Pushing

[PSA POWER TO THE PUSHER] (self.DotA2) by FortyeniN I am FortyeniN and I am here to ask you a question. Is a hero not entitled to the gold of his farm?

‘No,’ says the Antimage, ‘it belongs to me’

‘No,’ says the Night Stalker, ‘it belongs to the ganker’

‘No,’ says the Crystal Maiden, ‘it belongs to the team’

I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different, I chose the impossible, I chose

Pushing

A strategy where the team will not fear the Hard Carry

Where the supports will not be bound by role limitations

Where the aggressive will not be stopped by towers

And with the choice of your picks, pushing can become your strategy as well.

WHAT IS PUSHING

‘Pushing’ is a team strategy where the intent of the heroes is to quickly destroy as many enemy towers as possible in the early to mid stages of the game (culminating in a fast melee barracks kill) relying on the momentum of superior team gold to steamroll teamfights and cripple the enemy. Pushing strategies rely on good team coordination and combined aggression, implementing the concepts of either Blitzkrieg or Motte. A pushing team will seek to overwhelm the enemy where they are weakest with superior numbers and rapidly strike the enemy at their center of gravity (barracks) thereby giving their team a significant gold lead. Otherwise a pushing team will aim to deprive the enemy of gold by limiting the areas where the enemy team can safely farm. Because each tower gives approximately one thousand gold to the entire team, a pushing team sacrifices exp for gold and translates this early gold advantage to an aggressive midgame. The goal of a pushing team is to secure a melee barracks before the 30 minute mark to control the map. Once the melee barracks is gone the enemy will only receive 30-40% gold from the creeps in the lane and have to constantly defend that lane lest the super creeps push the throne. This means that the defending team is now at a disadvantage that they may never recover from as their control of the map is severely compromised. Even if the defending team wins a team fight they themselves are unable to push until the creep equilibrium is pushed back toward the pushing team’s towers. The map control gained from pushing means that the pushing team can take Roshan at will relatively uncontested and gradually wear the enemy down through attrition. Pushing strats are extremely effective against teams with Hard Carries as that team will be playing 4 v 5 and the Hard Carry won’t be able to counterpush or push on his own until he finishes his Battlefury (AM/FV) or Radiance (Spectre) and because of this are a popular means to defeat unorganized pubs.

WHO CAN PUSH

A ‘Pusher’ is a hero who possesses abilities that can either damage the tower and/or damage the creep wave extremely quickly. Venomancer for instance is a pushing hero because his wards allows you not only to push (by wiping out the creep wave and by essentially acting as a second creep wave against the tower) but counterpush (a rarity as most supports that can push cannot counterpush) as his wards are magic immune and when enough are stacked can kill the wave before it reaches the tower. In contrast Furion (Nature’s Prophet) is a pusher because of his ability to teleport to any part of the map and summon treants (effectively doubling the creep wave). Not only that his Wrath of Nature will simultaneously push all three lanes at once from any point on the map. Heroes who have spammable high damage aoe nukes are effective pushers, especially when used in combination, as their nukes can decimate the creep wave and allow theirs to pass through unmolested. However any hero who has a Ring of Basilius (or a Vladimir’s Offering/Assault Cuirass/Nahrezim Buckler) can push because the +2 armor allows the creeps to tank an extra 1-2 attacks from the tower. Heroes who can boost creep armor or creep attack speed (Lich with his Frost Armor or Beast Master with his Inner Beast Aura) can also assist in pushes by boosting the creep wave. Because of this a surprisingly large amount of heroes are capable of pushing as a secondary function but a pushing strat relies on not just heroes who can push but their implementation. For instance a lineup of Nature’s Prophet, Windrunner, Leshrac, Crystal Maiden and Beastmaster has strong consistent lanes (BM mid, Leshrac/CM offensive lane, Windrunner solo safe lane with Furion jungling) that are capable of ganking and driving the enemy out of lane before transitioning to a fast push. At the same time this lineup (in Captain’s Mode) does not give much information away as Windrunner/Crystal Maiden and Beastmaster are strong staple picks that work well in most lineups and Furion’s role shifts depending on the region (Chinese teams play him as a support/pusher, European teams utilize his teleport to be a global ganker, etc). Most Semi Carry heroes are also capable of pushing (with the most notable being Brood Mother) as they tend to possess aoe skills to help clear the creep wave rapidly (i.e Mirana Star Storm) and because of this a pushing lineup can be very flexible.

However just as there are pushers, heroes who possess high aoe damage can operate effectively as counter pushers (most pushing heroes are also ‘counterpushers’ unless they are minion dependent), thereby limiting your strategy. For instance Sand King is picked in competitively play primarily to counter Brood Mother because he can solo against her extremely well with Caustic Finale (should he go that route) or can shut her push down cold with Burrowstrike and Sand Storm. Before deciding on a pushing lineup you have to consider enemy heroes that can counterpush as you may be handing these heroes massive amounts of gold.

HOW TO PUSH

There are effectively two types of pushing.

1) All In Push:

This relies on your team sticking together as a large group and running down any lane (usually mid) until the enemy is forced to deal with you or until you get a rax. This is a highly risky maneuver that relies on the enemy having limited aoe (as that limits their ability to halt the push) and/or not reacting fast enough. Against such teams at a certain point (when everyone is level 7 say or when you have 1-2 Arcane Boots with aoe ults up) you can do a Hail Mary straight to the enemy base and pray that you can grab a melee Barracks before the enemy responds. However this type of pushing is very ineffective overall as it relies on the enemy being a lot stupider than you are (which can happen from time to time) and/or having abysmal picks (which means that ideally you should have won anyway). Because of this you will rarely see the All In Push as if the enemy has a means of countering it (high aoe damage for instance) as you are wasting time and gold on one lane while the other two receive free farm (and can now push your lanes). A team that is utilizing the All In Push must therefore secure early Roshan kills and/or be able to push one lane extremely rapidly before transitioning to another (accumulating vast team gold through tower kills before deciding to rax). Because All In Pushes rely on the entire team it is wise to have heroes with strong teamfight ultimates (like Tidehunter or Enigma as they can also help with the push) to decimate the enemy should they engage as well as to prevent the enemy from acquiring these heroes.

2) Split Pushing:

Split pushing is where you utilize the concept of Divide and Conquer and manipulate the enemy’s map position to your advantage. This means that you will simultaneously push separate lanes or bait the enemy heroes to one lane while another hero takes the tower (usually a hero with high mobility like Furion/Morphling or one that can single handedly take rax if the enemy doesn’t react i.e Broodmother). Split Pushing is much harder to stop because it forces the enemy to constantly react to your moves. A team with a Broodmother can essentially play as 4 with the Broodmother completely pushing one lane while the other four heroes push another. The enemy team now is forced to choose between which lane to save as Broodmother requires investment to kill (sentries/dust/gem ontop of multiple heroes with strong cc abilities due to her unparalleled mobility) whereas if they decide to go 5 v 4 the pushing team can pull back while the Broodmother takes the tower. A hero like Antimage (provided he has Battlefury) is an excellent split pusher as his Blink makes him impossible to pin down and he can clear waves extremely quickly. Split Pushing needs good communication and coordination as your team mates must know when to engage and when to withdraw, a bad teamfight on their end can nullify the gold advantage gained through towers and if the player who is solo pushing doesn’t utilize his momentum then the strategy quickly falls apart. That being said Split Pushing doesn’t have to involve a massive amount of coordination as it does knowing the enemy’s position. If you know that the enemy is in another part of the map then press your advantage and try to take the tower (making sure to teleport back if your team needs you). Or if you are in the offensive lane and the enemy is dead, press your advantage and take the tower. Every tower kill gives you gold and denies them map influence (teleporting to the tower, creep equilibrium, ‘safe’ regions).

Much like ganking pushing is meant to cripple the enemy team before their Carry can pick up enough momentum to dominate the game. Unlike ganking however pushing provides far more gold to the team and deprives a greater amount of gold from the enemy because you are strangling their lanes. Pushing is not a strategy that is exclusive to picks and lineups. While there are certain heroes who can push much better than most, if you sense the opportunity in a game to take the enemy tower (provided your Carry isn’t static farming that lane) be sure to seize the initiative because the more control your team exerts over the map, the more control you have over the game.