Rant 280 / DotA

My first time ever getting a good positive k/d ratio in DotA. A memorable night. Was playing as "yhntgb". Lost the game though. Won the battles and lost the war.


In the next game, I actually ended in the winning team with an Unstoppable streak! Holy cow! Of course, it was 5v4 with us being 5. Still, they had 2 stunners - SG and VS. Also had LR and Veno. We had DR, Techies, Jug, CK and moi. There - we had only one tank (like them), only 1 stunner and 2 ghey dudes. I'm the odd one out - a scavenger picking off the weakened enemies.

Of course, most of my kills were stolen using my 4th skill. Since it deals damage proportionate to the amount the enemy has already suffered, I just watched for any enemy with low HP and cast it on them - even though they were already being chased by my teammates and would definitely die without my help.

11/5! Holy cow! I've never ended a game with a 2:1 ratio before in my entire DotA life! Neither have I had an Unstoppable streak before! It's either Garena is full of noobs or I'm freaking lucky tonight. And OMFG - 6.7k gold unspent!



Also, I noticed something in common with most of my wins. There is always someone telling everyone what to do, like a leader. This guy will always tell everyone which lane to go to gank someone, who to aim during a coming battle and when to take down Roshan. All my losing games lack this person. It doesn't matter which character he/she is using, this person just needs to understand the meta-game enough to apply actual tactics/strategies and ask everyone to help him/her.

Examples:

Strategies - Keep the Lightning Revenant's money low. Gem-holders are priority targets.

Tactics - Go to the NC area next to the lane when the LR arrives. Wait for the rest of the team. Jug initiates battle, I enter a second later to cast heals. If he runs and CK isn't around, I use my 4th skill to stun. If CK is around, I use my 4th skill to steal the kill.

I believe it all comes down to initiatives and a good understanding of the meta-game. Know when to do what and have the guts to tell the others to do it. Understanding just how to use the heroes isn't enough anymore. In DotA today, we need to see the big picture too.