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The Dumb and the Skillful

By Anthony Onica

Gnomish machines are capable of incredible achievements and spectacular failures. Just like your luck game.Image used with permission by linxz2010 @ http://linxz2010.deviantart.com/
Gnomish machines are capable of incredible achievements and spectacular failures. Just like your luck game.Image used with permission by linxz2010 @ http://linxz2010.deviantart.com/ /
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Let’s take a look at some instances of blind luck versus orchestrated opportunity in our new column, the dumb and the skillful.

Luck is a tricky thing. I fully believe there’s such a thing as orchestrated luck, where you plan a situation to have the highest chance possible of turning out in your favor. This kind of luck is a function of skill. Heck, that kind of luck is a skill. Whenever you play another game with living, breathing humans as your opponents, there are always going to be variables. Making sure those variables are stacked in your favor is part of your job as a DOTA player!

But there’s a darker side to that coin. We all know what I’m hinting at. Dumb luck. The thing we take pride in ourselves and despise in others.

Where are my loaded dice? I mean...
Where are my loaded dice? I mean… /

Whether you like it or not, DOTA is largely a game of odds and calculated risk. There are frequently traveled paths and common responses to certain tactics that, if you’re paying close enough attention, can tip you off to what’s about to happen. Just like leading a moving target in a realistic FPS, if you don’t account for the time it takes for the bullet to hit, you’ll always miss.

Speaking of missing, let’s talk about not that. Which leads us to…

The Dumb

I happened upon particular play while trolling the forums. Invis heroes are frequent victims of dumb luck striking against them. Something about being cloaked cloaked from sight makes the players of these heroes think they can just saunter where they please. Almost as if, because they were invisible, nothing could happen to them. Invis does not mean invulnerable, folks.

That's what I like to call "natural selection."
And that’s what I like to call “natural selection.” /

Hitting the bullseye on an invisible target

This Riki was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mirana is obviously angling for another hero with her arrow, and it very well could have struck true. But an invis Riki on his way to scout bot jungle eats it right in the face. Priceless!

Sidenote: tech support is working on the ridiculously small gif size. Better quality here.

There’s always something satisfying about seeing an invis hero drop like rock in a river of disappointment. Their cries of, “Lucky shot” and “You effing lucky noob” are sweet music to my ears. Sweet, sweet music. Putting yourself in the path of a potential target especially when you’re low health was an error in judgement on your part, Riki.

Now let’s take a look at the skillful.

Next: The Skillful

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