What is DotA?
Defense of the Ancients, or DotA as it will be called throughout, is a custom map for Warcraft III that has been developed over time. The concept for DotA originated with a map named Aeon of Strife used in Starcraft many years back. Over the past few years it has developed, and many different versions and variations have spawned from it. The most common amongst these versions is, by far, DotA Allstars. The official site can be found at www.dota-allstars.com.
The main objective of DotA Allstars is really quite simple; you attempt to kill the other team’s Ancient Throne, which is the World Tree for Sentinel and the Frozen Throne for Scourge. At the beginning of every game you will decide which team you want to join, you may side with either the Sentinel or the Scourge who start in the bottom left and top right respectively. The map is composed of three lanes that are each cut in half into Scourge and Sentinel sides. Starting at the 1:30 mark creeps will begin to spawn in sets of 4 in every lane and push automatically. They will meet in the middle of every lane and it is your job to assist in their battle. It’s harder to attack a base than it may seem at first glance. Each lane has three towers, each increasing in power as you move closer to the enemy base, and two final towers protecting your respective ancients.
At the beginning of every game you are given the opportunity to either select your own hero or have one selected at random for you. If you are reading this as a player who is just beginning to learn the concepts of DotA I strongly suggest you pick the same hero for quite a few games until you can get the hang of them. Randoming all of the time will not be beneficial seeing as you will play different heroes every game and never truly understand one. As you begin to gain in skill and understand the game you can make the transition to randoming quite easily, which will make you a more versatile player.
