Dota 2

Dota 2 is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena video game developed and published by Valve Corporation for the Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux platforms and was released on these platforms on July 9, 2013 and July 18, 2013 respectively. Since then Dota 2 has become an expansive game thanks to regular patches and updates, and is simply put one of the biggest games of this generation.

Dota 1 – the mother of all MOBAs

Dota 2 finds its roots from the popular custom-made mod Defense of th Ancients (DotA) map for the the Frozen Throne expansion of the classic Blizzard Entertainment MOBA Warcraft III: Reign of Choas. The mod was developed by an anonymous designer called IceFrog, and soon after its release the mod gained overwhelming popularity which led to its licensing by Valve and the subsequent hiring of IceFrog. IceFrog worked as the lead designer for the game to introduce a MOBA with gameplay and map designs very similar to DotA, which became Dota 2, all the while inspiring countless other MOBA games.

Choose a hero from over 100

In Dota 2, players take on the role of a “Hero” from the 113 available in the roster, each of them with their own unique abilities and looks, to form a team with 5 other players and battle against an enemy team with equal number of players. Each hero has at least 4 abilities, but they start out with one, and unlock others as the game progresses. All heroes are grouped into two categories: “Carries” which do most of the fighting, and “Support”, whose main job is to heal or help Carries. The teamwork between these two is vitally essential for winning a game. The objective of any match is to destroy the enemy team’s “Ancient”, which is a stationary object positioned at the bases of both teams. Between the team bases are turrets and lanes on both sides separated in the middle by a river which can be walked on. Each team is also assisted by AI allies called “creeps” which appear in swarm and serve the purpose of distracting enemies or providing cover. The first team successful in destroying an Ancient wins the game, and members are rewarded with experience points that can unlock and upgrade Hero weapons and abilities like runes, spells and masteries. The accumulated experience points of the player also denote his/her ranking and level.

All pick (AP), Single Draft (SD), All Random (AR)

There are multiple game modes in Dota 2. Some of the most prominent ones include All Pick, which is the standard game mode, and Single Draft mode, in which players have to choose from 3 random Heroes, to more varied ones like Captain’s Draft mode, in which the team leader has to individually assign Heroes to team members. Dota 2 also updates their game modes at festive times. There are different and unique game modes for events like Christmas and Halloween.

A well-balanced game with numerous timely patch releases

Dota 2 is one of the most played games of this age, and that is supplemented by the fact that it keeps getting new patches, bug fixes, and regular updates like new characters or skins of older characters. The chemistry between each character plays out so differently that no individual game is ever like another, and there is always something new to be discovered in its incredible complexity and lore. For this reason, it has kept on going strong five years after its release, and still continues to do so. Dota 2 is a free-to-play MOBA. You can download the game from Steam. You will Steam in order to run the game