Questionable Flaws

Unfortunately, DotA has one major flaw; length. When competitive play revolved around standard league mode, games could last up to two hours. Since then IceFrog has made many balance attempts like removing Aegis (preventing heroes from dying) which made drastic changes to game lengths. Now, it is common for DotA games to only last 45-55 minutes. Still people question the spectator value of the game, it is widely accepted that RTS games are harder to follow without a basic understanding of the game.

The e-sports obsession with rounds? What do competitive matches for CS, CSS, WC3, DOA and PGR have in common? They are all broken down into multiple games or rounds. DotA is one long stretch divided into early, mid and late game with no breaks. Many see this as a flaw, but to DotA players it is a challenge they love to beat everyday.

DotA is an evolving game because it is constantly being reworked and admittedly not balanced for league play, whereas the previously mentioned games are either balanced, or so close to being balanced that the versions haven't changed much in years. DotA changes constantly, with new heroes, terrain changes and others. Competitive players sometime complain that IceFrog caters more to public play rather than competitive. This brings everyone to the hope of perhaps having two separate maps, one for casual play and one for competitive play.

Early game is usually bland with mass farming, micro management lanes and not enough action. Because of this, it is harder to keep the attention span of an average spectator. Earlier ganking and experimentation in skirmishes can help tackle this problem. A lot of teams have already tried shifting from farming games to non-stop ganking action.

Another questionable flaw is that DotA is only one map. Unlike Warcraft 3, in which players have to learn to adapt to multiple maps, DotA has just one. The community tends to be half and half on this issue; many argue that with such a large terrain it would be harder to come up with strategies if there were multiple maps. However, variety is something any game needs to grab attention.

Ending Thoughts

Spectator value is still debatable. As seen in tournaments, Dreamhack and ASUS, DotA proved to have a large audience waiting to watch teams like MYM , SK and Virtus.Pro on the stage. For those who don't have a basic understanding of the game, it is harder to follow. The community has a choice, accepting the game as it is or trying to conform it to e-sports standards. Can drastic changes be made without losing the professional teams? For the DotA community, players mostly want more going on in a game. For competitive e-sports, they want a shorter length.

Are sponsors doing enough for their DotA teams? Some sponsors have gave up on DotA and released their teams, these organizations never really showed enough interest in the game. In order for DotA to make it in the e-sport world, it's vital to have support from major organizations. Sponsors like MYM, eMg, Virtus.Pro, SK Gaming and many other organizations have continualy shown their support for DotA. Providing online tournaments, sending their teams to LAN's and communication with their players are the reasons DotA has reached this far. We can only hope that more organizations step it up and finally help DotA get lifted off the ground.

I would like to thank Akuryou and Mirhi for contributing their ideas and opinions which helped me write this article!