GosuGamers' signature Draft Analysis feature returns with an in-depth breakdown of how Western and Eastern DotA differ from each other in terms of hero selection.
Much has been discussed among the DotA 2 community about the difference between Western teams' approaches to the game in comparison to their Eastern counterparts. More often than not, teams will pick the heroes that suit their respective gameplans. So while a difference in playstyle is not always noticeable enough to be quantitatively analyzed, we can have a general idea of a team's preferred strategy by looking at their drafts.
Since the 6.78 patch was released, there has been no shortage of high-quality DotA from both hemispheres. With the high volume of games played and thus a relatively large sample size, we again decide to use the patch release date (June 4th) as the starting point for our analysis and July 15th (end of EMS One Finals (West) and Redbull ECL Finals (East)) as the cut-off. Thanks to the great work of our friends at DatDota.com, we were able to gather data from all the tournaments being played over the past month, be it big (Super League) or small (Neolution Cup), thus further validating our samples.
(Note: since we are doing this analysis solely based on the location of the tournaments, Na`Vi's drafts during their participation in Alienware Cup will be counted toward the Eastern total. Also, LGD.int will be regarded as an Eastern team for the purpose of our analysis despite their members' nationalities.)
1. Top Choices Overall
is still nowhere near the popularity the hero has in the Western scene. The exact opposite applies to Visage. Despite the nerf to Open Wounds, Eastern teams are still leaning toward Lifestealer as their go-to carry option, while Western teams love their Gyrocopter. The numbers show that the Nature's Prophet, Keeper of the Light and even the Lone Druid are very popular selections among the Western teams, yet could barely even crack the top 20 over on the Eastern chart. A possible explanation could be Western teams' propensity to run pushing/split-pushing lineups, in which these three heroes thrive. Eastern DotA, on the other hand, seems more teamfight-oriented.
In the next part of the analysis, we will dig deeper and compare the top options of Western and Eastern teams in terms of hero roles in the current metagame. We understand that once in awhile teams will run a support Gyrocopter or a 2-position Nyx Assassin, but the occurences aren't significant enough to alter the sample. Therefore we will stick with a hero's traditional role everytime it appears in a draft.
2. Top Picked/Banned by Role
Pretty boring,
isn't it? When it comes to carry heroes, the top 10 choices for both
sides of the hemispheres are nearly identical, with the exception of the
Chaos Knight (East) and the Phantom Lancer (West). Taking a closer look
at the table, however, there are quite a few notable differences. While
the GPM machine Alchemist is oh-so-popular in the Eastern scene, he is
not much more than a situational, second-tier option for Western
teams. Conversely, while Western teams still love the Lone Druid and
don't seem to mind playing 4v5 in the first 20 minutes of games just to
farm up a Radiance on the Bear, this hero has gradually faded into
forgotten land over in the Eastern scene.
Naga Siren is also much more popular in the West; but it seems as though teams are no longer content to run 1-position Naga Siren anymore. We have seen her in mid lane and sometimes even as a support just to make use of her ultimate in setting up favorable teamfights. Also, it's pretty evident that doctors across the globe are successfully finding more and more ways to remove cancer, as the dreaded Phantom Lancer couldn't even make the top 10 list in the East while just barely making it in the West with a meager 16.2% appearance rate.
Solo mid
Breaking: Chinese love dragons. In all seriousness, ever since the 6.78 patch release, Dragon Knight has turned into a go-to mid-lane option for Eastern teams. With a spammable nuke, a reliable stun that's already effective at level one and a built-in HP regeneration, Dragon Knight has the perfect makeup of a solo-mid hero in the current metagame. He's hard to shut down completely early on and also scales very well in the late game thanks to his ultimate. The Western scene is slowly jumping on the DK bandwagon, but they still seem to prefer the traditional ganking mid solos in Puck and the Queen of Pain.
The difference in mindsets of Western and Eastern DotA is reflected in their mid-lane choices here; Eastern teams pick DK because the hero is a relatively safer bet to remain effective throughout the game. On the other hand, QoP and Puck are a lot more level-dependant in comparison to the DK, especially early on. And when teams run these two heroes mid, it's a medium-risk/high-reward bet that, if they have a good start and snowball, they can singlehandedly guarantee an advantage for their team in mid-game. On the other hand if they fall victim to a smoke gank or two early on and struggle, their mid-game impact will take a significant hit.
This also somewhat explains Eastern teams' rationale for sticking with the heavily-nerfed Magnus. They know that even though Magnus most certainly will be at a disadvantage in mid lane, he can still be relied upon later on with just a Blink Dagger because of how powerful and game-changing Reverse Polarity can be in teamfights. This goes to show that generally speaking, Eastern teams are less likely to take risk with their mid-lane options than their Western counterparts, who seem to have a more aggressive approach.
Off-lane/jungler
Either by running an offensive tri-lane or just sacking the lane altogether, teams generally don't seem content to put a solo hero on the suicide lane anymore, unless they have themselves a Dark Seer, Clockwerk, or Bounty Hunter. Nature's Prophet will just go straight into the jungle unless he is up against an opposing solo safe lane. Same thing applies for when Batrider is not banned, teams will most likely pick him and put him in the jungle for a stress-free 8-minute Blink Dagger. Windrunner is picked up quite often in the Eastern scene, but usually as part of an offensive tri-lane (Orange Esports runs this a lot to take advantage of Ohaiyo's incredible Shackleshots).
Support
Support is the area where West and East differ the most. Eastern teams love to run offensive tri-lanes and roam early with their supports, while Western teams often focus on getting experience in preparation for the mid-game. The Enchantress is a popular pick in the East but not the West because of this exact reason. Western teams like to run Chen as well, but not as a roaming tool early on as he tends to stay in the jungle, get fast levels and a Mekansm for mid-game pushing.
Similarly, Treant Protector is ignored in the Eastern scene because he is not a viable roaming option while Western teams can afford to pick him as a defensive support, let him get experience by creep-pulling while helping out other lanes with Living Armor.We also mentioned above that Eastern teams are generally more teamfight-oriented, which explains their love for the Visage and the Sand King. Sand King is a very high-risk/high-reward pick that can give teams a huge boost if he can get a timely Blink Dagger.
Naga Siren is also much more popular in the West; but it seems as though teams are no longer content to run 1-position Naga Siren anymore. We have seen her in mid lane and sometimes even as a support just to make use of her ultimate in setting up favorable teamfights. Also, it's pretty evident that doctors across the globe are successfully finding more and more ways to remove cancer, as the dreaded Phantom Lancer couldn't even make the top 10 list in the East while just barely making it in the West with a meager 16.2% appearance rate.
Breaking: Chinese love dragons. In all seriousness, ever since the 6.78 patch release, Dragon Knight has turned into a go-to mid-lane option for Eastern teams. With a spammable nuke, a reliable stun that's already effective at level one and a built-in HP regeneration, Dragon Knight has the perfect makeup of a solo-mid hero in the current metagame. He's hard to shut down completely early on and also scales very well in the late game thanks to his ultimate. The Western scene is slowly jumping on the DK bandwagon, but they still seem to prefer the traditional ganking mid solos in Puck and the Queen of Pain.
The difference in mindsets of Western and Eastern DotA is reflected in their mid-lane choices here; Eastern teams pick DK because the hero is a relatively safer bet to remain effective throughout the game. On the other hand, QoP and Puck are a lot more level-dependant in comparison to the DK, especially early on. And when teams run these two heroes mid, it's a medium-risk/high-reward bet that, if they have a good start and snowball, they can singlehandedly guarantee an advantage for their team in mid-game. On the other hand if they fall victim to a smoke gank or two early on and struggle, their mid-game impact will take a significant hit.
This also somewhat explains Eastern teams' rationale for sticking with the heavily-nerfed Magnus. They know that even though Magnus most certainly will be at a disadvantage in mid lane, he can still be relied upon later on with just a Blink Dagger because of how powerful and game-changing Reverse Polarity can be in teamfights. This goes to show that generally speaking, Eastern teams are less likely to take risk with their mid-lane options than their Western counterparts, who seem to have a more aggressive approach.
Either by running an offensive tri-lane or just sacking the lane altogether, teams generally don't seem content to put a solo hero on the suicide lane anymore, unless they have themselves a Dark Seer, Clockwerk, or Bounty Hunter. Nature's Prophet will just go straight into the jungle unless he is up against an opposing solo safe lane. Same thing applies for when Batrider is not banned, teams will most likely pick him and put him in the jungle for a stress-free 8-minute Blink Dagger. Windrunner is picked up quite often in the Eastern scene, but usually as part of an offensive tri-lane (Orange Esports runs this a lot to take advantage of Ohaiyo's incredible Shackleshots).
Support is the area where West and East differ the most. Eastern teams love to run offensive tri-lanes and roam early with their supports, while Western teams often focus on getting experience in preparation for the mid-game. The Enchantress is a popular pick in the East but not the West because of this exact reason. Western teams like to run Chen as well, but not as a roaming tool early on as he tends to stay in the jungle, get fast levels and a Mekansm for mid-game pushing.
Similarly, Treant Protector is ignored in the Eastern scene because he is not a viable roaming option while Western teams can afford to pick him as a defensive support, let him get experience by creep-pulling while helping out other lanes with Living Armor.We also mentioned above that Eastern teams are generally more teamfight-oriented, which explains their love for the Visage and the Sand King. Sand King is a very high-risk/high-reward pick that can give teams a huge boost if he can get a timely Blink Dagger.
Looking at the drafts, there are plenty of similarities in the way Eastern and Western teams approach the current metagame, at least in terms of hero choices. The hero pool is almost the same. However, differences are still evident as we have discussed above. It's worth pointing out that while the trends are clearly there, we do see certain Eastern teams operating like their Western counterparts and vice-versa. Competitive DotA has always been a copycat community, even moreso now that replays are readily available. But generally speaking, Eastern DotA is more active in the early game and has a stronger emphasis on teamfights and late game; whereas Western teams love to get agressive mid-game with a good start yet can always switch gear to split-pushing and avoiding 5-man engagements if need be.
Source : Here
