Hello everyone and welcome to the first in a 5 part series on pressure. In DOTA 2, there are three main types of pressure and you feel them in each and every game you play. Let me stress this point: pressure is that feeling you get when your heart is pounding because you have lost map control and the enemy team is under the cover of smoke, advancing on you. Understanding the three types of pressure is fundamental in learning how to channel the feeling of duress you get when under pressure into properly allocating the resources you provide to your team. The three types of pressure are: objective, lane, and time. In physics, pressure is defined force over an area like pounds (force) per square inch (area). In DOTA 2, pressure is also force over an area however this force is the the drive for resources and the area is the map. By understanding and properly reacting to pressure, you can make better decisions and increase your win percentage.
Objective pressure is the largest and most important type of pressure in the game for a couple of reasons: the other two types of pressure directly contribute to it, objectives can be taken from minute 0, and your team gains resources either directly through taking objectives or indirectly through information through things that grant vision (like wards). In fact, the Throne is the penultimate objective and taking it means victory. Below the Throne sit other objectives to focus on and talk about: runes, Roshan, and building. Roshan and buildings provide an immediate gold boost as well as the Aegis of the Immortal for the former and map control for the latter. Runes aren't always as tangible; sometimes they swing the game and sometimes they are just bounty runes... Regardless of which runes they are, they are important objectives in the early part of games.
Lane pressure is the second type of pressure discussed in this series. Lane pressure is, in some ways, a subset of Objective pressure, however it gets its own spotlight because it's more localized, time sensitive, and has a large impact on how the game unfolds. To help distinguish lane pressure from objective pressure, think of objective pressure as the result of accumulating resources - i.e. get gold, then get item, take objective - and think of lane pressure as the act of accumulating resources. By accumulating resources in lane (and in the jungle by extension), you pressure your opponent. Think of lane pressure like an Anti Mage clearing waves of creeps and then clearing the jungle then back to clearing waves of creeps - an enemy team feels pressured to stop him.
Finally, there is time pressure which derives its existence from the idea that line ups or individual heroes want to hit certain timings. Missing those timing makes the game a lot harder for the team which missed it. The converse reverse is also true; make your timings and the game gets easier (hopefully resulting in a win!) Radiance represents this idea brilliantly. A Spectre feels pressured to get her Radiance as soon as possible and the enemy team feels pressured to delay it as long as possible. If her Radiance is acquired on time or early (about 20 minutes), her team is in a good position to win. The longer she's delayed, however, the more pressure her team is under because so many resources have been lost or tied up in getting it.
Understanding what you feel when you're playing is important and we have all had that feeling of pressure at one point or another. When you can identify and translate what you feel into coherent terms, you become a force to be reckoned. Most people get stuck in the feeling phase (thus the constant flame) but reading this blog and channeling how feel into the proper response and decision is the key to grabbing a victory in 3K MMR.
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