Neutral creeps are not programmed to do anything except battle other characters who come too close as such, they exist only to be killed for experience and gold. Neutral creeps of varying difficulty are also planted throughout the map, and they may also be killed for experience and gold. Experience can be earned by killing creeps, which is known as creeping or farming and by killing enemy heroes which is known as pawning which lets a hero earn much more experience points. Heroes may gain levels during the game by earning experience. Upon gaining a level, heroes receive bonus attributes (see below) and a skill point to be spent in learning a new or upgrading an existing skill. This imbalance, however, is so slight that the presence of even a single hero for any amount of time will negate it. However, in practice, there will usually be a slight imbalance of power over time due to the specific placement of towers, creep paths, and other variables (due to slight tweaks over a number of versions, the 'advantaged' side varies). Creeps will battle each other and then sacrifice themselves in futile attacks on the towers. Without the influence of heroes, the game cannot quickly be won by either team.

Allstars and Mercenaries) have Runes in the river which can be picked up by any hero to gain bonuses for a short time (such as Double Damage, Regeneration, Haste, Illusion, and Invisibility), while other versions have different uses for Runes (e.g. Towers possess superior firepower compared to the creeps, so it is difficult for creeps to advance past towers without assistance of a hero.Д¬ertain versions of DotA (e.g. As the creeps travel along these lanes they will battle any opposing creeps, heroes, or towers they meet. The creeps for the Scourge are composed of several Ghouls and a single Necromancer, while the creeps for the Sentinel are composed of several Treants and a single Druid of the Talon. The creeps are produced in sets (also known as waves or spawns) composed of a number of melee units and a single ranged unit, and path down the three lanes available on the map towards the opposing team's base. The opposing bases produce troops, known as creeps, every 30 seconds, beginning at 1 minute 30 seconds, except in dota allstars league mode and random draft, in which creeps spawn at the 3 minute mark. The latest being Cloud_str who created dota allstars 6.27b AI. Some developers are coming up with test versions of DotA maps with variable-skill AI players. A variant known as DotA Mercenaries has allowed more computer controlled players, and is commonly used for training purposes or when other human players are not available to play with. Standard variants do not support the artificial intelligence ( AI) for computer controlled heroes. The teams consist of up to five players, each controlling a single hero, and a computer which controls creeps. Each team has a number of defensive towers in each lane, placed on their side of the river. A river runs diagonally through the center of the map, perpendicular to the three lanes. In the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne variations the Tree of Life/Necropolis were changed to The Frozen Throne/World Tree (in the variant Allstars) and the normal Town Centers for either side (in the variant Outland). Additionally the Tree of Life/Necropolis would fight against nearby enemies - a feature which was removed in later variants. Ancients used for each team are a Tree of Life/Necropolis which upgraded itself through the traditional Warcraft 3 upgrades over the course of the game, making it more difficult to destroy as the game dragged on.

The goal of the game is to destroy the Ancient of the opposing team and to defend one's own ancient. In each base is situated a central building known as the Ancient, from which the map derives its name. The original game and the DotA custom map, however, do share some similarities, such as usage of modified Warcraft characters, adaptation of Warcraft spells such as Heal, and items such as Boots of Speed.ДЇor the DotA map, two bases are set at opposite corners of the map. Since DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is a custom map, some of the game concepts are very different from the original Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or the expansion The Frozen Throne.

2.4.2 Unique characteristics of DotA Outland.

1.2.3 Summary of Attributes vs Hero Type and Statistics.

Frozen throne tower defense maps