Heroes of Newerth ~ A Lesson in Backdooring
Backdooring is a very controversial topic! From the forums to just general game play there are so many different opinions. Many old DotA players believe backdooring is the worst possible thing ever. Just mentioning backdoor to these old schoolers will have them looking at you jaw dropped unable to comprehend why you would want to ruin your reputation like that.
Let’s start with the basics. What is backdooring? Backdooring is when you bypass your creep wave and attack a tower or barracks. Why is this considered bad to old DotA players (and 50% of the HoN community)? It’s considered a “cheap tactic” based on a desperation to win. If you have to BD then you weren’t going to win in the first place. BDing is your last resort. A cheap, disrespectful resort.
So why do people do it? Most people don’t. I can probably go about 10 games and only have 1 of those games have a BD in them. Those that do do it for two reasons: 1. Their team is losing by regular game play and it’s their only way of getting a small chance to win. 2. They think BDing is a perfectly fine tactic on par with ganking/denying towers/and general lane pushing. They feel if you are to ban BDing then you should ban ganking, denying towers, stunning, and “enter a whine about something stupid here.”
I’ve never played DotA, but I am against the use of backdooring as a tactic. My reasons vary. For starters I feel it ruins the game. When you BD it means you didn’t have enough skill/teamwork/good hero picks to win the game on your own. So instead you decided that you were going to take your ball and go home leaving no one else to enjoy the game. You’re a spoiled child. Perhaps you should improve your hero skills rather than resort to this horrible “tactic.”
Pro-BDers feel that BD should be (and is) allowed because there are easy ways to counter it. For example, a tp (teleport) scroll and wards. “If you aren’t skilled enough to stop a BD then you aren’t skilled enough to win the game.” That’s the cry I’ve read over and over again on the forums. …Well if you aren’t skilled enough to win the game like its supposed to, with lane pushes and team fights, then you aren’t skilled enough to win the game. Ya, we can have a rubber and glue fight right now.
What if everyone BDed? Just like how everyone lane pushes, but instead everyone just makes a quick dash to each others base and hits towers until they take down the shrine/tree. Nice, quick, 20 minute games. Where’s the fun in that? Oh, ya. There isn’t any fun in that. While that is the goal of the game it’s not the only part of the game. Team fights, hero kills, even creep farming is a great journey of the game. Erase all that with a race to get to the other shrine first and I might as well be playing Mario Kart by myself. I wouldn’t play HoN if it was like that. I don’t think the pro-bders would play it either.
S2′s official stance on the whole thing is:
S2Jason – “If any of the tactics actually prove to be an issue in HoN, we will fix it [through] game mechanics.”
S2Fielding – “… backdooring is a bit of a sensitive issue that we’re monitoring closely. As Jason said, if we feel it undermines the game and proves to be an issue, we’ll handle it with game mechanics.”S2Fielding – “As we said earlier in the thread, we’ll keep an eye on things. That said, if a particular hero appears to be overpowered in terms of their ability to ‘backdoor’ that’ll probably be handled with balance changes to that particular hero (or a redesign) rather than trying to hard-code programming rules to prevent the tactic. It would be pretty unintuitive to create any sort of rules that make it impossible to attack a structure for non-obvious reasons. That said, we’ll listen to the community, to you guys, and keep an eye on the flow of the game and do whatever is necessary when we reach that bridge.”
So I guess we’ll just have to see what happens after BETA. I for one hope that backdooring will not be allowed. Of course there are other options I would be ok with. Having an option to turn it off in game rules (like the No Leavers option). Having the rax have increased regen when being hit by heros (needs a little more thought).
How do you feel about backdooring?
Related Posts
Heroes of Newerth Noobie Guide 3 ~ Advanced Laning
Heroes of Newerth Noobie Guide 2 – Basic Laning
Heroes of Newerth Patch 1.0.2 Notes
Seems like you're just whining about having to take the extra time to play the game correctly. Sounds like you're... lazy?
"With Homecoming Stones and Post Haste boots, there are many ways of porting to any of your structures within a few seconds."
So what you're saying in your scenario is that you can TP/post haste back to your base and take care of those creeps rather than have to walk back? Geez. Seems reasonable enough.
You practically quoted what I said most Pro-BDers think. Thanks for showing I wasn't making it up. :)
I'll work on getting a screenshot of a true bd. So I can post it and show exactly what I mean. Fortunately, but unfortunately for this post, I haven't seen a bd in forever. I'll keep my eye out and snatch one when I can.
And no, I've never bded. I have always gone back to my creep wave to clear.
It's been so long since I've seen a truly successful BD..
And what makes back-dooring not playing the game correctly? Who says what the correct way to play is, you? Because I had this funny notion that the game rules/mechanics implied how it was intended to be played, not whiny players with their own interpretations.
I'm sure if it was a race to see who got to the tower first S2 would of created a completely different game from what it is. I could just as easily say to yourself "Who says BDing is the correct way to play, you?" and we could go round and round.
You have your way of playing. I have mine. I dislike yours. You dislike mine. You seem to be the only one whining though. My post shows my position, S2s position, and BDers position. If it was a whining post I think it would of only shown my position.. with a lot more '!!!' or caps even. Here I'll help ya out a little with your case of whining.
BDERS RUIN THE GAMEZ!!!!11!!!1!!!11!
Don't say I never did anything for ya.
CURRENT GAME MECHANICS ALLOW FOR AND THUS SUPPORT BACKDOORING.
Got it? Your opinion, my opinion, both irrelevant. We are not going in circles because the game clearly says what the correct way to play is, you just missed the hidden-ness of my post that was challenging you to see that fact.
If they decide to implement measures that prevent backdooring, then it will in fact be "not the correct way to play." Until then, don't tell other people that your way is correct, unles you're hosting a tournament or gain some magical powers.
I wouldn't go onto a baseball field and declare "bunting" to be cheezy and not the correct way to play the game for the same reasons. Don't like it? Fine. Rules support it. Deal with it.
dota mechanics also allowed for BDing, yet holy crap, it was not supported
It literally becomes a game were no one leaves their base. Those games... blow.
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