Dota 2: Tips and Tricks Every Player Should Know

Dota 2 can be quite a brutal and highly competitive game where every second counts and every move can spell victory or defeat to your team. Learning how to play the game using our Dota 2 Guide is just the first step. Surviving and actually succeeding is another. If all else fails and you need a quick Dota 2 boost, consider U7BUY and buy Dota 2 accounts instead. It’s safe, easy, and reliable!

So it’s a good idea to learn as many Dota 2 tips and tricks as you can to bring your team to victory. Below are a mix of small albeit important tips, as well as tricks that real pros use in the game. Ready to level up your Dota 2 skills?

Clicking on Teammate Hero Portraits Is the Same as Clicking the Heroes

It’s an obvious and intuitive thing to click on your teammates’ heroes whenever you need to heal or buff them. But when things get too hectic and crowded, especially with a bunch of creeps getting in the way, clicking on the right person can get difficult.

Misclicking can even lead to disastrous situations. Can you imagine misclicking Shallow Grave during a crucial moment? It can literally spell death to your teammate.

The quick solution? Click on your teammate’s hero portrait on the screen. It will be the same as clicking the actual hero itself. This way, you won’t miss when using important abilities at all.

And speaking of clicking on hero portraits…

Click on Enemy Hero Portraits Who Are Visible to Aggro Creeps

You probably know by now that clicking on enemy heroes can aggro creeps toward you (if not, then you’re welcome). But did you know that another easier way to aggro creeps is to click on an enemy hero’s portrait?

Yep, that can aggro creeps too! Just make sure that the hero is visible on the map or they don’t have illusions. Otherwise, it won’t work. Also, do note that while you can use abilities on teammate hero portraits, you can’t do that to enemy portraits.

Hold “Alt” Button to See HP and Mana under Your Team’s Hero Portraits

This tip is a big one for players who like to use support heroes. As support, you can quickly check the status of your team’s health and mana by pressing and holding the “alt” button on your keyboard. Everyone’s health and mana bars will immediately show up right under their hero portraits at the top of the screen.

It’s a pretty handy shortcut, as opposed to going around the map, clicking around the mini-map, and checking each hero in their lanes.

If you mainly play support heroes, try to develop the habit of using the alt button to constantly check on your team. Say, you’re playing Treant Protector and your teammates rely on your global heal. Just press and hold “alt” to see which hero needs your Living Armor.

Drop Certain Items Before Healing or Replenishing Mana

Have you noticed some players, especially pros, drop some of their items before healing? This is an old trick among veterans and pros but is absolutely unintuitive and confusing for new players. Why do they need to do that and what does it do?

To keep it simple, the game calculates your HP and Mana in percentages. You end up with more HP if you drop certain items, heal yourself, and then equip the item again because of these percentages.

I’m sure there’s a better math explanation for this, but essentially, drop items like your Drum of Endurance, heal yourself, and then pick your drum again. You can get 40 or so HP more this way. You can do the same thing for your Mana.

The downside to this is that enemies can steal or destroy your items, so you have to be quick or do it in a safe area. You can also drop items into your backpack but equipping them again will have some cooldown.

40 HP might not matter too much in the later half of the game but getting 40 HP more is a big difference in the early game.

Learn How to Use Shift for Queueing Actions

Dota 2 is a fast-paced game and you gotta streamline your actions as much as possible. An excellent way to do this is by using your shift button.

You can do this by holding shift and right or left-clicking on your actions. You can then continue to do things while your hero will automatically do whatever was set in the queue. The most common use of this is Shift-eating Tangos while moving. This way, you’ll save precious seconds and you can consume your Tangos on the go.

Find a Reliable and Constant Teammate

So you’ve done your homework and studied all Dota 2 beginner guides that you can find. You’ve memorized some tips and tricks to help you on your next game. But will these be enough to make you a better player?

While mastering the basics and learning some nifty tricks can improve your gameplay, a huge chunk of Dota 2 victories rely on having at least one solid teammate. Find a player that you can practice with constantly. Your rapport and teamwork with them will be crucial in any competitive setting. Plus, victories are sweeter when you share them with good friends.

And those are our 6 Dota 2 tips and tricks. If you are a newbie and those are too advanced for you, there is also a Dota 2 Beginner Guide that you can refer to.