Dota 2
48 guides
Getting Started
Dota 2 Beginner Guide
Dota 2 is Valve's 5v5 MOBA built around heroes, lanes, roles, items, map control, objectives and ranked matchmaking.
Dota 2 Platform Guide
Dota 2's competitive ecosystem is PC-based through Steam.
Systems
Dota 2 Buyback Guide
Buyback allows a dead hero to return immediately at significant gold cost.
Dota 2 Gold Economy Guide
Gold comes from creeps, heroes, objectives and map control.
Dota 2 Power Spike Guide
Heroes become much stronger at key levels, talents and item timings.
Competition
Dota 2 Captain's Mode Guide
Captain's Mode is the classic tournament draft structure.
Dota 2 Community Tournament Guide
Dota's 5v5 structure supports leagues, cups and group stages.
Dota 2 Draft Guide
Captain's Mode drafting defines professional and tournament team compositions.
Dota 2 Hero Pool Guide
A compact but flexible hero pool improves consistency across patches.
Dota 2 Tournament Rules Guide
Formal events need roster locks, server region, patch, draft mode, pause/reconnect and series rules.
Roles
Dota 2 Position 5 Guide
Position 5 support prioritizes lane stability, wards and team utility.
Dota 2 Offlane Guide
Offlaners often create space, initiate and pressure the enemy carry lane.
Dota 2 Role Guide
Competitive teams typically divide farm and responsibilities across five positions.
Dota 2 Position 4 Guide
Position 4 support balances lane pressure, rotations and utility.
Support
Dota 2 Current Competitive State Guide
As of September 23, 2026, Dota 2 is on gameplay patch 7.41f.
Macro
Dota 2 Farming Efficiency Guide
Farm efficiency depends on lane waves, jungle routes and safe map access.
Dota 2 Laning Guide
The laning phase establishes early gold, experience and map control.
Dota 2 Map Control Guide
Map control determines where teams can farm, ward and move safely.
Dota 2 Objective Control Guide
Towers, Tormentors, Roshan and map control create lasting advantage.
Dota 2 Roshan Guide
Roshan provides major team rewards and is a central late-game objective.
Dota 2 Smoke of Deceit Guide
Smoke enables coordinated movement outside normal enemy vision.
Dota 2 Tempo Guide
Tempo is the ability to convert time and power spikes into map advantage.
Dota 2 Tower Pressure Guide
Towers restrict enemy map access and protect farming areas.
Dota 2 Vision Guide
Observer and Sentry Wards shape safe movement and objective control.
Esports
Dota 2 Esports Status Guide
Dota 2 continues to support professional team registration and The International infrastructure.
Dota 2 Pro Team Registration Guide
Valve maintains professional team registration and participation terms for The International.
Dota 2 The International Guide
The International remains Valve's premier championship event.
Strategy
Dota 2 High-Ground Siege Guide
Breaking high ground is one of Dota's most difficult late-game tasks.
Dota 2 Late Game Guide
Late-game Dota is shaped by buybacks, Roshan, high ground and long death timers.
Dota 2 Team Fight Guide
Dota team fights revolve around initiation, spell layering, positioning and buyback status.
Ranked
Dota 2 Leaderboard Eligibility Guide
Valve requires at least 300 matchmaking games, 100 ranked games and 14 calibrated ranked games in the last 21 days in the same division for leade...
Dota 2 Regional Leaderboards Guide
Valve publishes separate leaderboards for Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia and China.
Dota 2 Ranked Regions Guide
Leaderboard divisions are Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia and China.
Analysis
Dota 2 Replay and Spectator Guide
Dota supports detailed match replay and spectator viewing.
Dota 2 VOD Review Guide
Replay review can expose draft, lane, farm and objective mistakes.