Generally not quite far enough into a game yet for any real rage to occur, but this will help your team a lot.




Everyone waits here before going to Hero selection. Not a lot of communication now, but occasionally people toss out a "gl hf" (Good luck, have fun.) before the match starts.


Now is a good time to communicate with your team. Set up your team composition. Don't just instalock and sit there. A well planned and coordinated team is far better than a team where everyone picks a carry.

Do's and Dont's:
DO:

• Have a good Team Composition. Generally Consists of: 1-2 Carrys, 1-2 Supports, and one Ganker and/or Initiator.
  
• Communicate- "Hey, is anyone a good initiator?"
  
• Experiment- Don't play the same hero- It drastically reduces how useful you are in a game. Try new heroes in offline or bot practice.

DONT:

• Have all carry teams. You'll fight for farm, and it is easily countered by pushing early.
  
• Don't pick all of the same hero type- no all-mele or all-ranged.
  
• By the Omnicient, don't pick Drow. Please.*

*I kid. Partially.

Now, this is where it gets difficult. Dota is a very stressful, intense game.

Few things to remember right off the bat:

• It's only a game.
  
• If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything.

As in early game, the best way to make sure its the least stressful is communication. ALWAYS talk. Text, mic, whatever. Granted, don't be a chatterbox, but call out missing, state what you're building, call for ganks, push towers, ect. It's a whole lot harder for someone to yell at you for not warning them of a gank if you call out missing.

You can do this through the Voice Chat slider (y by default.), text chat (ENTER), or Voice Chat (<)



These are quick text phrases for common sayings

• b- Back.
  
• top/mid/bot ss/miss/mia- Top/Middle/Bottom
  
• recrow- Redirect Courier
  
• oom/out- Out of mana
  
• omw- On my way
  
• gg- Good Game
  
• gl hf- Good Luck, Have Fun
  
• ty- Thank you.

Also, this[www.dota2wiki.com] is a great collection of other slang terms.

Sometimes, you just can't stop the rage. The next best thing is to mute the offending person.

To do this, simply click their name on the scoreboard, and select "Mute Player."
This blocks both text and voice chat.

Be careful with this though, as you may miss callouts and other communication. I'd only really use it when they are interfering more than they are helping.

This is how a end game usually looks.

Just don't be the Invoker, and you're pretty much golden.

Also, remember to commend or report players. This is done by clicking on their name on the scoreboard, then go to "Report/Commend Player".


Granted, this is obviously not everything there is to a game, but it certainly should help to make the guide more enjoyable. These are also only from my personal experience, so feel free to comment and make suggestions. I'll try to update it with anything new.