Game in the Life of a Carry

I did this on my blog some days back, and teammates think I should put it up here as well because while there's a lot going on backstage at the moment, main stage is looking rather dead-ish (word ref: Rowan Atkinson, Fatal Beatings) right now.

So this is about a game in the life of a carry player - me - and the sort of thoughts that run through my head from the point the game starts to somewhere where it ends. I'll re-imagine it so it reads different from my blog, but really it would be the same old boring shit. I'm not very exciting. Yawn if you must.

Life of a Carry. A Game of Life. A Game in the Life Of.

Game starts and I am given a hero. It is usually the carry in the stacked lane or solo middle (although sometimes I do solo away lane as well). I consider the opponent heroes. If there are more than 2 casters I get a stick and some branches. If the opponent is high on base damage I get some stats on my primary. Healing as well is a must so probably and pot and some branches.

And then I take a look at the lane and how the positions are. Solo waits for your opponent to make mistakes. Stacked allows you to force your opponents to make them. It depends on where the supports are standing before I make a move (if at all). Kills and deaths take place. Last hits take place. I take a glance at the other two lanes to assess the situation. Usually I am not required to go but I might if I can take kills. Sounds typical so far? It is.

I farm up eventually (either that or the opponents end us) and it's time to do some serious killing. Reason why we're called "carry" in case you didn't know, is because our role is to carry the game to victory. It doesn't always happen because sometimes the support, tanks and 'semi-carries" do the great honour of stealing the game away with their fabulous play (credit: huayan, kimberlyn, tammy and cynthia). But sometimes I get a shot at it.

So I look for opportunities. A 'zibi' solo-er in lane is a clear and obvious target for a hero like Drow. Cold arrows, and silence at the right time is certain death. Teleporting in to engagements at the right time is also excellent to clear up the leftovers when you're a Shadowfiend with an excellent 300 per raze damage (has a sudden shudder from remembering my disastrous Shadowraze Wars yesterday). Accuracy plays a big part of course.

Killing a few means an opportunity for push and finishing off the opponent. And then congratulations to them or us. Throne/Tree down and it's GG.

But what do I make out of being a carry.

Sure it's glorious to be celebrated as the "godlike" or "holyshit" hero in the team because your imba damage takes almost all the last kills. You don't even have to aim after a while. And I like the fact that I'm killing a lot of things. It feels good to be appreciated and patted on the back by your teammates for a job well done.

But I don't forget that the game wouldn't be at that stage without the effort from everyone. For the great supporting and warding to keep me alive and farming, kills they let me take, backups to counter engagements to keep me from dying tragically - DotA is a team effort. I am important, as a carry, but so are the other 4 of my teammates in their various roles.

So the next time you ask us (a favourite question interviewers like to ask us) who is the strongest player in your team, think again. And then rephrase your question and ask what is it that makes our team win the games we do (and lose the ones we do as well). It's all about teamwork.

And so there it is. Game in the Life of a Carry player. *takes a bow

And while you're reading this (if you still are), you should also do some talking with us. In addition to Facebook, we've opened up a new CHAT TAB at the navigation bar (that's to your top right) and it allows you to say hello and all. It looks like this... (though colour changes depending on our mood)...



and it's really easy to use. Just log in by connecting to Facebook or sign in as a Guest (and entering your nick) to start clicking in the box like you would in your MSN. And while I'm writing this I fancy Tammy's just started some weird conversation in the chat so drop by and see what she's doing. =)

Till next time.