by Ragemore » Mon Jul 16, 2012 5:53 am
I think I have wrestled this game into basic understanding. I'm still far from an expert, but I have found two heroes whose mechanics I can relate too, which allow me to focus on learning the game and the meta.
This reminded me of a "new guy" issue we have at fight practice. We explain to a new guy that the first thing you need to do is get armor, or make armor that fits. When you are brand new you are trying to figure out how to attack, and defend at the same time, against someone who is much better than you. With so many different types of attacks that you may want to try, and so many types of defenses you can employ, its a lot for a new guy to think about during a full speed fight. Add in armor that doesn't fit you, and it is like fighting two people at the same time.
Finding a hero that "fits" allows you to stop thinking about what the character will do, and allows you to concentrate on what your opponents might do in any given situation.
Windrunner boiled down, has a ranged auto-attack, a long range High damage straight line shot, a passive that increases her attacks, and a "sprint" to get away from a fight. This is a very common theme in a lot of the MOBA style of games. I know how to play a character of this style, which allowed me to pay more attention to all the other stuff going on in a typical DOTA 2 game.
The mechanic was so familiar that I could pay more attention to the heroes I was facing and begin to understand how they were trying beat my team, or win any given fight that was initiated, and less time reading the tool tip on my ability. I also focused in on one build (set of items to buy) that made using the store simpler, and took away that distraction during a match.
After starting the weekend with frustration, it ended in that Love/Hate set of emotions that I have had with League of Legends and most FPS games.