Dota 2
Five heroes, three lanes and a map that keeps shifting under you. Dota 2 has the deepest systems of the five and the longest matches, and it rewards groups that plan a whole evening around one game.
Profile
What it asks of the group
- Rules to learnOver a hundred heroes, an item shop, couriers, high ground and buybacks. The tutorial covers only the start.
- Aim and controlTiming and positioning count for more than fast clicks; a slow hand with good decisions keeps up.
- Talking loadWho farms, who supports, when to fight at Roshan: the team agrees in real time, all match long.
- Session flexAll Pick averages 40.1 minutes and Turbo 25.5, per DotaCoach data on patch 7.41c.
- Team size
- 5v5
- Main mode
- All Pick: destroy the enemy Ancient. Average 40.1 minutes on patch 7.41c (DotaCoach)
- Short option
- Turbo: faster gold and experience. Average 25.5 minutes on patch 7.41c; 90% of games end between 15.9 and 37.4 minutes (DotaCoach)
- Platforms
- PC: Windows, macOS and Linux, through Steam
- Ranked access
- Ranked requires a phone number linked to the Steam account, a rule since 2019
- Price model
- Free to play. Every hero is available from the start; money goes on cosmetics.
- Released
- 9 July 2013
Opening hours
Where the first evenings go
Start with the tutorial and bot matches, and give each newcomer a hero with few active buttons. The first real lesson is that kills matter less than gold and experience: last-hitting creeps is the economy.
Turbo speeds that economy up and leaves room for two matches in an hour, which suits a group still learning lanes. All Pick is the full game; plan for 40 minutes, sometimes an hour.
Groups who enjoy long strategic arguments, with one player happy to organise the others.
A squad that meets for half an hour, and players who want aim to decide fights.
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