Dota 2 glossary: terms and gaming slang

‘Leave the wave, let me last hit.’ A support helps their ally last hit rather than interfering with unnecessary attacks.

Watch the allied creep's health and use the attack command.

Winning a lane means more than killing the enemy; it also means gaining more useful resources.

‘Harass the support, I'll last hit the wave.’ Remember the return damage from creeps.

‘I have aggro’ means they are hitting me now. Target-switching rules depend on the situation.

Do not leave to pull if your ally will immediately die without you.

‘Take the stack’ means clear the prepared camp. ‘We're playing as a stack’ means playing with our own group.

‘Push the wave’ means clear enemy creeps quickly and advance your own.

Do not attack every creep nonstop if you want to maintain the wave's position.

Pushing a wave and going into the base as a full team are actions on different scales.

‘Take the wave and leave.’ Do not wait for enemies beneath their base: preserve an escape route and account for disables that can interrupt a teleport.

‘No vision’ means we do not know what is happening there.

An enemy going into fog does not mean they went far away.

‘Don't go high ground without vision.’ From below, you may not see who is waiting above. Enemies being out of sight does not make the climb safe.

From below, you may lack the vision you need of the upper area.

‘Check the ramp’ does not necessarily mean walking your hero in first.

Place it for the team's action: protect farm, approach an objective or see movement.

A Sentry and normal vision solve different problems.

After a deward, the enemy may realise where you are.

‘Three-man smoke’ means grouping up to move unseen. The effect does not make every encounter safe.

Leaving lane is useful when the new task justifies the time lost.

‘Mid missing’ means the enemy midlaner may be moving to another lane.

A good gank accounts for vision, disables and whether an ally can help.

‘I have Blink, we can fight’ means a new way to start an action is available.

Check types, locations and spawn times in the current client.

Before going in, assess time, vision and whether opponents can interfere.

It is an extra chance, not permission to go into five enemies alone.

Before spending gold, consider whether you need a reserve for a decisive defence.

Safe farm is distributed according to the team's tasks and priorities.

More net worth does not guarantee a won fight.

Compare it with the hero, role and match length in mind, rather than using it as the only assessment of a player.

A level in an important ability sometimes changes a fight more than a small item.

The carry does not have to be the only source of damage.

A midlaner's rotation can create the first major pressure in a side lane.

Not every offlaner has to be simply a tank.

In our Viper episode, position four became an additional threat while keeping its team responsibility.

A small inventory does not mean a small impact.

‘An extra core’ is an informal description of a hero growing stronger, not a role change in the menu.

It may be an item, an enemy disable, healing or repositioning.

An impressive initiation without allied follow-up can easily become a solo death.

Waiting outside the first round of disables is sometimes more useful than entering first.

Check what can remove it and what prevents it from being applied.

Some actions remain available; check the specific effect.

‘I'm silenced!’ A normal silence does not automatically prevent attacks and items. Whether the effect can be removed depends on its specific source and the dispel available.

‘Buy a hex’ usually means Scythe of Vyse. ‘Hex them’ asks you to apply the transformation, regardless of its source.

Not every debuff can be removed by any item with a dispel.

Read the effect's icon before choosing a response.

Retreating while applying disables and damage can be part of an attack.

An agreed target is more useful than five separate chases.

‘Ult on cooldown’ means an important button is unavailable now.

A powerful ultimate needs the right moment, not just a ready button.

The item helps with positioning, but has usage restrictions and a cooldown.

It is not immortality. Some threats still work.

Check the destination and the threat of interruption before starting the channel.

Stored charges are useful only if you press the button in time.

The backpack and main slots work differently.

The recipe itself usually does not replace missing components.

You can thank the team after a difficult game too.

A useful remark after a save or a good teamfight.

After a mistake, choose the next useful step. Take a break between matches if you need one.