Dota Auto Chess: In-depth Guide Part 1

Dota Auto Chess continues to be popular. Streamers, both Dota 2 and card gamers play and enjoy this game. This article is for those who have mastered the basics of Dota Auto Chess in the palm of their hand but have not been able to win the game or reach the top 3. Here are the tactics that the article has drawn:

Initial picks

At first, it’s easy to get sucked into picking heroes that pop up a lot. For example, if you see 3 Shadow Shamans, you will obviously pick one, and lock this list (in case you don’t know, the game has the option to lock the hero list) and pick the remaining two Shadow Shamans in Round 2. Don’t do that! While it may seem like a wise decision, it will cost you later. The best way at the beginning of the game is to choose heroes with the ability to live long.

Goblins – Mech

There are several Goblin-Mechs in the early game. Tinker, Clockwerk, and Timbersaw are a stable early game lineup that can’t die. Clock and Timber can take hits while Tinker deals a lot of damage in the back. It’s not too bad to add a Bounty Hunter when you already have two Goblins-Mechs. Bounty Hunter is a Goblin-Assassin, so two Mechs will still receive additional HP healing, while three Goblins will activate the Goblin buff.

Warriors and Orcs

Another combo is the Tusk-Axe-Beastmaster. Tusk and Ax are Warriors. To activate the Warrior’s armor, we need another Warrior hero. Tiny also shows up at the beginning of the game. However, this hero isn’t the best late game pick so it can be sold later, unless two other Tinys show up to create a 2-star Tiny. Beastmaster activates Orc buff (Ax is Orc-Warrior) to increase another 250 HP. At the beginning of the game, this is a huge bonus HP! Juggernaut also combos well with this squad. Juggeraunt is similar to Ax, also an Orc-Warrior, which can trigger Orcs to buff HP and Warior to add armor. Tusk-Axe-Juggle is a strong trio in the early game.

Of course, there are other ways to approach the early game, like Druid or Knight.

Mid-late game damage

Cattle heroes will help to survive the first few rounds, but after that, damage will be a matter of priority. To increase damage, a good method is the Assassin or Hunter lane. Both increase damage and can stand behind the tank formation to attack the opponent.

Assassin

If you have the Bounty Hunter early in the game, the Assassin path is easier. Bounty is Assassin and the following heroes can follow this path. Queen of Pain is Assassin 2 gold, and we have many Assassin 3 gold like Phantom Assassin, Slark, Sand King and Viper. Slark is probably the best thanks to Shadow Dance. A lot of streamers gather items for Slark to turn into a main damage hero. It’s really effective! Upgrading Slark to 2-star as soon as possible is what you should do.

Then at some point, you’ll just buy and buff Assassin. The only goblin worth late game is Alchemist. Alchemist’s ability, Acid Spray is an AoE that both deals damage and reduces enemy armor. This hero doesn’t really increase Goblin buffs (due to the requirement of up to 6 Goblins), but overall a hero worth investing in. At this point, if you can’t upgrade Clockwerk or Timbersaw, you can sell them and still keep three Goblins on the board.

Hunter

Hunter is usually the choice if you get Beastmaster early to get the Orc buff to increase HP. Beastmaster is an Orc-Hunter and it opens in the direction of the Hunter.

Ax, Juggernaut and Tiny activate the Warrior buff. Beastmaster, Ax, Jugg and Disrptor are all Orcs so get extra HP. Main damage can be Drow Ranger and Windranger as well as Sniper, both Hunter. However, be careful as Assassin can jump behind and attack Hunters, so protect these heroes. Necrophos can combine with Drow because they are both Undead, activating buffs except for the opponent’s armor. The later lineup is much more diverse, and requires buffs to be activated.

Level 5 heroes

Once you reach level 8, you will start to get more level 5 heroes (costs 5 gold to buy). Here are the level 5 heroes:

• Gyrocopter
• Calendar
• Tidehunter
• Enigma
• Techies

They are only strong because of their skill sets. All possess skills that have the potential to change the game. So it’s worth investing in a hero in the late game lineup, whether or not the combo is activated. Techies is probably the best hero, dealing a lot of damage with Remote Mines. The other heroes aren’t too bad either. However, they are difficult to upgrade and lose combo buffs just to put them on the table.

Gold Management/Economics

Managing Gold is an IMPORTANT part of Dota Auto Chess and very difficult to succeed. We need gold to buy heroes and there are times to buy experience to level up. Here’s the ideal way to level up:

• Around Round 6 or 7, you should be level 5, to have 5 heroes on the table. If you are using 4 heroes okay, then there is no need to spend more gold. If you are looking a bit weak, 5 gold will help you increase from level 4 to 5.
• Level 6 requires 8 experience points, equivalent to 10 gold. Usually it is advisable to wait 4 rounds from level 6 and then spend 5 gold to reach level 6 in round 10.
• Level 7 depends on the progress of the match, so aiming for round 14-16 is beautiful. If your team is dominating the game, don’t rush to spend gold. Continue for 8 more rounds after reaching level 6 and then spend 10 gold to get to level 7. However, if it is difficult to win, investing early is not a bad idea. Level 7 is when power spikes and can change the game after a rough start. However, it is also a time to save gold for the late game.
• Level 8, 9, 10 depending on your gold situation. To at the end of the game, each level increase will bring great success.
• There are several strategies that rely on constant losing to accumulate gold. However, the best way according to the article is to create a 7 hero formation and then keep the next few rounds. Many times, you will be tempted to ‘refresh’ your hero list so you can level up your heroes, but it’s really not worth it. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘refresh’ cycle and lose 2 gold in a row. Around round 19-20, you should have at least 30 gold on you.

7 strong heroes on the table will help you to accumulate a lot of gold. Gold needs to be hoarded during this phase of Dota Auto Chess, otherwise you will run out of gold. The excess gold will help you level up as well as let you find heroes to upgrade from 2 to 3 stars.

How important is a 3-star hero?

If the 2 star hero is stronger than the 1 star hero, then the 3 star hero is the strongest, right? Not really. Sometimes you get so caught up in finding that right 3-star hero and forget what’s going on at the table. Experience has shown that all main heroes should be 2-stars first and then 3-stars. Of course if a 1 gold hero like Bounty Hunter shows up 9 times in the early game, take advantage of that opportunity. But in general, don’t fall for the 3-star hero in the early or mid game.

Dota Auto Chess is a game with more depth than you think. There are many tactics, as well as better than this article. But in general, the tips above will help you live longer in the game and possibly win the game.

According to VPesport

Dota Auto Chess: Advanced Strategy Guide

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