Push

From DotA Allstars Wiki

Overview

A Push is a concerted effort, usually by 2 or more allied Heroes, to destroy one or more Buildings in a certain lane. A Push has numerous functions in DotA, ranging from gaining Gold through Tower destruction, upgrading allied Creeps by demolishing Barracks, and forcing an attacking enemy to defend their own base.

Pushing Basics

Pushing is one of the main aspects of DotA, alongside Farming and Ganking. While the latter two are more prominent throughout the game, neither can win the game alone; no matter how much gold is farmed or how many hero kills a team racks up, the ultimate goal always remains to destroy the enemy Ancient. Pushing consequently becomes of the utmost importance as the game progresses, with farming and ganking serving to facilitate the process.

The rewards for Pushing are extensive. Tower destruction alone serves multiple purposes: with regards to money, the killing hero gains an extremely large quantity of gold and the rest of the team receives the equivalent amount of gold of several hero kills. Even if the tower is denied, the pushing team still receives over 150 gold each at minimum. Removing enemy towers also increases the opportunities to Gank, thanks to the opening of paths previously blocked by that tower, the gain in map control with Wards once the tower's True Sight is gone, and the loss of safety areas for the enemy heroes. The deprivation of vision alone is a powerful incentive by itself to take out an enemy's towers as quickly as possible; cut off from warning of incoming heroes and True Sight around the critical positions occupied by towers, enemy heroes are hesitant to enter the lane and surrounding areas by themselves, reducing their farming capacity and inhibiting their ganking ability. Barracks destruction has even clearer benefits, as the resulting Power Creeps yield less gold bounty and Experience to the enemy team and can easily become a push threat by themselves if left unchecked. Pushing every Barracks down creates Mega Creeps, which easily spell the end of the game with their sheer damage output and pushing capacity.

Pushing is not without its own set of risks and disincentives, however. A pushing team must face not only the enemy tower, but whatever enemy heroes are assembled there; with the new Scroll of Town Portal, it is possible for the entire enemy team to arrive in a matter of seconds. Pushing heroes are therefore highly susceptible to ganks and ambushes the closer they get to the enemy base. Even without the threat of enemy heroes, the tower itself is a formidable threat early in the game with high Damage and Fortified Armor. Without some form of meat shield or Tank, the tower can easily kill or severely wound careless heroes, effectively ending the push. Finally, one must consider that in gathering allied heroes together for a push, other lanes are left empty. The team misses out on the gold bounties and experience from the enemy creeps in those lanes, making early pushes extremely risky due to the potential level difference and lack of farming. The enemy team can even counter-push those other lanes with single heroes, forcing either a mass retreat or the forfeit of a tower.

Push Strategy

The Push strategy is a competitive line-up focused around pushing and winning the game as early as posible. The core team consists of three to four Heroes with either summons, or spammable AoE spells, auras, and mana/HP support spells to maintain a constant pressure on the lanes. This strategy is most effective when the enemy line-up is made up mostly of late-game carry heroes, who are weak early game, or very little or no AoE skills to counter-push.

Depending on the planned strategy, at one point in the game, most of the team (all the pusher heroes) will suddenly gather on a lane to push and destroy the enemy towers as far as they can. If at one point their progress seems stalled, they would focus on another lane, or split up to farm and gank normally.

Because this strategy involves that most of the team stays together for long periods of time, their overall gold and level will be lower than the enemy's one. This means that it's very unlikely to win after several failed push attempts, because of the accumulated gold and Experience difference on the enemy carry heroes.

Push Heroes

While any hero can push a lane on his own, a distinct set of heroes are particularly suited for the initiation, maintenance, and prevention of pushes.

Area of Effect Heroes

The most successful pushes take place in a short period of time. Since creep waves will become embroiled in combat with enemy creeps, heroes that can quickly and consistently clear the opposing wave are especially suited to maintaining pushes. The easiest way to do so is simply to blast all the enemy creeps with a spell that deals AOE damage. The best examples of these heroes are the Oblivion, Tormented Soul, Pit Lord, Death Prophet, Goblin Techies, and Twin Head Dragon.

Tanks

Every push requires some way to Tank the tower and enemy heroes. Additionally, when the allied creep wave is inevitably destroyed, someone must absorb the damage from the next enemy creep wave, or else the two creep waves will simply cancel each other out and the push will be halted. This tank does not necessarily have to be a hero; an Illusion or Summon will suffice just as well, provided that they can be made relatively frequently. A rather large list of heroes can fit this role, but a pushing team should not require more than one or two: Soul Keeper, Broodmother, Prophet, Undying, Centaur Warchief, Lord of Avernus, Necro'lic and Phantom Lancer all fit the bill.

Healers

Over the course of a push, allied heroes will inexorably suffer damage that cannot be fully regenerated in time for the next fight. A healer serves to keep these damaged allied heroes and creeps alive and in the fight; with a 30 second wait between creep waves, the healer has plenty of time to ensure his team's survival for the next tower attempt. These heroes often get a Mekansm as well in order to maximize their healing ability: Lord of Avernus, Shadow Priest, Omniknight, Necrolyte, and the Holy Knight are all prime examples of healers who excel at pushing.

Support

Support heroes are necessary in all aspects of DotA. For more information, see the main Support article.

Mobility Heroes

A select few heroes are gifted with extraordinary mobility, able to move themselves or others around the map at will. This ability has clear pushing implications: pushing a lane behind enemy lines and leaving before enemies can set up an ambush, retreating to the fountain to heal and stock up on items before returning to the fray, and preventing counter pushes are just a few of the possibilities. While all heroes can gain map-wide mobility to a certain degree with Boots of Travel, the best mobility heroes can either forgo or abuse the item to maintain constant pressure on the enemy lines. The best mobility heroes are the Tinker, Prophet, Keeper of the Light, and Pit Lord.

Anti-Push Heroes

Just as certain heroes are gifted at starting and continuing pushes, others excel at stopping entire waves of creeps and heroes. This category overlaps heavily with the Area of Effect heroes, with the exception that Anti-Push heroes do not need to clear creep waves continually, so an Ultimate will suffice. Furthermore, heroes that prevent the pushing team from using their spells can stop a push outright by removing their primary means of dealing damage. Examples of such heroes include the Earthshaker, Keeper of the Light, Pit Lord, Queen of Pain, and Oblivion.

Push Items

Virtually all items can be useful while pushing, but several in particular are either integral to the success of a push or directly related to the tasks described above.

Essential Items

These items should be found on at least one member of the pushing team, at least in the early to mid game.

Luxury Items

These late game items are especially useful in pushing and countering pushes.