As you are probably aware by now, there are three lanes in
DotA and your team has five heroes to split between them. This can mean only
one thing: someone on the team has to be on their own and solo a lane. Proper
soloing techniques are very important and skills that any aspiring player
should attempt to master.
Note: If you haven't read the article on the fundamentals of
Lane Control, go give it a read before continuing. This article builds upon
many of those concepts.
Heroes that Solo
There are two fundamental classes of heroes that tend to
solo, for two very different reasons:
Those that need a quick boost in levels
Heroes with powerful nukes often make great solos, because
having all of a lane's experience for themselves makes them level more quickly
than the rest of the heroes on the map. This means that their nukes are more
powerful, more quickly, which puts them in an excellent position to gank all
around the map and apply lots of pressure to the enemy team with their superior
firepower. These heroes tend to solo the middle lane, as it gives them easy
access to the runes and also a short distance to travel for ganking either of
the other lanes. Some examples of these heroes would be Tinker, Shadowfiend,
Priestess of the Moon, and Zeus.
Those that need to farm
Heroes with weak earlygames due to lack of nukes, but strong
lategames due to multiple combat-related abilities also often solo. They
benefit immensely from not having to split experience with an ally or fight with
that ally for the creep kills. This boost of levels and gold helps them more
quickly become powerful enough to have an impact in fights. These heroes tend
to solo the bottom lane on Sentinel and the top lane on Scourge, since those
lanes are not only more secluded and protected, but they also have a neutral
camp that they can pull. Some examples of these heroes would be Syllabear,
Troll Warlord, and Visage.
Solo Middle
There are many important skills for soloing middle, which
when properly put together can lead to complete dominance of the lane. Note
that in one form or another, they all revolve around establishing control of
the runes. The runes are extremely useful and most solos choose to take full
advantage of them.
Starting Items
It's extremely important to have a Chicken if you are solo
middle. Ask your allied support heroes if they will buy one and share control,
but if no one is up to it, grab your own. The ability to obtain new items from
the chicken is key when soloing middle, as the delay of going back to base to
get them sets you too far back and allows you opponent to gain a significant
advantage. From there it is wise to spend the remainder of your gold on stat
items like Branches, which ever of Slippers/Mantles/Gauntlets gives your hero damage,
and regen items like Tangos.
Early Positioning
For the first few creep waves, neither you nor your opponent
will have strong nukes, so the majority of the combat will be done with your
basic attack. You'll be attempting to get as many last hits as possible, while
also getting in harassing hits on your opponent. Since ranged attacks have a
chance to miss uphill, it is to your advantage to keep the creep combat up the
hill on your side of the river, so that you are assured to hit all of your
attacks, but your opponent is not. Also, your opponent's vision is more heavily
restricted uphill, so you can take advantage of this to better time your last
hits and harasses.
The Bottle
An excellent first item to head for is the Bottle. The first
one to obtain a Bottle has a large advantage in the lane. They can trade hits
with their opponent for a bit and then immediately pop a Bottle charge to get
back up to full health. They then have a large lead in health and their
opponent is forced to retreat because they can no longer afford to trade hits
with them. Until that other hero has regained some health or gets the gold to
get their own Bottle, they are at a significant disadvantage.
Rune Control
Once a hero has obtained a Bottle and used it to gain some
control over the lane, it's highly recommended that they go find a rune. Not
only does this refill their bottle, but it can also be a good opportunity to
use the rune for ganking another lane and generating the team some advantage
there as well. Keeping your Bottle full by recharging it with runes gives you
significantly more health and mana regeneration, which lets you stay in the
lane longer to trade spells and harassment with your opponent. Clearly it is
important to be the one getting the runes, so while the side they spawn on is
random, you can do several things to maximize your chances of getting them:
Push the wave: While usual lane control logic says that you
should never push and stay as close to your tower as possible, pushing is very
useful in rune wars. If you throw an AoE spell at the creep wave a bit before
the rune spawn (every 2 minutes), they'll be forced back towards their tower
and have a farther distance to travel to get to the runes, which gives you the
edge you'll need to snag them first.
Wards: Placing a Ward on one of the ledges above the rune
spots will tell you which side it spawned at. If you don't see it on the side
you warded, it must be at the other side!
Look at top rune: The top rune is much closer to middle lane
than the bottom one, don't forget that you only have to walk up a short distance
to see if it is there or not.
If You're Losing
You're not going to win every lane you solo. Things can
certainly go wrong, so whether you were outfarmed and got a slow Bottle, your
opponent got a few runes in a row, or you just got ganked repeatedly, there are
a few things you can do to salvage the situation:
Call in ganks: This may seem obvious, but don't be afraid to
ask for help. A timely kill on your opponent can give you enough time to
rebound, or just keeping an ally in the area for a while can stop an overfarmed
opponent from harassing you as badly.
Go for bottom rune: The bottom rune spot is generally less
desirable, as it is farther away from middle lane, but as such it is also
safer. If you're losing the lane, head for it about ten seconds before the rune
spawns, half of the time it will be there for you. Your opponent will get it
half the time at top, but you couldn't have fought them for it anyways, so at
least you have a 50% chance of getting a rune that can put you back in the
game.
Use the crow to refill: Don't forget that you can always
bring a courier out to grab your Bottle, bring it back to the fountain, and
then return it to you filled. Make sure to use a crow for this, as it takes too
long with the basic Chicken. It can be a lifesaving trick if you just can't
gain any control over the runes, giving you a reliable stream of health and
mana. It's actually not a bad trick to use even if you aren't losing the lane,
more Bottle charges are always good!
Change lanes: This is usually the worst solution, since the
person you'll be switching with won't have soloed and will probably have no
more items or levels than you do. However, sometimes there will be another
player on your team with a hero that nicely counters the opponent in middle. If
it doesn't seem like you have a chance of winning the lane, it can't hurt to
ask if someone wants to take it instead.
Be Alert
While middle has the most freedom to go gank other lanes,
don't forget that it goes both ways. All of the other lanes also have plentiful
opportunities to come gank you. A hero farming in middle is open to ganks from
nearly every direction, often from uphill and out of the fog. It's very
important to pay strict attention to the missing calls from your allies. Not
only can any gank kill easily kill you, but you are not the only hero that
wants runes. Going for a rune at low health, hoping for a refill of your
Bottle, and running into an enemy can be disasterous. While it may seem like
middle lane can be just a battle of yourself and the opposing solo, never
forget that there are eight other players on the map. Learning to be aware of
where they are at all times will pay off heavily.
Keep up the Pressure
The most important thing to remember about soloing middle is
to maintain constant pressure on your opponent. If you are in the lane against
them, don't get absorbed in simply farming, constantly look for openings to hit
them with a few harassing hits or a nuke. If you go off to gank a side lane,
don't spend too much time there, or else your opponent will simply freefarm
middle while you are gone. Try to minimize the time that you spend out of the
lane, don't forget that you can teleport back middle from your base as well as
the side lane shops.
Solo Side Lane
Soloing a side lane is incredibly simple compared to soloing
middle lane. Since the side lanes are too far away from the runes to get them
conveniently and reliably, there's no need to get wrapped up in a Bottle war of
attrition. You'll simply be trying to stay alive and farm, using conventional
regeneration items like Flasks and Tangos. Try to keep the creep wave as close
to your tower as possible, don't forget that you can creep pull to bring the
creeps back towards it. If you don't remember how to creep pull, you can find
instructions in our Jungling Guide. While this isn't to say that you need to be
completely passive, by all means try to pick up some kills if you can, but keep
in mind that your general goal as a solo in the side lanes is to be patient and
rack up some gold and experience.
Happy soloing!
-source from http://www.playdota.com
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