Common Dota 2 mistakes
27 mistakes the coach finds in replays most often. The number is the share of reviewed matches that have it.
Deaths
Why you die: positions without vision, one more creep, dying with gold, failed rotations and death streaks.
- Saw the threat and stayedThe enemies were visible in advance, but you stayed and died.90%Late gameOpen
- Died with gold in pocketDied while holding enough gold for a whole item.62%Midgame
- Death streakDied three times in a row almost without a break, or right after respawning.53%Late game
- Death without informationKilled by enemies nobody could see, with no wards nearby.26%Midgame
- Greedy death while farmingDied because you stayed for a couple more creeps after two enemies went missing.8%Late game
- Died on a rotationLeft your lane to help another one and died without getting a kill.7%Laning
- The coach finds these in your matchA replay review: moments on the map and what to do instead.Review my match
Gold and farm
Where your gold goes: holding it, slow farm, idling at base, a lost lane, late items, the courier and buyback.
- Holding goldCarried enough gold for an item for a minute or longer.54%LaningOpen
- No buyback while the base fellStayed dead while the enemy broke your base, although you had gold and buyback.34%Late game
- Lost laneFell behind your lane opponent in last hits and gold by the end of laning.28%Laning
- Slow farmEarned clearly less in five minutes of farming than in your best minutes of the same match.14%Midgame
- No gold for buybackDied in the late game when a buyback was needed but unaffordable.14%Late game
- Wasted buybackBought back and died again within a minute without joining a single kill.8%Late game
- Late key itemsCore items came 6 or more minutes later than pros get them on this hero.7%Midgame
- Courier lost with itemsThe enemy killed a courier carrying you 500+ gold in items.6%Late game
- Idle at baseSpent a quarter of a five-minute stretch at base without buying anything.2%Late game
Fights
Team fights: missing them, arriving late, getting caught alone, bad smokes and unused key spells.
- Missed fightsAlive and close, but never joined your team's fight.86%MidgameOpen
- Late to fightsJoined a fight more than 10 seconds after it started, and it cost the team.64%Laning
- Key spell not used in the fightYour ultimate, BKB or another key ability was never used in the fight.61%Midgame
- Caught aloneThe fight started on you while no ally was nearby.30%Midgame
- Caught while smokedYour team smoked up and lost more heroes than it killed.12%Late game
- The coach finds these in your matchA replay review: moments on the map and what to do instead.Review my match
Map and objectives
Map and objectives: farming without vision, wards, runes, defending buildings, windows after fights and Aegis.
- Farming without visionFarmed on the enemy half with no wards or allies while two enemies were unseen.64%MidgameOpen
- No TP to defendThe enemy was taking a building, your TP was ready, and you stayed put.30%Midgame
- Missed objective windowThree enemies were dead, and your team took no tower and no Roshan.25%Late game
- Too few wardsA support placed fewer than 1.5 observer wards per 10 minutes.19%Laning
- Wards dewarded fastThe enemy removed half or more of your observer wards.5%Laning
- Enemy took the runesIn mid your opponent took two or more power or water runes than you.4%Midgame
- Aegis without buildingsYour team took Roshan but broke no building during the 5 minutes of Aegis.2%Late game
- The coach finds these in your matchA replay review: moments on the map and what to do instead.Review my match
How this guide works
These are the mistakes the Highground AI coach looks for in the replay of every reviewed Dota 2 match. The rules are the same for everyone: the coach checks every death, every fight, every five-minute stretch of farm and every fallen building. Some thresholds are checked against matches of Immortal players: there, a mistake is something strong players avoid in the same spot.
The mistakes fall into four groups. Deaths covers why you died: no vision, greed, or a streak. Gold and farm covers income and purchases: where gold leaks and why items come late. Fights covers team fights: missing them, arriving late, holding your ultimate. Map and objectives covers vision, defending buildings and what your team does after a won fight.
Each mistake page has a definition with the exact threshold, a map example from a real anonymised review and tips for your next game. Once there are more than 20 reviews, it also shows how often the mistake happens at each rank.