How to master a class?

i have no idea how to master a class in pvp, i allways play around 1,5-1,7k rating but i don´t get higher raiting. (so i know the basic´s about my class)
i don´t know what i should try to get higher rating. i don´t look for specific tipps like: use XXX when your enemie do YYY.
i mainly ask for some general tipps like how i can get better, or your own experience how you master your character.

i only do pvp and i play shadowpriest + warlock on frostwolf, maybe this info will help you.

sorry for my bad english :) Sincerely Xaron

You master it by learning all the classes and how to beat them. Pvp is much more than just having good gear or a rotation. You have to learn how to cc, escape death, and generally keep yourself from being the next victim. Practice your class and learn others to be able to find out how to defeat certain comps and what you should do in situations. Its not something you learn or git gud over night. Watch others and duel people. You should look at specific tips so you know what to do.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by xaron25

i have no idea how to master a class in pvp, i allways play around 1,5-1,7k rating but i don´t get higher raiting. (so i know the basic´s about my class)
i don´t know what i should try to get higher rating. i don´t look for specific tipps like: use XXX when your enemie do YYY.
i mainly ask for some general tipps like how i can get better, or your own experience how you master your character.

i only do pvp and i play shadowpriest + warlock on frostwolf, maybe this info will help you.

sorry for my bad english :) Sincerely Xaron

---

What you ask is like trying to ask someone how to get better at math, or how to program, how to cook, how to play a sports game.

The answer may seem ellusive but it's rather quite simple: practice

Having multiple Rank 1 titles on shadow priest over a couple of seasons, there are a few things that come to mind when trying to master your class. (I'm aware this sounds like some sort of brag, but I mention this to give legitimacy to my answer). Below I will list what I think should be at the forefront of your mind when trying to improve.

1. GCD usage and efficiency - By this I mean using EVERY SINGLE global. There should almost never be a time when you aren't using an ability of some sort. If you've ever watched experienced/high rated players play the game, they might seem like they play the game faster than you do. This is a result of using every GCD available to them for the duration of the arena. I cannot stress this point enough. Making sure you are using every GCD available to you maximizes your potential to impact the match.

2. Awareness - Try to pay attention to absolutely EVERYTHING that goes on in an arena match. What your teammates are doing at all times, what the enemy team is doing, how many buffs people have, what those buffs are, etc. Also, there is generally an ebb and flow to arena matches that revolves around offensive and defensive cooldowns. The more you play and understand what is occurring at what times, and how to take advantage of those situations, the better you will become. I obviously have no idea whether you do this or not, but many players in lower brackets tend to look at their keybinds more often than they should. Most of the time this is probably due to checking the time remaining on abilities that are on cooldown. If that is the issue in your case, I have provided a screenshot of my UI which will give a solution to this issue. With 3 #showtooltip of every important ability, you are able to better see the cooldowns of your abilities in your peripheral vision, without actually having to stare at the binds. Here is the aforementioned screenshot: http://imgur.com/iXW4qDk

3. Keybinds - You've probably heard this 32 million times. Here it is again. Bind EVERYTHING. It doesn't matter how insignificant an ability might seem... keybind it. Additionally, try to make sure your keybinds are efficient. If you don't understand what I mean by this, there are videos out there on keybinding efficiency. This isn't always a necessity, and the argument that preference rules when it comes to keybinding is perfectly valid, but it may help you in the long run. However, the first part of my statement should not be overlooked. You should be binding all of your abilities, no excuses.

4. Communication - This is something that everyone understands is an essential part of arena, but is not always done correctly. Obviously playing with the same one or two people over hundreds of arena games is going to improve your communication, but keep an open mind about how you are conveying what is happening during an arena match, as well as how useful the information itself is. Many times Skype (or whatever VoIP you use) can become oversaturated with unnecessary information, yelling, etc. Try to keep it concise.

5. Practice - As Kasumii mentioned above, practice. You need to play the game to get better at the game. You will never regress unless you actually stop playing. As long as you are playing consistently, you WILL improve.

I'm really tired at the moment and I won't be re-reading this, so please excuse the typos and any other mistakes I may have made.

If you have any questions, just reply here and if I remember I ever wrote this post, I will get back to you =)

I hope that helps!

Easy tip for getting better at a class, read all of your spells and talents CAREFULLY, see what should be used in what situation.

Also, go practice dueling with your buddy and try to kill each other, that way you get a better idea of what to watch out for in the live arenas.
Ofcourse, if you get matched with geared roflmourn + hpala, spriest mage/rogue, double healer, just alt f4 cause you probably won't win if you don't know your class inside out.

Also, it would help to know what class you want to know about. For example, I main mage and highest was 2.3 on the old AT servers. that was the place people used to go to learn how to play their class. AT is now blackrock so you can go there and duel, though with the way it is right now, you don't have the freedom of speccing your own talents and the people dueling there are beginners as well, so i don't know if that'll help.

I agree with everything Nexoqt said. How I personally improve my gameplay (wow and other games)/few tips:

1. Read guides / Watch guide videos. PvP guides and PvE guides, both can give you useful information about your class, which you might've not known. And not only guides about your class. There is a lot of guides for "how to improve your game play" and "how to getter better at <whatever you want to get better at>"

2. Watch pro players play. You can learn a lot, If you can find a stream or videos of some pro playing your class (and preferably the same patch as you are playing).

3. Practice! Obviously you need practice, but practice alone isn't really good enough. You need to practice doing something right, if you want to get better at it.

This is a quote from a very good guide. It's for a different game, but it applies to wow and pretty much any pvp game too. Chapter: Learning to learn. (link to the guide: http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide...your-play-8902)

Quote:

---

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge"
- Stephen Hawking

If you want to get better at anything, the best place to start is "learning to learn". This is about helping yourself to acquire new skills quickly and avoid falling in to traps that will slow you down in the long run.

As we all know, practice and experience are essential to getting better at something. However, what many people don't realise is that you have to practice doing something CORRECTLY in order to get better at it.

Practicing doing something the wrong way will just make you marginally less bad at it - you will never genuinely achieve a high level because your technique is fundamentally flawed, and this limits you ability to improve beyond a certain level.

For example, you sometimes get matchmade will players who have substantially more matches and hours logged on DOTA than you do. The game rates them as being about the same skill level as you. Surely after all that extra practice they should be better? Nope, because they've likely become stuck in their ways, repeatedly practicing playing badly.

So how do we avoid these pitfalls?

- Keep an open mind. Never assume that you have all the answers or have found "the best" way of playing.

- Never assume you have mastered anything. Even the best players are human and make mistakes.

- Evaluate your own performances. You don't need to watch back every game or lose focus examing your mistakes during one, but be objective about what you can do better. Ask others for their opinions too.

- Don't blame other people. There is always something you could have done differently, you are responsible for your own performance.

- Get the right information. Decisions based on wrong or out of date info lead to bad decisions.

- Study up. Even if you're not a big one for stats and numbers, have a quick browse of the items and heroes while waiting for a match. How much damage does max Brain Sap do? What kind of damage is it? How long can Centaur Warrunner disable me for? Try to have a rough idea in your head.

- Play with and against better players. Competing at a higher standard is harder, but it also shows your mistakes far more clearly and pushes you strongly to improve.

---

4. Duel, a lot. When you can't play arena, go duel people. If you lose to someone, duel them again and again and again. Playing double-dps comp leaves you sometimes in a 1v1 situation. Learning how to duel other classes is very helpful, if you lose to someone and you can see that they are at higher rating than you, ask them for tips. I remember learning a lot from some random tips from people I dueled. Talk with the people you duel, ask them "what do you think, what mistakes I am making?" or say "I'm trying to learn, do you have any tips?", you'll be surprised at how many people like to give advices.

5. Learn other classes. You don't necessarily need to learn every single detail about every class, but some general knowledge of every class will help you out a lot. Knowledge of other classes and teamcomps is what allows you to make good decisions as you play. You can get knowledge of other classes the same way you can get knowledge of your own class:
- Read up on guides. (or watch video guides, preferably both)
- Watch pvp videos
- Playing. Playing against them obviously helps a lot, but we also have a great opportunity here, because we have the blackrock realm. Want to learn how to counter Rogues? Make a rogue on blackrock and play a little bg on a rogue, see what they might be able to do and what not, look through their spellbook and talents.

6. Stay calm. Don't get overwhelmed by your emotions. Angry mind is a narrow mind. Quote from the same guide as above. Chapter: Psychology.

Quote:

---

"A lot of times people look at the negative side of what they feel they can't do. I always look on the positive side of what I can do."
- Chuck Norris

Psychology huh? Seems very indepth for a game about battling wizards? Any sport or game that has a competitive element requires some degree of it. Good psychology or "mental toughness" is a very important skill for any DOTA player - RTS type games are very mathematical in basis - they require calculated decision making and sound instincts.

Becoming agitated and emotional can prevent you from making rational decisions - your anger, fear or greed temporarily overwhelm the logical part of your brain.

This causes you to lose focus, preventing your from executioning your skills properly, and making more stupid mistakes. Rage buybacks anyone?

Ok, so reacting emotionally is bad? Well not entirely, you want to enjoy the game so getting a bit excited and channelling your emotions into your determination to play better is useful. The difference is finding a balance and using them in the right way.

"Fire in your belly, but ice in your mind."

Keep that fire in your belly - that desire to win, to do better, to never give up. Enjoy the moment, get your team positive and pumped up. But also keep that ice in your mind - cold, calculating and methodical. Do the maths, make the sacrifice plays and focus the most important targets.

Ok, so you accept my premise...but understanding it and doing it in stressful are two different things. What can you try that might help?

- Stay calm. Losing your temper will achieve nothing. Take a deep breath, release it slowly. If you've just died, you can move away from the computer for a moment and gather yourself. This goes double if you've naturally got a short fuse or are hot-headed. Wait 10 seconds before typing anything.

- Look forwards, not backwards. Your team might be in a bad situation because X,Y or Z happened...but the game isn't over yet. You don't get a prize for being the first one to say "GG", and you certainly won't help the situation by raking over what's gone wrong. You can't change what's happened, but you can change what happens next.

- Be constructive. Which statement is more helpful? "The next time we do Song of the Siren into Reverse Polarity, we need a signal to get the timing right" rather than "THAT F*&$&$* ***** Magnus messed up an easy RP! OMG you suck so hard". Don't talk about what went wrong or lay blame, make suggestions about how to do it better next time.

- Think about what went wrong, and then put it aside. You do need a moment to reflect on what went wrong in a situation - keep it brief and technical. "Missed that Split Earth, need to aim a bit further ahead next time". Then forget about it, you don't help yourself by dwelling on what went wrong.

- Practice. You only get better at something by doing it right. The mental side is probably the hardest thing to develop, but it carries through to the rest of your life in various ways. You won't always get it right, sometimes you will get mad. Accept it, set it aside, and try to keep improving.

---

7. Preparation. I often like to play one battleground before doing arena, especially if I have not played anything before that day. Just to get fingers warm and get in to the game mode. Last quote, I promise. :)

Quote:

---

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali

Ole Cassius pretty much sums this up for us already - preparation is key to success. So how do you prepare for a game of DOTA? It's not like you need to stretch like you would for a physical sport, but a good warm up can really help.

If you're due to play a competitive game, or fancy doing some ranked, have a quick warmup pub or even bot game to ease you in - especially if you haven't played for a while. DOTA has a lot of "perishable" skills - i.e. they degrade over time if not used - and you'll often find it takes a little time to get fully up to speed after a break.

Obviously try to practice the role/hero you'll be undertaking if at all possible.

The other side of preparation is mental. Make sure that you're relaxed and in a good headspace to play - if you're tired or irritable that can easily spill over into your play. If not, then you might not want to play at all, or will need to find a way of relaxing before beginning.

---

And that's it. Good Luck improving your game! :)
<3 DakMonkeyz

1. Git gud

play your class long enough to understand its pros & cons & how to use your class against other classes

Hard work dedication never quit your class!
And you will become better than before.
Try to stick with few classes&specs because to many gets you rusty,is good to know other classes weakness and spells but you need lots of time,so just play your class,try to learn something new everyday and practice it.

"The key to success is perseverance"

Play soloq

That and you need to die.....like a lot.......die 100000 vs a ret paladin you will learn how to counter ret paladins,die 1000000 vs a mage,you`lll learn how to counter a mage........how to master a class?die.....die alot vs other classes,eventually you`lll start to win vs the same classes....about arenas and so.......lose.....lose alot of arenas.....you`ll eventually learn what to expect from certain teams...



It`s not necesarly about playing your class to 100%,you must also learn the other classes,as some random dude before me said.

They say it takes 10,000 hours to master something, so you should probably start practicing now.

to master a class , you should know each spell what do , and you must practice , first try duel a low geared people , and when you see yourselfes better ,duel more geared till you become professional , and you should take tips from ranked players ,try watch them how they play , for me i was bad in balance druid when i play it first , when i was duel a warrior , i make his hp 70% max and he kill me (mop expansion) even i was a balance and can heal well , but with time i began to kite warrior/root them /cyclone and heal and now warriors is the easy class for me and i can kill all classes with my balance , tell you the class you wanna mastert and the expansion so you will benefit , tell the class and we will give you tips , since everyclass has a way of play ,

That is some next level tryhard mode right there man.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DakMonkey

I agree with everything Nexoqt said. How I personally improve my gameplay (wow and other games)/few tips:

1. Read guides / Watch guide videos. PvP guides and PvE guides, both can give you useful information about your class, which you might've not known. And not only guides about your class. There is a lot of guides for "how to improve your game play" and "how to getter better at <whatever you want to get better at>"

2. Watch pro players play. You can learn a lot, If you can find a stream or videos of some pro playing your class (and preferably the same patch as you are playing).

3. Practice! Obviously you need practice, but practice alone isn't really good enough. You need to practice doing something right, if you want to get better at it.

This is a quote from a very good guide. It's for a different game, but it applies to wow and pretty much any pvp game too. Chapter: Learning to learn. (link to the guide: http://www.dotafire.com/dota-2/guide...your-play-8902)


4. Duel, a lot. When you can't play arena, go duel people. If you lose to someone, duel them again and again and again. Playing double-dps comp leaves you sometimes in a 1v1 situation. Learning how to duel other classes is very helpful, if you lose to someone and you can see that they are at higher rating than you, ask them for tips. I remember learning a lot from some random tips from people I dueled. Talk with the people you duel, ask them "what do you think, what mistakes I am making?" or say "I'm trying to learn, do you have any tips?", you'll be surprised at how many people like to give advices.

5. Learn other classes. You don't necessarily need to learn every single detail about every class, but some general knowledge of every class will help you out a lot. Knowledge of other classes and teamcomps is what allows you to make good decisions as you play. You can get knowledge of other classes the same way you can get knowledge of your own class:
- Read up on guides. (or watch video guides, preferably both)
- Watch pvp videos
- Playing. Playing against them obviously helps a lot, but we also have a great opportunity here, because we have the blackrock realm. Want to learn how to counter Rogues? Make a rogue on blackrock and play a little bg on a rogue, see what they might be able to do and what not, look through their spellbook and talents.

6. Stay calm. Don't get overwhelmed by your emotions. Angry mind is a narrow mind. Quote from the same guide as above. Chapter: Psychology.


7. Preparation. I often like to play one battleground before doing arena, especially if I have not played anything before that day. Just to get fingers warm and get in to the game mode. Last quote, I promise. :)


And that's it. Good Luck improving your game! :)
<3 DakMonkeyz

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MrRufus2nd

You master it by learning all the classes and how to beat them. Pvp is much more than just having good gear or a rotation. You have to learn how to cc, escape death, and generally keep yourself from being the next victim. Practice your class and learn others to be able to find out how to defeat certain comps and what you should do in situations. Its not something you learn or git gud over night. Watch others and duel people. You should look at specific tips so you know what to do.

---

^Pretty much this