Glorn's Guide to Early Game

*a disclaimer to start*
these are my feelings and opinions about how the early game should be played in most situations. I am not suggesting that it is the only way early game should be played, nor will I cover just a single way of playing early game.

What this guide will assume is given:
- I am assuming that you are using a smart build.
- I am assuming that you have used the build a handful of times.
- I am assuming that you know the items for the class you are playing.
- I am assuming that you are good with the skills, hero, and build.
^^A lot to assume, considering this is a training manual.

Things that should be considered common knowledge, but I will post here anyway:
- Creeping is important, to an extent that you arent gonna go down 6 levels.
- Killing lower level creeps gives you better EXP and gold compared to the time spent killing.
- If you do not survive early game, you will not live long enough to play late game.
- Watch your minimap.
- Remember AMS and health pots for duels
- you need to hit level 6+ for the first duel

Okay, so, you arent a complete noob at the game and would like to perfect your early game. Or at least strengthen it, keeping all of the above in mind, let us continue.

Game Start:
- You need to spend ALL of your gold on game start. If you do not, then your item build is wrong. there are many items in the game in the 2200 gold range, and even item sets, that are generally there for the purpose of early game starting items.
- Know how much mana you will need. Sometimes a glittering tiara is a great starting item for any class. everyone like to get that extra spell cast off before healing in base. If you are a strength hero with a strong auto attack, you may be better off getting a strength item, and doing some auto attacking though. If you have 100 extra mana, but cannot auto attack worth shit, then what happens first duel when your opponent pops AMS? You are STR getting auto attacked to death.
- Levels are not the most important thing early. you are better off being level 6 with all your potions and a strong stat build, than being level 7 and a half, with 2 bombs, and zero stats. the higher your level, the more EXP you give your opponent. Play strong.
- Watch your opponent while you run to creep spawns. see what abilities he has. If he is farming with shockwave, tents, or flamestrike, then when the duel starts, and they rush over, you will know to cast your ability, and run for it (90% of people will try to cast on first contact, if you are already running outta there, you dont get hurt). This also allows you to decide what kind of potions you will need. If you see mana burn and frost nova, get a 1000 AMS potion... you will need it. If you see tents on ranged AGI, get a 1000 HP potion, you will need it.
- The first duel is very important, if both players are of high skill level. the early EXP and gold allows you to creep that much faster, compared to your opponent. If you win, you should try at least once, before the second duel to take an opponents creep spawn, or even gank the opponent, depending on your abilities.
- From above: You really need to stress any early advantage you can get. you win the first duel, so you hit 8. You rush out and clear an entire spawn of THEIRS with your ult, which you just got. you gain a level, they lose a spawn. then you clearn your own spawns ASAP. Had you been the one to lose the duel, you would still be 7, struggling for 8. they would be 10 when you hit 8, and already, the leveling advantage would kick in.
- - - To further this, you REALLLLLLY need to push every advantage you can. If a player of equal skill is losing early game to you; it is most likely because you have a stronger early game. The cost for a strong early game, is a weaker late game. NEVER take for granted that you are in the lead. Don't be nice, really. Keep pressure on, so that you never have to think "man, that was a close duel". you may realize, when you are 1 kill from winning, "Ohh shit, there is no way I can win this now... If only I killed him earlier rather than letting him kill that elemental!"

Ways to enhance your early game:
- As farming is very powerful, you need to master specific farmers. Many people will just pick any farmer with restore mana, and think that because they dont have to return to base early for mana, they are a pro farmer. they waste an entire skill slot on something to keep their farming ON PAR with someone who knows what they are doing. Pick a skill that you like, and learn to use it well. The harder to use abilities can become the best, in the right hands.
- Find a perfect farming order. You want to cycle through your creeps so that you hit all 5 creep spawns, generally from the lowest levels to the highest. It is amazing how many people will lose a lead, because they spent 90 seconds at their center spawn, trying to clear their highest level creeps.
- Minimize the amount of mana you need, and the maximum amount of mana you need to cast your abilities. By this I mean, if you need 125 mana for mana burn, and 160 mana for shockwave at the first duel; do some counting and planning with your build. If you are running a STR build, maybe just aim for 250ish mana for the first duel. 245 would work too. then only use your mana burn in the duel, two times. People who try to get 450 mana on a str hero for the first duel, are lacking everywhere else.
- Just the opposite, keep your mana high enough to use your abilities. If you have Frost Nova and Holy Light, you need an ass ton of mana to support it. Make sure you have a mana pot, or know how to kite. Dont think you can kill them with frost nova unless you can use your frost nova a lot. If you cast nova twice, then dont have any mana to heal yourself... you are gonna die.
- Cast abilities wisely. the above situation. If you have frost nova and holy light, and they have an AMS potion on... Use all of your mana on holy light, unless it is impossible to kite them. It is silly when people blow through their entire mana pool to deal 50 spell damage, when they could have used a smarter ability.

Aggressive Play:
Do not follow in the footsteps of your idols, the kings of pubs. These fools who spend 100% of the game trying to kill pubs, who know nothing other than the scent of their thumb which has spent entirely too much time lodged in their asshole, are not your idols. In fact, in normal games, they usually fail.
- If you run across the map, and spend all of your mana attempting to kill someone, and you fail... what do you have to show for it? NOTHING! You get to return to base to restore your mana, and cry about how your opponent is suddenly beating you.
- Being aggressive is not combining windwalk with silent night, and running around your room with a burger king crown on, and a cape made out of a dirty bath towel. In fact, all of you, stop that. It makes you look retarded. (The WW+SN part)
- Aggressive play is actually, what I talked about far above, is taking advantage of any situation. your opponent tries to kill a boss, you take the boss kill from him. An opponent dies, with a while creep spawn half dead, you take the creep spawn. an opponent comes on your side of the map... you wait for him to get 1 cast on your creep spawn, then you take the creep spawn, and kill him.
- Unless you have a huge advantage, you should never go "hunting". If you take their creep spawn, and in the process manage to kill said person with minimal effort, good for you. If you leave their creep spawn half dead, and chase them to the enterence of their base, then they come out and nuke you, and you run home... you are an idiot and deserve to lose the game base on that single deciding factor.

Final Thoughts:
Of course, everyone knows all of these things, right? yeah we do. so, at the end of my rant, I must just say, "PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!" Mastering the basics is far stronger than trying something new and inventive every game. If you master the basics, then expand, you will be able to do AR every game and win easily. Why? because the basics work for any non-shitty build. It isnt "how should I level spiked armor" it is just a way of playing that will make you better than the guys around you.

This is a pretty good post there are a few mixed signals in this post. When I see reach level 6+ for the first duel I assume 3 vs 3. Although realistically your average levels are around level 5 and 6. I then read later about cycling through creeps and that tells me your talking about 1 v 1. This is because in a 3 vs 3 you don't have many cycling options unless someone leaves. In fact in a 3 vs 3 your better off being a little more aggressive earlier. I have witness on many occasions where players can establish game control, but instead rush over to an allied camp and proceed to steal it weakening their own allies. This is fairly common especially when players switch over from playing 1 vs 1 to 3 vs 3.

major part of playing agressive, just out farm them. don't chase them, if you can farm 2 spawns in the time it takes to chase them from top spawn to their base enterance take the two spawns and go sit outside thier enterance while slowly farming mid.

Never Never Never stop farming.

Really good info. Now i know more.

-Watch your minimap

That is really important. When I started playing, I would get ganked as sure as the sun rises tomorrow. The simplest solution: watch the minimap. It will tell you if there is a ganker coming toward you, and will also give you an idea of what your opponent is doing. I still forget to sometimes, and I get ganked when I do. =D Also, something that helps with this would be to type -far, which zooms out the camera so you can see farther away.

best way to avoid ganks, just be aware, and keep tabs on your opponent at least once every 30 secs, if not more often.

im still not the greatest at watching my minimap. (SORRY EPIC) so im going to pound it into my skull until i get it

turn off the terrain, it makes the hero dots stand out more

ooooooooooooooooh

makes sense

the moment u see them move to ur side, start heading back to base, eventually they will get tired of waiting for the right moment and strt camping, just keep running back in forth in ad out of base casting and hittin them, evetually ull push em off and they'll head to base, thatsur cue go farm like a mofo dont chase them back like an idot, farm. and repeat this until eventally u can kick thier butts

I like the turn off terrain idea. Ill hve to use that. Had hard time finding my friend.

I just though I would give this a bump for some newer players.On another note sometimes the most subtle push is the best push if you know that you have stronger farming early game and can take a mid spawn do it if you can get a gank in the process even better.But be sure of yourself if your not positive don't push it.

If you have a decent aoe spell dont be afraid to use it on weakened spawn from the other team it is helps to be able to finish off thier entire spawn giving you xp and essentially making them lose some.

Exactly