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Different versions of DotA.

Defense of the Ancients (often referred to as DotA) is a custom map for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, based on the "Aeon of Strife" map for the Blizzard title Starcraft.^[1] It is a team strategy game focused on hero combat. The objective is to destroy the opponents' base using one's own Hero along with allied heroes and allied AI-controlled fighters called "creeps". Sharing concepts with role playing games, the player levels up their hero and uses gold to buy equipment in an effort to best the opposing team.^[2] Image File history File links Acap. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, is a real-time strategy computer game and the second sequel to Warcraft. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... StarCraft is a real-time strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment. ... // This disambiguation page covers alternative uses of the terms Ai, AI, and A.I. Ai (as a word, proper noun and set of initials) can refer to many things. ... A creep is a neutral but hostile computer controlled unit in the real-time strategy computer game Warcraft III (2002). ... This article is about traditional role-playing games. ...

The map was developed with the World Editor of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, but was updated upon the release of The Frozen Throne. While there have been many different variations on the original concept, the most popular version at tournaments is DotA Allstars,^[3] which has been maintained by several authors over the course of its development. Since its release, Allstars has become a feature at several worldwide tournaments, including Blizzard Entertainment's Blizzcon and the Asian World Cyber Games, as well as the Cyberathlete Amateur and CyberEvolution leagues. The Warcraft III World Editor is the official level editor for Blizzard Entertainments game Warcraft III. It is similar to StarEdit, the StarCraft level editor that preceded it; however, the Warcraft III editor is significantly more powerful than its predecessor. ... Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2002, is a real-time strategy computer game and the second sequel to Warcraft. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... BlizzCon is a semi-regular convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate their major franchises Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. ... The World Cyber Games (WCG) is an international e-sports event (or Cyber Games Festival) operated by Korean company International Cyber Marketing and backed by Samsung and, starting in 2006, Microsoft. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The CyberEvolution CyberEvolution, founded in 2003, opened its doors to the online gaming community, by forming and organizing a professional gaming league for computer gamers in the North America. ...

History and development

The original author of the game DOTA(Defense of the Ancients) is Eul. However, after the warcraft 3 expension (The Frozen Throne, TFT) was out, Eul did not update his map to make it TFT compatible. Thus, as time goes, numerous version dota maps were created.

The author of the original Defense of the Ancients eventually stopped development of the map, but not before making the source open for other developers.^[4] Numerous variants were created based on the original, but Allstars became the de facto standard of the map. Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

Based off the original map, Allstars was developed by an author under the alias Guinsoo; with the release of the 6.x version of Allstars another developer named IceFrog took up development.^[3] IceFrog is now the main programmer for the map, doing anything from implementation and balancing to debugging. With successive versions, features, heroes, items, abilities, and graphics are added or updated and bugs are fixed. On the DotA Allstars forum, users can post ideas for new heroes or items, some of which are added to the map.^[5]

In the more recent versions of DotA Allstars, AI versions have been released for the official stable maps. Although normally DotA is meant to be played between human players, AI scripts have been written to allow the computer to control heroes. Its purpose is to help human players train and to improve their skills. The AI versions are available for download on the main DotA Allstars download page. AI releases, as they are not authored by Icefrog, are sporadic.^[6] Garry Kasparov playing against Deep Blue, the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion. ...

Gameplay

A game of DotA Allstars v6.39b in progress.

DotA pits two teams of players against each other. Each team has a base in opposite corners of the map, which is defended by towers. In the heart of each base is the "Ancient", a building which must be destroyed in order to win the game.^[7] Thus, teams fight against the enemy team as well as computer controlled units and defensive structures.^[4] Image File history File links Dota_allstars_game. ... Image File history File links Dota_allstars_game. ...

Each human player controls a single Hero, which is a powerful unit with unique abilities. In Allstars, players choose one of eighty-eight heroes available between the two teams, each which have different spells, strengths, and tactical advantages over other heroes.^[8] DotA allows for a maximum of ten players in a five versus five format and an additional two slots for referees or observers, and games are usually played with even numbers of players on each side.^[3] An Orc Far Seer Hero casting Chain Lightning on an army of Night Elves. ...

As gameplay revolves around the use of individual heroes, it does not require one to focus on resource management and base-building, which is common in traditional real-time strategy games. Instead players focus on strengthening their heroes.^[5] Killing computer-controlled creeps earns the player's experience, and when enough experience is accumulated the player gains a level. Leveling up improves the hero's toughness and the amount of damage it can inflict, as well as allowing players to upgrade their spells. In addition to accruing experience, players also manage a single resource, gold. The typical resource-gathering of Warcraft III is replaced by a combat-oriented money system; in addition to a small periodic gold income, heroes earn gold by killing creeps, base structures, and enemy heroes.^[9] With their gold, players buy items to strengthen their hero and gain additional abilities. Certain items can be combined along with 'recipes' to create more powerful items. Buying items to suit one's hero is an important tactical element of the game.^[5][10] Real-time strategy (often abbreviated as RTS) is a genre of computer wargames which take place in real-time, where resource gathering, base building, technology development and high-level control over individual units (harvest, build, destroy) are key components[1], which distinguishes it from related strategy wargame genres, such as... A creep is a neutral but hostile computer controlled unit in the real-time strategy computer game Warcraft III (2002). ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Standard atomic weight 196. ...

DotA Allstars offers a variety of game modes, which are selected by the game host at the beginning of the match. The game modes dictate whether people can choose their own hero or be assigned one randomly, as well as the difficulty of the game.^[1] Many game modes can be combined (for example, an easy difficulty level and a random pick), allowing for even more flexible game options.^[11]

Recognition and popularity

A screenshot showing Huskar the Sacred Warrior, one of the new heroes introduced in Dota AllStars v6.44b in action.

DotA has experienced increasing visibility and popularity. Blizzard officially recognized DotA Allstars as its first Spotlight Map entry in the Battle.net Hall of Fame,^[12] a recognition given to only six other maps in the Hall of Fame's history. The game was later featured by Computer Gaming World in a review of new maps and mods in Warcraft III.^[13] Allstars has also become recognized at tournaments, becoming an independent tournament item at the debut of Blizzard's BlizzCon convention in 2005.^[14] Dota Allstars was also featured in the Malaysia and Singapore World Cyber Games 2005, 2006, and the World Cyber Games Asian Championships 2006.^[15] DotA is now included in the game lineup for the internationally-recognized Cyberathlete Amateur League, and the CyberEvolution league.^[16] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 374 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)A screenshot of Huskar the Sacred Warrior, introduced in v6. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 374 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)A screenshot of Huskar the Sacred Warrior, introduced in v6. ... Computer Gaming World Computer Gaming World (CGW) is the oldest video game publication still in continuous circulation. ... BlizzCon is a semi-regular convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate their major franchises Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. ... The World Cyber Games (WCG) is an international e-sports event (or Cyber Games Festival) operated by Korean company International Cyber Marketing and backed by Samsung and, starting in 2006, Microsoft. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The CyberEvolution CyberEvolution, founded in 2003, opened its doors to the online gaming community, by forming and organizing a professional gaming league for computer gamers in the North America. ...

The game has become a hit in many parts of the world, especially in the Philippines, where it has in some cases replaced Counter-Strike as the most-played game.^[17] It is also popular in Sweden and other Northern European countries, where the DotA-inspired song "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA" by Swedish musician BassHunter reached the European 2006 charts at #116 and cracked the top ten Singles Charts in Sweden, Norway,^[18] and Finland.^[19] Fans also created the artwork displayed while the map is loading.^[20][21] Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA (in some countries shortened to DotA due the long and possibly difficult title) is a song by dance DJ Basshunter. ... BassHunter is the pseudonym of the Swedish musician and DJ Jonas Erik Altberg, born December 22, 1984, in Halmstad, Sweden. ...

References

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External links

• DotA Allstars official website
• GetDotA.com, the official download site for DotA Allstars