Defense of the Ancients, or DotA, is a map in the game Warcraft 3. It was created by players and is arguably the most popular custom map ever made. It combines strategy, skill, teamwork, and a little luck. DotA is relatively fast-paced for a role playing game; as a result, it can be a little difficult for beginners to get the hang of it. With a little practice and some helpful tips, however, even a noob can start succeeding in DotA in no time.
Join a game. Choose a game from the Custom Game list. It should say DotA, then the version, and the various game modes.
The most common game modes include -ap, which lets you choose any hero, -em, which makes the game easier, and -ar, which gives each player a random hero. If youre just beginning, you may want to try the random hero choice for a few games so you can familiarize yourself with several of the characters. If you already have a good knowledge of one hero, youre probably better off choosing that hero. HOWEVER, if it is your first game, choose an easy hero to play, such as Skeleton King, who has the "Reincarnation" ability which will bring him back to life when killed.
To choose a hero, click on one of the buildings you see, or one of the ones in the opposite corner of the map, and you will see a list of all the heroes you can choose from. Select one of these or type –random to get a random hero.
Buy a few basic items for your hero. Start by finding what type of hero you have: Strength, Intelligence, or Agility. Generally, you can tell by which stat is the highest. You can view the stats by clicking your hero and looking to the right of the unit portrait. Based on this, look through the shops, and buy items that will boost these skills.
TIPS:
If your hero is still weak or does not have any strong items do not focus on killing opposing heroes, thus focus on destroying towers and killing creeps.
Always bring a Town Portal Scroll, at the beginning of the game this is really helpful because you can go in another lanes that have many enemy creeps on it, so you will earn gold faster.
Avoid 1-to-1 confrontations early on and try to prevent unnecessary damage by staying back and close to your creeps.
If you think that you cannot defeat an enemy hero in battle, start running back to your base. Dying really hurts your income and experience gain, not to mention that you make your opponents richer.
Despite popular belief, pushers win games; not killers. "Pushing" is the act of killing enemy creeps and destroying enemy towers in your way to the enemy base. The enemy will do the same, so keep an eye on your towers at all times.
Later versions have a "-tips" command implemented. The "-tips" command shows game-play tips for your hero at regular intervals.