🏛️Official — Valve
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Esports
5 players
indoor
computer, monitor, mouse
10 essential rules
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Valve Corporation. Two teams of five players each select heroes from a pool of over 120 and compete to destroy the opposing team's Ancient, a core structure in their base.
Gaming PC meeting tournament minimum specifications; Monitor: minimum 144Hz refresh rate, 24-27 inch display; Mouse and keyboard: players may bring their own peripherals (no programmable macros)
All competitive matches are played on the standard Dota 2 map, which is symmetrically balanced between the Radiant (bottom-left) and Dire (top-right) sides.
Each team consists of 5 active players and 1 coach; Standard positions: Carry (Pos 1), Mid (Pos 2), Offlane (Pos 3), Soft Support (Pos 4), Hard Support (Pos 5); Coaches may communicate during the draft phase and pauses only (not during live gameplay)
All professional matches use Captain's Mode drafting; Each team bans and picks heroes in an alternating sequence; Draft order: Ban-Ban-Ban-Ban — Pick-Pick-Pick-Pick — Ban-Ban-Ban-Ban — Pick-Pick-Pick-Pick — Ban-Ban — Pick-Pick
A team wins by destroying the enemy Ancient. Games have no time limit and continue until one Ancient falls or a team concedes.
Match fixing: Arranging outcomes or betting on own matches — permanent ban; Cheating: Using hacks, scripts, or unauthorized information — permanent ban; Account boosting: Playing on another player's ranked account — suspension
Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) monitoring on all competitive systems; Player PCs are provided by tournament organizers at LAN events (no personal hardware for system units); USB device whitelisting at Major events
Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) monitoring on all competitive systems; Player PCs are provided by tournament organizers at LAN events (no personal hardware for system units); USB device whitelisting at Major events
Unsportsmanlike conduct: Excessive taunting, all-chat abuse — warning to fine; Harassment: Directed personal attacks against players, officials, or staff — fine to suspension; Public statements: Defaming tournament integrity or leaking confidential information — fine
Soundproof booths or isolation setups at all Major and TI events; White noise played to prevent crowd sound leaking strategy information; Server-side logs retained for all competitive matches
Do not abandon a game, even when losing badly
Leaving a match before the ancient falls is a serious social contract violation regardless of how lopsided the score is. Beyond Valve's automated Low Priority penalty system, the community applies strong normative pressure against abandonment. Feeding and then leaving compounds the offense significantly.
Do not intentionally feed (die repeatedly on purpose)
Deliberately running into enemies to hand them kills—whether from frustration, tilting, or to sabotage teammates—is among the most condemned behaviors in Dota 2 culture. The unwritten expectation is to play earnestly until the ancient falls regardless of game state. Valve's grief detection is separate from, and secondary to, the community norm.
Fountain hooking was taboo (historical)
A technique exploiting Pudge's hook combined with displacement abilities to pull enemies directly into the fountain for instant, unavoidable kills. Though technically within the ruleset, the community broadly condemned it as exploiting an engine oversight rather than legitimate play. It gained widespread notoriety in high-stakes professional matches at The International 3 (2013) and Valve subsequently patched it out.
Largely historical — Valve's patch removed the interaction. The episode became a landmark reference point in Dota 2 discussions about the boundary between creative play and exploit abuse.
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Never type 'GG' in all-chat while the game is still in progress
Typing 'GG' in all-chat before the ancient falls—especially when winning—is considered disrespectful taunting. The custom is to use GG only when the game is definitively over as a mutual acknowledgment, not as a premature victory declaration. Using it mid-game signals poor sportsmanship and invites condemnation.
Distinct from typing GG in team chat to signal teammates to call it; the taboo applies specifically to all-chat taunting while the outcome is still contested or not yet conceded.
Pause the game immediately when any player disconnects
When a player—teammate or opponent—loses connection, the expectation is to pause at once and allow time to reconnect. Refusing to pause, or quickly unpausing while an opponent is disconnected, is a serious breach of etiquette. The norm holds even in pub games and is near-absolute in organized competition.
Tournament administrators typically codify this formally; the norm extends downward into all ranked play.
Supports must not take farm (last hits) from the carry in lane
Support players are expected to deny enemy creeps and protect the carry without taking last hits on allied creeps. Stealing farm as a support—depriving the carry of gold and experience during the laning phase—is one of the most commonly cited etiquette violations in Dota 2 and is treated as a fundamental failure of role responsibility.
Only pause for legitimate reasons; do not abuse the pause system
Each team receives a limited number of pauses intended for genuine emergencies—crashes, disconnects, or urgent real-world issues. Using pauses frivolously, pausing at tactically disruptive moments (mid-teamfight), or spam-pausing to tilt opponents is considered a serious abuse of a trust-based system.
Tournament rules codify acceptable pause usage formally; the norm against abuse extends into pub culture where referees are absent.