Ranking up your MMR in DotA 2 is one of the hardest feats in the world. Dealing with inconsistent teammates, well-coordinated enemies, and game-induced frustrations are all examples of obstacles that stand in your way. With this, we’ll help you get started on climbing up the ladder with these top 10 tips!

10. Work with your Team

Teamwork is essential in any team game or sport and DotA 2 is no exception. With various team compositions and synergies involved in the game, working well with your team is a must if you want to win.

While teamwork is not exactly easy especially when it comes to playing with randoms, it is still a must in the game. One person cannot carry the entire game on his/her back. While it may be tempting to fight amongst your team rather than work together, the latter brings better results.

Teamwork simply starts by being a good teammate. Being positive and friendly is already a great start to working together. Communication comes next. This course of action would be to initiate fights, plans, or defensive goals with your team through constant communication. Lastly, another great idea is being flexible. Adjusting and finding your role within the team sets the standard and is a great starter to working together.

How It Works:

• Be positive and friendly. Create an environment that is conducive for teamwork.
• Provide constant communication in planning, playing, and team fighting.
• Be flexible for your team.

9. Watch Your Games

Playing surely increases your overall skill, but learning from mistakes is another great one. Watching your previous games gives you more insight and knowledge than just playing. With another perspective, you can see what went wrong or right. 

Watching your games allows you to grasp the concepts that weren’t able to fit in your mind while playing this high-intensity game. This practice gives you the ability to correct your mistakes, create new opportunities and advantages, and improve your overall skill.

When watching games, it is important to focus on the why’s. Observe how you play, and determine the actions you did that led to the result whether it be a good one or a bad one. By doing this, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the play which will allow you to either abuse it or learn from it. Next is to watch the flow of the game. Observe your team and how they move, act, and interact. Lastly, it is important to determine the behavior of your enemy. Knowing how enemies typically move will give you an advantage once you get used to it.

How It Works:

• Observe your play. Judge how you play and take notes from it.
• Determine how your teammates interact.
• Study how your enemies move and play. Create scenarios on what you would do for every enemy action.

8. Learn Map Awareness

Map awareness is one of the basics that needs to be practiced if you want to be good at the game. DotA 2’s map is one of the biggest among MOBAs but is one of the most crucial areas in the game.

Practicing map awareness can greatly level the playing field in your favor. Knowing your enemy’s movements and plans can be one of the crucial steps involved in taking down your enemy’s Ancient. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the game, map awareness can take you and your team to greater heights with calculated fights and objective taking.

Practicing map awareness all comes down to looking at your map, and observing all the actions and activities present. You can start by first trying to play while constantly keeping an eye on your minimap. Once you get this done, you can start using your camera to view different lanes and areas of vision. Afterward, you can proceed to make calculated plays based on this information.

How It Works:

• Focus on your game while constantly checking the minimap.
• Pan your camera to different lanes and areas of vision constantly. Make sure to always keep an eye out for action.
• Make educated plays and calls using the information gathered from what you see across the map. 

7. Play Regularly

Games require an insane amount of hours in order for you to master them. A single game of DotA 2 can take about 60 minutes of your life, and that’s not even the longest one. 

With long and numerous games, your skills start to show. The saying “practice makes perfect” comes into play. By playing religiously, you’d get to develop your skills and knowledge of the game. Constant gaming makes your brain and muscles used to the game.

Start by setting up a time to play. The constant play time will surely improve your skills. Playing regularly with attention to detail can go a long way in your improvement. 

How It Works:

• Set up a regular playing time that allows you to consistently play and practice the game.

6. Practice Specific Areas 

Games have broad areas that need attention and DotA 2 is no exception. Every little thing involved in the game is important as it’s the little things that give you the advantages you need to win.

Last-hitting creeps, team fighting, warding and vision control, farming, and many more concepts are involved in DotA 2. It is important to focus on the smaller things first and take them all one by one in order to prevent confusion and burnout. 

First up, select an area that you would like to improve on. This can vary from simply hero usage to farming, and to team fighting. By selecting a specific area, the practice can be easily absorbed. Next up is to consistently practice that skill or area up until the point that you are confident. Lastly, applying these skills in-game is a crucial step to ensure that you know what you’ve learned.

How It Works: 

• Select an area to work on and be diligent with it.
• Consistently practice the specific skill until you reach a certain level of confidence. 
• Apply the skill in-game.

5. Learn from the Best

We aren’t really considered one of the greats in this game. Those titles go to the best of the best, the stars of the show. Professional players are the most skilled and knowledgeable people in their own respective games. In DotA 2, you could really learn a lot from the pros.

The pros can give you tips on mastering each hero, and its individual play styles. They are the masters in team fighting, farming, winning, you name it. By watching these pros, you’d be introduced to concepts you didn’t even know existed.

Start by choosing a pro player you admire based on your role. Some pros also give out useful guides and tutorials that are useful for every gamer. Once this is underway, watch him/her religiously and observe all the niche little things he/she does while playing. By seeing and understanding, the last step would be to copy and learn from them.

How It Works:

• Choose a pro player based on your role. You can also have multiple pro players to follow.
• Watch and learn carefully. Take note of every move the player makes.
• Apply your learnings in-game.

4. Choose 1-2 Roles to Master

DotA 2, like every other game, is a game full of many roles, strategies, and ways to play. With this, some might find it hard to get a grip on the game. Finding your role, your position, and how you want to play is essential in gaining a foothold in DotA 2.

Choosing 1-2 roles is a great start in determining your playstyle in DotA 2. By focusing on a small area, you are able to improve and perform your role. Instead of being a jack of all trades, you’d become a master of one. 

First up, try all roles and choose what you think fits your playstyle. Next up, focus on practicing the role and the heroes involved in the role. Once you get your role, start playing it for lots of games until you get the hang of it.

How It Works:

• Try the roles and choose 1-2 that fit your playstyle.
• Focus on the role and practice it religiously.

3. Focus on 1-2 Heroes Per Role

The game currently has 124 heroes to choose from. With a number that high, it may be confusing about which one is the right fit for you and your play style. 

By narrowing down your choice of heroes, you are able to completely dominate your games. Focusing on a few champions is better than playing and learning everything at once. Starting in a small pool is one of the best ways to improve your game.

First up, find the heroes in your chosen role. Once you get this role, try out these heroes in a normal match or in a demo mode. Once you find the heroes that you would like to learn and master, focus on them. 

How It Works:

• Find and discover the heroes in your role, starting with those who pique your interest.
• Try out the ones you’d like to practice.
• Master them and all the niche little things in their kit.

2. Pick Heroes Who Farm Gold Quickly

Farming, or the act of gaining resources in games is a significant aspect of winning the game. Resources matter the most in most games, especially DotA 2. 

With a sufficiently resourced hero, the game would be an easy win. Farming is thought of as a sort of investment. Once the investment pays off, it would be a rewarding treat. This aspect of the game is one of the most important concepts that can win you the game.

Farming effectively all comes down to knowing how to efficiently last hit creeps. Positioning your hero towards the enemy creeps is key in saving time. By positioning well, you can be in an area where there is an abundance of resources such as a neutral creep camp. Next, efficient use of abilities can make all the difference between a good and a great farming player. Lastly, lane and vision control can help you safely farm without having the risk of dying, which in turn, prevents you from farming.

How It Works:

• Practice last-hitting creeps effectively. This involves lane and neutral creeps.
• Position yourself well in order to quickly farm creeps and neutral camps quickly.
• Use your abilities to their full potential. Abilities can help you farm more effectively and quickly.
• Excellent vision and lane control can create a safe haven for you to farm. Not getting in harm’s way gives you better farm.

1. Learn to Counter-Pick Heroes

With a diverse set of heroes and team compositions, DotA 2 offers one of the most confusing but interesting hero counters and combinations. Specific heroes can counter some heroes while also being countered by different heroes. It’s all one big confusing pile of heroes.

Hero counters are important in the game as they can literally mean the difference between a good and a hard time. Some heroes easily take over the game when they counter an enemy laner. Knowing how your hero fairs against others will take you far in the game.

Knowing your hero’s strengths and weaknesses helps you determine if he/she is a great hero against a specific enemy. Studying different heroes can help you gain this knowledge, and playing regularly creates a familiarity complex. Once you get used to each hero’s characteristics, determining which hero counters who will be a walk in the park.

How It Works:

• Study your set of heroes and determine the ones they do the best and worst against. Once you understand these, you can effectively perform better.
• Study different heroes as well as their own strengths and weaknesses. Connect this to different heroes and see how they fare.
• Counter-picking is about out-drafting the enemy. Pick heroes that work well against the enemy.

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