It is the dawn of a new era. For the first time since the Law-Med challenge started in 2008, Law students and Medicine students face off in cyberspace. And the first game to capture and exhibit the traditional rivalry between the two faculties is non-other than the all-time popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game – Dota 2.
In Defense of the Ancients 2 (or Dota 2 for short), two teams consisting of 5 players each are pit against each other, with the objective of destroying the opposing team’s ‘base’. Team Law comprises of team captain Marcus Lim, Adwyn Chuang, An Xian Chen, Kevin Lau, and Tian Kuang Kai. The finals were held on a Thursday, 21 Feb 2013.
Match 1
Team Law took the lead right from the start of the first match, flanking their opponents effectively and prevented them from exercising teamwork and aiding their fellow team members.
Within 15 minutes into the match, it was clear that Team Law had a huge advantage, both in terms of gold and towers.
Team Law did not let up this advantage and continued their advancement into the opponent’s base. They remained united in the middle lane and work together to defeat the opposing heroes with relative ease.
The team then strategically chose to lessen their defences in middle lane in exchange for the complete obliteration of the towers in the other 2 lanes.
With the top section of the opponent’s base entirely destroyed and team law immediately following up with a frontal assault in middle lane, the outcome of this match is now clear.
There is nothing left to stop Team Law from winning the match. With 4 out of the 5 opponents conceding defeat by leaving the match, victory is imminent!
Match 2
In the second match, things looked dire for Team Law right from the start. Team Law was outnumbered by Team Med 1-3 in the top lane; and even though Team Law had the same advantage in the bottom lane, they were unable to land a successful gank due to Team Med’s defensive play.
Without any backup in the top lane, Team Law easily lost their tower. Team Med also had the lead on gold advantage.
Team Med continued their advances and simultaneously took down Team Law’s towers in all 3 lanes.
Team Law managed to land a counterattack by finally taking down a tower in the match, in the prized middle lane, but it was done at a hefty cost.
Team Law then managed to catch up by destroying the top tower and bulldoze down the bottom lane while their opponents were busy pushing the other lanes. However, an invasion into Team Law’s base is dangerously at hand as Team Med attempts to advance into Team’s Law base via the top lane.
The tides finally turned for Team Law and they managed to best their opponents with an excellent display of teamwork when the two teams clashed head-on.
Capitalizing on this momentous victory, the team went on to invade their opponent’s base.
However, Team Law got carried away with their advantage and they were eventually worn out by Team Med.
Team Law then tried to put up a strong defense against Team Med’s assault. But they were outmatched and their towers fell one after the other.
After repelling off their opponents, the team resumed attack on their opponent’s base. But they came close to losing the match as their opponents were laying in ambush for an opportunity to destroy Team Law’s base while they were away.
The battle had been long-drawn and Team Law seeks to put an end to it with a decisive push at top lane.
It was most certainly a well-played match by both Team Law and Team Med. In the end, it boiled down to a rush between which team could take down the opponent’s base faster. Team Med had sent a hero to sneak into Team Law’s base to deal the finishing blow, but that move did not manage to be swifter than Team Law’s attack.
I hope that Law-Med Dota 2 will continue to be a tradition for the following years to come.
For those who don’t Dota
Dota 2 is a game of both action and strategy. It is an action game because each player picks a character (hero) with unique skills, and these skills are activated at precise timings to unleash devastating effects upon the opposing team. It is also a strategy game because each hero can be equipped with a variety of items, and these items have different effects which are best suited for different heroes and situations. Dota 2 is also a game that requires substantial teamwork to best the opposing team, where tactics such as ‘ganking’ and ‘baiting’ are commonplace. Team synergy is also extremely important because most heroes’ abilities can be activated in unison with other heroes’ to increase the overall potency of its effect. Hence, hero combinations also play a key factor in determining victory. Overall, Dota 2 is an excellent platform for the two faculties to compete because it features not only teamwork but individual skill as well.
At the start of the competition, each team took turns banning heroes and choosing heroes that would comprise their team. Heroes that are banned cannot be utilized in the match, usually for strategic reasons.
Once this is done, the match starts proper. At the base, there is a shop for players to purchase items to equip their heroes. Money is generally earned by killing creeps and opposing heroes. While it is not necessary to build up a fortune to win the game, it is usually easier to advance into the opponent’s base when the hero is buffed with well-planned items. There is also a mini map at the bottom left of the screen that keeps track of remaining towers and the positions of all visible heroes and creeps.
Each team starts off at opposite ends of a map. There are three possible lanes that lead to the opponent’s base. However, each side has 2 towers guarding each lane. These towers deal substantial damage and it is a requirement for the team to fell the tower should they intend to traverse down that lane. Fortunately, minions (creeps) are spawned at intervals and they assist in taking down the defensive towers.
