Go Pro: Using IHLs to Your Advantage

OK This is a recent article done by an admin of na-ihl and a few na dota communities. I have played with him many times and i can personally say that he knows WTF he is talkin about. Now I dont want to super impose that we all go pro. This is just a good guide to step up ur game. I think it should be posted in Tg room.


http://nadota.com/2009/04/go-pro-using-ihls-to-your-advantage/

Guest Article, written by Kapz.

Jax Money Crew, CompLexity, Verge, Pandemic. Those were our cherished teams, illuminated in the spotlight of North American DotA history. Throughout the years, different teams emerged, giving us quick glimpses of hope, but they ultimately dimmed out and faded away. With player retirement, team hopping, and playing for foreign teams, American DotA has fallen behind European, and possibly even Asian, DotA. However, recent matches have once again shown the gleaming pride of North Americans. With one of our fan favorites, FearDarkness, returning to the American team TPL, which is now sponsored by Evil Geniuses, and the rise of YaY in the international scene, we have two stable teams to root for as their true potential begins to shine.

Why do American (and other) DotA teams struggle to stay together? Why do only a handful of teams survive the test of time? The following is a trend we see far too often in the American scene:

A few friends decide to make a team. For a while, during the honeymoon period, everything is swell. They only face weaker opponents and only play in open Garena channels, dodging all high-caliber teams to build their confidence. Even if they want to play a good team, the higher skilled team will not want to play a pub-stomp, as it’s a waste of their time. Meanwhile, this new team signs up for a few leagues, such as CEVO or CAL, or possibly an MYM PriDe or DotA-League. In the first league they are finally matched up against a team equal skill or higher. Losing this first big match is inevitable, and problems arise. The team blames the person doing picks or another player for losing the game and subsequently remove them from the team. They proceed to pick up a player who they believe can do better. After a while, they lose a few matches and decide to break up due to the internal animosity between the team. This happens over and over.

In almost every interview with high level players, the same questions arise: “What can an up-and-coming team do to improve and to receive recognition on the international DotA scene?" or “what can players do to improve their individual skill to become like Merlini or Fear?” We hear the same response every time: “Play with a group of friends, scrim a lot, and stick together for a while. Don’t let one loss get you down and don't disband your team.” As much as we would like this advice to be followed, it's usually ignored. Even if it was taken seriously, it might not produce the results you want. What can players do to improve themselves? How can a team really break this vicious cycle?

Many players believe that the only way to improve is to play with your team, and that any time you don’t have 5 players available for a scrimmage, you can’t improve. Common sense renders DotA as a team game, but a team is a collection of 5 individuals. If the individuals aren’t skilled, the team won't be skilled. Playing pubs and TDA won't improve your individual skill. Playing against people of equal skill or higher is the best way to learn to play at a higher level. This will also make you a better team player. However, some people complain that high level teams don’t want to play against new teams who don’t have well-known players.
Kapz: Tea, do you guys scrim any unknown teams?
Zaetr: Dunno... not really.
Zaetr: Like when we're desperate for a scrim maybe.

Kapz: Do you guys scrim unknown teams?
Remstar: We try to only play known teams.

And why wouldn't they? It’s a waste of time for them and lower tier players don’t learn much from getting stomped. So how do we improve when the higher level teams won’t play us? What are we supposed to do?

Here is a solution that can possibly help your team, and improve your individual skill. In-house leagues (IHLs) allow players to compete in a semi-serious atmosphere and provide the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.

What can a new team gain from IHLs?

1. A point system. Everyone loves to be recognized as the top player of a league. Anyone who is confident in their abilities will not care if they are ranked first or last, but it's obvious that winning games and seeing your name on that top 10 list is much nicer. The top American teams all play NA-IHL currently. Challenge them and give them the incentive of possibly swindling some points from you to increase their own rating. You will gain some real-time experience against the top North American players. It doesn't matter how many games you lose. Your goal is to improve your skill and your teamwork.

A few months ago, I was playing with team Shakens, and the IHL that was filled with the top American players at the time was DXDi. A team of five members from Australia challenged Shakens at least ten times in preparation for WCG, which featured teams like KingSurf and Fnatic. They got stomped the first few times, but every game they learned something new and improved their play. They earned our respect and we knew that they were a skilled team who could also help us get better. They took that experience and went into WCG Asia and placed 2nd. I don't intend to take credit for their amazing play, but a part of their training was playing against Shakens, whom they met through DXDi. They earned the respect of those players and played them over and over to prepare for WCG.
Kapz: Did you know any of the MCC players before the countless games we played with them?
miraclechipmunk: Hmm... saw maybe one or two in IHCS before, but not friends with them.
Kapz: Did you gain respect for them as they improved every game?
miraclechipmunk: Not game-by-game, but day-by-day for sure.

Kapz: What is your opinion of IHLs and how they helped you in preparation for WCG?

Mr.Escobar: DXDi was good place to meet you guys. We badly needed practice before WCG and there weren't enough good teams around Australia. We found a good American team through IHL, who practiced with us for a week before our tournament. It helped a lot, as they were a high skill level and our teamwork improved.

Kapz: So you would recommend playing in leagues like NA-IHL to get recognized by higher skilled teams and to practice with them?

Mr.Escobar: Obviously IDEC is the highest skilled league currently. If you can’t get into it then try for the highest skill league you can get into.

Kapz: Well you obviously lost a few games early to us in those scrims and the majority of you were in the bottom 10 of the league. How did you get past that?

Mr.Escobar: Losing sucks, but we knew what our goal was, which was to get prepared to own in WCG. We just tried to learn from each loss and slowly we turned the tables and were able to hold our own.

2. Not all skilled players compete on teams. Many of them have previously played on top teams, but can't at the moment due to various reasons, but they still play in IHLs. Most of the top teams and players participate in in-house leagues whether it's IDEC, NA-IHL, Dota-Invite, or other high skilled leagues. Take a look at the current top 10 list for NA-IHL:
1.EG.DemoN[1694] 2.mym|merlini[1591] 3.Korok[1540] 4.Durty[1483] 5.darksheep-[1466] 6.kapz-.-[1443] 7.Flash[N][1442] 8.Eddie[P][1412] 9.ownagejuice[1401] 10.Check6^Joker[1394]

With only one exception, all of these players either currently play for a top team or have played for notable teams in the past. These are mostly established players who will accept challenges from unknown teams or players to win points. Take advantage of this.

This list does not include the rest of the TPL, YaY, and DoP members that play in NA-IHL, nor any of the other skilled players in the American DotA scene. My suggestion is to get a few members of your team, or possibly your entire team, play a IHL game together, and face some of these top players. You should have better teamwork than the other players who are playing with a pickup group. The game mode should be -CM or -RD, whichever is agreed upon, but you still have to put the same techniques from scrims and matches into practice. You have to ward, gank and counter-gank, and push. You might get out-picked once or twice, or lose because of bad heroes in an -RD pool, but you will have competed against opponents much more skilled than any random scrim. It doesn’t matter how many games you lose, your goal is to improve your skill and your teammate’s skill and overall teamwork. Take advantage of IHL's to introduce yourself to top players and prove yourself to them so when they or you are looking to scrim next time they will be more inclined to accept a scrim with your team.

Some might argue that playing against a mix is not nearly as effective as versus a real team. But a mix group of top players is better to scrim than against a low level pub team; at least the PUG will push you to play your best versus a pub team that you feel you can go Dagon against.

3. To become a high level DotA player you need to be able to adapt and play with players of different play styles. If you don’t have your "starting five" on, that shouldn’t stop you from taking your 2 -4 players and play a captains against someone skilled. Pick your teammates first and trust your teammates to be skilled.

For example, many people believe that Vigoss and Kuroky are the two best players in the world. and in IDEC In IDEC, two teams will challenge each other and potentially, both vigoss and kuroky can be in the pool, but both captains will pick their teammates first regardless of who is in the pool. They will pick all their teammates and then pick out of whoever is left in the pool and then the game is played out. This teaches the 2-3 players from one team to play outside their comfort zone and to adapt to a game and play multiple roles for a team.

You shouldn’t insult your teammates by picking the best player in the pool first and then picking your teammates. Be confident in their DotA skills because you chose them to be there when you need them in a real match. It doesn’t matter how many games you lose. Your goal is to improve your skill and your teammate’s skill and overall teamwork.
Kapz: In IDEC do people always pick their teammates first?
Zaetr: Yeah, my team and I always get our teammates first. We don’t care if we lose one time. We lost 10 games in a row in IDEC, but kept playing and we finally won 5 in a row. Gotta watch out... a lot of teams don’t have that kind of dedication and they easily get pissed at each other. To be honest I only know 4 NA teams (TPL, DOP, FIDS, LUST).

Next, don’t allow emotions to overflow during a scrim or a match. Play through the full match and figure out what went wrong after. Whether it was picks or poor play, flaming will quickly bring down team morale. Every team struggles in some games and has losing streaks, so don’t let a few losses get you down. Even the top teams struggle for a while, but they stick it out and are ultimately successful.

4. Teams can’t have one specific role for each player. You need to be flexible and to be able to do many things for your team. If you are a late game carry player, learn to play support. See how hard it is to keep constant map control. You will gain an appreciation for the roll and you might buy some wards when your teammates are struggling to even farm boots. If you are a support player, learn to be more efficient at farming so you can catch up after ganking or buying wards. Farming items other than boots and bracers won't hurt the team as long as your carry gets his necessary farm. IHLs teach people to play different roles.

For example, if you have EG.Fear, a well known carry player, on your team in an NA-IHL game, you should practice your support and broaden your playing abilities. If you have a few weaker players who won't get the job done past 30 minutes, practice your ability to gank and farm.

5. Many of you know that the only American voucher for IDEC is Remstar, also known as JohnnyUtah. He and his teammates play in NA-IHL, so there's always the opportunity to prove yourself to them and to other top players. Take your game to the next level.
Remstar: I suppose NA-IHL would be a starting spot for teams and then, depending on how they do in leagues and tourneys, they might get vouched for IDEC.

Take advantage of this.

Only playing in IHLs against mix pick-up groups won’t make your team pro, but using it as a learning utensil to improve your skill is a great opportunity. You do need to scrim against other full teams to build teamwork and chemistry, but individual skill is also important.

Notes:
NA-IHL was used as an example in this article, but other in-house leagues can fulfill the same purpose.
Thanks to everyone who helped, either with their opinions, quotes, or editing my terrible writing.
Written by Kapz

 

say no to pro....ok just kidding...buh hero its good that u are here to oppose the masses n get permabash...quite entertaining.

 

this help develop your mindset towards dota