Tactics: moves that win fights

Tactics are concrete actions here and now. Strategy says what to do; tactics say how.

Smoke gank

• A group of three to five heroes uses Smoke of Deceit to approach an enemy who is farming or warding unseen. Before smoking, check where the enemy was last seen and agree on the target: who initiates and who dies first.

Rotations and teleport defense

• Always keep a teleport scroll. When a fight starts in a lane, teleporting to the tower turns a 2-on-2 into a 3-on-2. A support moving between lanes (rotating) creates a numbers advantage where the enemy does not expect it.

Stacks and pulls

• If you lure the neutrals out of a camp near the end of a minute (about 5–7 seconds before it ends), a new group spawns there — the camp is stacked. Later the carry or an area-damage hero kills all the groups at once for a lot of gold.
• A pull leads your own creep wave into a neutral camp: the wave dies in the jungle, the enemy loses experience and the lane moves towards your tower.

Wave management

• Keep the creep equilibrium near your tower so the enemy takes a risk to last-hit. In the mid game, a wave pushed into the enemy half forces them to spend time defending. Cutting a wave — killing the creeps before they reach the lane — takes gold and experience away from the enemy.

Baiting

• One durable hero shows on the minimap or farms in a risky spot while the team waits in the fog. The enemy goes for the easy target — and walks into a five-on-five on your terms.

Setting up Roshan

• Vision and control of the approaches first, Roshan second. The best moment is when the enemy's key heroes are dead or without buyback. Remember that Aegis gives an extra life only for a limited time — use it to keep pressing.

High-ground siege

• Attack the enemy base with Aegis, the whole team and vision placed in advance. Make the enemy spend the glyph and key spells first; use summons and ranged heroes. If the fight goes badly, retreat before you lose your buybacks.

Focus and buyback

• In a fight, kill the heroes who decide it first: the support with a save, the hero with the key ultimate, fragile damage dealers.
• In the late game, always keep buyback gold: a carry dying without buyback often means losing barracks.
• When the enemy has no buyback, it is the best moment for the decisive push.