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🎮 Dota 2 (2025) — New Player Quick-Start Guide

Tags: Games/Dota2, 2025, how-to
Audience: Brand-new or returning players who want a sane setup and a plan for their first 50–100 games.
Updated: 2025-08-29

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⚡ TL;DR — Do These First

  • ✅ Play New Player Mode and Co-op vs Bots for your first sessions.
  • ✅ Open the Learn tab in-client (lanes, runes, items, denies).
  • ✅ Use Unranked → All Pick for real games; avoid Turbo until you learn core timings.
  • ✅ Start with simple, forgiving heroes (see “Starter Heroes by Role”).
  • ✅ Copy the Hotkeys & Settings below; customize later.

💡 Mindset: Focus on last-hitting, map awareness, and not dying. TP to fights you can win; farm when you can’t.

🧭 Game Modes (What to Click)

  • New Player Mode: Smaller hero pool + helper systems; safe first stop.
  • Play vs Bots / Co-op vs Bots: Practice last-hits, spell ranges, courier flow.
  • Unranked → All Pick: Normal matches with full hero pool (your main queue).
  • Turbo: Same rules but accelerated gold/XP. Fun, but can teach bad timing habits early—sample later.
  • Ranked (when ready): Requires phone link + substantial playtime. Uses Role Queue and medals (Herald → Immortal).

Role Queue tokens (Ranked): Queue all five roles to earn tokens; spend 1 token to prefer a role (e.g., Carry) in a future match.

🚀 Starting a Match — 0:00 to 2:00 Checklist

  • Buy starting items during pre-game. Shift+Click to add components to Quick Buy.
  • Courier basics: Everyone has a personal courier. Bind Deliver Items to an easy key. Don’t feed it.
  • Bounty Runes: 4 spawn at 0:00. Contest safely.
  • Map objects (New Frontiers):
    • Lotus Pools (side lanes): channel to pluck HP/Mana fruit; spawns periodically and upgrades over time.
    • Wisdom Runes (near offlane edges): 7:00, then every 7 min (14:00, 21:00…). Huge XP—supports plan around these.
    • You’ll also meet Twin Gates, Watchers, Tormentor, etc.—learn gradually.

🥖 Laning Basics (First 10 Minutes)

  • Last-hit enemy creeps for gold.
  • Deny your creeps under 50% HP to reduce enemy XP/gold.
  • Pull and stack neutral camps to fix lane and farm.
  • Rune rhythm: Water runes 2:00 & 4:00 (mid sustain) → Power runes every 2:00 starting 6:00.

🧩 Farming priority: Safe farm > risky kill attempts. Survive first; scale second.

⌨️ Hotkeys & Control (Copy This Baseline)

Selection & Camera

  • Center on hero: bind something comfy (many use Space).
  • Control groups: Ctrl+1/2/3… for hero/summons; double-tap to snap camera.
  • Camera: Prefer middle-mouse drag (keeps cursor near fights). Edge-pan optional.

Courier & Shop

  • Select Courier + Deliver Items: bind to easy keys (e.g., mouse side buttons).
  • Quick Buy: Shift+Click components; right-click to mark secret items.

Abilities & Items

  • Abilities: Q W E R (plus D/F for shard/scepter abilities).
  • Items: Z X C V B N (or numbers—just keep it contiguous).
  • Cast style: Start with Normal Cast (shows ranges). Switch to Quickcast after you internalize ranges.
  • Micro-speed: Hold Shift to queue commands (blink → spell → item).

Combat Commands

  • Attack/Stop/Hold: A / S / H.
  • Chat niceties: Set Chat Wheel & Ping Wheel for clear comms (“Smoke?”, “Defend”, “BKB used”, “Missing”).
  • Sanity: Consider Voice Off early; unmute later.

🛒 Items & Shop Flow (What to Actually Do)

  • Use Quick Buy to plan your next component; buy as gold arrives.
  • Some components are Secret Shop only—walk or send courier.
  • Don’t forget Neutral Items (free drops by time tier). Share & swap with team.

🧪 Practice: From the hero page, click Demo Hero to test last-hits, spell ranges, and item timings with zero pressure.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Starter Heroes by Role (Beginner-Friendly)

Role Heroes (examples) Why these work
Pos 5 — Hard Support Lich, Lion, Ogre Magi, Crystal Maiden, Warlock Clear disables/saves, lane presence, simple items.
Pos 4 — Soft Support Vengeful Spirit, Spirit Breaker, Shadow Shaman, Ogre Magi Ganks, tower pressure, reliable stuns.
Pos 3 — Offlane Tidehunter, Centaur Warrunner, Bristleback, Underlord Tanky initiators, big teamfight ults.
Pos 2 — Mid Dragon Knight, Viper Durable, straightforward lanes, objective pressure.
Pos 1 — Carry Wraith King, Sniper, Juggernaut Simple kits, forgiving mistakes, clear item paths.

📚 In-client hero guides (enable in loadout/shop) give you item & skill order scaffolding per hero.

🧱 Ranked (When You’re Ready)

  • Unlock: Linked phone number + substantial playtime in normal modes.
  • Medals: Herald → Guardian → Crusader → Archon → Legend → Ancient → Divine → Immortal.
  • Role Queue: Earn tokens by queueing all roles; spend 1 token to prefer a role in a later ranked game.
  • Classic/Immortal Draft: Only relevant at very high MMR—ignore for now.

🎊 Events, Patches & Currencies

  • Cadence: Frequent balance patches; content delivered via smaller events (e.g., Crownfall, Frostivus) rather than one giant annual BP.
  • Dota Plus (optional): Cosmetic/quest system with Shards for voice lines, sets, and hero relics (no gameplay power).

🗺️ Your First 10 Real Games — Mini-Curriculum

  1. G1–2: Co-op vs Bots on Lich/Wraith King — hotkeys, last-hits, courier.
  2. G3: New Player Mode — Dragon Knight mid; practice rune checks & early tower pressure.
  3. G4–5: Unranked Ogre Magi (Pos 5). Buy wards; secure Wisdom Rune at 7:00.
  4. G6–7: Offlane Tidehunter — learn TP timings; play around Lotus Pools for sustain.
  5. G8–10: Carry Sniper/Juggernaut — farm safely, join fights with TP, don’t die for low-value kills.

🧰 Quality-of-Life Settings (Flip These)

  • Show Ability Ranges: ON (until quickcast feels natural).
  • Quick Buy helpers: ON (less mis-purchasing).
  • Camera Grip (MMB): ON; Edge Pan: optional.
  • Minimap: Larger icons; right-click moves if you prefer.
  • Comms: Voice/text filtering to taste; mute liberally; unmute later.

⚠️ Common New-Player Pitfalls (and Fixes)

  • Rushing Turbo: Learn normal pacing first → try Turbo later for variety.
  • Ignoring Map Timers: Say “Wisdom 7/14/21” out loud; be there.
  • Courier Feeds: Deliver in windows; path it smartly; park behind your hero.
  • All-Quickcast on day 1: Start with Normal Cast to learn ranges, then switch.

🧾 Glossary (Super Short)

  • Carry (Pos 1/Safelane): Late-game DPS farmer.
  • Mid (Pos 2): Solo lane, rotations, power runes.
  • Offlane (Pos 3): Durable initiator/disabler.
  • Supports (Pos 4/5): Vision, rune control, saves, starts fights.
  • Deny: Kill your own creep under 50% HP to reduce enemy XP/gold.
  • Stack/Pull: Manage neutral camps to shift lane and farm.

✅ Joplin Checklist (Copy & Use)

  • Finish New Player Mode basics.
  • Bind Courier Deliver + set Quick Buy.
  • Play 3 Co-op vs Bots (Lich/WK).
  • Contest Wisdom Rune at 7:00 twice as support.
  • Play 5 Unranked games (one per role from the starter list).
  • Review a replay: how did you die pre-10? Fix those patterns first.
  • Sample Turbo only after you’re comfy with normal timings.

🧷 Handy Micro-Tips

  • /roll: If two people want the same role, type /roll (1–100). Highest takes it—move on.
  • Shift-queue: Hold Shift to chain actions (e.g., Blink → Ult → Item).
  • TP discipline: Keep a TP scroll; defend towers you can save—farm otherwise.
  • Wards win games: Vision saves cores, secures runes, and enables picks.

🧩 Want a one-page “desk card” for your keybinds, hero pool, and rune/item timers? Clone this note and tailor the tables to your exact setup.

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