For several years I was completely immersed in following college and professional sports. I could tell you stats, names, schedules, and trades for year after year.

But then all of the sudden I was immune to it. I only saw it as this continual cycle of wins, losses, trades, and scandals(by no means am I bashing the following of sports, just sharing my experience with it). I couldn't get an interest going in it, so my attention gradually shifted toward games--eventually leading to DotA.

Since grabbing my attention, dota has held it firmly. But why?

Balance Patches.

These amazing things allow us to play vastly different games than those of the previous patch were, and the next patch will cause things to be just as different. Sure those strategies can rollover a bit and still be effective, but here's to hoping TI5 will be waaaay better that its predecessor. And if it is, we will have balance patches to thank for it.

Every game of dota even within a patch is markedly different, but a b…
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Just played a ranked game as Bane against a Tusk, Earthshaker, Mirana, and Clockwork. They very obviously had a lot of stuns to stop my ult from happening, and yet I only got it interrupted ONCE, and it was only because I failed to micro a necronomicon unit correctly in front of a Mirana arrow.

So recently I updated my Drow guide to include a section on positioning, and I realized those principals are so much more far reaching than just one hero. Where you are in a team fight can be so much more valuable than people realize. I was able to get off an uninterrupted bane ult against 6 stuns purely through where and when I used it.

Step 1: I made sure our team had the superior vision for a teamfight. I needed to know where they were so that I could position myself accordingly.

Step 2: I entered the fight late. I LOVE doing this unless I'm a hard initiator. I honestly don't care if someone dies before I come in because I will be in such a superior position than the enemy team. If you …
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