The Dota 2 Dictionary - main terms

Dota 2 is considered to be notorious for both its complex gameplay and its intricate language. Whether you're a new player trying to make sense of the chatter in your first matches or a seasoned gamer looking to brush up on the latest terms, it is crucial to understand Dota 2's unique vocabulary. This comprehensive guide is divided into two parts for clarity. Today's part will cover critical terms, gameplay and role language of Dota 2.

Core Game Mechanics

• Ancient: each team's primary structure is located deep within its base. The game's ultimate objective is to destroy the opposing team's Ancient. Protecting your Ancient while strategizing to attack the enemy's Ancient is central to the game's strategy.
• Creeps: These AI-controlled soldiers spawn from each team's base. There are two types: lane creeps and neutral creeps. Lane creeps regularly advance along the game's three paths or lanes and clash with the enemy's creeps, while neutral creeps reside in the jungles and offer gold and experience when defeated.
• Lanes: The three paths where most of the game's action occurs are the top, middle, and bottom lanes. Each lane is defended by a series of towers that must be destroyed before advancing closer to the enemy base. A player's lane choice can influence their role and strategy, impacting their involvement in early and late-game skirmishes.
• Jungle: This term refers to the areas filled with trees and paths between the lanes. The jungle houses neutral creeps and provides additional opportunities for gathering resources. It's also used for tactical manoeuvres and ambushes against enemies, making it a critical area for strategic plays.
• Roshan: The most formidable neutral creep, located in a pit in the river that divides the map. Killing Roshan gives the team significant advantages, including gold and the powerful "Aegis of the Immortal," which allows instant resurrection upon death. Controlling Roshan can often lead to decisive victories in close matches.
• Towers: Defensive structures are located in each lane. Three towers per lane and additional towers protect each team's Ancient. Towers significantly damage enemy heroes and creeps; destroying them is essential for progressing toward the enemy base.
• Barracks: Buildings located inside a team's base, behind their towers. Each lane has one barrack that produces melee creeps and another for ranged creeps. Destroying the enemy's barracks gives a team stronger creeps in that lane, providing a strategic advantage.
• Fountain This is the heavily guarded area where heroes respawn after death. The fountain heals and rapidly restores mana to friendly heroes near it. It's also where players can purchase items.
• Courier: A controllable unit used by each team to transport items from the shop to the heroes on the battlefield. Efficient use of the courier is vital in maintaining an advantage in equipment over the opposing team.

Tactical Gameplay and Unique Game Features

• Ward: Wards are vital gameplay items for gaining vision in areas covered by the fog of war. There are two types: Observer Ward and Sentry Ward. Observer Ward provides vision in a large area, while Sentry Ward reveals invisible units and enemy Observer wards within a certain radius.
• Warding: Placing observer wards and sentry wards on the map to reveal the fog of war and detect invisible units or enemy wards. Effective warding is critical for maintaining map control, securing objectives, and preventing ganks.
• Dewarding: The act of removing enemy vision by destroying their wards. This involves predicting where the enemy might have placed their wards and using sentry wards or abilities to remove them, thus regaining control of the map.
• Gank: A fundamental strategy in Dota 2, "gank" is short for "gang kill," referring to a planned attack on an unsuspecting enemy hero, usually in their lane. The primary objectives of a gank are to kill an enemy hero, disrupt their progress by denying them experience and gold, and create an advantage for your team. 
• Siege Creep: A particular type of creep that spawns every few waves and deals more damage to buildings. Siege creeps are tougher and play a key role during pushes to damage enemy structures.
• Deny: A strategic action where players kill or destroy their creeps, towers, or allied heroes to prevent opponents from gaining the full experience and gold. This tactic is crucial for controlling lane momentum and depriving the enemy of resources.
• Stacking: A technique used to multiply the number of neutral creeps in the jungle. By drawing creeps away from their spawn area just as new ones are about to spawn, players can create denser groups of creeps for later farming, significantly increasing potential gold and experience gains.
• Pulling: This involves redirecting the path of lane creeps into the jungle so they clash with neutral creeps. Pulling helps manage the equilibrium of the lane, making it safer for friendly heroes to farm while denying enemy heroes the opportunity to gain experience and gold.
• Buyback: A feature that allows heroes to immediately respawn by spending gold after they are killed. Timing and strategic buyback can be crucial in defending the Ancient during critical game moments.
• Glyph of Fortification: A global team ability that temporarily makes all structures invulnerable to damage. It's commonly used to delay enemy pushes, protecting towers and barracks for crucial moments longer during sieges.
• Smoke of Deceit: An item that renders the user and nearby allied heroes invisible to enemy vision and wards. This invisibility encourages surprise attacks and initiations, making it a strategic tool for turning the tide of battles.
• Outpost: An objective on the map that teams can capture. Once controlled, outposts provide unobstructed vision in an area, and experience points to the controlling team at set intervals. They are strategic assets that can shift the balance of power in a game.
• Backdoor Protection: A mechanism that prevents heroes from quickly destroying enemy buildings when no allied creeps are nearby. Structures under backdoor protection regenerate health quickly and take reduced damage, discouraging players from bypassing the front-line defence of towers and creeps.

Roles and Positions

Carry (Position 1): The Carry is the cornerstone of the team's late-game strategy. Usually positioned in the safe lane, their primary objective is to secure as much gold and experience as possible during the early to mid-game. This role is typically filled by heroes who scale well with items and become significantly more potent in the late game. Effective Carries must balance the need for farming with participation in crucial fights to protect their progress and contribute to the team.

• Mid Laner (Position 2): Occupying the central lane, the Mid Laner is crucial for controlling the game's tempo. Heroes who benefit significantly from levels and solo experience often take this role. They can influence other lanes by dominating their opponent or making successful rotations. Laners are expected to secure critical objectives like runes, usually leading the charge in early to mid-game skirmishes.
• Offlaner (Position 3): The Offlaner plays in the hard lane (also known as the offlane), which is typically more challenging due to vulnerability to ganks and distance from their tower. This role is suited for resilient, self-sufficient heroes who can still be effective with fewer resources. Offline, the offlaner should disrupt the enemy carry's farm and attract attention from the enemy team to relieve pressure from their carry and mid-laner.
• Support Roles:
  • Soft Support (Position 4): Also known as the roaming support or simply roamer, this player supports the team through ganks and creates map control with wards. Positioned flexibly, they often float between lanes to assist, secure kills, and facilitate their team's aggressive plays.
  • Hard Support (Position 5): The most sacrificial role, the Hard Support spends resources (gold and time) primarily for the team's benefit, such as buying wards, detection items, and other supportive gear. They stay with the carry during the early game to ensure the carry's safe farm and often have powerful defensive or crowd-control abilities to sway team fights.
• Jungler: In some strategies, this role focuses on farming neutral creeps in the jungle. While less common in competitive play, a Jungler can provide a surprise element by freeing up lanes and allowing dual lane setups to maximize team resources.
• Utility: Some heroes don't fit neatly into the standard role definitions but are chosen for their unique abilities that can fill multiple team needs. Utility heroes can vary their playstyle based on the team's needs, often providing crucial crowd control, initiation, or support functions in fights.
• Pushers: heroes who excel at quickly taking down towers and other structures. They often have abilities that enhance their or their creeps' damage against buildings, pivotal for accelerating the game's pace and forcing enemy reactions.