DotA 2 - Preview!

There are not many games that can claim, that they has created a whole genre. There are still fewer mods that can claim that they has created a whole genre full-fledged games. The Warcraft III Map Defense of the Ancients is perhaps the only one which can.


You find its difficult to give this genre a real name. It is often simply spoken of a "Dota-clone" or a "dota-like". Officially games like Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends are called by their developers as "Action RTS" or "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena", but to find these terms outside of press releases again, are rare. DotA is the gold standard of the genre that even now bears his name.

The gameplay of DotA is easy to describe: Two teams of 5 players meet on a map, where each player controls a single hero - over 100 to choose from. The aim of the game is to cremate the bases of the opponent. This requires that the own hero ascend, in which you defeat automatically spawning units - known as creeps - or even enemy players. For this you get money and experience, what you can invest into items and better skills - at level up.


This description does DotA but a bit wrong, just as one can indeed call it a football game, try to carry 22 players on the ball with one foot into the opponent's goal, but it only vaguely reflects the sport. At a certain level even DotA change into a highly complex game in which the objective is to equip our own heroes to play it perfectly, and to integrate it seamlessly into your team. DotA is probably just because that in some parts of the world - go less than a game but a sport where the teams usual several million euros change the owner- especially in Asia. Live streams of such games sometimes have audiences in the millions.

DotA 2 is less a successor to the old map, but rather a faithful remake with the more modern source engine. While League of Legends has simplified the gameplay a bit, so to attract a wider group of players (and very successful), DotA 2 has changed nothing essential on gameplay. The only things that were not possible by the Warcraft III engine otherwise, have been adjusted.


Instead, developer Valve is focused on facilitating the entry point for beginners. This is sorely needed, because the attitude of theDotA 2 community in this regard is legendary - legendary bad, mind you. Due to the high complexity, it is addressed to newcomers in fact impossible to even begin to compete with the veterans. But because the game depends on it, that all the players play their role perfectly, beginners are usually frowned upon - often more experienced players prefer to play in lower numbers than anyone without sufficient experience with you.

In addition to a robust matchmaking Valve therefore relies on a sophisticated coaching system for novices, assisted by the experienced players. For this purpose they see the game from the same perspective as her protege and can give him (hopefully) valuable information on the actions. In addition getting items, additional help texts, heroes and abilities in the game itself, which should alleviate some of the steep learning curve.


But it is still unclear at the moment wether valve will put DotA 2 on a traditional sales model or to free 2 play. The two biggest competitors (in addition to the original, which of course is completely free and only requires Warcraft III), Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends, both are free 2 play. Valve boss Gabe Newell has not ruled explicitly free 2 play - the financing plan has not yet been decided yet, it is focusing first on making a good game.


For DotA 2 is both, a closed and an open beta, announced. Registration for the closed beta is here. Who else wants to take a look at the game, here are the replay of the gamescom tournament "The International", where it was played for the one million dollars. There is no release date for it yet, but the game will appear in all probability not 2011 - but does that by an open beta actually make a difference?

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What do you think about the MMO DotA 2?
Will you maybe play it?
Do you like the preview (and the trailer) of it?
Did you see it on the Gamescom?
Tell me your opinions in the comments below please!


Have a nice day!