Previously, we’ve covered the 10 easiest heroes beginners can play in DOTA 2 and how they can help ease your way through the early ranks of the game.
That said, DOTA 2 is one of the most complex games out there and you definitely cannot just get away with good hero picks. Sure, picking the right hero in the right matches can give you an edge, but in the grand scheme of things, there are other factors at play.
So, if you are losing matches, even in low ranks, there are surely things you can do to bolster your performance. Today, we’ll be taking a look at some mistakes beginners tend to make in lower ranks and how they can avoid doing them to improve their performance.
1. Not Last Hitting Properly
Last hitting on paper might seem easy, but doing it in an actual game is a different story. This is because, in a real game, you will be harassed and pressured a lot by the opponents. Knowing when to draw the creeps’ aggro is important to take last-hits efficiently.
Besides last-hitting under pressure, killing creeps under the tower radius is also a feat many beginners fail to do. This requires a lot of practice and game experience; if you get it right, you’ll see your creep score go up significantly. If you are unsure of a hero’s damage output, head over to the practice mode and try last-hitting efficiently before choosing it in a real game.
2. Not Buying BKB
Black King Bar (BKB) is arguably the most important item in DOTA 2. What it does is that it gives the user a temporary buff that protects them from most spells in the game. It is a time when you are almost invulnerable to skills and most Carry heroes benefit from it.
The thing is, BKB is considered a defensive item and doesn’t really provide anything else, making it a dealbreaker for most beginners. This is a bad train of thought because, in DOTA 2, survival is very important. Your hero lasting longer in a team fight would mean you can potentially contribute more in terms of damage/support.
3. Sapping EXP from Cores
This mistake is usually done by novice Support players. If you notice your games’ Carry is always under-levelled, there is a good chance that you might be taking their EXP points unknowingly.
Prominent during the laning phase, Support players tend to stay in the lane of their Carry player for a long time. This means the EXP points the Carry player gets from creeps will be partially shared with the Support player. This is not necessarily a good thing because when it comes to EXP and farm priority, your Carry player is on top of the food chain.
Therefore, if the lane is safe or if your Carry player is severely under-levelled, try moving around the map and setting up kills for other lanes. This will not only create space for your Carry but also allow them to get solo experience.
4. Rigid Itemisation
Sometimes, when a player wins a game with that specific set of items, they will always stick to that item no matter what. This is a bad habit and having some form of flexibility to your item decisions can drastically improve your in-game performance.
For instance, if you are playing as Lion and your first item is usually a Blink Dagger. This is a completely correct item choice but sometimes against a Riki, you might want to change it up a little because a Force Staff might be better to save you or your teammates from Smokescreen.
As such, your itemisation should be based on the Heroes around you. The questions you should ask yourself are; will this support item benefit my team? Or is this Carry item strong against my enemies’ Carry? It’s different for every game but once you’ve got the right answer for each game, you’ll see yourself playing more comfortably.
5. Failing to Capitalise on Hero Spikes
Beginner players love farming. This is because gaining gold and purchasing items will make them stronger but sometimes when you are obsessively farming, you are not looking at the bigger picture.
This mistake usually occurs within Mid players where they get tunnel visioned into farming the jungle. To name one example of a hero spike that can be abused is Queen of Pain. Once she has her Witch Blade, she can almost secure kills on her own by preying on lone Supports.
Good players will abuse her timing and help create a tempo for their team and bad ones usually would just farm the lane and jungle that are supposed to be occupied by the Carry player.
6. Going for Kills Instead of Buildings
“Kills mean nothing, throne means everything.” This adage is often indoctrinated into many DOTA players but many newbies still fall for the same mistake. Instead of securing Towers and Barracks, they charge for kills and possibly wasted an opportunity to destroy enemy structures.
This scenario tends to happen when players push up the high ground of the enemy base. In most occasions, pushing into the enemy base means that you have a lead. Many new players tend to overestimate their strength and dive into enemy towers inside the base in hopes to get a kill. This is a very risky play and usually, the result is death.
This in turn can potentially sacrifice your lead and feed the enemies a whole load of gold and experience which they can use and turn the tides.
7. Wasting Time
Inefficiency is one of DOTA 2’s biggest adversaries. New players tend to walk around the map doing nothing. This is a bad habit to have because every minute counts.
Using your time wisely to do small things like stacking neutral camps and dewarding all adds up to your team’s advantage. As for Carry players, knowing that the camp is taken by other team members does not mean you should sit idly by and you can still push out the lane, or if you are good, you can even attempt to farm on the enemy’s side.
As mentioned, it is the little things that matter in DOTA 2. All of these might seem insignificant but these habits are what separates the novice and the elite.
Have you been making these mistakes in your DOTA 2 games? No worries, learn from them and you’ll without doubt get better. And if you are in need of extra assistance, you can subscribe to DOTA Plus using our Steam Wallet Codes here!
