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Play Overview
DotA 2 (2013) (Defence of the Ancients) is a series of fighting and shooting games where you battle enemies and human-controlled characters in online matches. The aim is to destroy the other team's Ancient artefact using one of the many characters. Similar to League of Legends, it encourages collaboration between players on your team. However, here the focus is on a vast range of heroes and equipment that offer more novelty to the encounters.
At the beginning of each match, you choose a hero with unique abilities that start relatively weak but are developed by items you find in the world. In this way, you work with your teammates to destroy the other team's base while defending your own. Compared to League of Legends, the gameplay is more complex with a steeper learning curve, requiring you to use a combination of skill and practice to win.
The game's regular updates add new characters and game modes, which switch up the objective or add restrictions to the type of characters usable in the match, but there is always a strong emphasis on teamwork. There is a large esports scene for the game, hosted by Valve, the parent company of Steam and the game's publisher, with a prize pool of US$30 million. It started as a fan-made game that became so popular it got an official release, and it is currently one of the most played games on PC, often with over a million concurrent players.
The game's popularity has led to the creation of comic books and cartoon series as well as two spin-off games:
Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked DotA 2 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Ellen Robertson and updated 4 weeks ago.
At the beginning of each match, you choose a hero with unique abilities that start relatively weak but are developed by items you find in the world. In this way, you work with your teammates to destroy the other team's base while defending your own. Compared to League of Legends, the gameplay is more complex with a steeper learning curve, requiring you to use a combination of skill and practice to win.
The game's regular updates add new characters and game modes, which switch up the objective or add restrictions to the type of characters usable in the match, but there is always a strong emphasis on teamwork. There is a large esports scene for the game, hosted by Valve, the parent company of Steam and the game's publisher, with a prize pool of US$30 million. It started as a fan-made game that became so popular it got an official release, and it is currently one of the most played games on PC, often with over a million concurrent players.
The game's popularity has led to the creation of comic books and cartoon series as well as two spin-off games:
- Artifact, a digital card-collecting game
- DotA Underlords, an auto-battling game
Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked DotA 2 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Ellen Robertson and updated 4 weeks ago.
Kids not old enough for this yet? There are lots of games similar to DotA 2. Here are some similar younger-rated games:
Play Style
Duration
Play Time: It takes between 20 minutes and 1 hour to play a round of this game. Because the game is played between different players, the length of matches can vary greatly, although will typically take 40 minutes. If there is a large disparity between the team's skill level, however, games can be over in half that time.
Benefits
Costs
DotA 2
This game is free to play, but there are other costs associated with this game:
- In-Game Loot Boxes: Additional in-game purchases are offered for items that enhance the experience. These include in-game purchases of random items (known as 'loot boxes') that offer a chance of getting rare/higher-value items although common/lower-value items are more frequent.
- In-Game Pass: Purchase a season/battle pass to gain access to limited in-game purchases, reward items and other aspects of the game.
- Trade Items Outside Game: Players can trade or bet items they have earned or purchased, on third-party sites outside the game. Where these sites offer the ability to gamble with items, they require confirmation that the player is 18 or over.
You can buy items in loot boxes that customise the look of your character and add different audio to the game. You can also pay for DotA Plus, a subscription service, for similar items. Neither service contains gameplay-altering items, allowing you to play the game in full regardless of whether you pay or not.
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Game Details
Release Date: 09/06/2013, updated in 2013
Out Now: Mac and PC
Players: 1 (10 online)
Genres: Shooting, Strategy and Fighting
Accessibility: 18 features
Components: 2D Overhead
Developer: Valve Software (@ValveSoftware)
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Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships. |
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