"How about we team up for a bot match? We need to play a few bot games before casual matchmaking, but we can choose to cooperate with players," Zack said to Hannah beside him.
"Sure, I can try out this Ogre Magi immortal that looks like a blue fatty," Hannah agreed with a nod.
After all, they had just obtained a high-quality cosmetic item and wanted to try it out in the game.
The two teamed up for matchmaking. There were a total of five difficulty levels for the bots.
Ranging from easy to insane, but you had to beat the first level to unlock the next.
This design was mainly to give players a feel for the game, much like the Terrorist Hunt mode in Rainbow Six: Siege.
In Dota, the bots on insane difficulty were programmed with realistic AI reactions.
Some lower-skilled players might get completely outplayed by the bots' last hitting and denying.
As for team fight skill usage, the game's AI was also quite advanced.
Of course, this was for insane difficulty bots. For the other four levels, unless a player had absolutely no idea how to play, even with recommended item builds, they practically couldn't lose.
Zack and Hannah teamed up and started an easy bot match.
The moment they clicked, the preparation screen popped up, indicating an instant match. Clearly, there were many players.
Entering the hero selection screen, rows and rows of heroes were available, making Zack and Hannah a bit overwhelmed.
Below that were the heroes' various roles, such as core, support, and more specific ones like tank and burst damage.
Hannah didn't hesitate much and directly chose Ogre Magi.
Zack, on the other hand, pretended to think for a moment before picking Dragon Knight.
"My hero is a core, so I can go to any lane?" Zack looked surprised at the tags below Dragon Knight: tank, core, initiator, and control.
"Ugh, why is Ogre Magi a support? Shouldn't a mage be the main damage dealer?" Hannah looked a bit speechless at the tags below her hero.
The remaining three players carefully considered their choices and then picked their heroes one by one.
Terrorblade, Mirana, and Invoker.
Clearly, either they had cosmetics or they chose these main characters because of the previous animation, Dragon's Blood.
However, the role distribution was very clear, and the resulting lineup was quite reasonable.
This clearly showed the significant impact of the newcomer tutorial.
The reason Lucas put so much effort into the beginner tutorial was to help players better understand what kind of game Dota was.
For instance, when Zack's Dragon Knight was placed in the top, middle, or bottom lane, there would be some friendly prompts.
If someone deeply understood Dota, these prompts would be completely unnecessary, perhaps even amusing.
But in the current situation, they clearly explained the role division and purpose of the three lanes to the players and encouraged them to play their roles according to the hero's characteristics.
Of course, it was only encouragement. Players could still pick an all-carry lineup if they wished; winning would then depend on their individual skill.
After confirming their hero choices, players had some time to plan tactics and directly purchase their starting items.
Zack, following the prompts, bought two Gauntlets of Strength, a set of Tangoes, a Healing Salve, and a Quelling Blade, spending his entire starting 600 gold.
Hannah, meanwhile, bought two Wards, and also bought a Sentry Ward according to the prompt, followed by two Branches, a Clarity Potion, Tangoes, and a Healing Salve, fully stocking up.
Upon entering the game, Zack and Hannah headed straight for the top lane.
Hannah carried her two Wards with her, and the other three random players didn't seem to have any objections. Clearly, everyone new to the game had no concept of needing a ward in the middle lane for laning.
Zack then glanced at the other three players. As expected, they all had cosmetics.
And they looked quite flashy.
"My hero feels so complicated! I have ten skills! But I have to manually combo them all?"
The Invoker player, who had already reached the T1 tower near the river in the middle lane, was the first to speak on voice chat, completely bewildered.
At level one, he could only learn three orbs: one representing Strength, one Agility, and one Intelligence. Each orb also had an additional effect.
The Ice Wall orb provided health regeneration, the Lightning Strike orb increased attack speed and movement speed, and the Sun Strike orb increased attack damage. Finally, there was a skill called "Forge Spirit," which, according to the description, required combining the three orbs in different sequences to summon corresponding spells.
"Is this hero that powerful?"
"He's invincible! We only have four skills besides our basic attack, and you have 10 – that's amazing!"
The Terrorblade and Mirana players in the bottom lane also chimed in on voice chat.
"But how am I supposed to use all of them? Even though the system says this hero is complex, it's way too complex!" The Invoker player was at a loss.
"Then don't switch skills. I think your hero isn't meant for casting spells. Look, your orbs can be leveled up to seven, and it's an Intelligence hero. That's like getting 14 extra Intelligence points, meaning 14 attack damage. With level 7 Sun Strikes on three orbs, that's 42 attack damage. I see another skill called 'Alacrity' here, which with points maxed out gives 94 attack and 94 attack speed. If you build attack damage, use the Lightning Orbs to hit people, and if you build attack speed, use Sun Strikes," Zack said after carefully studying Invoker's skills and offering his suggestions.
"But the recommended items don't include this build," the Invoker player in the middle lane said, half-believing.
"I think Dragon Knight guy makes sense, your hero is amazing!"
"Yeah, yeah, he's the mastermind from the anime, they'll definitely nerf him later!"
"Terrorblade, you're not bad either! Look at your high agility growth and super high armor. Your third skill can also turn you into a ranged hero and adds sixty attack damage!"
The two players in the bottom lane were clearly convinced by Zack's theory and began to praise each other.
"But Dragon Knight, aren't you the protagonist of the game? You don't seem as sturdy as the Ogre Magi next to you?"
"Yeah, and your ultimate, turning into a dragon, it's just a poisonous attack? It doesn't add attack damage?"
"Isn't he the protagonist in the animation? He's so weak!"
"Davion, how am I supposed to be your support as Mirana? I'll just stick with Terrorblade!"
Listening to the other two players, Zack shifted his attention to his own Dragon Knight.
"Weak?
He felt it was alright. His third skill added armor and health regeneration, his ultimate at level two had splash damage for farming, and at level three, it had a slow effect similar to Warcraft's Frost Wyrm.
Plus, he had a fire-breathing farming skill and a single-target control skill, so he was quite versatile.
But what was this about having a weak physique?
Didn't they see how much armor his third skill added?
Zack was a bit puzzled and moved his mouse to the Ogre Magi, who had just placed two wards on the high ground indicated by the system.
Then he froze.
What was he seeing!?
"No way, is your hero really a support!?"
His Dragon Knight had 56 attack damage, 3 armor, 21 Strength, and 620 HP at the start, with a Strength growth of 3.4 per level.
But this two-headed Ogre Magi in front of him had 52 attack, 7 armor, 23 Strength, and 660 HP, with a Strength growth of 3.3 per level. What was going on?
Zack looked again. It was correct!
This Ogre Magi was an Intelligence hero, but what was with the excessive Strength growth and stats?
Who was the support, and who was it?
Blue Fatty, get out of the Intelligence circle!
(End of chapter)
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