Dota 2, Defense, of the Ancients 2, is a popular MOBA, multiplayer online battle arena game. It is a really well made game and has gotten popular very quickly. Dota 2 can be played with friends over the internet and competitively as well. You can get the game for Windows or Mac on Steam and expansions for the game on the Dota 2 website. With Dota 2 being a game that is played online you might experience DDoS attacks, lag, bad connection, or being blocked while at school or work. To help fix these problems I would recommend a VPN. A VPN will change your IP address to another IP. Since it is not your IP this will prevent DDoS attacks and let you get past the blocking of Dota 2 at work or school. If you pick an IP close to the server you play on you should experience less lag.
| Rank | VPN Service | Rating | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
How to Use a VPN to Play Dota 2 Online (PC)
I’ll use ExpressVPN for the example of how to use a VPN service to play Dota 2 online. First you’ll want to download the app. ExpressVPN offers free client software for Windows, Mac and Linux. In addition to free apps for iOS and Android.
Now that you’ve had a chance to download and install the software it’s time to connect. Launch the ExpressVPN client and select a server location. We’ll walk you through step by step using their Windows client.
Since a lot of gamers like to connect to servers in the US, we used that country for our guide. ExpressVPN has a large network of servers located all over the world.- We recommend you select Lightway UDP for the best experience. For online gaming, we use either Lightway (PC) or OpenVPN UDP (mobile) because its faster than TCP. They also support IKEv2 and L2TP. We still recommend Lightway UDP for the best mix of speed and privacy protection.
- Click the big round connect button. After a few seconds, you’ll see the area around the button turn green. There will also be a message letting you know the “VPN is ON”
- You now have an IP address in the USA, as far as anyone can tell online. As such, you can reach any site as if you were sitting there. The same would be true if you connected to a server in the UK or anywhere else in the world.
It is just that easy to do. Now that you have an IP address from an ExpressVPN server in the US, you can game, browse the Internet or watch shows as if you were actually there. Connecting to a server in the UK would give you full access to geo blocked sites there as well. The same is true from any country.
As you can probably tell by now a good VPN opens access to content around the world. If you live outside the United States the service can help you access popular services like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. You still need an account for services like Netflix but the VPN will help you watch US television shows and movies on Netflix as if you were sitting in the United States or any other region you would like to access.
Dota 2 Game Highlights
In Dota 2 you and your team of 4 need to destroy the other teams base or Ancient. Their will be different mid points or towers along the way. You will be expected to fight off the other team from destroying your Ancient so you don’t lose. For 1 on 1 matches the same rules apply except if you say “gg” (good game) you forfeit.
The players you control to lead your team in to victory are heroes in Dota 2. Their are over 150 with some being free and others being paid. The game is based around these heroes. Each hero has a different type. These types are agility, strength, and intelligence (magic). You can also level up the heroes to increase there stats. Each hero also attacks with speed, range, or strength. Abilities are another thing that are unlocked with experience points.
Gold is a form of currency in Dota 2 and is gained as you play. If you kill a neutral mob then the person with the last hit gets gold, but if someone kills an enemy hero the whole team gets gold. Gold can unlock item like weapons, armor, special abilities, and consumables. Weapons will be used to increase attack. Armor will be used to increase defense and special abilities will help the hero when fighting. Consumables on the other hand can help out with any of those things and more, but they only last one fight.
Dota 2 also has a lot of game modes. Some modes you will get random characters, while others will let you choose. All modes will be unlocked after you get to level 10. The game modes are all fun and all follow the same strategy for winning except a few.
Dota 2 game modes include:
- All Pick: This game mode allows you and your friends to pick any hero you want, swap your heroes, and just do a regular match.
- All Random: Each player gets a random character and 825 gold. To get a new character that is random it costs 300 gold. Besides the random hero the game is played like a regular match.
- All Random Deathmatch: Each team member gets a random hero and every time they are killed the get a new one. Teams get 40 respawns to start off and once all respawns are gone you lose. When respawning you will have the levels, items, and gold transferred to the new hero.
- Ability Draft: Players will pick from the option of heroes provided. The abilities are going to be in a pool in which players will pick 3 normal and 1 ultimate ability. This mode is played like a regular game.
- Captains Mode: Start off at a speed test on who can click the “Become the Captain” button first. When captain you will pick 5 heroes and choose one for yourself. After the allotted time is up your team will pick from the remaining four. This mode is played like a regular game.
- Captains Draft: To start off the team captains will ban three heroes then take turns picking from the pool of 27 random heroes for the team. They will pick 5 and choose one for themselves, leaving the other heroes for there teammates. This mode is played like a regular game.
- Custom Mode: A mode that is coming soon and is where the community picks how to play.
- Least Played: You cannot pick from your top 40 most played heroes. No swapping allowed. This mode is played like a regular game.
- Limited Mode: You can only pick from the beginners list of heroes and it serves as a tutorial. You will not be punished if you leave. Instead you will be replaced by a bot if you leave. This mode is played like a regular game.
- Single Draft: You will see three heroes, one of speed, one of strength, and one of intelligence. You can only pick one of them and there is no swapping. Besides that the game is played like a regular match.
- Random Draft: The two teams will take turns picking heroes until each team has 24. Besides the selection process the game works exactly the same as a regular match.
- 1 v 1 Solo Mid: You will fight against one other person and you will win the exact same way as usual. The special part of this mode is that you can chat with the other person, say “gg” to forfeit, the side towers are immune, and the first runes do not respond.
Dota 2 is available for Windows and Mac on Steam. The game is a very popular MOBA, with fun and interesting gameplay. The heroes offer a wide selection of strategies. Items will help your heroes in fight. There are so many game modes that make it even better to play with friends. Overall Dota 2 is a fun online game that I am sure you and your friends will enjoy.
Once again I recommend using a VPN service to play Dota 2 online. A VPN will give you an IP address from the server location you choose. It will improve performance and reduce lag. Elite gamers will also appreciate the added protection from DDoS attacks
Enjoy all the action as you play Dota 2 online. Please share this post with your friends so they can enjoy gaming from anywhere in the world with a VPN. Follow us @VPNFan for the latest deals and guides.