Newcomer's glossary: Dota 2 terms

Words you will hear in your very first games — short and to the point.

Roles and lanes

• Carry (core) — a hero who grows with gold and decides the late game.
• Support — helps the team: wards, control, saves.
• Mid — the middle lane and the hero in it.
• Safe lane and offlane — bottom and top lanes for the Radiant, the other way round for the Dire.
• Roamer — a support who moves around the map helping different lanes.

Farm and economy

• Farm — getting gold: creeps, the jungle, towers.
• Last hit — the killing blow on a creep that gives gold. Deny — last-hitting your own creep.
• Stack — several groups of neutrals gathered in one camp. Pull — leading your own wave into the jungle.
• Buyback — an instant respawn for gold.
• Net worth — the hero's total value.

Map and actions

• Gank — a surprise attack of several heroes on one.
• Smoke — Smoke of Deceit, hides a group from wards and the minimap.
• Ward, dewarding — vision items and removing them.
• TP — the teleport scroll. Glyph — temporary invulnerability of buildings.
• High ground (HG) — the enemy base on the hill. Roshan and Aegis — a strong monster and the extra life for killing it.
• Split push — pressure on a far lane while the team is elsewhere.

Fights and abilities

• Initiation — starting a fight, usually with strong control.
• Stun — a disable. Silence — no spells. Hex — turning into a harmless creature.
• Dispel — removing effects. BKB — Black King Bar, temporary protection from magic.
• Feed — dying often and giving the enemy gold and experience.
• Timing — the moment a hero gets a key item or level and becomes noticeably stronger.
• Tactics
• Strategies