EPT
Dota 2 Strategy Forum Guidelines
1. Introduction
2. Stickies
3. Rules
4. Guides
5. Other threads
1. Introduction
We are taking a leaf out of our fellow LoL strategy forums' book and revamping the way we approach our own strategy forums. We are starting a system where each hero will have its own dedicated thread. Any guides and discussion regarding the hero should be included as regular posts within the thread. We believe that this system will facilitate easier discussion and access to specific information.
To make navigating through these threads easier, the OP of these threads will act as a Table of Contents, with links to well-written guides or informative posts within or outside the thread. In addition to the Table of Contents, the OP of each hero's thread should ideally have a comprehensive guide to the hero that is of a high standard. For this reason it is imperative that the thread creator is active and stays on top of all new content. Of course, our friendly moderators will help keep these up-to-date, but we want it to be led by you guys, the community.
To shift to the new system, we will need your help to convert existing threads to meet our new format. People who feel their threads and/or guides are of a high standard and are willing put in the effort to convert their threads to the new format should PM either TheYango or Firebolt145 (if we don't already contact you) to discuss this process.
2. Stickies
The TeamLiquid Guide Index
To make it easier to find hero and other discussion threads, this thread will contain a link to all of them in alphabetical order.
Updated 30 second guide to every hero
Just randomed a hero you've never seen before and want a quick and reliable 30 second guide on how to play the hero? This is your resource.
Simple Questions, Simple Answers
If you have a basic question, this is the place to go. Basic questions include:
- Does Butterfly stack with Backtrack?
- At what times do Runes spawn?
3. Rules
1) Have a look at what is already there
When looking for information, always start by using the search function. Be creative with your search terms when looking for a particular topic.
2) Be respectful
As with the rest of Team Liquid, respect other posters and treat them the same way you want others to treat you. There’s more than one way to tell someone they are wrong. Be respectful and disprove their ideas – do not simply attack the poster.
3) Let us know if you don't know what you are talking about
Dota 2 has not been completely solved and even the best players don’t know everything. If you are not experienced in a hero or an area of the game, feel free to bring up a new idea or stimulate discussion. However, make it clear that the ideas you’re bringing up are not standard and that you are inexperienced in this area. Also, if you are not experienced in an area, DO NOT give advice. You can ask questions, stimulate discussion, bring up counter points, but your role is not to directly give advice.
4) Keep the forum clean
The goal of this forum is to get advice to those who want it. No one is going to kill you for a funny, slightly off-topic remark, but please keep it to a minimum. Repeated offenders will be given a warning, and then eventually banned from the strategy section.
5) Don't reply in bad threads
If it's clear the original poster hasn't put any effort into his thread, don't reply. This encourages people to follow the correct format and put effort in their threads. These threads will often be closed quickly anyway.
6) Go ahead and bump old threads
If you have a question (or an important comment) that relates to the topic at hand, then bump away! The whole reason for this approach to group everything together and make searching quicker. That being said, if you bump an old thread with “Everyone should read this!” expect to be moderated.
4. Guides
Guides are detailed ‘How to Play’s that should present multiple options to the reader. Guides may include lane strategies, team strategies, or complete hero playstyles. Images/videos regarding how to use skills and items with your hero are a plus.
If your guide is about a hero, preface it with a [Hero] tag. Include your goal in a game, strengths, and weaknesses with detailed descriptions. List the skills your hero has and a skill progression along with an easy to understand description of how to use your skills. When listing skill builds, explain the reasoning for going that route including how to best use them and why they are good or bad. Item builds should have detailed explanations of why this item is most commonly picked up or why it is strong or weak. Situational item and skill builds should have general circumstances listed. Have “what if” scenarios and how to react depending on your team and what your team knows of the enemy. A strong guide addresses all possible circumstances that may happen.
List what heroes your hero is strong against and what heroes it has a hard time with. Include stats about your hero such as its base armor, base damage, base stats, etc. Have a general "how-to" describing laning strategies, ganking strategies, team fight strategies, etc. Explain how this hero is viable in a draft and what allows it to be useful. List item synergies.
Regarding guides involving team strategies and playstyles, make sure to include flaws and counters to this style of play. For example: If enemy team is 5 manning during the midgame and your team is unable to teamfight, give up obviously undefendable towers. Try split pushing and maximize farming jungle to give your team an experience and gold advantage so that they may teamfight in the future.
Find factors that you can take advantage of. Describe ways to characterize enemy playstyle based off of team information. List item purchases that are particularly good against certain playstyles. List possible scenarios and how one person or the team can play around it.
If your guide is about game mechanics, explain in detail how it works and the benefits of using it. A few mechanics can be abused to great benefit with the proper playstyle. If there is math involved, include all the calculations and make sure it is easy to understand and has good readability.
If a part of your guide has been used in competitive games, you can link the VOD/matchID for proof.
We want our Strategy forum to look good and professional. This especially applies to the OP of each thread. Capitalise properly, do not write in shorthand ('u' instead of 'you'), and abbreviate sensibly.
- Capital letters for hero names. For example: Mirana, Dark Seer, and Magnus.
- Capital letters for skill and spell names. This includes spells and skills activated by items, as well as passive skills and auras. For example: Finger of Death, Blink, and sheep.
- Capital letters for items. Abbreviations should be in the same style: BF, ToE, DR. Item nicknames such as “sheepstick” should be lowercase though.
If you feel too unfamiliar with BBCode to design a guide but would still like to write one, you may use the Guide Skeleton provided in the spoiler below. It is also a good way to ensure you have covered all the discussion points of a hero in your guide. Feel free to make any of your own changes.
+ Show Spoiler [Guide Skeleton] +
[b][big][big]Table of Contents[/big][/b][/big]
[url=#introduction]I. Introduction[/url]
[url=#items]II. Item Builds[/url]
[url=#skills]III. Skill Builds[/url]
[url=#gameplay]IV. How to play[/url]
[url=#video]V. Video Guide and VODs[/url]
[url=#conclusion]VI. Conclusion[/url]
[url=#faq]VII. FAQ[/url]
[url=#changelog]VIII. Changelog[/url]
[hr]
[anchor]introduction[/anchor][b][red][big][big]I. Introduction[/big][/red][/b][/big]
[img]Hero Image Here[/img]
[u]Official Bio[/u]
[spoiler]Hero Bio here[/spoiler]
[u]Stats[/u]
[img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/c/c6/Strength_Icon.png[/img][img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/2/23/Strength_Icon_Main.png[/img] [img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/f/f1/Agility_Icon.png[/img][img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/2/23/Agility_Icon_Main.png[/img] [img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/b/b0/Intelligence_Icon.png[/img][img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/8/81/Intelligence_Icon_Main.png[/img] (DELETE AS APPROPRIATE)
[b]23[/b]+2.4 [b]15[/b]+1.5 [b]24[/b]+2.5
[img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/2/2f/Movespeed_Icon.png[/img][img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/c/c8/Armor_Icon.png[/img][img]http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/4/42/Damage_Icon.png[/img]
[b]300[/b] ms [b]2.1[/b] armor [b]24-28[/b] base dmg
[u]When should I pick Hero Name?[/u]
[u]When should I [i]not[/i] pick Hero Name?[/u]
[u]Advantages[/u]
-
[u]Disadvantages[/u]
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[b]Hero Synergy[/b]
[u]Good Allies[/u]
-
[u]Bad Enemies[/u]
-
[hr]
[url=http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/Hero Name]Hero Abilities Wiki[/url]
[img]Spell picture[/img]
[b]Spell name[/b]
[i]Legacy: [/i]
Ability description
Mana cost:
Cooldown:
Spell mechanics here (damage, duration, range etc)
[i]Summary of spell here[/i]
[hr]
[img]Spell picture[/img]
[b]Spell name[/b]
[i]Legacy: [/i]
Ability description
Mana cost:
Cooldown:
Spell mechanics here (damage, duration, range etc)
[i]Summary of spell here[/i]
[hr]
[img]Spell picture[/img]
[b]Spell name[/b]
[i]Legacy: [/i]
Ability description
Mana cost:
Cooldown:
Spell mechanics here (damage, duration, range etc)
[i]Summary of spell here[/i]
[hr]
[img]Ultimate picture[/img]
[b]Spell name[/b]
[i]Legacy: [/i]
Ability description
Mana cost:
Cooldown:
Spell mechanics here (damage, duration, range etc)
[i]Summary of spell here[/i]
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]items[/anchor][b][red][big][big]II. Item Builds[/big][/red][/b][/big]
[u]Starting Items[/u]
[hr]
[u]Early game[/u]
[hr]
[u]Boots[/u]
[hr]
[u]Core[/u]
[hr]
[u]Late game[/u]
[hr]
[u]Optional Items[/u]
[hr]
[u]Rejected Items[/u]
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]skills[/anchor][b][red][big][big]III. Skill Builds[/big][/red][/b][/big]
[u]Title of build[/u]
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Summary/explanation of skill build here.
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]gameplay[/anchor][big][b][red][big]IV. How to Play[/red][/b][/big][/big]
[u]Jungling[/u]
[u]Laning[/u]
[u]Ganking[/u]
[u]Mid Game[/u]
[u]Late Game[/u]
[u]Teamfights[/u]
[u]Specific situations to look out for[/u]
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]video[/anchor][big][b][red][big]V. Video Guide and VODs[/big][/red][/b][/big]
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]conclusion[/anchor][big][b][red][big]VI. Conclusion[/big][/red][/b][/big]
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]faq[/anchor][big][b][red][big]VII. FAQ[/big][/red][/b][/big]
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
[hr]
[anchor]changelog[/anchor][big][b][red][big]VIII. Changelog[/big][/red][/b][/big]
Date - changes
[url=#1][b][center]Back to top![/b][/center][/url]
If you're feeling particularly fancy and wish to emulate SirJolt, feel free to check out our
Style Guide.5. Other threads
For threads that are not directly connected to a specific hero, you may categorize your thread using the following tags:
[D] Discussion threads: Talk about a topic and ask for feedback.
[H] Help threads: Post about your specific situation(s), give your thoughts, and ask what you need help with.
If a thread you wish to create falls under none of these, title it without a tag. Remember that forum etiquette must be followed at all times.
Discussion threads:
Creating a discussion thread:
- If you would like more in-depth information regarding a game mechanic, make this kind of thread.
- If there is a certain style regarding heroes, items, or strategies, explain in detail for your topic. There are many ways to play the game, there will be strengths and weaknesses.
- At least attempt to approach the subject from both sides, detailing the advantages and disadvantages of each side.
- Remember to back up your posts with proof. There are a lot of exceptions to Dota, be aware of the ones involved in your discussion.
Help threads:
When creating a help thread:
- Why did I lose? Include a video or matchid available for people to analyze. Be sure to include your opinion on the game.
- If you need specific advice, explain your circumstances in detail.
- Remember that you may receive advice that you don’t like hearing. Be open minded when receiving advice.
