So you've just started out DotA recently, and think you're getting good. Like everyone, you want to get better at it, and fast. If you think playing 24/7 is going to get you to proness in the quickest way possible, then think again. While this may certainly improve your skill when you initially start out, after you reach your intermediate stages, it'll lose its efficiency.

I can put it this way: When you start out DotA and play for about a month, your playing ability improves very fast. After five months, you're still growing, but not as fast as before. After a year, you're practically the same as what you were two months ago.

So why then, are there some players who are better than others who may have started out before them? It depends on the individual, but there are ways for everyone to get better.

I'd like to explain this with a simple theory which occurred to me because of my busy life: Linear Growth vs. Exponential growth.

An example of the first: Mr. A plays 9 hours of DotA a day on Garena. He doesn't really care about who he's playing against, and just wants to play for the sake of it. He's been doing this for a year now, and still he isn't that spectacular. He doesn't read about DotA, and his strategy is based purely on in-game experience. At the rate he's going, one can expect him to stay the same after a year.

An example of the second: Mr. A's friend Mr. B plays about 3 hours of DotA a day. On Garena. He can't play as much as Mr. A can, so he enjoys what he can in those 3 hours. He reads strategy guides, discussion forums, and thinks about WHY something was said in the guide, than just blindly following it word to word. He also tries to improvise his own strategy and playing style to suit the game situation. Mr. B watches replays of professional players and is amazed at how good they are. He starts to think like them, and eventually improves fast. At first, he tries to mimic them but later improvises according to the flow of the game. He improves fast. Really fast. He learns from his games and his mistakes in game. Eventually he gets better than Mr. A (who started out before him) and is ahead of him by a margin. He plays better than his friend because he has a strong strategy and understanding of the game. He WANTS to improve. This is what sets him apart most -- he WANTS to improve at DotA.

You may argue that by saying that playing DotA this way spoils the fun of the game, as it's a game and meant to be played for fun. Not really. When you don't have all the time in the world to play, you'll really try to make every minute count. You'll learn from the game. You'll be better than what you were yesterday.

This might make your games better and more enjoyable. :)
Adios. Next post: Hero picking in games/Analyzing combos.

P.S: Next post may take a while 'cause I'm busy at the moment. :(