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"Hello! I&amp;#039;m Matt, Digital Spy&amp;#039;s gaming editor, and this week I played DOTA 2 for the very first time. It was terrifying. It was probably because I&amp;#039;m mostly averse to strategy games (turn-based ones stress me out enough, let alone making it real time) but since right now the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) sub-genre is perhaps the world&amp;#039;s most popular. And, with DOTA 2 recently reported to be the most played PC game in the West, I want to try and understand what makes it tick, and chronicle some of my experiences along the way.  I won&amp;#039;t bother attempting to explain what a MOBA is, or what makes DOTA 2 particularly special - there are a thousand articles elsewhere on the internet that have done this already. But I can at least present the starting points recommended to me by numerous individuals that have helped shape my understanding of the game. The first is a cheerfully-titled article titled &amp;#039;Welcome to DOTA, you suck&amp;#039;, which is a detailed breakdown of the many components that beginners should be aware of. Its use of capitals to emphasise what you absolutely shouldn&amp;#039;t do is helpful and intimidating in equal measure. Despite being geared towards beginners, the article is still laden with terminology that&amp;#039;s pretty hard to understand. Probably the most helpful introduction I&amp;#039;ve had is a series of fantastic videos produced by VideoGamer, which explain the absolute very basics in a clear, concise and welcoming manner. I highly recommend you watch these too.       After a few days swotting up on videos and articles, I decided to put myself to the test and jump into a match populated with bots alongside an experienced friend on my shoulder to help ease me in. Of course, no amount of swotting up could prepare me for the most basic mistakes and stupid questions I would have to ask. Why aren&amp;#039;t some of my attacks working? So I have to press a button at the same time? What on earth do I buy at the shop? Why are my items stuck in my stash? And what&amp;#039;s with the flying donkey? This is all after the sheer anxiety of not knowing of the 100-plus heroes to choose from (even coming equipped with a few recommendations for beginners) or what lane you should head to when your team sprints out the gate. I felt woefully under-prepared from start to finish. Another bot match a few days later was much better, having done some more swotting to better comprehend the basics (like the controls).  I managed to help end the match in a confusing but exhilarating flourish at the 26-minutes mark. Average matches take between 45 and 60 minutes, I&amp;#039;m told, so I assume this is unusual; but even after being told by my wingman what happened I was still left none-the-wiser. Confusion and feeling overwhelmed has summed up my DOTA 2 experience so far, but it&amp;#039;s actually all the more fascinating because of it. From here I&amp;#039;ll be sticking to bot matches until I eventually find a hero I&amp;#039;m comfortable enough with to lead me into a terrifying human-on-human battle. Out of curiosity, I wanted to check my friend&amp;#039;s progress to date. Despite having logged over 30 hours so far, he&amp;#039;s won just five online matches. I fear I have a long, long way to go. What are your experiences with DOTA 2? Add a comment to the space below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a486125/the-dota-2-diaries-my-first-steps-with-valves-intimidating-game/>