Hello, Hive Gamers! Today, I'd like to discuss a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game created and published by Valve Corporation. This game is the follow-up to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), an original mod made by the community for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Frozen Throne.

Defense of the Ancients (DotA) Warcraft 3 Frozen Throne

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DOTA 2 Valve Corporation (Steam)

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Dota 2 involves matches where two teams of five players each strive to protect and control their own individual bases on the map. Every one of the ten players commands a unique and powerful character, referred to as a "hero," with distinct abilities and playstyles. The game offers a wide selection of heroes, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Dota 2 is free to play and boasts a thriving and active player community.

This game featured several tournaments, including Majors, DPC tournaments, and DOTA 2's world championship known as "The International," which notably had the largest prize pool in esports history so far.

Dota 2 underwent more than a decade of development, commencing in 2009 when Valve hired IceFrog, the lead designer of Defense of the Ancients, to create a contemporary reimagining of the game. The first International tournament took place in 2012, featuring a prize pool of $1.6 million.

We'll talk about this further in our upcoming discussion.

DOTA 2 Journey

My in-game name in Dota is Pega$u$, and I've had various usernames since my Warcraft 3 many years ago. However, Pega$u$ is the in-game name I adopted when I started playing Dota 2. Over the course of 1,500 hours of gameplay in this Steam account except the thousand of hours playing Dota 1 since high school, filled with both victories and losses, I've encountered the game's notorious toxicity, especially on the South East Asian Server, where players frequently use strong language.

In this game, your brain, skills, and, most importantly, your patience are continuously put to the test by opponents and occasionally your own teammates. It takes hundreds, if not thousands of hours of play to truly grasp the game and become proficient at it.

At the time of writing this, I'm at Crusader rank (Crusader 4) with 2,100 MMR, but before you can participate in ranked matches and climb the ranks, you must invest at least 100 hours in unranked games. This is where you can experiment, learn, and solidify your understanding of the game's fundamentals.

You can choose different positions in playing the game from Position 1 (Safelaner) Position 2 (Midlaner) Position 3 (Offlaner) Position 4 (Support) and Position 5 (Hard Support)

What does playing DOTA really mean to me?

During my high school years, I was introduced to a game called Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) by some of my classmates, and I was influenced to give it a try. What initially started as a hobby turned into a surprising love for the game, to the extent that it began to affect my academic performance. I not only made numerous friends, whom I fondly referred to as my "computer shop friends," but some of these friendships have endured through my college years.

Playing DOTA was initially a way to pass the time and have fun, but it unexpectedly led to the formation of meaningful friendships. This game also served as a source of comfort during difficult times, especially when I was feeling down, highlighting the value of the friendships I forged within this virtual world.

Dota, in my view, presents an ongoing challenge that can never be fully mastered. It's a means of stimulating my mind and enjoying quality time with friends.

Thank you for your time, Hive Gamers.
Hope I introduced you to an amazing game that is so dear to me ❤️

Lakad Matatag! Normalin, Normalin.

All of the images are mine unless stated otherwise.
Screenshots were taken from the game: Steam: Dota 2