Have you ever felt stuck in your gaming life? Have you been playing the game for years and be static with no improvement? Do you play without a game plan, walking around the map clueless of what you should do? Do you feel your team does not execute to their fullest potential and you lose most of the games because of them?
If the answer to the above questions is YES, you came to the right place. This is my personal story of how I managed to improve, make my time more valuable and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. I know what it feels like to be static for years, without improvement, game plan, playing more and more and be the same player without any change. I’ve been the guy above, and truth be told most of the players act this way. I can’t recall how many years I was stuck between 4 and 5k MMR. Frankly, it’s not about the number, it’s about improving.
This is going to be a long post. But honestly, I don’t want to start back from 2005 2006 when we used to be kids and nobody really knew what was going on. So, this story starts in 2013 2014 when the game was quite complex, tournaments more challenging and fun to watch and players started to have somewhat of an understanding of what was really going on in terms of what and how you should play the game.
About me: Like the rest of the community, I was a casual gamer playing a few gamers daily, some days more some days less. And like the rest of the community, my MMR was like a rollercoaster. That means, they were time I would be in a huge win streak and they were times I would lose over 500 to 600 MMR. Overall, I was stuck between 4,4 to 4,8 MMR. Like anyone else, I watched casual youtube videos and followed the scene, having more understanding of what was going on but the end result was no improvement. Unfortunately, we have to admit that MMR represents our skills overall. That includes everything from communication to mechanics(not 100% accurate, but truth be told if someone is around 4k he plays pretty much for 4k, etc).
After getting a little older, got into university (currently working) and having less time (still played my few games daily) I realized I needed to improve.
But Jeff why would you improve since you have a life going on? :
Imagine you play guitar for years daily 2-3 hours. How would you feel if after 6 years of playing you were not able to play a single song and be static?
Imagine you are going to the gym, constantly working out daily and haven’t lost any significant weight or gained no muscle
Obviously, you want to play guitar or a body that functions well. And we can all agree that if you are going to the gym for years and see no improvement, or have been playing guitar for years and not be able to play more difficult songs in the long term run it’s quite frustrating.
But jeff I don’t want to go pro in Dota :
It is not about become a rockstar, a bodybuilder or a pro player.
It’s about making our time more valuable. Since we invest the time playing, we should improve
If you are Herald/guardian you should gradually want to reach Archon/legend over the long run. if you are Ancient/Divine you should try hit immortal, etc…
How I improved and currently being Immortal :
- I analyzed my own replays. The whole youtube is about how CCnC stomps lane and how Miracle Rampages. Nobody really talks about what Archon, Crusader and Legend players do. Watching the wrong mistake and realizing it is way more important than watching the right play
By watching the correct play, you usually cannot identify it and apply it into your games
2) Does youtube videos help? Yes, it does but please don’t overdo it though. What I mean is that most youtube channels ou there provides the same value and recycle the videos (get more cs by 10minute, watch the map). They provide no new information because there are not. I am not ditching them, they need to make content. Keep it simple, watching your replays and you will surprise how much you will improve in no time
Jeff do I need to watch every replay? No. Generally, try to watch a little bit of your laning stage, your farming pattern and your big blunders (diving towers with no actual purpose, etc)
Most Commoned question: How to watch replays: Check your laning stage(0-7min), your farming pattern(7-21min) and your TP scrolls(when you fought, when you reacted to a situation/fight)
3) Think about the games consciously and do NOT play on autopilot (SUPER IMPORTANT)
Example: Offlane doom vs Tree lifestealer. All the damage you are going to receive is physical
Solution: Double ring of protection(which is basically way better than extra regen) -> You get a buckler later on and most likely you are going to have a really comfortable lane( don’t forget quelling blade and regen if they focus you too much!)
This is a simple thought process to make my point. People play on autopilot and do not think anything about the game. I know, I used to do that. This tip can literally win you countless games. DotA is a simple game, but easier said than done
4) Nothing changes if nothing changes. That means you should apply the simple things I mentioned above and see if you have somewhat of progress. I would love to hear someone getting improved and messaging me back in a few weeks. Generally, if add or remove something from your playstyle, you cannot expect to gain MMR. All you do longterm is getting new bad habits and become worse slowly but steadily.
This post is for every single one struggling to gain MMR for a long period of time.
I know that people who work and play DotA as a hobby will understand what I am talking about.
I would love to read comments down below about your current time issues, situation, and experience from the game.
Choose who you want to be. The guy who steadily improves or the guy who wastes his time?
It’s up to you!
Jeff (u/dotarollercoaster)
F(AWXM) 