Hey hey. Heard about this place a few months back on /r/dota2 but hadn't visited as I was learning with other noobs from there and other friends. However a week or so ago a friend invited me to a Doob group and you guys seem like nice folk so why not play more with you guys? I don't mind rolling with pubs, but prefer playing with people I know.

I honestly thought his goal against Italy in Euro 2004 was better

Shane: I was going to write more and didn't want it to be this wall of text, but then I didn't

UnoPolak: For any XBL recommendations there are most likely demos available so try before you buy!

If you want to go really cheap then the Dorito's Crash Course game is free and surprisingly fun. It's sort of like Wipeout the game if it was free, fun, and had up to 4 player split screen racing. Another freebie is Harm's Way, which I think has co-op where one guy drives a car in a surprisingly-good-for-free-on-XBL-Motorstorm-wannabe style and your buddy is a sniper trying to shoot the other cars.

If you're a fan of Streets of Rage style brawlers then both Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Castle Crashers are great XBL games (and Castle Crashers can also be bought on Steam and played with gamepads on your PC). Both games have 4 player couch co-op (I know Scott Pilgrim doesn't have online co-op, not sure about CC) and both will set you back $15. Maybe $10, I forget and as I have them it doesn't show the price

If you like bullet hell shooters then Ikaruga (originally for the Dreamcast, then remade for the Gamecube, and remade for XBL) is (imo) the finest example of the genre and has interesting two player mechanics. YMMV. If you're a little more adventurous they also have the all time classic Radiant Silvergun on XBL, and if you really REALLY like your bullet hell games they also have Raiden IV and Raiden Fighter Aces for your vertical scrollers and Deathsmiles II for side scroller, but those 3 are full price games. More of a "hey, if you liked this you'll like this" recommendation, not a cheapie one

Games that may be worth giving the demo a look, even if they may not be up everyones alley (but you can probably at least get some competition trying to beat each other on the levels provided): N+ (platformer based on a PC flash game), Trials HD and Evolution (hybrid racer/puzzle game with motocross bikes), Hydro Thunder (excellent revamp of an arcade classic water racer with I think up to 4 player local versus), Zombie Estate (Indie game that costs $1, cheap, dumb, can be surprisingly fun and up to 4 player local co-op).

If you want more recommendations then I can investigate further to see what things are selling for on XBox nowadays.

Two thumbs up for Darksiders. PC version is a little flaky, and it's better with a gamepad, but awesome game.

I'd have to watch the replay (at work right now so can't ) but I only think you sapped me during the lane phase a couple times. As Bane mid you need to get that Soul Ring early and sap like crazy. At level 5 you can be sapping 230 health from your opponent every 30ish seconds.

Soul Ring on Bane works the same as Omniknight, in so far as it makes one of your nukes "free". With Omniknight you would use Soul Ring ( -150hp, +150 mana ) then use the extra temporary mana for your heal. As it heals you for more than the HP you lost, the damage you cause with the heal in effect costs you nothing.

Similar with Bane. The mana cost for Sap is a bit higher ( Sap cost for each level: 125/150/175/200 ) but you're still getting an almost free nuke every 30 seconds. It's especially important for Bane as all his spells are so ridiculously expensive. As Bane mid you want to hold off on using your E unless you need to escape, get Soul Ring, use Sap to your heart's content to harass your opponent.

The temporary mana you get with Soul Ring is the first used when you cast spells. So be sure that your spell isn't on more than a 10 second cooldown when you use your ring else you'll lose the 150HP and the mana you gained with it. However in the case of Bane with a level 4 Q you'll do 300 damage, get 300 HP back and it'll only cost you 50 mana. Likewise a level 4 self heal with Omniknight will heal for 360, do the same damage to anything near him and only cost you 10 mana.

In our match yesterday (Viper vs Bane) you have a lower attack range than Viper (400 vs. 575) so it's going to be rough for you to harass much (I never pick up E as mid Viper before 8, Q and W are too awesome for keeping heroes in check and farming, but you still want to take care if you're laning vs Viper and trying to harass), but your Sap range is the same as his Q (600), and slightly higher than his R (500 unless Sceptre) and auto attack. Keep your Nightmare until you need it (if you've over-extended and Viper is chasing you with Q or if he ult'd you and is about to chase you down) and focus on what farm you can get, keeping lane close to you if possible (because Viper has 20% slow at level 2 Q, 30% at level 3 Q and he'll have those at levels 3 and 5 respectively). Viper is a beast at last hitting because of his W, so you're going to have a rough time either way. At least, until you get to 6. Then Viper is screwed (Fiend's Grip + Sap, maybe even a little Nightmare in there if you can).

I'd be on board with this.

Well it depends what you're looking for in the game. I enjoyed D3 quite a bit on my first play through, and T2 hasn't hooked me nearly as much.

That said the co-op of T2 is supposedly better designed.

I must confess to being a bigger fan of having abilities scale with stats/weapon power and using the runes to modify how abilities work.

D3 felt like such a wasted opportunity though. Considering how much history Blizzard have building encounters you'd think they'd be able to plug more interesting ones through the game as opposed to the handful of boss fights we got. I got more interesting challenges from running Magister's Terrace multiple times in WoW:BC than I did in D3.

Was it solo vs. PA?

If she's using her dagger to harass you that's probably a good thing as she should be using it to LH Keep the Shukuchi for when she tries to use or position herself for Phantom Strike.

I've always had a soft spot for Venge, and not just because we share initials. She was one of the heroes I was determined to learn early on, and as a result I have a terrible win rate with her. She's absolutely one of the most unique heroes in the game who can severly disrupt an opposing team's teamfight plans, but also requires a particular mindset.

Her auto attack range is abysmal, making it tougher to harass/lh/deny during the early phase. Squishy as heck, but needs to put herself in harms way to do anything.

Like Sven, has one of the greatest level 1 stuns in the game. Like Sven, never has the mana to use it as often as she'd like.

Like Veno she's one of the rare support agility heroes. Unlike Veno she can never really get rolling unless she's played as a carry or benefits from a lane that lets her get rolling. She can push lane with her Wave, but she can't take down towers or slow/finish heroes after they disengage as effectively as Veno can. On a similar note though she's less likely to steal kills than Veno is. Her W gets kills that are otherwise unattainable.

Leveling her Q gives her an awesome nuke. Whether you want to or not is up to you. Leveling your Q gives you an extra 75 damage/0.1 stun time per level, but your W gives you an extra 5% damage buff on every unit you hit per level (11% with 1 level) as well as the ability to possibly finish off any heroes trying to make an escape with minimal health (75 HP removal when maxed). Your E gives anyone in close proximity to you an extra 8% damage per level (after 12% on level 1). Your carry is going to love you for your W and E

Her level 1 ult has awful range, and is hard to use correctly (heck at levels 2 and 3 it can be hard to use optimally). Pub Venges will tend to prefer the aggressive swap (bring a hero in for the kill) as opposed to the defensive one (swap your carry when he's about to get stunned/hurt big time). But guess what, that terrible range means you're going to have difficulty swapping weak heroes from the back line to your front line without putting yourself in a bad situation.

I agree she shouldn't be a 5 as she'll need items to give her the ability to contribute in a fight without being insta-squished and/or targeted early on so other heroes can get their mojo on.

All that said Venge is the manliest of the ranged heroes. You'll get to set the tone for early fights, played effectively you'll be adored by your carry as you can save them in ways only Omniknight can beat, while still being able to contribute in fights and improve their damage in ways he can't. As a roamer you have a strong stun that can be followed up by dragging a hero into a favorable position. But you'll also need a team who both gets Venge and also realizes that she's a tough hero to play right.

It'd be nice to have a website where you can put the page for a guide on a second monitor and have all the pertinent information you need on one page. On DotaFire I can just about get the suggested skill build and items on the page but that's it. Oh, and only one version of these.

It shouldn't be too difficult to arrange the page in such a way that you can see information without scrolling all over the place, but be able to have more information than on http://www.dota2alttab.com/

Between Pyrion tweeting about it yesterday and that video being posted I figured it was today. Well, bugger

Those items. How much freaking damage were you doing at the end?

S'up Sigma. You'll receive your parking pass in 5-7 business days.

If it's something I can chip in time to help with I could use some de-rusting of my skills. Goodness knows I don't get a chance to flex them at work.

Just experienced it myself yesterday. Had a rough start because they played a great lane phase vs me and after 30 mins only really had a Helm.

10 minutes, 100 last hits and 5 kills/3 assists later, have a BKB and Satanic farmed up. Game is basically over.

What do you call a Shadow Shaman that ward traps a Pudge? A Pudgepacker.

Yo mama so dumb she has negative intelligence growth.

Yo mama so fat she starts at level 1 with 6 rapiers.

Yo papa so deadbeat you start every game with an abandoned message.

Yo papa so useless, if he was a DotA2 hero he'd have no roles.

Yo mama is such a whore her Linkens is always popped.

Did you hear what happened to the Windrunner who bought a Point Booster, a Vitality Booster and an Energy Booster?

Nothing, Soul Booster doesn't work on gingers.