• Seductive, yet lethal, Akasha the Queen of Pain teleports in and out of combat, lets loose hellish screams in a Sonic Wave, and flings tenebrous daggers at anyone foolish enough to attempt escape.

Nature's Prophet

• Trees, trees, and more trees! Defender of the forest, Nature's Prophet can summon trees to trap enemies, turn trees into powerful armies, and unleash the Wrath of Nature; as well as teleporting around the map to assist his allies.

   

Death Prophet

• Krobelus the Death Prophet spreads supernatural terror wherever she goes, surrounded by ghosts of lives past and voracious bats who claw at the souls and flesh of the living, chasing them to their demise.

Enchantress

• With a hop, skip, and a jump, Aiushtha the Enchantress calls her faithful friend of the woods by her side, heals her allies, and slows her foes while dealing incredible damage from afar.

   

Pugna

• A malicious creature indeed, Pugna spreads ruin wherever he goes, sucking the life out of opponents, creating powerful explosions, summoning charged wards and banishing opponents into the Nether Realm.

Jakiro

• The essence of fire and ice combined, this two-headed dragon Jakiro manipulates temperature to sear enemies with burning fire or freeze them solid with cold ice, combining the two with devastating results.

   

Dazzle

• Dazzle the Shadow Priest calls upon the power of the Nothl Realm, bending dark and light to heal and ward off death while harming and endangering his opponents.

Chen

• The symbol of faith, the Holy Knight Chen uses his magic to test any infidels, convert animals to aid his cause, and give his allies a healing hand from anywhere.

   

Leshrac

• Being torn from the heart of nature, Leshrac calls upon his Tormented Soul's power to twist the world, dealing colossal magic damage to punish all the fools who oppose him.

Silencer

• With his draining curses and magic-disrupting powers, Nortrom the Silencer snuffs out his enemies' abilities and leaves them fallen wordlessly to the ground, gored by his Glaives of Wisdom.

   

Dark Seer

• As cunning as could be, Ish'Kafel the Dark Seer uses mystical dark energy from his realm to move quickly about the battlefield and disrupt enemy positioning, creating an army of dangerous replications.

Ogre Magi

• Drenched in the fortunes of Pure Skill (dumb luck), Aggron Stonebreak comes in with his art of fire to bring down waves of napalm onto his foes. Maybe he'll do it twice if he feels like it. Or thrice. Or maybe four times.

   

Batrider

• High in the sky, Batrider cruises in on his targets, dousing them in ignitable fluids and unleashing a flurry of fiery attacks, grabbing foes in his lasso for his allies to kill.

Rubick

• The cunning Rubick, son of Aghanim and master of powerful and debilitating magics, is capable of thieving the abilities of his foes to use against them and disabling them with his own, all the while showing them the skill of the Grand Magus.

   

Ancient Apparition

• The frozen ice that has existed forever, Kaldr's warmthless presence enables him to slow his enemies and chill them to the bone, before shattering them into thousands of remorseful pieces.

Disruptor

• Bringing Thunder Strikes and Static Storms, locking foes in Kinetic Fields, and warping them back thIntelligence Heroes.

Invoker

• As the superior Arsenal Magus, the Invoker is able to combine the essence of the elements to unleash seemingly innumerable devastating spells upon all who oppose him.

Keeper of the Light

• You shall not pass! For the glorious Keeper of the Light controls the lane with his mighty waves of light. A valuable helper indeed, Ezalor refills the mana pools of his allies or drains those of his enemies, stunning them all in a brilliant flash of light.

   

Outworld Devourer

• Full of malignant intellect, the Outworld Devourer serves as the Harbinger of omens as he obliterates his intellectually inferior opponents with powerful spells full of mind-shattering forces.

Skywrath Mage

• Dragonus the Skywrath Mage brings arcane powers from the lofty Nest of Thorns. Using his Arcane Bolt and Concussive Shot from afar he brings his opponents low, then finishes them with his ultimate magic, the Mystic Flare.

   

Shadow Demon

• The malevolent Shadow Demon conjures his arsenal of curses, Disruptions, and poisons from the shadows to spread mayhem amongst the enemy ranks.

Oracle

• The Oracle, able to tell one's fate, manipulates the fate of heroes with his spells with unclear outcomes for all involved. His miraculous spells all have a sinister price, and the Oracle will make no promises.

   

Visage

• The watcher of the Underscape, the Bound Form of the Necro'lic Visage and his loyal Familiars ensure that no soul is safe in his duty. Fight if you must, as his pain will be your suffering and your ultimate end.

Techies

• With a cartload of deadly mines, traps and explosives, the crafty and mischievous Techies are capable of single-handedly denying enemies access to areas, halting opposing pushes, and winning fights before they have even begun.

   

Winter Wyvern

• Winter is coming, and embracing the cold is Winter Wyvern, giving aid to her allies with a healing chill and blasting her opponents with a maddening frenzy, forcing them to attack each other.

 Items

Items are objects sold by shops or dropped from Roshan that provide an ability, bonus, or other function not tied to a particular Hero (the only exception being Aghanim's Scepter, which changes certain Hero abilities). They come in a multitude of forms and types, and as such can be very different from one item to the next.

Items take up space in a Hero's Inventory, meaning only six can be carried at one time. If a hero buys another item while their inventory is full, it will automatically go to their stash - which can also hold six items. If a hero buys an item with both their inventory and their stash full, the item will be dropped on the ground in their fountain.

Recipe items will automatically remove their components from a Hero's Inventory and Stash when they are assembled. Because of this, strategy and thought is required in the order and selection of items to purchase.

Some items will provide no effect for some Heroes if they have passive abilities that provide the same or similar effect. For example, most heroes with a bash ability cannot use the passive ability on Skull Basher.

Heroes cannot use items purchased by other heroes, with a handful of exceptions. See Item Sharing for details. In addition, some items can be disassembled. See Disassemble for details.

Most items may be sold back to vendors for 100% of the gold spent either within 10 seconds after purchasing or until the item's active ability (if it has one) was used the first time. After ten seconds have passed items may be sold back for only 50% of its price tag. Some items cannot be sold, for example, Gem of True Sight, and for some Heroes, Aghanim's Scepter.

Gameplay

Purchasing items is essential to the course of the game, as items provide necessary benefits that improve the effectiveness of both Heroes and their team. Heroes without items, or with poor item choices, suffer greatly compared to Heroes with items that synergise well with them.

Items provide addition benefits to Heroes that levelling up cannot. These include attribute bonuses, additional movement speed, auras, active abilities, and passive effects that aren't included in the Hero's innate abilities. Because of this, a Hero will want good items in order to improve the effectiveness of their team.

Item choices, the amount of items, and the speed at which items are obtained determine how effective a Hero's team can be. A support Hero wouldn't want to spend too much money on damage-dealing items, because they don't benefit as much from it as a carry would. A carry hero would want to gain as much gold as they can in order to buy better items than their enemies, which is why farming is important to carries.

The amount of items a hero needs to be effective varies greatly depending on role. A support hero doesn't need many items at all to be effective, which is why they often buy support items like like Observer Wards. A semi-carry or initiator only needs one or two items to be effective, such as a Blink Dagger or Aghanim's Scepter. A hard carry requires many powerful, expensive items to reach their potential - and as such gain the most benefit from items.


Basics

Shop Consumables:

Consumables are items with a limited amount of uses. After all of the charges have been used, they are removed from your inventory or must be refilled. It is possible to use consumables on your allies, however only the original buyer may sell the items.


Clarity (50)
Enchanted Mango (150)     
Tango (125)    
Healing Salve (110)
Smoke of Deceit (100)  
Town Portal Scroll (100)
Dust of Appearance (180)
Animal Courier (120)
Flying Courier (370)      
Observer Ward (75)    
Sentry Ward (200)
Bottle (700)

Shop Attributes:

Iron Branch (50)
Gauntlets of Strength (150) 
Slippers of Agility (150))
Mantle of Intelligence (150)
Circlet (165)     
Belt of Strength (450)    
Band of Elvenskin (450)
Robe of the Magi (450)
Ogre Club (1000) 
Blade of Alacrity (1000) 
Staff of Wizardry (1000)

Shop Armaments:

Ring of Protection (200)
Stout Shield (200)
Quelling Blade (225)
Orb of Venom (275)
Blades of Attack (420) 
Chainmail (550) 
Quarterstaff (875) 
Helm of Iron Will (950)
Broadsword (1200)    
Claymore (1400)
Javelin (1500) 
Mithril Hammer (1600)

Shop Arcane:

Magic Stick (200)     
Sage's Mask (325)    
Ring of Regen (350)    
Boots of Speed (450)
Gloves of Haste (500)     
Cloak (550) Cloak (550)
Ring of Health (875)    
Void Stone (875)
Gem of True Sight (900)
Morbid Mask (900)    
Shadow Amulet (1400)
Ghost Scepter (1500)
Blink Dagger (2250) Blink

Upgrades

Shop Common:
Magic Wand (465)     
Null Talisman (470)    
Wraith Band (485)    
Poor Man's Shield (500)
Bracer (525)     
Soul Ring (800)    
Phase Boots (1290)    
Power Treads (1400)
Oblivion Staff (1650)     
Perseverance (1750)    
Hand of Midas (2050)    
Boots of Travel (2450)
Moon Shard (4300)

Shop Support:

Ring of Basilius (525)
Headdress (600)    
Buckler (800)    
Urn of Shadows (875)
Tranquil Boots (1000)     
Ring of Aquila (1010)    
Medallion of Courage (1200)    
Arcane Boots (1350)
Drum of Endurance (1850)
Mekansm (2300)    
Vladmir's Offering (2325)    
Pipe of Insight (3525)
Guardian Greaves (5300)


Shop Caster:

Glimmer Cape (1950)    
Force Staff (2250)    
Veil of Discord (2520)    
Necronomicon (2700)
Dagon (2720)
Eul's Scepter of Divinity (2850)
Solar Crest (3000)
Rod of Atos (3100)
Orchid Malevolence (4075)    
Aghanim's Scepter (4200)    
Refresher Orb (5300)    
Scythe of Vyse (5675)
Octarine Core (5900)

Shop Weapons:

Crystalys (2120)    
Armlet of Mordiggian (2370)    
Shadow Blade (2800)    
Skull Basher (2950)
Battle Fury (4575)    
Ethereal Blade (4700)    
Silver Edge (5450)
Radiance (5225)
Monkey King Bar (5400)   
Daedalus (5520)    
Butterfly (5875)    
Divine Rapier (6200)
Abyssal Blade (6750

Shop Armor:

Hood of Defiance (2125)
Vanguard (2175)    
Blade Mail (2200)    
Soul Booster (3200)
Crimson Guard (3800)    
Black King Bar (3975)
Lotus Orb (4050)    
Shiva's Guard (4700)
Bloodstone (4900)   
Manta Style (4950)    
Linken's Sphere (5175)    
Assault Cuirass (5250)
Heart of Tarrasque (5500)

Shop Artifacts:

Mask of Madness (1800)    
Helm of the Dominator (1850)    
Sange (2050)    
Yasha (2050)
Maelstrom (2800)    
Diffusal Blade (3150)
Desolator (3500)    
Heaven's Halberd (3850)
Sange and Yasha (4100)    
Eye of Skadi (5675)
Mjollnir (5700)    
Satanic (5950)


Secret Shop:

The Secret Shops are slightly hidden shops located near the center of the map. The shops allow players to buy items that can't be bought elsewhere or to spend extra gold while in the early game.

Energy Booster (900)
Vitality Booster (1100)    
Point Booster (1200)
Platemail (1400)
Talisman of Evasion (1800)    
Hyperstone (2000)    
Ultimate Orb (2100)
Demon Edge (2400)
Mystic Staff (2700)    
Reaver (3000)
Eaglesong (3200)    
Sacred Relic (3800)


Secret Shop Upgrade Items:

In addition to the items available above, 3 items can be completed solely with items from the Secret Shop:

Soul Booster (3200)   
Octarine Core (5900)   
Divine Rapier (6200)

Side Lane Shop:

The Side Lane Shop is an extra shop located on the Radiant side of the Bottom Lane and the Dire side of the Top Lane, near the River. The Side Lane Shop sells certain items away from base, allowing Heroes to continue laning for longer before returning to base.

Town Portal Scroll (100)   
Magic Stick (200)
Orb of Venom (275)   
Sage's Mask (325)
Ring of Regen (350)   
Boots of Speed (450)
Cloak (550)   
Ring of Health (875)
Void Stone (875)   
Morbid Mask (900)   
Helm of Iron Will (950)   
Energy Booster (900)
Broadsword (1200)  
Slippers of Agility (150)
Quelling Blade (225)   
Blades of Attack (420)
Band of Elvenskin (450)   
Belt of Strength (450)
Robe of the Magi (450)   
Gloves of Haste (500)   
Chainmail (550)   
Quarterstaff (875)
Ultimate Orb (2100)   
Blink Dagger (2250)
Stout shield

Upgrade Items:

These items can be completed solely with items from the Side Lane Shop:

Poor Man's Shield (500)
Arcane Boots (1350)   
Phase Boots (1290)   
Power Treads (1400)
Helm of the Dominator (1850)   
Hood of Defiance (2125)   
Oblivion Staff (1650)
Blade Mail (2200)
Perseverance (1750)

Roshan Drop:

Drop Only items are items that cannot be bought from any shop in the game and must be picked up. These are usually accompanied by a set of conditions that must be met before dropping.

Aegis of the Immortal (N/A)  
Cheese (N/A)
      
Seasonal Event


These items are only available during limited time events:

Diretide:

Greevil Taffy (N/A)

Greeviling

Clove Studded Ham (N/A)  
Cocoa With Marshmallows (N/A)   
Fruit-bit Cake (N/A)
Greevil Blink Bone (N/A)
Greevil Chow (N/A)
Greevil Treat (N/A)   

Kringle (N/A)
Speed Skates (N/A)   
Snow Mushroom (N/A)   
Wizard Cookie (N/A)
Xmas Stocking (N/A)

Wraith-Night:

Greater Clarity (90)  
Greater Salve (275)   
Arcane Boots II (2450)   
Slippers of Halcyon (2075)

New Bloom Festival:

Greater Clarity (90)   
Greater Salve (275)   
Flinching Firecrackers (100)   
Firework Mine (1000)
Scare the Beast (1500)   
Force Boots (3650)   
Desolator 2 (8375)   
Vermillion Robe (9750)





 Mechanics

The mechanics of Dota 2 describe the inner workings of the game. These are elements that are not required to play or even play well, but will improve a player's understanding of Dota 2 and provide them with more streamlined play. This article and the articles it links to describe more intricate elements of Dota 2 and are written for new and experienced players alike.

Engine

Dota 2 runs on a heavily modified version of the Source Engine. This version builds upon features introduced with Portal 2 and the Orange Box versions of the engine, such as flowmaps and advanced particle rendering, by adding features like as improved spectator support and cloth physics. Dota 2 supports a matchmaking system and up to 10 players in game at one time, while allowing for large numbers of spectators at any given game.

Heroes

Heroes are unique units within Dota 2 that the player controls. At the start of each game, players are split into two teams of up to 5 versus 5 and then select a single hero from the hero pool. Every player controls his or her own hero and any unit that hero comes to control, such as neutral creeps under the effects of Chen's Holy Persuasion or Lone Druid's Spirit Bear.

Heroes will gain experience when enemy units are killed nearby. They start the game at level one after start-up and will eventually level up as they earn experience. Gaining a level will increase a hero's attributes and allow him to spend a skill point on learning new abilities or providing additional statistics, with the possibility of additional effects. For most heroes, at level 6, an ultimate ability is unlocked.

• Abilities

Heroes gain abilities providing various effects. They range from simple passive bonuses to powerful, devastating explosions. All heroes have four or more abilities, with one of those abilities being their ultimate. Every time a hero levels up, they earn a point that they can place into leveling up available abilities or an attribute bonus. Not necessarily all abilities can be leveled up after any given level.

The table at the right shows when levels can be earned. For instance, heroes can't take a second level of any regular ability until level 3, and can't take the first level of their ultimate until level 6. The Attribute Bonus functions as an ability like any other, able to be taken at level 1, but not until level 3 will it be able to be leveled again.

When an active ability is used, it usually consumes mana and is placed on cooldown. An active ability cannot be used if a hero does not have enough mana to cast it, is still on cooldown, or if the hero is under the effect of an appropriate disabling effect. Not all abilities, however, consume mana or possess a cooldown timer. Mana will regenerate over time, and its rate of regeneration can be increased with intelligence or other effects. While a spell is on cooldown, it cannot be used for a given duration. For example, Wraith King's stun Wraithfire Blast has a cooldown of 8 seconds. This means Wraith King has to wait 8 seconds after casting Wraithfire Blast before he can do so again, even if he has the mana required. Some effects can affect cooldowns, like the item Refresher Orb which will reset all cooldowns immediately when used, at a high mana cost.

Passive abilities, on the other hand, do not require activation to use: they will be used automatically. Most do not have a cooldown or a mana cost, but operate constantly in the background. This also applies to toggled auto-casts. Auto-casts are types of abilities that are used automatically when conditions are met. The automatic effects can be toggled on or off by pressing Alt+. Regardless of whether they are active or not, pressing the ability key and using the ability manually will still work. A yellow, flashing rim will appear on the ability if it is toggled on while having a dark grey rim in case it is toggled off.

• Attributes

In addition to unique abilities, every hero has a different set of attributes which control their initial statistics. These attributes are strength, agility, and intelligence. In addition to bonuses earned by each attribute, heroes also have a "main" attribute. Every point in their main attribute adds increases their basic attack damage by 1. Typically, this will also be the highest attribute at first level, and the one that receives the greatest increase as a hero levels up.

Every point in strength will...

•     Increase the hero's maximum Health by 19.
•     Increase the health regeneration of the hero by 0.03 per second.
•     Increase the damage of strength based Heroes by 1.

Every point in agility will...

•     Increase the hero's armor by 0.14 points. (1 armor per 7 points of agility.)
•     Increase the hero's attack speed by 1 point.
•     Increase the damage of agility based heroes by 1.

Every point in intelligence will...

•     Increase the hero's maximum mana by 13.
•     Increase the mana regeneration of the hero by 0.04 per second.
•     Increase the damage of intelligence based heroes by 1.

Heroes will earn additional attributes whenever they level up, but can also receive bonuses and penalties from items and some abilities.

• Experience

In order to level up, heroes must earn experience. When a unit dies in Dota, it grants an amount of experience based on its level to all hostile heroes in a 1300 radius. Experience is split among all heroes in range and the killing hero. Any kill done outside of this 1300 radius grants experience to the killer.

Denied units will grant only 50% of their normal experience. This experience is still split among all heroes in the area. Additionally, summoned units will only give half of their normal experience when killed.

• Armor

Armor is an attribute shared by all units. Depending on it's value it can reduce or increase the amount of physical damage taken by a unit. The amount of damage a unit takes is reduced if its armor value is positive, and increased if the armor value is negative. Armor is increased by agility, certain abilities, and some items like Ring of Protection and Platemail.

Damage multiplier of damage taken as a function of armor is calculated by the following formula:

    Damage multiplier = 1 - 0.06 × armor ÷ (1 + 0.06 × |armor|) .

• Magic resistance

Magic Resistance (sometimes called Spell Resistance) is an attribute of heroes (and some other units) that reduces magical damage similar to Armor. All heroes possess a 25% base magic resistance from their armor type, with the exception of Meepo (35% base magic resistance) and Visage (10% base magic resistance). This resistance is independent of the amount of armor they possess.



Basic attacks



Most units in the game have the ability to damage other units with a basic attack, also known as physical attack or auto attack. When an attack command is issued by right-clicking, attack-clicking or auto-attacking the commanded unit will attack the unit selected or, in case of an auto attack, attack the closest enemy unit.

Basic attack

• Attack damage

The damage dealt by basic attacks consisting of main attack damage and bonus damage. Differs for every hero and can be increased by acquiring additional attribute points or bonus damage.

• Attack speed

Attack speed is the rate at which a unit attacks, and is determined by its base attack time (BAT) and increased attack speed (IAS). BAT is a constant, and is 1.7 seconds for most heroes. IAS is the sum of agility and bonus attack speed.

• Attack range

The range from which a hero can attack another unit. It varies between 128 and 235 units for melee heroes and 140-700 for ranged.

• Attack animation

The animation that has to be triggered in order for a hero to deal attack damage. Ranged heroes deal damage via projectiles that have to hit the enemy and can be disjointed. The speed of these missiles vary depending on the hero.

• Attack modifier

An attack modifier is an effect granted by items or abilities, which alter a hero's attacks to apply an additional effect to the target, other units or to itself. They usually fully stack with any other attack modifier, even with unique attack modifiers.
The commonest examples of attack modifiers are cleave, critical strike, bash. There are multiple heroes which have one of these modifiers as a skill and several items which grant the hero one of these modifiers.
Usually, attack modifiers fully stack with other modifiers, but there are some restrictions. Multiple sources of critical strikes increase the chance of getting a critical hit but only at diminishing returns since multiple crits cannot affect a target when they occur at the same time. In such a case higher value crit will always be applied.
Besides these general mechanics there are number of unique attack modifiers that do not share the rules of Unique Attack Modifiers like Fury Swipes, Burning Spears or the splash from Elder Dragon Form. These are modifiers granted to certain heroes through their spells and cannot be acquired by other heroes. They usually fully stack with any other attack modifier.

• Unique Attack Modifier

Unique attack modifiers (previously known as Orb Effects) refer to certain attack modifiers that alter your hero's basic attack just like regular attack modifiers, but have many stacking restrictions. They do stack with regular attack modifiers like the ones mentioned earlier, but do not stack (with a few exceptions) with other unique attack modifiers.
The most common unique attack modifier is lifesteal, which causes the hero's attacks to heal it based on a percentage of the dealt damage (note though that not all sources of lifesteal are unique attack modifiers). Lifesteal as a unique attack modifier is granted by several items. Other unique attack modifiers granted by items are the armor reducing modifier from Desolator, the slowing modifier from Eye of Skadi and Orb of Venom and the chain lightning procs from Maelstrom and Mjollnir. Besides these, some heroes have a unique attack modifier as an ability, like Anti-Mage's Mana Break, Drow Ranger's Frost Arrows or Outworld Devourer's Arcane Orb.
All unique attack modifiers do not stack with each other or with multiple instances of the same unique attack modifier. For items, the priority is, the newest acquired unique attack modifier overrides the older ones. If a hero has a unique attack modifier ability, it will always override the ones from items.


Last hits and denying

"Last-hitting" is the act of a player timing their attacks in order to deliver the killing blow to a unit. Earning a last hit grants a bounty in gold (which is much higher for heroes and towers than for creeps). "Denying" means last-hitting (and thus killing) friendly units so that enemies get fewer or no gold bounty for these units. Denying will also reduce or completely remove experience points awarded to the enemy.

A denied creep grants less experience (only 50% of normal experience) to enemy heroes within the experience radius.

Units can only be denied under certain HP thresholds (i.e. the unit has fewer than the indicated HP remaining):

•     Creeps: 50% HP
•     Towers: 10% HP (a denied tower will still provide some gold to the enemy team).
•     Heroes: 25% HP, only if they are under the effect of certain (de)buffs (Doom's Doom, Venomancer's Venomous Gale, Bane's Nightmare or Queen of Pain's Shadow Strike)
•         There is a spell which can be used to deny your teammates even if they are not affected by these buffs: Bane Elemental's Nightmare.
•         There are also spells which allow you to deny yourself: Pudge's Rot, Alchemist's Unstable Concoction, Abaddon's Mist Coil, Techies' Suicide Squad Attack! and Pugna's Life drain .
•         Bloodstone's active ability Pocket Suicide will instantly deny the user.
•         Denied heroes won't give the enemy any experience or gold.

Buildings
Buildings are special units in the game. There are several types of buildings. They are immune to almost all spells, which makes them very strong earlier in the game.


Ancients

Dire Ancient Tower's

Ancients are powerful structures. The goal of each game is to destroy the enemy's Ancient. Ancients have 4250 Health and 15 Armor. They are guarded by 2 towers that must be destroyed before the Ancient can be damaged.
Towers

Towers are stationary, defensive structures that guard the lanes and subsequent main bases of each faction. They fire high damage projectiles at nearby enemies and possess significant levels of armor and health points, but provide large amounts of gold when destroyed by the opposing team. Both factions have 3 tiers of towers in each lane. Each tower tier becomes progressively stronger the closer they are to the main base. To attack towers further in the lane, the outermost ones must be destroyed first. Both must be destroyed before damage can be done to the main structure. The Ancient is protected by two powerful tier 4 towers that only become vulnerable when all three towers in a lane have been destroyed. Towers have a passive True Sight built in. Towers can be denied, just like creeps, once they have 10% health or less. This means that tier 1 towers (1300 total HP) can be denied at 130 health or lower, and tier 2-4 towers (1600 total HP) can be denied at 160 health or lower.

Towers have a specific targeting priority that determines which enemy it will attack. This list represents that priority in ascending order:

•     Closest enemy unit or hero attacking a friendly hero with auto attack
•     Closest enemy unit or hero attacking the tower itself with auto attack
•     Closest enemy unit or hero attacking any friendly unit with auto attack
•     Closest enemy unit
•     Closest enemy hero
•     Closest enemy catapult

The tower will only switch targets under four circumstances:

•     If the targeted enemy unit or hero dies
•     If an enemy unit or hero targets a friendly hero
•     If an enemy hero being attacked by the tower manually attacks another enemy unit or hero (in which case, the tower will select a new target based on the above priority order).
•     If the targeted enemy unit or hero leaves the range of the tower. 

Barracks

Radiant and dire barracks

Barracks are structures inside each faction's base, near the ramps. When a barracks is destroyed, the creeps of the opposite faction receive a health and damage boost, and provide less experience and gold when killed. This means the destruction of the opposing barracks will ensure that your creeps will continue to push a lane without the intervention of heroes.

There are two separate barracks at each entrance, the melee creep barracks, and the Ranged Creep barracks. The melee creep barracks will power up melee creeps, while the ranged barracks will improve ranged and siege creeps. When all barracks at each entrance are destroyed, the opposing team will receive mega creeps, which are far more powerful than their normal counterparts.

Fountains

The Radiant Fountain

Fountains are permanently invulnerable. They will regenerate friendly heroes and units (like Spirit Bear and Dominated units) back to their maximum health and mana over a very short period of time. Additionally, fountains will attack enemy units that attempt to enter their range, dealing 190-199 physical damage over 800 range and firing very rapidly. Friendly fountains will fill Bottles back to full, if they are not already.


 
Damage types

There are three different types of damage that can be caused by abilities and spells. Each type varies in how it affects enemy units. These types are Physical, Magical and Pure.

•     Physical damage ignores magic resistance and goes through spell immunity, if the physical damage dealing spell has the spell immunity piercing status, but is reduced by armor and blocked by ethereal state.
•     Magical damage ignores armor and goes through ethereal state, but is reduced by magic resistance and blocked by spell immunity, even when the magical damage dealing spell has spell immunity piercing status.
•     Pure damage ignores armor and magic resistance, goes through ethereal state and pierces spell immunity, if the pure damage dealing spell has the spell immunity piercing status.
•     All 3 damage types are subject to forms of damage amplification or reduction other than armor and magic resistance.
•     Another form of health loss is HP removal, but this is generally used as health cost for spells or hp manipulation, and not as damage. It fully ignores any form of amplification and reduction and can't be blocked by anything.

DOTA 2 Game