What is DotA?

DotA stands for efense of the Ancients? it's a free mod for Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. The purpose of the game is to defend your Ancient and try to destroy the opponents Ancient. The ancients are located deep in both bases, which are located at the top right and bottom left corners of the map. There are over 70 heroes that differ greatly in play style. Each of these heroes have been carefully designed so they are both balanced and unique. The map is updated frequently, sometimes to add new heroes, fix bugs or to make a balance update. The strategies possible with DotA are pretty much endless, choosing the wrong item and hero combination can mean the difference between a win and a loss for your team. The gameplay in DotA Allstars can be classified as relatively fast because as the game progresses any small mistake you make can be fatal to the overall team.

What are Heroes?

Heroes are highly skilled fighters with various magical abilities. Each of these heroes has skills and stats. Heroes start at level one and go up to level 25. When a creep or hero is killed in an area around you, you gain experience. If you get enough experience you gain a level, which means that you gain extra attribute points and one skill point that can be used towards upgrading one of your unique abilities.

The stats are called ero Attributes?and determine the basic strengths and weaknesses of a hero, one of these attributes is the rimary attribute?which determines your attack damage and generally the type of hero you control. The 3 Hero Attributes are:

Strength: Each point enhances hit points and hit point regeneration.

Agility: Each point enhances attack speed and armor.

Intelligence: Each point enhances mana points and mana regeneration

Each hero has a total of 5 different skills available. Three of these skills are ormal?skills and can be gotten from the first level. The fourth skill is an ultimate which can be gotten at level 6/11/16, the ultimate can be classified as a more powerful skill then the normal skill in most cases. The fifth skill isn't really a skill but rather an attribute bonus which gives +2 to all your attributes. For a hero listing, go to www.dota-allstars.com/heroes.php

What about items?

You gain a minor amount of gold over time, but most of your gold will be gotten by landing the finishing blow on a hero or creep. With gold you can buy various items. Some of these items are offensive in nature while others are designed for survival. There are specific item combinations that form a more powerful item when put together. Go to www.dota-allstars.com/items.php for more information.

Where do I get the map from?

Download it from www.dota-allstars.com/download.php

After you finish downloading it, move the map to

C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Maps\Download

Make sure you have the latest warcraft patch, which is automatically downloaded when you log onto Battlenet.

How do I start playing?

DotA Allstars is by far the most played custom game on Battlenet so it is never hard to find a game. You can play in the public realm, which is the best place to start if your new. Clan TDA provides private games where breaking rules, such as leaving a game, has consequences. There are also leagues and tournaments available for highly competitive players.