"DOTA0" aka. "The King's Game" is a custom map for Warcraft III Reign of Chaos (ie. '''not''' The Frozen Throne.) It traces its lineage to the very first Defense of the Ancients map, and is the greatest LOMA ever made. It's called DOTA0 to distinguish it from the other branch of the family tree "DOTA All-Stars" which is most people think of as DOTA1 and its descendant DOTA2.
We play version 3.7.

= Install and Run =
 1. Copy the "Warcraft III 1.26" folder off somebody cool.
 1. Inside the folder there should be three items:
  a. "Warcraft III.exe - DirectX.lnk" - a shortcut to start the game in DirectX mode. This is the best to run if it works for you.
  a. "Warcraft III.exe - OpenGL.lnk" - a shortcut to start the game in OpenGL mode. This is the best to run if the DirectX complains.
  a. "The Stuff" folder  - if you absolutely must run the exe directly, or you want to play The Frozen Throne instead.
 1. Once Reign of Chaos is running, go into "Local Area Network".
 1. Hopefully you can see the game. Change your name.
  a. If you can't see the game, check your firewall settings. Chances are Windows is already asking you about it if you alt+tab out.
  a. If you need to run the game, go into Custom Game -> Defense of the Ancients 3.7

= What Now? =
 1. Up to 10 people can play. 2 slots are reserved for the AI for each team.
 1. The Sentinel and The Scourge have a completely different choice of heroes, and even some slight differences in items to buy in their shop.
 1. Because the WC3 engine has no way to pick a hero per se, you start controlling a Shade. See those 5 Shades in the middle of a ring of heroes? Drag-select until you find your Shade.
 1. Once you have selected your Shade, you right-click Move him to a Circle of Power to choose a hero.
  a. Be careful with your movements, as the first Circle of Power you touch will be the guy you pick. Try to move like a chess knight to avoid mistakes.
  a. Some good heroes for first time players are:
   a. Sentinel:
    a. Phantom Lancer aka. Zuljin Andorhall, melee Agility hero
    a. Juggernaut aka. Yurnero, melee Strength hero
    a. Dwarnven Sniper aka. Kardel Sharpeye,  long ranger Agility hero
   a.  Scourge:
    a. Storm Spirit aka. Zer'Negul, ranged Agility hero
    a. Bone Fletcher aka. Kjeldoran Dead, ranged Agility hero
    a. Lifestealer aka. N'aix, melee Agility hero
    a. Wraithlord aka. Arenageth, range Intelligence creep summoning hero
 1. You start with 500 gold. 
  a. A good starting item is one of:
   a. Boot of Elvenkind for Agility heroes, 600 gold.
   a. Belt of Giant Strength for Strength heroes, 600 gold.
   a. Sobi Mask for casters and Intelligence heroes, 300 gold.
  a. Stand next to one of the vendors inside the base where you spas, and click on them to see what they sell. Click on an item to buy.
 1. You can give gold to other people by pressing F11.
  a. Clicking on the gold next to someone's name sends 100 gold. Control+click to give all the gold you have. Try not to die carrying any gold as you will lose some of it.
  a. Ideally a caster will buy a Sobi Mask and give his teammates some gold so they can get their starting items early.
 1. Your base is in either the bottom left or top right corner of the map. Three lanes lead between each base. Creeps spawn every so often and run to the front lines. By supporting your creep pushes with heroes, you can break through the defensive towers and wave of enemy creeps and eventually destroy the enemy base.
 1. Try not to die. Try especially not to die carrying any gold. Let the minions take as many hits as possible. Back away when enemies are coming after you. But you also have to push as much as possible, and press any advantage you can.
 1. Try not to let the tower hit you too much. If it is targeting your hero, back out of its range and let it start attacking a minion instead, then move back into its range. Very few heroes can outrange towers.

== How does DOTA0 compare to My Favourite LOMA? ==
 * No recipes. If you buy an item you're either stuck with it all game, or letting it rot unused on the ground.
 * Asymmetric hero choice between teams. In general the Scourge wants to try to win early whereas the Sentinel will more likely win if they manage to hold the game until lvl 10.
 * You can wear multiple pairs of boots and multiple cloaks, etc. But Movement Speed will not stack.
 * In general heroes are weaker and towers are stronger. Minions are stronger.
 * Only 10 levels.
 * Very few CCs, stuns, etc. Thank god.
 * You can trade gold and items.
 * Movement speed is in general slower, and leaving your lane to heal up at the fountain is a much larger liability. For this reason there are strategies like giving gold to your healer, who can buy an item at the shop then teleport to your location and trade it with you.