If anyone is up for teaching me how to play this game I'd appreciate it. I tried playing in a noobs only game only to have people kick me out of the game because I didn't know what I was doing. Talk about a good first experience. 

i thought it was hilarious when i made mistakes in one noob game and somebody called me a "noob".
Mateui, don't play alone! the game has a big beginner treshold so definitely play your games with GW guys.

I think I got a PM from someone here who wanted me to play with them and Jester, but being the noob that I am, had no idea how to respond back, as I was in the middle of a practice game against my brother. I'll log onto IRC at some point today and see if I can play with anyone here. Anyone have any recommendations as to an easy Hero to pick to learn the game with?

Pyromancer is an excellent beginner's hero. Easy to understand and always effective. Jereziah is also pretty good since he's got plenty of survivability abilities and being a strength hero it's easy to get the proper stats without sacrificing survivability.

If you want to expose yourself to less risk and go to the woods to grind all your gear then I suggest Tempest who can do it at level 1 no prob, or Zephyr, Legionnaire and Warbeast who need a few levels before they can breeze through the woods.

Jungle creeps spawn at every full minute, just something you want to know, and you can spawn multiple creep camps by pulling the creeps a bit out of the camp so that the game thinks the camp is empty and spawns a new set.


If you like to stay on lane and an easy hero to do so then I recommend someone who is ranged. I would recommend Wretched Hag because she is ranged and can blink away if trouble comes near but the problem is that she blows in every way possible. But for learning purposes it probably is a pretty safe hero.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGtG8W25Q7E

I found this basic tutorial video which explains the game pretty well, I guess, so if you are new then maybe check it out.

You can also refer to dota tutorials for basic item and general play strategies. Although item names will differ in HoN item modifiers and prices remain the same (items being very important to the two games).

I totally friggin suggest Electrician or whatever he's called as a noob hero. I kicked ass with him and I'm terrible.

Yeah, I've watched a few videos and read some guides but most of them assume you've played dota and know what they are talking about. Terms like ganking and laning and pushing are being thrown around, and I still don't quite understand what they mean. I take it that the game's strategy involves every hero taking a different lane and then farming creeps to gain experience and gold.. but I don't really understand when you're supposed to go and try to win the game.. Are you supposed to slowly take down every enemy tower during the game, or simply focus on one lane? That's what I don't get. To me, it seems like if everyone just rushed one lane and overtook it they could quickly win the game, but this is clearly not the case in this game and people frown upon this.. Nothing seems logical to me about this whole game (maybe because I'm treating this like it's an RTS but it's not), but I want to learn! Maybe just playing it with some of you will help, learning it by actually doing and imitating someone who knows what is going on. 

I'm also up to playing a game now if anyone wants to play and help me learn the ropes. Oh, and a the shear amount of items is overwhelming. I really don't know what to buy any of the time, so some pointers in that regard would be helpful as well. I understand that it's very character-specific, but right now I'm getting accustomed to playing as Glacius.

A team wins when the opposing team's central structure (just next to the fountain/tar pit) is destroyed. You usually destroy all towers leading up to it, too, so creeps can get through.

You can't just rush one lane, because the opposing team + towers + creeps will kill you, and while you are all respawning the enemy will be playing properly and levelling up, and the stronger team wins eventually. It's all about slowly grinding your enemies down and letting them make mistakes.

Death is a big deal because not only do you lose gold and the enemy gain it, you lose time to level up, and once your enemey gets a 4ish level barrier over you you are pretty much fucked.

I'd really try to get on IRC and highlight me and grim and maybe ryan etc, se we can show you.

I see... Well, I'm on IRC right now. If anyone is interested just message me. (It doesn't seem like anyone is currently active in the netplay channel).

What are you names ingame so that I can add you to my friends list?

Most of us are on the first post of this topic.

And come into #gamingw and shout for me or grim or someone, that's the best way to do it.

Alright, well I've added everyone from the first post of this topic to my buddy list. If anyone wants to add me I go by the name of Mateui in game

Yeah, I've watched a few videos and read some guides but most of them assume you've played dota and know what they are talking about. Terms like ganking and laning and pushing are being thrown around, and I still don't quite understand what they mean. I take it that the game's strategy involves every hero taking a different lane and then farming creeps to gain experience and gold.. but I don't really understand when you're supposed to go and try to win the game.. Are you supposed to slowly take down every enemy tower during the game, or simply focus on one lane? That's what I don't get. To me, it seems like if everyone just rushed one lane and overtook it they could quickly win the game, but this is clearly not the case in this game and people frown upon this.. Nothing seems logical to me about this whole game (maybe because I'm treating this like it's an RTS but it's not), but I want to learn! Maybe just playing it with some of you will help, learning it by actually doing and imitating someone who knows what is going on. 

I'm also up to playing a game now if anyone wants to play and help me learn the ropes. Oh, and a the shear amount of items is overwhelming. I really don't know what to buy any of the time, so some pointers in that regard would be helpful as well. I understand that it's very character-specific, but right now I'm getting accustomed to playing as Glacius.

Ill try to get most of the terms out of the way. Grammar and clarity possibly lacking due to a lack of interest in consciousness at the moment.

Ganking is when two or more of you go after one or more of them.

Laning is when you are holding a specific lane.

Pushing is when you are attempting to destroy the tower of a given lane.

Creeps are any non-controllable units. They usually refer to neutral enemy spawns found in the forrest areas but the term is also used for enemy waves.

DoT is Damage Over Time. Think 'poison' instead of direct damage.

AoEis Area of Effect. Alternate terms are splashing or cleaving (for a specific ability given by a passive skill or weapon). AoE refers to anything that hits multiple targets.

Denying is when you kill an allied unit by getting the last hit. For creeps they need to be below 50% hp before you are able to attack them. I think Buildings and Herores have a 15% hp requirement... I'm not too sure. To deny a hero they must have a Dot on them though you can also deny them with the Blood Rage/ Rage!!! (Strygwyr/Blood Hunter) and Nightmare/ Succubus' Charm (Atropos/ Succubus) without the 15% hp or Dot requirement... though killing an ally this way is usually a dick move and should only be used if an enemy is close to killing them.

Auto-attack can mean one of two things. Most of the teams it means the act of mindlessly pushing a lane which may not be beneficial at the time. It can also refer to the use of an auto-attacking/ casting skill.

Raxing is when you aim to destroy enemy barracks.

Enemy barracks are the two buildings that spawn the allied unit waves behind the final tower of the given lane. Because melee barracks spawns four more units than the ranged barracks at any given moment it is most important to destroy this one first to break a lane. The only exception is when the majority of the allied units are attacking the ranged barracks since it's best to support them while they mow a lane down if you have the choice.

The team colors are Blue: Blue (and sometimes referred to as 'Host'), Teal: Teal, Orange: Oj, Purple: purp, and Yellow: Yell for Sentinal: Legion and Grey:Grey, Light Blue: LB, Dark Green: DG, Pink: Pink, and Brown: Brown for Scourge: Hellbourne.

Ping can either refer to latency or the action of ctrl+clicking an area on the minimap or screen. When you ping a sound is played and a location is highlighted on the minimap to the rest of the team. The nature of the ping changes depending on situation and location. It can mean check the rune spawn, check roshan/ kongor, meet here, take this path, or avoid there. It's also used to coordinate flanking maneuvers and ganks.

Runes refer to Power Ups. The current runes spawn every two minutes at one of the spawn points that change from map to map. In the standard map they are either in the 1/4 mark (north rune) or the 3/4 mark (south rune) of the river that runs through the middle of the map. In the two lane map it spawns at one of the icons near the middle of the screen. The temporary powerups are Haste (max run speed), Double Damage (2x base damage bonus), Regeneration (massive hp/mp regeneration until you are hit or the time limit runs out), Invisibility (invisibility), and Illusion (two illusions ). Illusions are clones of your hero that look like your hero but are unable to cast spells or use item abilities. The can give off auras and use passive abilities and orbs but it depends on what. Example: An illusion retains Radience's 35 damage/ second aura and mana-burning orb but it will not land a bash.

Orb/ Buff placers are modifiers to your attack while Aura refers to any ability that are passed on to the applicable units. There are issues with stacking so you have to refer to one of the various spread sheets to find out what skills, item abilities and whatnot stacks with what. Also know that they stack differently between Dota and HoN. Orbs/ Buff placers modify your attacks exclusively (drain, mana burn, maim, slow, etc) while auras can modify your attacks, damage, defense, regeneration abilities, movement speed, and etc. Some orbs/ buff placers may stack with auto-attack skills (like Searing Arrows or Web Shot) but you must consult the spread sheet to see how to make them work. Some can stack if you initate the hotkey and break if you set it to auto while others can only stack if you place certain items in certain orders of heirarchy in your inventory slots.


Runes on the original map spawn directly on the river. Runes in the two lane map spawn near the center and they spawn right on top of the "left" and "right" symbols.

Bottling usually refers to filling up a bottle with a rune though it may also be used to mean that you are going back to the base to refill your bottle.... Bottles themselves being neat healing items that you can use over and over again though are limited to holding 3 charges at a time. A bottle must be empty to refill it with a rune and in Dota you can't hold a bottled rune for over two minutes without it auto casting. In hon you can hold them indefinitely.

First Blood or FB is when you are the first person to kill a hero in that game. It gives a +200 gold bonus.

Roshing, Rosh, Roshan, Kong, and Kongor All refer to the 'raid boss' neutral spawn usually found at the center of a map. There is another of these bosses in the vertical map but noone plays that one so I don't know what it is (or where it's rune spawns for that matter). They spawn at the begining of the game and then once again every ten minutes after they are killed, each time increasing in power. They award +200-300 gold to the person who gets the last hit, +200 gold to each teammate, and item drops. The first and second kill awards you with an Aegis/ Token of Life. If the item is in your inventory when you die you are immediately resurrected in place with full hp and mana. For the third kill and every kill after you get cheese (and it's equivalent item) in Hon. It heals 1000hp/1000hp once eaten or can be sold at a shop for 500 gold. All you need to get is the last hit to get the gold for yourself and your team.. and regardless of who kills the boss you can pick the items up yourself as long as you are in range to do so. There have been many times where someone has watched enemies do rosh/etc while invisible only to sneak a last hit and take the drops. This usually destroys enemy team moral... in Dota resulting in 1-5 rage quits within seconds.

Global refers to any skill that hits all of the appropriate units on the map without the need for targetting. It can be anything from damage (Zeus/Thunderbringer), a heal (Chen/Ophelia), a disable ( Darkness or Silence), or the spawning of of a temporary illusion (Spectre). Some global skills reveal all enemy locations on the map and may be used as a method of scouting, though usually these skills are reserved for team fights or getting the last hit.

Blink Dagger, Dagger/Portal Key/Key refers to the 2100 gold item that grants the blink skill.

CD/ Cooldown means a skill was not available when needed while "CD xxx sec" refers to the amount of time left for skills with longer cooldowns to become available again.

Sheeper, Hexer, Sheep stick, Scythe refers to the item that disables an enemy for a limited amount of time.

If I missed any feel free to post them. I spent too much time on this thread.

New update with quite a bit of changes.

Yay, Nymphora got a new skill and her pointless skill got reworked completely. I'm happy.

noooooo

More improvements include the ability to queue skills and commands (which is why they added a cast speed stat to each hero.. to give small windows for response). You can also rebind your keys and use an ingame voice chat... which is a nice addition to the ui. It is very familiar territory when playing HoN but once you play a few games you will find WC3 inferior in almost every way once you go back.

So you can queue skills and commands, like a MMORPG? Dunno how I'd feel about that....

Gonna give it a try though, got a beta key.


I still like WC3, still play it regularly. This'll be interesting.

I encourage newcomers who feel fairly interested in the game, or are just curious about it, to try it out(aka ask around for invites, I got some myself)

I'd never played or seen dota in any shape or form before this (except seeing a guy play Demigod once which is apparently a dota clone???) and I have to say I do like this game quite a bit