Dota 2

***Dota 2*** is a video game that was released in 2013. It is a sequel to _Defense of the Ancients_. Dota was originally a player-made map (also known as a mod) in _Warcraft: Frozen Throne_ that proved to be successful with over 5 million active players. When _Warcraft: Frozen Throne_ got old, it was hard to continue game development. As a result, Valve Corporation, with the help of the original maker (IceFrog) started to develop _Dota 2_. We do not know the real name of IceFrog (which is an alias). Blizzard sued Valve over the copyright of Dota and lost.

## Goal

The game is hard to learn, hard to master strategy game. In a game of _Dota 2_, players are put to two teams of five: one called the Radiant and another, called the Dire. The players pick one of 126 heroes for themselves to play as.  The map contains three lanes called top, middle and bottom lanes. Usually, the team chooses to go 2-1-2(2 in top, 1 mid and 2 bot). Sometimes, it will be 2-1-1 or 1-1-2 because there will be a roamer. A roamer, as the name implies, goes all over the map where they can help.

'Creeps' spawn in both sides, in waves. They are controlled by the computer and they will attack enemy creeps. They will target a hero or a tower if there are no creeps. The creeps are essential in winning the game since they give gold if killed by a hero.

In every lane, there are 3 towers. They're named by their tiers with tier 1 being the nearest to the enemies and tier 3 the farthest. You must destroy all the lane's towers before you can damage the barracks. The barracks are located behind the tier 3 towers. If you destroy the 'Ranged Barracks' or 'Melee Barracks', your team's creeps that spawn at the lane afterwards will be more powerful. If all 6 barracks get destroyed, your team's creeps that spawn afterwards will spawn as Mega Creeps. Mega Creeps are so powerful that an entire wave of them is equal to the power of a hero. If you have Mega Creeps, you will likely win the game.

The winning condition of the game is by destroying the enemy 'Ancient' or base while defending your own. Due to the large map and variety of possibilities, games often last 30–50 minutes. Some games go to 2 hours if necessary. Players can also earn medals, which are displayed on their profile and represent their highest achieved rank during the current season. Each season usually lasts around six months, and at the end of the season, players' ranks and medals are reset based on their performance in calibration matches.

You may leave the game before it ends, but you will get punished. Your next 1-5 games will be in a 'Low Priority' mode. In low priority, every player gets a pool of only 4 heroes to pick. They also **cannot** play with 'High Priority' players.

### Summary

The game has two different teams with five "heroes" on each side. They can choose between 126 different heroes. Players have to destroy the enemy's towers in order to eventually get to the Ancient and destroy it. Through the game, players can gain gold, buy items and of course, get kills and assists.

### Notes

You can also play custom games, which are made by loyal players and published on the Steam Workshop. Dota 2 is famous for its complexity and forceful effort. Some people have earned millions of dollars playing this game in important tournaments, most famously the International, which has one of the biggest money prize pools in video game history, reaching 40 million in U.S dollars.