DOTA

[Supdupadog]

I disagree people were very supportive when I was learning the game. The number of jerks who attempt to grill you I can on one hand after over 200 games.

I'll admit that most games I've played, other players have been mostly toothless. But you don't need a lot of jerks to make a series of unpleasant games.

Also, when it's come to DOTA and LOL, as I've gotten better I've noticed less out bursts from other players. Since an increased performance on my part means better games over all. Which makes me think the less jerks I've ran into is because they'd have nothing to complain about.

And how your player base acts in games that go well or well-ish means the least.

 

[Reveras]

The game is hard if you don't play the tutorials and some bot games to get you through the basics. But the community is toxic, which is interesting because the LoL ranked community is toxic and keeps getting worse the higher up you go. That's literally the only community I've found worse so far. MOBA games are not for the thin of skin.

 

[Scorpid]

The only piece of advice I can give to someone is don't start out actually playing the game. I know, I know, sounds stupid. Yet if you spend a little time either reading guides like Purge's "Welcome to Dota, You Suck," watching youtube tutorials, or watching some pro games it will be way more fun the first time you pick up the game (you should also play against bots the first few times instead of just jumping into a game). Either that or make sure you only play with friends when you first start. If you just jump into a game without knowing much about it, well, you are gonna have a bad time. There are some minor tutorials now in game, but they only help a little.

It can be one of the best games you have ever played, but the learning curve is massive and yes, the community can be toxic. If you are not patient and have a thick skin or lots of friends that also play, then the game is not for you.

That's the same advice that I've heard others say about learning DOTA. I play LoL, myself, and that community is toxic enough, even with the whole Tribunal thing going (though it has gotten a little better, at least to me). I will say one of the best pieces of advice I read in one of those very guides you mention, which I instantly applied to my playing in LoL, is that the very first time someone starts insulting you, calling you "noob" and whatever else, don't bother arguing back with them; just put them immediately on ignore and get on with enjoying the game. Following this advice has made my game experience in LoL much, much more relaxing and enjoyable (even though I still accumulate losses).

Lol I've found that the best response to these people isn't ignoring them (where is the fun in that) but keep poking them with the exact same sentence over and over again something even handed and never losing your shit. Like "Be nice", they'll then say something rude, then you say the same phrase again and again and again till they just stop responding, because while they are thinking of "clever" responses you're winning and having a good laugh. Then when they stop responding you ask them to apologize over and over again with the exact same phrase. It drives ragers nuts, because they know they're wrong and you're not sinking to their level to prove it (which when you do that it justifies their attitude to themselves in their twisted little minds).

The winner in a internet argument isn't the one that gets the best zinger or shoves the most insults into one sentence but the one that doesn't get angry. The second you get mad you lose.

 

[Adultism]

I don't play MOBAs because they are repetitive full of dishonorable very selfish and mean spirited players. I basically consider it on a FPS level like COD.

More OT: When I installed DOTA2 and never played it I had no installation problems.

 

[Requia]

Whoa, is that a VGA cable? Is she a cave woman or something?

I was about to say the same thing - I mean, she even went and got this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/10233-PC-Gamer-Master-Card], and she's still using that old port?

Older monitors are actually smart. A game will look its best not at the highest resolution you can buy but at the native resolution of the monitor. It's much easier to turn on *all* the graphics options with a lower resolution.

Exception: very large monitors will benefit from a higher native resolution.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

I've never understood how anyone can have trouble with Dota. The game is exceptionally straight forward. Read the description of the roles. Have a look at all the heroes. Play the extensive tutorial that teaches you ever phase of the game. Play against bots. Play against bots with people. Play a real game. Work out if it's best to 2 1 2, 3 1 1 or 0 1 3 + jungle. Communicate. Press buttons.

• 1 Hard Carry
  1 Semi-Carry
  1 Utility (varies depending on team makeups)
  1 Support
  1 Hard Support

Where do people have problems? Do they just dive into a game with no idea what anything is? You can't be having shit teams more than the enemy - rule of averages. The low skill brackets are also super easy to tear up; just pick Riki, SB, Husk or Drow, etc., and roll the enemy until it stops working. Welcome to mid tier bracket. Don't be an idiot. Understand the roles. Welcome to high tier bracket. Now it's challenging.

I think people must assume they can just pick any hero they like the look of and do anything they want. Rambo, one man army, "I do whatever I want" tactics don't work in multiplayer strategy games.

The problem comes with the sheer depth of the game, you simply cannot intuit that stuff.
If you've never played/watched a moba before then Last hitting, pulling, stacking camps, denying. These things don't come naturally.

Then you've got the heroes you mention, it's easy to dominate with heroes like Riki or Bloodseeker because it's not immediately obvious how to deal with them. If you don't understand how the enemy heroes work, you're don't know to buy dust or sentries, or to stop moving if you're ruptured etc and you'll keep loosing to them.

Then you've got complexity in the item builds that isn't immediately obvious. Like someone buying boots first with no healing items, noone buying courier or wards, buying items with effects that don't stack.

You've also got the COD mentality where people think K/D ratio actually matters, so you'll have supports going 1/10/18 and being called a noob, or supports stealing kills, or carries diving towers to get kills instead of taking the tower and raxing.

TLDR: So much of the game isn't immediately obvious, you really have to have someone tell you how to play.

 

[Saltyk]

pfff ern srsly qt dotes2 affer plyin? wut scrub she is. casul fgt. dont evn no hw to uss prper champ sklzz cos she suc a casul fgt. i she were prop pro totes uz legt balanked hro lke faeclss vod ro pantem lanca. bt no she jss a no skil tar so no prise cannt pley gaem. go bk 2 ur legaue of smit crisis noob

Spoiler

Congrats to anyone who can translate that, I'm not sure I can

"Pffft. Erin seriously quit DOTA 2 after playing? What a scrub she is. Casual ******. She doesn't even know how to use proper champion skills because she's such a casual ******. If she were properly pro she'd totally use legitimately balanced heroes like Faceless Void or Phantom Lancer. But no, she's just a no skill retard so no prize, cannot play game. Go back to your League of Smite Crisis, noob."

Well.
It took me like five minutes to write that.

I hope you're happy that you ruined my fun.

If it makes you feel any better, I got about halfway through it. Then, my eyes started to cross and I forgot how to English.

 

[Orinon]

personally i noticed the best part of this is the animated gif involved, see normally it could be a problem as(if your internet is like mine) It can be a bit jerky some frames taking a while to load, not animating smoothly, but for a ]loading screen that's exactly how it would really look.
GENIUS

 

[geizr]

Lol I've found that the best response to these people isn't ignoring them (where is the fun in that) but keep poking them with the exact same sentence over and over again something even handed and never losing your shit. Like "Be nice", they'll then say something rude, then you say the same phrase again and again and again till they just stop responding, because while they are thinking of "clever" responses you're winning and having a good laugh. Then when they stop responding you ask them to apologize over and over again with the exact same phrase. It drives ragers nuts, because they know they're wrong and you're not sinking to their level to prove it (which when you do that it justifies their attitude to themselves in their twisted little minds).

The winner in a internet argument isn't the one that gets the best zinger or shoves the most insults into one sentence but the one that doesn't get angry. The second you get mad you lose.

That's actually a very interesting idea. Never thought of trying that. It's like telling people in traffic that flip you the bird to have a nice day, with a big smile on your face. They don't know how to handle it because they're expecting you to rage back at them. I should try that sometime just to see what happens. Feels almost like an asshole thing to do, but these people are already such pure assholes themselves that I'm not sure I have much empathy or sympathy for them.

 

[loc978]

Whoa, is that a VGA cable? Is she a cave woman or something?

It's quite clearly DVI... so she's more Victorian.

As for me and DotA... watched a few matches, and I physically wince when I see people clicking in circles to time an attack animation for a last-hit. Worst game mechanic I've ever seen. The depth of a game's systems mean nothing when the primary game mechanic is that ridiculously clumsy.

 

[Lunar Templar]

eh .. don't get it... but then don't play, nor do i have the desire to play DOTA as it's not like this joke shall ever be gotten by me.

 

[Vale]

I feexed all problems with League and Dota.
Make this music play over the scoreboard at the end whenever you win.

 

[Machine Man 1992]

Aaaaand this is why I'm a console gamer.

 

[Storm Dragon]

Work out if it's best to 2 1 2, 3 1 1 or 0 1 3 + jungle.

Wait, you mean just leave one lane unattended? Is this an actual thing in Dota?

 

[TwoSidesOneCoin]

I bought the game and played against the bots on normal/medium, it's been a while since I've touched it.

Anywhore, I played against the bots for 3 months or so until I got comfortable with the game and linked up with a friend and his two friends and we played 4-5 games online that night and reamed the opposing teams until the last game of the night when we met a team of players who actually worked together! Was a good game even though it ended with us losing.

Just practice with the bots, it helps.

Holy shit, haven't played it since 6/25/13

 

[karkashan]

I was really hoping they'd go back and do another pokemon strip.

Also: is there a Dota song that's annoyingly catchy? I have a feeling there is one but a quick computah-search has turned up nothing on my hard drive. And apparently YT doesn't want to work at the moment for me.

 

[Fenix7]

Aaaaand this is why I'm a console gamer.

Someone doesn't get it.

Also: is there a Dota song that's annoyingly catchy? I have a feeling there is one but a quick computah-search has turned up nothing on my hard drive. And apparently YT doesn't want to work at the moment for me.

Yes there is, DotA by Basshunter.

It is sort of vile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OzWIFX8M-Y

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I've been told that to enjoy the likes of DotA or LoL, I should be prepared for months, if not years, of painstakingly learning the game's methodology and terminology, its every last nuance, the interplay between different character types- all the while withstanding heaps of scorn and abuse from players who think they were born with that knowledge and anyone who doesn't have it is a substandard human being... and then, maybe, I'll start enjoying it.

And I'm inclined to believe it. What I don't get is why I should bother, when there's plenty of far more accessible and enjoyable games out there.

 

[Machine Man 1992]

Aaaaand this is why I'm a console gamer.

Someone doesn't get it.

What's there to get?

Though, even if I did get it, I probably still wouldn't find it funny. Let's be honest, Critical Miss hasn't been funny for a while now.

 

[DustyDrB]

You forgot the general sadness surrounding no diretide this year

Biggest disappointment for me this year in regards to Dota 2. Well, besides Valve absolutely ruining Tranquil Boots.[footnote]Seriously. The new TranqBoots are utterly useless. Whoever the hell thought it was a good idea to change them into their current iteration must've been on some really heavy meds.[/footnote] Really saddened they didn't do another event.

On the plus side, the TF2 event is pretty fantastic.

Tranquils were intended for supports, but then carries like Phantom Lancer opted for them as their choice for early game regen. Now they are truly for supports, and carries don't get to have infinite lane sustain for cheap. I love the change. The latest patch made roaming supports much stronger, so I buy them all the time.

OT: So yeah...if I play 5 games, maybe one of those has a real asshole in it. And muting that person is really damn easy, so I don't get why people get so mad. Unless it's due to you struggling with the game mechanically, that is.

I usually do stack with friends when I play, but even my solo queue games are not bad. I have a feeling a lot of this is just a case of confirmation bias.