Staying alive and creating space are the name of the game when you’re caught out by a gank. Finding yourself in a sticky situation is a common occurrence to Dota players. Whether you’re a noob or playing for Newbee, it’s never 100% safe to move around the map, no matter how many wards you have up. The difference between rank amateur and top-ranked pro, however, is how easily you can get out of these situations. It’s all in the jukes.Juking is one of the strongest markers of an individual’s skill, as opposed to the teamwork the rest of the game is centred around. Getting out of a gank with a sliver of health requires in-depth knowledge of your opponent’s ability, as well as your own, and an almost godlike memorisation of every nook and cranny of the map. But with just a few tips you can be dodging and jiving like a pro, too.
First things first; know the rules of Fog O’ War. Your enemy’s vision dictates whether they can target you for attacks or spells, so knowing how to evade their sight is the main purpose of juking (the secondary purpose being to create sick showreel montages). Being able to use the environment to predict and interrupt this vision is of utmost importance, then.Hills, mountains, stairs and other high-ground terrain will automatically be invisible to any heroes on lower ground – unless they have a ward up there too. Use this to break vision long enough to prepare a timed stun (eg Lina’s Light Strike Array or Leshrac’s Split Earth) or just run back down the stairs as your opponent goes up them. If timed right, and your opponent is a bit slow on the uptake, you can send them off in the wrong direction for a couple of steps, buying precious time. You can also use this trick by running into Roshan’s pit, which almost never has vision, and has the added bonus of the outside of the pit also being in darkness to anyone inside the pit.Other ways to break vision involve making use of the many juking paths through the trees that are dotted around the map. A full guide to paths and hiding spots, created by Reddit user gurkensalat, doesn’t need to be memorised, but can be useful to know, especially the long and winding routes in the top and bottom lane corners, which can lead to hilarious fail ganks, like the example below.
Of course, to make full use of these lanes you’ll need tangos, or a quelling blade to cut trees in the way and keep your epic run going. It can also be useful to have vision of your pursuers while you get yourself lost in the trees, and know which way is safe to exit. For this you’ll need flying vision, or a ward on higher ground. For most areas there are few ward mountains to provide the sight you need, but Beastmaster’s hawk, or a Keeper of the Light with Aghanim’s Scepter during the daytime, should be able to help out here.
It can be a little hard to get those two specific heroes to come and help you out in-game, though, so rely more on your own abilities. If you’re in the off-lane and know you’ll most likely need to get out of difficult situations, consider some escape items or abilities. Sand King’s Burrowstrike is an obvious boon for the juker, as it allows him to travel short distances up or down terrain, and through trees. But other abilities like Sandstorm, which gives almost unlimited invisibility in a single spot, can also be used to briefly ditch pursuers who are wise to the tactic and spend a while spamming AOE or stun attacks on the spot you went invisible, while you slink away before they land.For the most part, good juking comes down to surviving long enough for help to arrive, your health to regen, or your spells/items to come off cooldown. With items like Blink Dagger, that can be cancelled by taking damage, avoiding all attacks for just a few seconds will give you the chance to blink far away from your attackers and run along home. But don’t forget the possibility of an Invoker sunstrike on the way back to base!Get the best pro gaming stories delivered straight to your inbox with the Red Bull eSports newsletter.
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