Warcraft 3: Dota (Defence of the Ancients)
Defense of the Ancients (DotA) is a multiplayer online
battle arena mod for the video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the second part Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of
Strife" map of StarCraft. The objective of the objectives for each team
to destroy the opponents' Ancient, heavily guarded Base(Kingdom) at opposing
corners of the map. Players use powerful units known as heroes, and are
assisted by allied heroes and AI-controlled fighters. As in role-playing games,
players level up their heroes and use gold to buy equipment during the mission.
The scenario was developed with the "World Editor"
of Reign of Chaos, and was updated upon the release of its expansion, The
Frozen Throne. There have been many variations of the original concept; the
most popular being DotA Allstars, which eventually was simplified to DotA with
the release of version 6.68. This specific scenario has been maintained by
several authors during development, the latest of whom is the anonymous
developer known as "IceFrog" who has developed the game since 2005.
Since its original release, DotA has become a feature at
several worldwide tournaments, including Blizzard Entertainment's BlizzCon and
the Asian World Cyber Games, as well as the Cyberathlete Amateur and
CyberEvolution leagues; in a 2008 article of video game industry website
Gamasutra, the article's author claimed that "DotA is likely the most
popular and most-discussed free, non-supported game mod in the world".
DotA is largely attributed to being the most significant inspiration for the
multiplayer online battle arena genre. Valve Corporation acquired the
intellectual property rights to DotA to develop and release a stand-alone
sequel, Dota 2.
DotA pits two teams of players against each other: the Sentinel
and the Scourge. Players on the Sentinel team are based at the southwest corner
of the map, and those on the Scourge team are based at the northeast corner.
Each base is defended by towers and waves of units which guard the main paths
leading to their base. In the center of each base is the "Ancient", a
building that must be destroyed to win the game.
Each human player controls one hero, a powerful unit with
unique abilities. In DotA, players on each side choose one of 112 heroes, each
with different abilities and tactical advantages over other heroes. The
scenario is highly team-oriented; it is difficult for one player to carry the
team to victory alone. Defense of the Ancients allows up to ten players in a
five-versus-five format and an additional two slots for referees or observers,
often with an equal number of players on each side.
Because the gameplay revolves around strengthening
individual heroes, it does not require one to focus on resource management and
base-building, unlike most traditional real-time strategy games. Killing
computer-controlled or neutral units earns the player experience points; when
enough experience is accumulated, the player gains a level. Levelling up
improves the hero's toughness and the damage they can inflict, and allows
players to upgrade their spells or skills. In addition to accumulating
experience, players also manage a single resource: gold. The typical
resource-gathering of Warcraft III is replaced by a combat-oriented money
system; in addition to a small periodic income, heroes earn gold by killing
hostile units, base structures, and enemy heroes. This has caused emphasis
on a technique called "last-hitting," which is when the player
attacks a hostile unit when "its hit points are low enough to kill it with
one blow". Using gold, players buy items to strengthen their hero and
gain abilities; certain items can be combined with recipes to create more
powerful items. Buying items that suit one's hero is an important tactical
element of the mod. Item choice also affects play style, as any given item
may increase one statistic while leaving another unchanged, or give unique
abilities changing the playstyle of the hero.
DotA offers a variety of game modes, selected by the game
host at the beginning of the match. The game modes dictate the difficulty of
the scenario, as well as whether people can choose their hero or are assigned
one randomly. Many game modes can be combined, allowing more flexible options.
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