Items: Let me plan out an item chart, and have the items automatically get purchased in that order as soon as I have enough gold. Don't make me get distracted from the action to click on items and shit. Don't make me click the courier button or buy a courier, just have the courier know what's up and act intelligently. Don't make me walk to some secret shop, let the courier go there.
All of those but the smart courier are already a thing. You can select an item in the shop menu, shift click it, and there's a checkbox somewhere that will autobuy those items as you get money. Anyone can drive the courier (someone still has to buy and upgrade it though), and it has a skill that will send it to the secret shop so you can buy those items by proxy.
Items: Let me plan out an item chart, and have the items automatically get purchased in that order as soon as I have enough gold. Don't make me get distracted from the action to click on items and shit. Don't make me click the courier button or buy a courier, just have the courier know what's up and act intelligently. Don't make me walk to some secret shop, let the courier go there.
All of those but the smart courier are already a thing. You can select an item in the shop menu, shift click it, and there's a checkbox somewhere that will autobuy those items as you get money. Anyone can drive the courier (someone still has to buy and upgrade it though), and it has a skill that will send it to the secret shop so you can buy those items by proxy.
Where is the autobuy checkbox? I already had the shift-click thing going on. That's even worse user interface if the thing exists, but can't be found. It's also bad that the most obvious option is not the default option. You are supposed to opt-in to hard mode, not opt out of it.
It's also inconsistent. Auto attack is on by default. Default options should be best options!
How about instead of "missing top" how about saying which hero is missing?
That's a player problem, dude. Those "Missing XYZ" cues are optionally automatic(I think, never tried to turn them off), or manual triggered off a wheel. They're not the game, they're meant to be the player communicating that information, if they are not already. Dota is a TEAM game, and you should be communicating with your team. Speak up! The game can't do everything for you, and shouldn't.
Also, I have to keep opening the scoreboard to see if I'm falling behind in levels or not.
You can also either hover your mouse over them to display the player name, toon and level, or you can turn that on permanently in the options menu. Saves you time looking at the scoreboard. Also, it does tell you who killed who, middle screen, left side. It's even colour coded. And I think it throws up a mark on your minimap briefly.
Items: Let me plan out an item chart, and have the items automatically get purchased in that order as soon as I have enough gold.
You can turn on Auto-buy in the options, and it automatically buys/builds the items on your recommended list when you have the cash. I don't know if you can build Auto-buy listsYou can also queue items in your quick-buy(Shift and click an item) and if you have the gold, if you're near a shop you can just hit the quote-mark key, it'll buy it for you, I've just found out. I don't know if the old-style auto buy is coming back, where you can set a list, or if you can set a list now, I've never asked. And you CAN send the courier to the secret shop, though I can't remember the exact process for it off the top of my head.
How about instead of "missing top" how about saying which hero is missing?
That's a player problem, dude. Those "Missing XYZ" cues are optionally automatic(I think, never tried to turn them off), or manual triggered off a wheel. They're not the game, they're meant to be the player communicating that information, if they are not already. Dota is a TEAM game, and you should be communicating with your team. Speak up! The game can't do everything for you, and shouldn't.
This also plays into map awareness; ideally you shouldn't need people calling missing (which isn't to say you shouldn't call missing yourself). There are also options to give you more detailed info on the minimap; hero icons and names and whatnot. You can also toggle this with the alt key.
Auto buy makes a HUGE in-game difference when you get one gold a second. Imagine if you're in a battle. You cross that one gold threshold and buy an item instantly without being distracted from the fight. Now when you die, you still got that item. Whereas without the auto buy you would lose gold from death and have to work back up to that item again. Even a pro would benefit from that. There's no way they can click to buy their item manually that quickly in the heat of battle.
And you CAN send the courier to the secret shop, though I can't remember the exact process for it off the top of my head.
This is what I'm talking about bad user interface. If I click to buy an item, it should take my gold, and send the courier to the secret shop and then send it to me as fast as possible. Why do I have to click a separate button to make it go faster? Lots of pointless unnecessary clicks thrown in for no reason.
And you CAN send the courier to the secret shop, though I can't remember the exact process for it off the top of my head.
This is what I'm talking about bad user interface. If I click to buy an item, it should take my gold, and send the courier to the secret shop and then send it to me as fast as possible. Why do I have to click a separate button to make it go faster? Lots of pointless unnecessary clicks thrown in for no reason.
Because other people might need the courier and its speed boost more than you. Can't waste that time.
LoL is supposedly slightly less bullshit with no denying and such. However, it is much worse in the pay 2 win of not everyone having every her all the time. DotA 2 is truly free with people only paying for meaningless cosmetic things. But then again, it has more fiddly bullshit that I hope to eliminate.
Still, pay 2 win is clearly the greater of the two evils, which is why I went with DotA2. Also, I'm already in the Valve/Steam boat and didn't have to install extra nonsense. Path of least resistance.
And you CAN send the courier to the secret shop, though I can't remember the exact process for it off the top of my head.
This is what I'm talking about bad user interface. If I click to buy an item, it should take my gold, and send the courier to the secret shop and then send it to me as fast as possible. Why do I have to click a separate button to make it go faster? Lots of pointless unnecessary clicks thrown in for no reason.
Because other people might need the courier and its speed boost more than you. Can't waste that time.
I know I was talking about changing UI without changing the game, but seriously. Just get rid of shops and couriers. Let anyone buy any item anywhere at any time instantly and automatically. Seriously.
And you CAN send the courier to the secret shop, though I can't remember the exact process for it off the top of my head.
This is what I'm talking about bad user interface. If I click to buy an item, it should take my gold, and send the courier to the secret shop and then send it to me as fast as possible. Why do I have to click a separate button to make it go faster? Lots of pointless unnecessary clicks thrown in for no reason.
Because other people might need the courier and its speed boost more than you. Can't waste that time.
The courier should work via a queue, not the way it does now.
Eh, I like all the stupid little games contained in dota. I like managing the risk and rewards of traveling back to a shop vs using the courier. I like having to predict enemy behavior, and I love that I get murdered in a split second when I'm wrong. I even like to manage enemy and allied creep damage to push and pull the battle lines to the most advantageous positions. A super-simple moba would be neat, but if they take out all the things you complain about it'll feel like a brainless slog to me.
LoL is supposedly slightly less bullshit with no denying and such. However, it is much worse in the pay 2 win of not everyone having every her all the time. DotA 2 is truly free with people only paying for meaningless cosmetic things. But then again, it has more fiddly bullshit that I hope to eliminate.
LoL also doesn't have some of the other elements like Day/Night and runes, and the map is simpler, so it's more streamlined in general; it tends to be faster paced as well. There are pluses and minuses to these points, and it's to be expected that people have different preferences between them.
However, although I do play LoL, I completely agree that the whole RP/IP pay/grind to win system is very bad. If I wasn't already at the plateau w.r.t the stuff needed to play the game, I would be far, far less inclined to play LoL.
Eh, I like all the stupid little games contained in dota. I like managing the risk and rewards of traveling back to a shop vs using the courier. I like having to predict enemy behavior, and I love that I get murdered in a split second when I'm wrong. I even like to manage enemy and allied creep damage to push and pull the battle lines to the most advantageous positions. A super-simple moba would be neat, but if they take out all the things you complain about it'll feel like a brainless slog to me.
You don't necessarily have to take elements out. For example, with the courier you could introduce a simpler system, but still allow that system to be micromanaged when and if you feel that it's needed.
Dude, it's all about the reflexes, look on the youtubes for a Puck or wisp highlight reel. Blink blade, eul's scepter, black king bar, force staff, and all the hero skills that mimic those effects are there for the whole twitch crowd. As with every game, you need an understanding of the mechanics of all the items and all the heroes skills, know what blocks what, etc.
At high level play (as with quake) there is some crazy shit mad skills at play, plus improvisation and problem solving on the spot.
Can you do that with the special commands, like Transfer Items? That's the most important part.
I'm 90% sure that's the case. You can hit Shift+D+R+F+Q which would
1. Get items from stash 2. Activate Speed boost 3. Transfer items to your hero (it will travel to your hero to do this) 4. Return to base
Using the Courier to refill your bottle is a common advanced tactic (aka "bottle crowing", referring to the flying crow courier in W3 DotA). They actually introduced a balance change recently which slows the courier down 33% when carrying an empty bottle to even our the effectiveness of this tactic (which means you either have to wait longer or send the bottle back with a charge left, makings this call as the situation dictates).
To queue this action up you drop the bottle somewhere safe, select the courier and hit Shift+Right click on Bottle+Q+R+F+Q which
1. Picks up the Bottle 2. Speed Boosts 3. Returns to base (Bottle fills up with charges when you go into the fountain with the Bottle in your inventory) 4. Transfers the Bottle back to your hero 5. Returns to base.
Dude, it's all about the reflexes, look on the youtubes for a Puck or wisp highlight reel. Blink blade, eul's scepter, black king bar, force staff, and all the hero skills that mimic those effects are there for the whole twitch crowd. As with every game, you need an understanding of the mechanics of all the items and all the heroes skills, know what blocks what, etc.
At high level play (as with quake) there is some crazy shit mad skills at play, plus improvisation and problem solving on the spot.
That's probably because pros see the fight coming, and aren't caught unaware. They push the button before the colors appear, not a second afterwards. They probably "see" the enemy in the woods about to jump out even though they haven't jumped out yet.
Eh, I like all the stupid little games contained in dota. I like managing the risk and rewards of traveling back to a shop vs using the courier. I like having to predict enemy behavior, and I love that I get murdered in a split second when I'm wrong. I even like to manage enemy and allied creep damage to push and pull the battle lines to the most advantageous positions. A super-simple moba would be neat, but if they take out all the things you complain about it'll feel like a brainless slog to me.
I'm not saying make a super simple moba that is brainless or a slog. I'm saying make a game where you only make tough strategic decisions with non-obvious answers. Much more brain, much less slog.
I'm not saying make a super simple moba that is brainless or a slog. I'm saying make a game where you only make tough strategic decisions with non-obvious answers. Much more brain, much less slog.
If you can do it and it takes off, you'll get ALL the money; LoL is the new WoW and MOBAs are the new big thing everyone is trying to chase down.
That's probably because pros see the fight coming, and aren't caught unaware. They push the button before the colors appear, not a second afterwards. They probably "see" the enemy in the woods about to jump out even though they haven't jumped out yet.
That's kinda the point. Map awareness and game sense of knowing when you are treading on thin ice.
Auto buy makes a HUGE in-game difference when you get one gold a second. Imagine if you're in a battle. You cross that one gold threshold and buy an item instantly without being distracted from the fight. Now when you die, you still got that item. Whereas without the auto buy you would lose gold from death and have to work back up to that item again. Even a pro would benefit from that. There's no way they can click to buy their item manually that quickly in the heat of battle.
Pros don't use that because they don't want to buy item piece by piece in the exact moment they have gold for it. Also buying item manually form quickbuy is one key-press, even I can press that one key really damn fast if it looks like I'm about to die, so I see no reason why pro couldn't.
Slowing shit down in general: I know that it's weird for me to say a game should be slower, but there's a difference between fast and unfair. Human reaction times have a limit. Even in Quake you can dodge rockets. In DOTA you have no chance.
Quake maybe, but how about that other fps you like, that one where some strikes are countered. Now that's a game where the difference between life and death is about 0.01 seconds. And somehow it's not bullshit there, but is in Dota.
Quake maybe, but how about that other fps you like, that one where some strikes are countered. Now that's a game where the difference between life and death is about 0.01 seconds. And somehow it's not bullshit there, but is in Dota.
Maybe it's just my brain? In CS I always have the chance to at least spray before I am dead. That's why you have health in Counter-Strike instead of instant death from the touch of any bullet.
Maybe it's just my brain? In CS I always have the chance to at least spray before I am dead. That's why you have health in Counter-Strike instead of instant death from the touch of any bullet.
I'm pretty sure that at least AWP kills instantly on headshot, pretty sure that some others do also. And if you don't have helmet then pretty much everything kills on headshot. And considering that in most assault rifles the first two shots are pretty much accurate you can die instantly if enemy gets behind you or some other spot where you can't see them. So yea, it's in your brain.
I think there's another factor as well. In Counter-Strike, there isn't really much you can do. Move, Look. Shoot. That's it. Even if you do get killed by a hidden AWP from behind, you still are not left in a land of mystery. It zooms in on the guy who killed you. You see him hiding behind that crate with his AWP. You know what happened. You know how you failed. You exposed yourself in a bad place. What could you have done? Moved differently, looked differently, or shot differently.
In DotA you have way more buttons to do stuff. What is the point of all these buttons if none of them can save me?
Comments
It's also inconsistent. Auto attack is on by default. Default options should be best options!
Still, pay 2 win is clearly the greater of the two evils, which is why I went with DotA2. Also, I'm already in the Valve/Steam boat and didn't have to install extra nonsense. Path of least resistance.
Not sure if it preserves orders given by other players though.
Also, clearly orders from other players would need to be preserved or queueing would be pointless anyway.
However, although I do play LoL, I completely agree that the whole RP/IP pay/grind to win system is very bad. If I wasn't already at the plateau w.r.t the stuff needed to play the game, I would be far, far less inclined to play LoL. You don't necessarily have to take elements out. For example, with the courier you could introduce a simpler system, but still allow that system to be micromanaged when and if you feel that it's needed.
At high level play (as with quake) there is some crazy shit mad skills at play, plus improvisation and problem solving on the spot.
1. Get items from stash
2. Activate Speed boost
3. Transfer items to your hero (it will travel to your hero to do this)
4. Return to base
Using the Courier to refill your bottle is a common advanced tactic (aka "bottle crowing", referring to the flying crow courier in W3 DotA). They actually introduced a balance change recently which slows the courier down 33% when carrying an empty bottle to even our the effectiveness of this tactic (which means you either have to wait longer or send the bottle back with a charge left, makings this call as the situation dictates).
To queue this action up you drop the bottle somewhere safe, select the courier and hit Shift+Right click on Bottle+Q+R+F+Q which
1. Picks up the Bottle
2. Speed Boosts
3. Returns to base (Bottle fills up with charges when you go into the fountain with the Bottle in your inventory)
4. Transfers the Bottle back to your hero
5. Returns to base.
In DotA you have way more buttons to do stuff. What is the point of all these buttons if none of them can save me?