Even if you've never played Dota 2 before, you've seen or heard about various situations related to this game. Usually, all these stories and memes are related to the roles of the characters and what they did wrong or did not do at all.
Most of the characters in team-based online games are divided into different roles, and Dota 2, like any other MOBA, is no exception. The team consists of 5 players, each of whom has a specific role to play in the game. Their functionality and importance depend on various factors, including the character's abilities and stats.
But it also works the other way around — the role of a character determines what they will do during the game: what tasks they perform, what line they stand on, what they do during the match, etc. Understanding these and many other elements is extremely important for the correct game and further victory. Therefore, let's consider what roles exist in Dota 2 and what role they play.
The first position — Carry
Carry is a role of heroes that can be described by the phrase "first the team plays the carry, and then the carry plays the team". And this is not just some philosophical phrase, it is essentially the principle of how this role works. The main task of the carry in the game is to kill enemy heroes and lead your team to victory by winning battles, destroying enemy structures, and the main goal — the Ancient. However, it's not that simple. Usually, the heroes of this role are weak at the beginning of the game, their abilities and stats do not allow them to do anything against the enemy heroes. At most, they can take part in small battles and try to kill the enemy, provided that they have the support of the team or its members.
The heroes of the first position occupy the easylane (the lower line of the Radiant, the upper line of the Dire), where they farm during the initial stage of the game. Carries build up their strength over time, gaining experience and gold, which they use to buy items that unlock their potential and match their abilities. Therefore, the heroes of the first position should, first of all, focus on maximizing the farm of creeps on the line and not waste time on unnecessary actions that interfere with this. That is, you should avoid unnecessary fights that will not benefit you or in which you will potentially die, and therefore lose some valuable crips.
Also, participating in unnecessary fights means losing mana and health resources, which you or your support will have to spend gold to restore or return to the fountain again. It often happens that killing a bunch of creeps is more profitable than killing a hero you've been chasing for a while. However, some heroes are not satisfied with just items and gold but also need frags that give a certain bonus to the hero. An example of this is Slark, who gets a permanent bonus to agility from the Essence Shift ability by killing enemies. Therefore, you should always play situationally and "feel" when and what is more appropriate to do. When a hero gains an early advantage over his opponents, it is called the snowball effect.
After 15 minutes of farming on the line, when the dynamics of the heroes' activity on the map change, the carries usually move to the forest, where they continue to farm. You can also go there if the line seems extremely difficult and you can't do anything at all. From time to time, if there is a fight nearby, you can take part in it, provided that your abilities are not on cooldown.
Thus, the hero continues to farm until he has collected the necessary set of items with which he will be comfortable killing Roshan, participating in massive battles. At the same time winning, so that he can then demolish the enemy Ancient.
The second position — Mid laner
Mid laner is probably one of the most favorite roles among all Dota 2 players. Players in this position are sent to the midline, where they oppose the enemy hero of the same role. In principle, midfielders are very similar to carry, they also need early experience and items for further play, which is why they go to the midline themselves to speed up this process. However, unlike carry, their abilities allow them to be more active in 1v1 fights, as well as occasionally go to other lines to help their allies.
An important aspect for mids is not only the ability to finish off their own and enemy creeps but also the ability to use abilities at the right time to dominate the line. Abilities can be used for accelerated farming to fluff the line faster, or to "trade" with the enemy, not allowing them to farm in peace. Midlaners are often attacked by enemy supporters who have come to support their mid.
The greatest benefit from a mid is expected after receiving an ultimatum, which allows him to kill the enemy on his own or another line, consolidating dominance on the map and creating favorable conditions for the team. Characters in this role can deal both magical and physical damage, such as Lina. However, the most common characters are those with magic damage that can kill their target in one cast. These characters are Invoker, Tiny, Storm Spirit, Zeus, Queen of Pain, Arc Warden, Windranger.
The third position — Offlaner
Offlane characters are tanks and team initiators who have good survivability, as well as the ability to control, aggression, and provocation. They are the ones who start most of the battles. The third-position heroes, like the previous two roles, need gold and experience, but in slightly smaller amounts. The first item they farm depends on the hero and his weakness. This can be a Blink Dagger for Axe or Centaur Warrunner, who needs to break into a crowd of enemies to realize their abilities. They farm their items on a complex line (the upper line of the Radiant, the lower line of the Dire).
Mostly, the heroes of the third position have certain abilities that make it difficult to break through them, it can be some kind of absorption shield, attack repulsion, hard-to-pierce skin, health regeneration, etc. However, the main problem of offlaners is the complexity of the line. Despite their abilities and personal stats, they often have to suffer in the lane, especially if they are a melee hero playing against nasty ranged characters who have slows and periodic damage in addition.
If the player managed to survive the initial stage of the game and even farm the first item that will help him or her get into fights. The character can move around the map and, if he or she has active abilities, participate in fights while the main carries his or her own. Otherwise, the offlaner will also have to farm further, but without interfering with the first position. Items collected by the hero of this role are team support artifacts that increase both personal and team survivability: Guardian Greaves, Crimson Guard, Pipe of Insight, etc. It should also be noted that some offlaners can be very greedy and farm on a par with the first position to realize their power. An example of such a hero is Medusa, who needs a lot of items.
Fourth position — Roamer/Ganker
Partial support heroes are not aimed at farming gold, as their duties are quite different — to provide comfort to their team on different lines. Fourth position heroes can move from line to line from the first minutes of the game, helping their team, in particular the mid and first position hero, if they have problems on the line. Otherwise, you can stay close to your offliner to ensure his comfort and at the same time prevent the enemy lane from farming freely.
Unlike the next role — full support — the roamer does not spend a lot of gold on consumable items, but rather saves up for more necessary artifacts that will be useful not only for himself but also for the team. The roamer's abilities allow you to take the enemy out of the battle for a certain period, stunning them and dealing AoE damage that can disrupt the enemy's positioning.
If a hero needs to farm, he will usually go to the forest if his abilities allow him to farm there, otherwise you can take allied creeps to a neutral camp, thus performing two useful functions at once: pulling the line in your direction and preventing opponents from farming your creeps, as they will most likely be killed by neutrals.
The fifth position — Support
The heroes of this position bear the entire burden of team support, which is why players often do not like to play this role, because it is often difficult, especially when the player has not mastered micro and macro control to properly perform the functions assigned to the support. Heroes of this role often have low hand damage until the end of the game, but they don't need it, because all their power is in their abilities: buffs, disables, stuns, and healing.
Players in this role need to ensure comfortable and safe farming on the line, often at the cost of their own lives. But you shouldn't be careless and constantly expose yourself because this way you level up the enemy heroes. You can forget about farming in this role, you can even go through almost the entire game with just boots and, if you're very lucky, save up enough gold to buy a Blink Dagger. Their abilities do not directly depend on items, so there is essentially no need for farming. All your spending should be directed to various consumables: wards, smokes, dusts, mana and health potions.
Standing on the line, you should feel your strength and capabilities, when to be brazen and attack the enemy, and when not. If there is a good moment when the enemy three or four are exposed, then you can take advantage of the moment to kill them. In such a situation, the frog can also take the support to get at least some gold at the beginning of the game.
For the rest of the game, it is important for the support to keep the map under control, maintain map visibility with wards, and control individual enemy characters that will cause the most problems for your team during the battle.
Conclusion
Every Dota 2 match is unique since players meet with different levels of play, combinations of characters, items, and developments. Each player, regardless of their role, should adapt to the current state of the game, as the vector of game events will always be different and depend on the actions of each participant and their contribution to the game.
Comments