Settings to change first
Open Settings → Options from the main menu before you play. Five minutes here makes learning much smoother.
Auto Attack: Never
Your hero won't hit creeps on its own, so last hits stay in your hands.
Quickcast
Abilities fire the moment you press the key, with no extra click.
Sensible graphics
A smooth frame rate matters more than pretty visuals while learning.
The order to learn in
Don't jump straight into serious games. Raise the difficulty step by step:
- 01
Hero Demo
Try every ability with no real opponent.
- 02
Bot games
Practise last hits and abilities against the computer.
- 03
With friends
Bring a more experienced friend along.
- 04
Unranked
Real games, nothing at stake.
05Ranked
Unlocks after 100 hours of play.
Your first shopping trip
As soon as the game starts, buy your starting items (see the Items & Build Path lesson). You already get one free TP Scroll in its own slot, so you don't need to buy one yet.
Keep a little gold for emergencies instead of spending it all on one item.
The mindset that makes you improve
Losing at first is completely normal. What matters isn't winning or losing, but what you learn from each game.
One focus per game
Example: this game, only last hits. Next game, only wards.
Watch the replay
Rewatch the moments you died and find what you could do differently.
Pause when annoyed
Playing angry makes you worse. Take a break, then come back.
Key Points to Remember
- Set Auto Attack to Never before you play
- Order: Hero Demo → bots → play with friends → unranked → ranked
- You start every game with one free TP Scroll
- One focus per game, and rewatch your deaths
Quick quiz
Which setting should a beginner change FIRST?