Beginner's guide to watch Dota matches

E-gaming should be considered a sport too. But for those people who don't play Dota like me, to start watching Dota matches is going to be very difficult. First of all, you would not understand neither a thing nor the fun to watch all those characters running around killing each other. If you really want to fully understand Dota, the best way is of course by playing it. But playing Dota is going to take time and to master it, it is going to take even longer. That makes watching Dota matches a better option to understand Dota. So here is a basic guide for those who are interested in watching Dota but know nothing about it and don't want to invest time in mastering the playing skill either.


                                                                       

Basic knowledge

Just like learning anything, the basics are essential. Dota means Defense Of The Ancients. Each game there are two 5-members teams fighting against each other, trying to break opponent's base while protecting your own. In each base, there is a huge building called the Ancient. To win the game, one must destroy opponent's Ancient, and hence the name of the game. More details on the principles of the game can be found on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_the_Ancients). But for the mechanics and how the game works, and also the details on each hero and item, it is preferable to go on some specific website like http://www.playdota.com/. It is the most detailed website on Dota. But for those who don't want to read, there are some very good Youtube channels with tonnes of tutorials and guides. These are the two channels I started off.

- http://www.youtube.com/user/DotaCinema (especially the playlists of Hero Spotlights and Guides)
- http://www.youtube.com/user/PurgeGamers (there is a playlist of Learn about Dota)
- and of course many more...

A good game commentator

A good commentator can make the most boring game the best watching experience you will ever have. For this one, I would totally recommend Tobiwan. I really like his style of casting a game. He talks very excitedly and sometimes too excited that you might even think he is really crazy. But the right dose of craziness might just be what the audience really wants, and he has the correct of amount of that in my opinion. He normally casts games on livestream on http://www.joindota.com/en/live/jdred, on the stream named jD Red. All the games on the livestream can be also found on Youtube later on as replays (http://www.youtube.com/user/joinDOTA). What makes his broadcast even better is a duo. My personal most preferable commentating duo would be Tobiwan plus Capitalist. Whenever they broadcast together, I will certainly watch the game, regardless the teams playing.

Tobiwan in the middle with Capitalist and his girlfriend
(photo copyright to joindota.com)

Start off with the TI series 

The International (TI), is the most important annual event in Dota Calendar and also the most competitive and the most interesting to watch. It is basically the FIFA World Cup of Dota. So what is better than start off your watching experience by TI. Started in 2011, and this year is only the third edition. But every year, the event is growing and gaining international recognition. Normally it would be held during the summer, mostly around August and September. There is also a Youtube channel dedicated for TI too.
(http://www.youtube.com/user/dota2)

Watch the best of the best : the legendary rivalry between Na'vi and Alliance

And just like any sport, it needs a legendary rivalry. For basketball is Lakers and Celtics ; for tennis is Nadal and Federer ; for Ironman is Mark Allen and Dave Scott. For Dota 2, I think it must be the rivalry between Na'vi and Alliance. This Sunday night, I just watched the Starseries VII final between these two teams. And Na'vi took their revenge from the lost of TI3 to Alliance, and won the final. 

Personally, I prefer Na'vi because I have known all the members of the team since very long time. The team has a long history back and three of five members of the team stay with the team since Na'vi was created. They are Dendi, Puppey, and Xboct. I started following their matches since very long ago. I chose to follow them probably because Na'vi is in fact the victor of the first International of Dota 2 by Valve. While on the other hand, Alliance is a relatively new team. From what I remember, I started seeing them on major competitions since only the beginning of this year. But they played very well and rose to fame very fast. They won many games and they even had a clutch win in this year International (TI3) against Na'vi in a 5 games series, back and forth final. That final is probably the best ever match-up that I have ever seen so far.  

Watch games between western teams

Unlike many Chinese or any Asian Dota teams, the western teams are always tend to be more aggressive with their play style. More aggressiveness means more fun to watch for the audience. So if you want to extend your watching experience, it is probably a good idea to stick to western teams. More aggressive means more actions and more happenings to watch during the games. Besides Na'vi and Alliance, there are western teams like Team Empire, Fnatic, Evil Genuises, and alot more. Eastern teams are catching up with the aggressive play style like the team Orange from Malaysia, but most of them still prefer a rather passive style, especially the Chinese teams.

                                                                              

So in the end, I must say that the best way to improve watching experience is to eventually play a few games of Dota so that you can understand the subtlety of the game, and realize how difficult to master the game. Hence you can understand how good the skills of the professionals and their team work is.

For me, I started watching Dota matches because of my little brother. Regarding the hype of Dota gaming in Malaysia, no wonder my brother is into it. It really got me interested by watching my brother playing. I really wanted to understand why the hype but at the same time, I don't want to learn to play it because I know it is going to take time. So, I started to watch some matches and slowly picked up the knowledge here and there. It is good in a way that I understand Dota because it can bring my brother and I closer. Dota is basically the second most talked subject between us after basketball and NBA.