Dota – file will all the loading screen tips for Dota2

dota-2

Is there a file in our Dota folder where I can see all the loading screen tips?
I found some lists on the Dota2 dev forums (http://dev.dota2.com/showthread.php?t=140180), but I am not sure how old they are.

Best Answer

The file you're looking for is dota_english.txt or a variant for your language. It's located in:

\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\dota 2 beta\dota\resource

Or your operating system / setup equivalent.

It's a rather big file, look for the term "LOADSCREEN" to find introduction tips. Glancing over those sections it seems there are around 170 tips currently, divided in "beginner", "intermediate" and "advanced" sections. The current list of tips on my PC includes:

// INTRODUCTORY LOADSCREEN TIPS (0 to 25 games played)
- Try to fight creeps and enemy Heroes within the attack range of your team's Towers.
- Be careful when crossing the river into enemy territory.
- Remember to purchase items to restore your health and mana at the start of the game.
- Purchase and use Town Portal Scrolls to move around the map quickly.
- There are "Side Shops" at the extreme east and west sides of the battlefield, where several useful items can be purchased.
- Some items can only be purchased at a "Secret Shop".
- For most heroes, the "Ultimate" ability can be learned at level 6, and strengthened at levels 11 and 16.
- Striking the last hit on a creep or hero will earn you additional gold.
- Make sure your team has a Courier to bring items to them while they are in the lanes.
- Items purchased while you are away from a shop will be placed in your Stash to be retrieved later, or delivered by your team's courier.
- If needed, Color Blind Mode can be enabled in the settings menu.

// UNIVERSAL LOADSCREEN TIPS (25+ games played)
- Announcers and HUD Skins are shared between all players in a match. You can choose among them by pressing the Shared Content button on the left side of the Top Bar.
- Remain calm. Remember: it's only a game.
- You can mute rude players by going to the Scoreboard, accessed using the buttons on the left side of the Top Bar.
- After you have chosen a hero, you can click on the minimap in the lower left to inform your teammates where you intend to go when the game begins.
- Enjoyed playing with someone? Commend them by clicking on their name in the Scoreboard, accessed using the buttons on the left side of the Top Bar.
- You can hold Alt and click on an ability to inform your teammates of that ability's current cooldown status.
- You can inform your teammates that an enemy Hero is missing by holding Alt and clicking on that Hero's portrait in the Top Bar.
- Always be polite, especially to your teammates. People are less likely to listen to those who are rude."
- Players who abandon a match will be penalized."
- Anyone can buy wards, and anyone can buy or upgrade the courier. If your team needs something, don't be afraid to buy it.
- Be nice to new players. Everyone has to start somewhere.
- Good luck. Have fun.
- Hero choices matter. Many heroes are strong counters to other heroes, and many hero pairings are far more powerful and useful than any hero is alone.
- Holding Shift allows you to issue actions to be performed in a sequence.
- Make your voice heard! Visit the Dota 2 Workshop and vote for the items you'd like to see sold on the Dota 2 store.
- Many Global Items can be set to Shuffle, causing a different random item to be chosen for that slot after every match.
- Positive reinforcement can go a long way toward victory.
- Prefer to see icons of Heroes' faces instead of color-coded symbols on the minimap? You can change this in the settings menu.
- Remember to stand up and stretch between matches.
- Remember: everyone has bad games. Everyone makes mistakes.
- Want the minimap to appear on the other side of the screen? You can change it in the settings menu.
- You can adjust how often hero voices are heard in the settings menu.
- You can download your match replays from the Career Profile menu. A good way to improve is by analyzing your plays from a new perspective!
- You can hold Alt and click on an ability or item to inform your teammates if it is ready, on cooldown, or if you do not have enough mana to use it.
- You can still use items while silenced.
- Accidentally canceled your Town Portal Scroll? The settings menu has an option to make a Stop command required in order to cancel a Teleport.
- Holding Alt and clicking on an item in an enemy hero's inventory will alert your team that the enemy has that item.
- Holding Alt and clicking on your Buyback button, or on your gold, will alert your team of your Buyback status.
- In All Pick, players who have not chosen a Hero before the timer expires will begin to lose their starting gold.
- Dota 2 is always evolving. New features are added, new Heroes are introduced, and existing Heroes and mechanics may see adjustments. Be sure to keep up with the latest changes at the Dota 2 blog!
- Be careful not to make more enemies than the five you are already facing.
- If needed, Color Blind Mode can be enabled in the settings menu.
- Holding Alt and clicking on an enemy Hero's health and mana bars, or your own, will inform your team of that Hero's current health and mana.
- You can inform your team of active buffs or debuffs on your Hero by holding Alt and clicking on their icons.
- If you hold Alt and click on the Glyph of Fortification, you will inform your team of its current status. To tell your team not to use the Glyph, hold both Control and Alt while clicking on the Glyph.
- Holding Alt and clicking on your respawn timer will announce your current respawn time to your team.
- Use the Chat Wheel to quickly send pre-selected messages to your teammates. Different phrases for the Chat Wheel can be assigned in the settings menu.
- Chat Wheel messages are translated to appear in whichever language the receiving player is using.
- Assign ability keys to Quickcast to use skills at the location of your mouse cursor with a single key press.
- You can set your Dota 2 and Steam profiles to be hidden from other players in the settings menu.
- You can expose your public match data to be gathered by third parties in the settings menu.
- From the settings menu you can set items and abilities to automatically cast on your Hero using a double-click on the ability icon, or with a double-tap of its assigned key.
- Never give up! Killing an enemy Hero is worth more gold and experience if your team is less powerful than your opponents.
- It is everyone's responsibility to try to make the Dota community a friendly and inviting place to compete.
- Want to see how the pros play Dota? Check out the many Dota 2 tournaments taking place around the world, available on the Dota Store. You might learn a few new tricks for your favorite hero.

// BEGINNER LOADSCREEN TIPS (25 - 150 games played)
- If you notice an enemy Hero missing from your lane, tell your teammates by saying "Missing Top/Middle/Bottom". You may save a teammate's life!
- You can level up your abilities by holding Control and pressing that ability's shortcut key.
- Use Wards to reveal parts of the map and increase your awareness of the enemy team's movements.
- Be sure your team has a courier to deliver your items from the shop so that you can stay in the lanes gaining experience and gold.
- Sentry Wards reveal nearby invisible units as well as enemy Wards."
- Roshan is much easier to kill if you reduce his Armor.
- Shift-clicking on shop items will add them to the Quickbuy.
- Scoring the last hit on a tower will earn you more gold for its destruction.
- The "Safe Lane" is the longest lane on your team's side of the river. For the Dire, this is the top lane. For the Radiant, it is the bottom lane.
- The "Hard Lane" is the shortest lane on your team's side of the river. For the Dire, this is the bottom lane. For the Radiant, it is the top lane.
- Typically, a team only needs one courier.
- The movement speed bonus for having boots does not stack. No matter how many legs your chosen Hero has, you only need a single set of boots.
- You can view an enemy Hero's inventory and abilities by selecting them.
- It is often a good idea to carry a Town Portal Scroll.
- There are many secret paths hidden in the trees, which are often called "juke spots". Use these to escape attacks, or to set up ambushes.
- Use Dust of Appearance to reveal nearby invisible enemies.
- Two Runes will appear on the river every two minutes, one north of the middle lane and the other to the south. One of them will always be a Bounty Rune.
- If you have a Bottle, touching a Rune will store it for later use. Storing a Rune will also refill the Bottle.
- You can select from many player-created Builds for your Hero by using the Build Guide button on the left side of the Top Bar.
- Check your minimap often. You may discover that you are about to be ambushed.
- Often the best way to learn a Hero's weaknesses is to play them yourself."
- Destroying the enemy's barracks will strengthen your team's creeps in that lane.
- Towers can see and attack invisible units.
- Be aware of your position when attacking creeps. You may wind up pushing your team's creeps, and yourself, into a dangerous location.
- The Side Shops sell many useful items, including Town Portal Scrolls and the components for many types of boots.
- Several cliff tops feature sigils which mark good locations to place Observer Wards."
- Being near your team's fountain will rapidly restore your health and mana.
- Strength increases maximum Health. Agility increases Attack Speed. Intelligence increases maximum Mana."
- The Secret Shop is not actually a secret."
- A "Carry" is a hero that gains power slowly, becoming strong late in the game. A "Support" hero is often most powerful early in the game, and later enhances their team's effectiveness."
- As long as your Hero is near a kill when it occurs, you will gain experience."
- You can temporarily fortify your structures, preventing all damage to them, by using the Glyph of Fortification. Use it wisely, as it has a very long cooldown."
- Using Town Portal Scrolls allows you to teleport to any allied structure. Using Boots of Travel allows you to teleport to any allied unit."
- If your Courier is killed, it will return, along with any items it was carrying, after 140 seconds."
- When using a Tango, the regeneration is always the same regardless of the size of the tree you consume."
- There are many websites and videos which can provide you with knowledge about overall tactics, team construction, and strategies for your favorite heroes."
- You can give a teammate one of your Tangos by using them on that teammate.
- You can use Healing Salves on your teammates to restore their health. Share the love!"
- Each player automatically earns 1 gold every 0.6 seconds, or 100 gold every minute.
- Town Portal Scrolls can be given to teammates.
- Observer and Sentry Wards cannot be placed inside Roshan's pit.
- Unclaimed Runes will be replaced every two minutes.
- Earning gold by killing creeps is often called "Farming".

// INTERMEDIATE LOADSCREEN TIPS (75+ games played)
- After Roshan has been killed, he will respawn at a random time between 8 and 11 minutes.
- Neutral creeps spawn at the 30 second mark, and then at every minute mark thereafter.
- Shift-clicking actions or abilities allows you to queue them.
- Some spells can be dodged by using a Blink Dagger or by becoming invisible.
- Attacking from an uphill position gives you an advantage as an enemy may miss their attacks or lose you in the fog of war.
- Using a Pipe of Insight will allow you to negate spell damage from enemy Heroes.
- Assault Cuirass can be used to boost the Armor of nearby teammates.
- When a tower is attacking you, attack-clicking on an allied creep will reset the tower's target.
- Placing a Ward or unit near a neutral creep camp can prevent the creatures in that camp from respawning at the minute mark.
- Monkey King Bar will grant you True Strike, which prevents enemy Heroes from evading your attacks, even when attacking uphill. True Strike does not work on enemy structures.
- Double-clicking your Blink Dagger will cause you to automatically blink toward your team's fountain.
- You can attack allied creeps that are near death. Use this to deny your enemy the gold gained from last hits.
- Magic damage can be reduced by items that grant Magical Damage Resistance.
- Physical damage can be reduced by items that grant Armor.
- Pure damage is not reduced by Armor or by Magical Damage Resistance.
- Changing the primary stat on Power Treads can break invisibility, as well as interrupt channeled spells such as using a Town Portal Scroll.
- Pulling all neutral creeps out of a camp near the minute mark will allow that camp to respawn. Use this to maximize the number of creeps you kill.
- Holding Control allows you to use your Bottle regeneration on an allied Hero. Bottled Runes, however, cannot be shared.
- Stuck in your base? You can still make purchases from the Secret Shop by sending your Courier there. Just be careful not to send it into the enemy forces!
- When no enemy creeps are near, Towers and Barracks have Backdoor Protection, which lessens the damage they take and allows them to restore their health."
- Quelling Blade only does its bonus damage to enemy creeps."
- The Damage Blocked values on a Stout Shield, Poor Man's Shield, and Vanguard refer to the type of Hero carrying the shield, not the type of attacker."
- Dagon, Necronomicon, and Diffusal Blade can be upgraded by purchasing their recipes again.
- You can give a teammate a single ward by holding Control, clicking on the ward in your inventory, then clicking on your teammate.
- Blink Dagger and Force Staff can be used to climb up and down cliff sides.
- Use a Quelling Blade to cut down trees and carve your own path through the forests."
- Illusions and creeps will not dispel Smoke of Deceit, only Heroes will.
- You can disable auto-attacking in the options menu.
- Holding Alt will display additional information in the descriptions of several abilities and items."
- Barracks cannot reveal invisible units or wards.
- Buyback has a 7 minute cooldown.
- Each hero has a primary attribute of Strength, Agility, or Intelligence. Every point in your hero's primary attribute increases their attack damage by 1.
- From his third death onward, Roshan will drop Cheese in addition to the Aegis of the Immortal. Using Cheese instantly refills that hero's health by 2500 and mana by 1000.
- Hero illusions are instantly destroyed if they attack Roshan.
- Remember to check your allies' inventories before purchasing an item for its aura effect. A teammate may already have that item, and most auras do not stack.
- Stun durations from different skills do not stack. You can keep an enemy stunned for longer with careful timing of your team's skills.
- Teleports from Town Portal Scrolls and Boots of Travel are not cancelled by silences or knockbacks.
- The closer a Tower is to its team's Ancient, the more gold its destruction will yield.
- Using a Soul Ring will grant you extra mana even if your mana is already full.
- You can destroy allied Towers when they are below 10% health. Denying a Tower drastically reduces how much gold the enemy receives for its destruction.
- You can use a Quelling Blade to damage enemy observer and sentry wards.
- Always be nice to those who buy Wards and Couriers.
- Physical Damage, dealt by all regular attacks, some hero abilities, and some items, can be reduced with Armor or blocked by becoming Ethereal.
- Magical Damage, dealt by most hero abilities and items, can be reduced with Magical Damage Resistance or blocked by Spell Immunity.
- Activating Manta Style will move you from your original position when the illusions appear. Use this to confuse enemies!
- Denied creeps grant 50% of their normal experience.
- Use the Flying Courier's Speed Boost wisely. It has a very long cooldown.
- Ranged heroes and units have a 25% chance to miss when attacking uphill.
- Roshan becomes stronger every 4 minutes, gaining additional health, damage, and armor.
- The Bounty Runes that spawn at the start of the match provide double their usual gold and experience.
- Some abilities cannot be blocked by spell immunity. Each ability's interaction with spell immunity is shown in its description.
- Consider saving gold for Buyback. A well-timed Buyback can turn a desperate defense into a swift turnaround.
- Illusions deal 25% less damage to enemy structures.

// ADVANCED LOADSCREEN TIPS (150+ games played)
- Reliable Gold is earned from killing Heroes, Roshan, and Couriers, from the destruction of enemy Towers, or from using Hand of Midas. All other earnings are Unreliable Gold, which can be lost upon death.
- You can pull the creatures in the neutral creep camp that is nearest to your team's Safe Lane into your lane creeps.
- Several items can be broken down into the component parts by right-clicking them in your inventory and choosing "Disassemble". Re-use those components to create new items.
- Use Control Groups to issue orders to different sets of units under your control. To set a Control Group, select a unit or units, hold Control, and press a number. To select that Control Group, press that number."
- If you are about to die, use your "Purchase Quickbuy" keybinding to spend your gold before it disappears!
- Swapping the primary attribute on Power Treads to Intelligence can give you a little extra mana.
- If you have an Armlet of Mordiggian, you can turn on Unholy Strength to temporarily raise your health by 475. Disabling Unholy Strength will remove the added health, down to a minimum of 1 health.
- Activating Manta Style removes several buffs and debuffs, and will cause projectiles that are already in flight to miss.
- After using Buyback, 25% of a hero's remaining respawn time at the time of Buyback is added to their next death.
- Cheese can be sold for 500 gold.
- If you are within range of several auras with the same effect, only the most powerful aura will be active.
- If you know you are about to die, consider entering a neutral creep camp, or going to Roshan, and letting them kill you instead. This will deny the enemy team the gold and experience earned from your death.
- Melee Barracks regenerate 5 hit points per second. Ranged Barracks do not regenerate.
- One point of Agility increases hero attack speed by 1, as well as 0.14 armor.
- One point of Intelligence adds 13 maximum mana, as well as 0.04 mana regeneration per second.
- One point of Strength adds 19 maximum health, as well as 0.03 health regeneration per second.
- Shadow Blade can still be activated while channeling a Town Portal Scroll.
- Switching Power Treads to Agility while healing allows your health and mana to restore slightly faster. Just don't forget to switch them back!
- The Aegis of the Immortal can be denied.
- Though illusions are not affected by auras, they will still grant shared auras from their original hero to nearby units.
- You do not need to destroy the enemy team's barracks to damage the towers near their Ancient. Destroying barracks is optional.
- Warriors summoned by using a Level 3 Necronomicon have True Sight.
- The effects of Dust of Appearance can be purged.
- Runes can be attacked and denied."