Dota 2 Glossary

Definitions for essential professional Dota 2 terminology covering game mechanics, hero roles, items, and objectives used in Tier 1 esports competition.

• Draft — The hero pick-and-ban phase before each Dota 2 game.
• GPM (Gold Per Minute) — A stat measuring a player's average gold income rate throughout the game.
• Roshan — The most powerful neutral monster in Dota 2. Killing it grants the Aegis of the Immortal.
• Rampage — Killing all 5 enemy heroes within approximately 40 seconds — the highest kill streak in Dota 2.
• Divine Rapier — A 6,200-gold item granting massive damage that drops on death — a desperation or decisive-push purchase.
• Aegis of the Immortal — An item dropped by Roshan that revives the carrier in place after death.
• Mega Creeps — Empowered creep waves that spawn when all of a team's barracks are destroyed.
• Buyback — Spending gold to immediately respawn after death — a critical comeback and defense mechanic.
• Net Worth — The total gold value of a player's items plus unspent gold — the primary team economy metric.
• First Blood — The first hero kill of the game — earns the killer bonus gold.
• Smoke of Deceit — A consumable that makes a group of heroes invisible and grants movement speed — used for coordinated ganks.
• Ancient — The main structure each team must destroy to win the game.
• Barracks — Structures behind Tier 3 towers that, when destroyed, grant the enemy empowered creeps.
• BKB (Black King Bar) — A 4,050-gold item granting 9–5 seconds of magic immunity — standard in professional matches.
• TP Scroll (Town Portal Scroll) — A 100-gold consumable that teleports a hero to any friendly structure after a 3-second channel.
• Courier — A personal unit that delivers items from the base stash to heroes anywhere on the map.
• Carry (Position 1) — The primary late-game damage dealer who farms to scale into the most powerful hero.
• Support (Position 4 / Position 5) — Utility roles who buy vision wards and sacrifice farm to enable teammates.
• Offlane (Position 3) — The solo lane role — plays opposite the enemy carry to disrupt their farm.
• Mid Lane (Position 2) — The solo center lane role — high-mobility heroes who rotate to create early advantages.
• Last Hit — Dealing the killing blow to a creep or building to collect the gold bounty.
• Deny — Killing your own low-health creep to prevent the enemy from collecting its gold or experience.
• Teamfight — A multi-hero engagement where three or more heroes from each team clash over objectives.
• Bounty Rune — A gold-granting rune spawning every 3 minutes at fixed map locations.
• True Sight — The ability to see invisible units — essential for countering Smoke of Deceit and invisible heroes.