Off-Topic General Discussion - Page 1086

I was shocked when playing yesterday because even compared to War3 the heroes' models aren't very distinctive. I had trouble telling Zeus apart from Witch Doctor from example (Zeus' model is so ridiculously small wtf, without the deep blue color I'd have trouble making him out on the screen). Though when I switched to Loci's stream after a few games it dawned on me that champions being mostly humans (or assimilable, like Morgana and Kayle) makes it much easier to tell them apart.
Some heroes could easily be mistaken for jungle creeps if you met them there.

The fact that everything is darker makes it harder to tell when something's happening too. I mean, if all of a sudden Xerath, Leona and Cho'Gath start unloading their shit all over the place, a new player won't be able to tell you what happens, however he'll certainly say "There's something happening, I don't know what it is but I see it!".
Yesterday for example I only knew what Witch Doctor was doing after I looked up his kit on the wiki, because Paralysing Cask's particle is so small and hard to see (and I only inferred it was bouncing from the stun duration, and later the sound).
Both LoL and DotA aren't friendly to newbies as far as helping them understand what happens, but the "cartoony' aspect people criticise in LoL I find better at making you understand something's happening.

Their cc indicators are probably better too. I can usually tell what happens in LoL (so I know when my spell didn't cast because lag rather than a stun) but in DotA apart from silences it's not too clear (I had a combo of slight, random lag and not knowing Shallow Graves' range that made me very confused for most of the game, I usually didn't know if it didn't cast because cc, lag, or not enough range, though I got better at the later after awhile).


The problem I see with the shop (compared to LoL) is how to find items quickly: if I want strength or pure HP or armour for example, LoL's shop with the checkboxes is awesome for this, but I don't think DotA has quite the same? I'd say I like the "defensive/offensive/luxury" distinction for LoL, but I assume since DotA's itemisation is much more hybrid (and because Strength and Agi heroes get both offense and defense fromt heir primary stat) it doesn't make as much sense.

Amongst other stuff, although I understand that it's how War3 does thing so they get along with it, space bar to get to last event (which one? I don't even know if it includes pings) and F1 to center on hero is annoying when coming back from LoL, but it's something I can get used to.
In the same vein, not being able to check an enemy hero's items without clicking on him (level is in the KDA window, which doesn't display cs either though). Again, it comes from War3, but when I want to understand who's strong, who's not, what I should prob itemise for or who to focus and stuff, though, it's annoying. During teamfights I'm too busy trying to figure what's going on to click on each enemy hero and check their items.

LoL's upper left corner showing you whatever you've clicked on is very handy too, as if I want to check an enemy hero's items or HP and I click on him I lose my hero's display. I can't click on a creep to see his HP before trying to last him either. I'd really like the ability to retain my hero's UI while clicking on something else to check it out.

The minimap is super dark and often when moving in the jungle (especially Dire's bottom half) I don't even know which path I'm going to take or if something is a tree or a wall or if I can walk through it. The minimap is way too dark and it's hard to read the jungle's layout in general.
Heroes' icons are a bit tiny so it doesn't help figuring out who's where, but I'll get better at that once I remember all the heroes and their little portraits. Since the map is so much bigger than LoL's, they can't use bigger icons without hiding a big portion of it. Same, it'll come with practice, but it isn't very noob-friendly.

I'm still having trouble using the courrier (which results in me buying it quite often but not using it at all) too, it's not too clear what affects him and stuff. There's a place your items go to when you're dead and stuff too (only from the fountain shop though), iirc you can use it even when not in base, but more than once I've bought an item while dead then tp'd or walked to lane forgetting to take it from the reserve upon respawning.