Game modes

Game modes are a set of restrictions within which the game of Dota 2 can be played. Most game modes alter how heroes are picked by players. There are also some novelty modes that allow 1v1 play, or give a player a new hero every time they die, for example. Game modes are unlocked by increasing your profile level, with all modes being unlocked at level 10.

All Pick
Choose from the full hero pool.

Players can choose any hero, random a hero, re-pick a hero, or swap heroes with teammates.
 * 75 seconds hero selection time, instead of the default 60.
 * 75 seconds pre-creep time, instead of the default 90.
 * Players lose one gold per second if they haven't picked a hero after the selection timer runs out.

Single Draft
Choose from 3 random heroes.

Players pick from a pool of one Strength hero, one  Agility hero, and one  Intelligence hero. Each player gets different randomly assigned heroes.
 * Randoming will not grant extra gold.
 * Swapping is not allowed.

Random Draft
Players take turns choosing from a pool of 24 random heroes.

Radiant and Dire players take turns picking from a pool of 24 random heroes. Players are given 20 seconds to make each choice. The starting team is always the same.

All Random
Each player gets a random hero.

All players are assigned a random hero and start out with 825 gold, the standard amount for randoming. Players may recieve a different random hero by repicking.

Captains Mode
Each team's captain bans and chooses heroes for the team.

Captains mode is the standard format for tournament games. The captain selects bans for certain heroes, preventing either team from picking the hero. The captain also chooses five heroes for their team. After the captains choose five heroes, each player chooses a hero from their captain's selections. 30 seconds are allotted for bans, and 40 seconds for picks. Each captain has 110 seconds total bonus time that can be used throughout any selection. If time runs out during a ban selection, no hero will be banned; if time runs out during a pick selection, a random hero will be chosen. The player that clicks the "become captain" button first is the captain. The starting team is randomly selected in matchmaking; if playing in a private lobby a starting team may be specified. Some heroes that were recently created or tweaked are unavailable in Captain's Mode; they will be added eventually.

Captains Draft
Captains ban and choose from a selection of 27 heroes.

Each team's captain bans three heroes, then they take turns picking five heroes for their team. Heroes are chosen from a pool of 27 random heroes: 9 Strength heroes, 9  Agility heroes, and 9  Intelligence heroes. Each captain has 150 seconds total to make all selections. The player that clicks the "become captain" button first is the captain. The starting team is randomly selected in matchmaking; if playing in a private lobby a starting team may be specified.

Heroes that are unavailable in Captains Mode are also unavailable in Captains Draft.

Least Played
Choose from a pool of your least played heroes.

Each player cannot choose any of their 40 most played heroes.


 * Players cannot swap heroes.

Limited Heroes
Play with heroes suitable for new players.

Select from a pool of heroes designated for beginners. Playing Limited Heroes matches is part of the tutorial. There are no punishments for leaving a game, and bots will replace players that leave.


 * Limited Heroes cannot be played in a private lobby.
 * If a player leaves without picking a hero, the bot will not choose a hero.

Ability Draft
Play a hero with four random abilities.

Players are given a random hero from Ability-Draft enabled heroes. Each players' abilities are put into a pool. Players take turns selecting abilities from the pool, given five seconds for each choice. Each player selects three normal abilities and one ultimate.

1v1 Solo Mid
Play 1v1 against another player in the middle lane.

Practice your mid-lane play against another player. The first player to achieve two kills or destroy an enemy tower wins. Players can pick identical heroes, and cannot see their opponent's hero choice until they have made a selection. Only the middle lane will spawn creeps. Each player starts off with a courier, free of charge.


 * First rune does not spawn.
 * Players can voice chat with each other.
 * Players may forfeit by calling 'gg' or leaving the match.

All Random Deathmatch
'Players recieve a random hero when they die. First team to 45 kills wins.'

''This game mode is still in development. Changes will likely be made before official release.''

At the start of a match, every player is given a random hero. When a player dies, they are given a new random hero upon respawning. Each team has 40 total respawns. The game ends when a team has no respawns left and all its players are dead, or the ancient is destroyed.

Because each team can play a maximum of 45 heroes, the game mode will only select from the first 90 heroes released in Dota. Exception: (Hero #94) is playable, yet  (Hero #67) is unplayable.

At the moment, All Random Deathmatch can only be selected by using the console command dota_match_game_modes 1048576.

Private Lobbies
These game modes are only available in private lobby games.

Reverse Draft
Captains choose heroes that the other team must play.

Same rules as Captains Mode, except after the captains have chosen their heroes, players will be forced to pick from the other team's choices.

Mid Only
'Creeps only spawn in the midle lane. Duplicate heroes allowed.'

Similar to 1v1 Solo Mid but less restrictive. Creeps only spawn in middle lane, and players are allowed to select the same hero. Any amount of players can play, and the game only ends when either team's ancient is destroyed.

Event Game Modes
Several game modes are released for a limited time to tie in with seasonal events. These modes cannot be played outside of the duration of the event.

Diretide 2012
'Collect candy for your team's candy bucket. Avoid the sugar-hungry Roshan!'

Diretide 2012 features invulnerable buildings, new tough creeps called Roshlings on each lane, and a candy bucket in each team's ancient creep camp. The game mode has two phases, the first goal being to collect candy and to return it to your team's candy bucket. Candy can be obtained from Roshlings or neutral creeps, or stolen from enemy heroes or the enemy bucket. After some time, Roshan will begin roaming the map, chasing random heroes and attacking them until they die or feed him a piece of candy. When the first phase ends, the team with the most candy stored wins, and Roshan settles in one of the jungle camps, beginning the second phase. All heroes receive a substantial amount of gold to spend on items and both teams must now work together to kill Roshan for the match to end. Roshan has much higher health and an arsenal of deadly abilities at his disposal. All players receive a Greevil Egg upon completion of a Diretide 2012 match.

Diretide 2013
A variant of Diretide 2012 with a different Roshan fight.

Most of the rules are the same as Diretide 2012, however the Roshan fight plays differently. All heroes receive unlimited gold with which to purchase items. Roshan has gained additional, more powerful abilities. When Roshan dies, he comes back stronger, gaining more health each time he is defeated, with the match ending when the timer runs out.

The Greeviling
'Transform into your Greevil! Race to clear out 11 neutral Greevil camps around the map.'

The Greeviling features invulnerable buildings, no lane creeps and neutral Greevil camps with unique abilities that occasionally appear in the jungle. Players are given the Greevil Whistle, which allows them to transform their hero into a selected Greevil from the player's inventory, with abilites and stats based on which essences were applied to its Greevil Egg before hatching. The goal of the game mode is to clear out 11 neutral Greevil camps before the enemy team. Each cleared camp spawns a gift which sends random items to a random hero on the map.

Wraith-Night
Defend Skeleton King's altar against waves of creeps as he is reborn into Wraith King!

Wraith-Night is a mode where a team of 5 players must defeat 13 waves of creeps and prevent 's altar from being destroyed. The last wave features a reborn, which must be defeated 3 times to complete the wave. The match ends if is defeated, or if all 5 players are dead.

Most heroes have a modification to their skill set.

Fighting the Year Beast
Battle the elusive Year Beast for rewards and fame!

The Year Beast is occasionally available during the New Bloom Festival 2014. In this game mode, five players must attempt to inflict as much damage as possible to the Year Beast. The round ends when the timer runs out or all players are dead. Rewards are based on how much damage was inflicted.

Compendium Match
Replay matches from The International 2013 with the same picks.

This game mode was available to Compendium owners, and allowed them to replay certain matches from The International 2013. Players can choose from the five heroes that were picked by the competing teams playing in the original match.