From Noob To Pro: DOTA 2 Part 2 - A Tiny Problem

I've been rather busy the past few weeks. I've only managed to get a few games in... all using Tiny, a strength hero. Things are not looking good. My DOTA 2 regular buddies are saying I'm not playing Tiny well at all. I think I've improved over the previous weeks. I realise Tiny is quite fragile in the beginning and the only way to level up is to bash on creeps while they bash on your creeps... handy that. I admit that I have not read any guide to using Tiny or the best items to purchase as him. My bad...



But playing as Tiny has got me acclimatised to DOTA 2 and how things work in the game. I'm in no better shape playing Tiny... well at least I know when to run away. The last game went something like this...


Friend 1: Hey we need Tiny... frags use avalanche now!

frags(Me): Lalalala...(busy sms'ing friend)

Friend 2: Hey is Tiny idle?

frags(Me): Oh hold on I just got a message... need to answer

Friend 1: frags! you shouldn't use Tiny... you should use a range hero at least.

frags(Me): Oh okay, I thought I was getting better...

Friend 3: No you are not

frags(Me): Oh wait I got a reply, hold on need to reply this message.


By the end of the match I was under leveled. Great... DOTA 2(or any other MOBA game for that matter) isn't very friendly to short distractions that take you away from the game. No pausing... right. I seemed to have forgotten my own strategy to becoming good in DOTA 2 that I wrote in the previous entry in this series. The bit about reading play guides… apparently very essential in DOTA 2.

I could have saved a lot of trouble and frustration had I checked out a Tiny play guide. I had no idea what items to get and was just buying Clarity (mana replenish potion) and health potions. With some boots thing and whatever that increases the speed of my attacks (Tiny is bloody slow quite frankly). I just looked at whatever item I thought would be useful in every match. Never had a item selection that was set in stone. No biggie... I'll make sure I check out guides soon so that I stick to one 'build'.

The other thing about Tiny that is a bit tricky is his toss ability. He can toss any creep or even hero(foe or ally) up in the air and damage it. The thing about his toss is that regardless of who I actually select to toss, Tiny always tosses the nearest thing to him. Which has led to many embarrassing moments when I accidentally tossed a team-mate (sorry I really didn't mean to toss you). I need to get real close to my toss target and use the ability. And I didn't even know that toss can be combined with avalanche for an extra damage combo. I'll need to try this soon.

Despite appeals from others to quit playing Tiny, I still haven't given up on playing Tiny. Just one last try, with the knowledge from play guides, the next time I hope to do A LOT better. Or else, it's goodbye Tiny. I really need to speed up on my DOTA 2 plays.