A butterfly flaps its wings
Todays topic in my blog is something that i find very interesting about DotA. I dont know if you heard about the expression that a butterflys flaps it wings somewhere in the world could create a storm somewhere else.
It could also be called the snowballeffect. What starts out as a minor, really tiny thing ends up with a lost game or a lost fight.
DotA is one of the games that really are effected by this theory. Thats also why there are so many factors that has to go right as you play a dotagame. One can easy in some games just look at a hero and say "this hero just farmed way to much, there is no way we can handle it" but they fail to se the reasons behind that heroes ability to farm. Which could be found really early in the games.
Lets take a situation where someone gets ganked. The scenario looks as following. In middle for sentinel there is a Medusa, shes level3 and she got 590 gold. A vengeful spirit from scourge side comes to gank, and the shadowfiend that plays for scourge gets the kill. After the kill vengeful gets a levelup which gives him level3 and as he roams to bottomlane he also helps his warlock kill necrolyte which is bottom, the necrolytes barely dies, but as warlock lands his last hit necrolyte dies near his own tower and warlock survives from the levelup he gets.
Lets look at what happens with the games heroes after this scenario:
Medusa cant buy her boots, she needs to get a tpscroll and tp middle. Shes really vunerable for ganks again.
Necrolyte can afford his boots, he farmed pretty fast early, but as warlock now is a complete level above him, when necrolytes gonna get a gank warlock already reached level six and can easy dodge that gank. And as vengeful spirit tps in to help him they even get a kill.
Vengeful can afford boots, shes level4 and she also buys wards for middlelane, which makes toplane sentinels attempt to gank middle a fail, simply since shadowfiend can see them coming.
Lets look at the scenario in a different angle. This time vengeful again comes middle, but she actually just fails to land the lasthit, Medusa takes a lifepot and buys boots on the chicken. Now shes level 5 and with boots she will have an easier time surviving middle.
Venge still makes a good gank bottomlane, but since she hasnt got level3 this time the necrolyte survives in the tower, the warlock that is 1 hit away from killing necrolyte goes a little bit to far into the tower, he survives but hes forced to step back. And as necrolyte takes his lifepot hes now full and taking advantage of the lane. Warlock used the heal on necrolyte, and with his treeeaters hes forced to step back for a little while.
Vengeful cant buy boots, since she doesnt have money for it. She decides to stay a little bit near warlock bottom, making them both level slower and as she can afford wards and boots its already too late. From toplane sven roamed on the none-warded area toplane and managed to kill the shadowfiend.
This is one example how 1 herokillattempt middle actually can manage to win more then only the lane its ganked. It might be really hard to see when a game is going, but these small things is what i belive is a key to winning games, ofcourse especially games that are very close.
Its really important for every team to find the situations where they can win alot of ground and use them, the thing is, ive made this misstake numerous of times too, you give all your efford, maybe you even mangage to keep one hero completely buttraped on the map, you manage to keep one area warded, you manage to beat down towers or take good 5x5 but in the end that didnt matter as much as dealing with other heroes or situations.
Alot of games can look onesided, but as time passes by the gameplan changes completely. Ive seen games where one team leads with 10-15 kills, just some hero or some area is till controlled by one of the teams. And then in some teamfight or situation in the game, as the winning team is about to finalize, a butterfly flaps it wings. And if this butterfly is the right one, the game might turn.
Its really interesting to find these small events in games, and discuss them. Sometimes it can be just one itemchoice changing a hole outcome of a game, a wardplacing, a kill, a place where you survive etc.
In every game there is major events that completely change the game, or completely decide it. But finding these small events that changes the game over time - thats really interesting. And i suggest you challenge yourself and perhaps your teammates to find these moments.
It could also be called the snowballeffect. What starts out as a minor, really tiny thing ends up with a lost game or a lost fight.
DotA is one of the games that really are effected by this theory. Thats also why there are so many factors that has to go right as you play a dotagame. One can easy in some games just look at a hero and say "this hero just farmed way to much, there is no way we can handle it" but they fail to se the reasons behind that heroes ability to farm. Which could be found really early in the games.
Lets take a situation where someone gets ganked. The scenario looks as following. In middle for sentinel there is a Medusa, shes level3 and she got 590 gold. A vengeful spirit from scourge side comes to gank, and the shadowfiend that plays for scourge gets the kill. After the kill vengeful gets a levelup which gives him level3 and as he roams to bottomlane he also helps his warlock kill necrolyte which is bottom, the necrolytes barely dies, but as warlock lands his last hit necrolyte dies near his own tower and warlock survives from the levelup he gets.
Lets look at what happens with the games heroes after this scenario:
Medusa cant buy her boots, she needs to get a tpscroll and tp middle. Shes really vunerable for ganks again.
Necrolyte can afford his boots, he farmed pretty fast early, but as warlock now is a complete level above him, when necrolytes gonna get a gank warlock already reached level six and can easy dodge that gank. And as vengeful spirit tps in to help him they even get a kill.
Vengeful can afford boots, shes level4 and she also buys wards for middlelane, which makes toplane sentinels attempt to gank middle a fail, simply since shadowfiend can see them coming.
Lets look at the scenario in a different angle. This time vengeful again comes middle, but she actually just fails to land the lasthit, Medusa takes a lifepot and buys boots on the chicken. Now shes level 5 and with boots she will have an easier time surviving middle.
Venge still makes a good gank bottomlane, but since she hasnt got level3 this time the necrolyte survives in the tower, the warlock that is 1 hit away from killing necrolyte goes a little bit to far into the tower, he survives but hes forced to step back. And as necrolyte takes his lifepot hes now full and taking advantage of the lane. Warlock used the heal on necrolyte, and with his treeeaters hes forced to step back for a little while.
Vengeful cant buy boots, since she doesnt have money for it. She decides to stay a little bit near warlock bottom, making them both level slower and as she can afford wards and boots its already too late. From toplane sven roamed on the none-warded area toplane and managed to kill the shadowfiend.
This is one example how 1 herokillattempt middle actually can manage to win more then only the lane its ganked. It might be really hard to see when a game is going, but these small things is what i belive is a key to winning games, ofcourse especially games that are very close.
Its really important for every team to find the situations where they can win alot of ground and use them, the thing is, ive made this misstake numerous of times too, you give all your efford, maybe you even mangage to keep one hero completely buttraped on the map, you manage to keep one area warded, you manage to beat down towers or take good 5x5 but in the end that didnt matter as much as dealing with other heroes or situations.
Alot of games can look onesided, but as time passes by the gameplan changes completely. Ive seen games where one team leads with 10-15 kills, just some hero or some area is till controlled by one of the teams. And then in some teamfight or situation in the game, as the winning team is about to finalize, a butterfly flaps it wings. And if this butterfly is the right one, the game might turn.
Its really interesting to find these small events in games, and discuss them. Sometimes it can be just one itemchoice changing a hole outcome of a game, a wardplacing, a kill, a place where you survive etc.
In every game there is major events that completely change the game, or completely decide it. But finding these small events that changes the game over time - thats really interesting. And i suggest you challenge yourself and perhaps your teammates to find these moments.
summarised in one sentence- early game is important.