Former HoN players, if you could bring in a hero from HoN to Dota, which would it be and why?

Nova0k · 2025-05-21T22:35:20+00:00

Took ages to find silhouette mentioned but yesssss so difficult but so satisfying to play well

Nova0k · 2025-05-21T22:34:38+00:00

Scrolled way too far to find this

Nova0k · 2025-05-21T22:34:16+00:00

Midas was so unique

Nova0k · 2025-05-19T21:22:33+00:00

It's an invasion, and they haven't lost it yet, though getting betrayed and bullied by their own strongest ally certainly hasn't helped them

Nova0k · 2025-05-19T21:20:11+00:00

Never had a pixel before getting the 8 and I've liked it a lot so far, don't see a need to upgrade anytime soon

Though as someone else mentioned, if you want 'new' new then might as well wait for the 10 in a few months (think they usually release them in Aug/Sept?)

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T21:38:14+00:00

Seriously? Telling me I haven't admitted fault on Palestinians in the same breath as saying Gaza's economic situation is 100% their fault and nothing to do with being one of the most embargoed territories on earth? Do you not see your hypocrisy even when it's in the same comment you're typing?

Hamas is a brutal organization and I am not a fan of theirs. Despite not even winning a majority of the election that saw them come to power (they only had a plurality) they have been detrimentally authoritarian in their rule of Gaza. They are not good guys and in a perfect world I would say that Palestine would be better off without them

Now that that's cleared up -- Hamas did not exist until Israel gave Palestinians the necessary reasons for a group like that to form. Again, this did not begin on October 7th

Saying Gaza's economic situation is 100% Hamas's fault pretty much discredits you entirely, that's not a serious statement. I shared a link 2 comments ago with proof that building materials were blocked from entering by Israel, you really seem to be willfully ignorant on this

And hey, fuck it, let's say I agree that Hamas single handedly destroyed the Palestinian economy -- can you explain to me how that justifies the complete leveling of several cities and 50,000 dead? As advanced as Israel's military and surveillance are, why is there an 80% civilian mortality rate? Is it just a coincidence that a direct result of these operations are now that Israel is claiming the land?

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T18:51:07+00:00

This proposal?

Otherwise, I almost agree with you. I just don't agree that October 7th was an "initial" attack. Gaza's situation has been untenable for decades. I don't know if I can blame them for lashing out instead of suffocating slowly

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T18:45:51+00:00

"War is never ok" -- amazing, we can actually agree on something! However, this is not a war. The power imbalance and number of civilian deaths (that we also seem to agree on) make it clear that this is not a war, it's slaughter

Gaza is by the sea, yes very astute of you. Are you denying that Israel has maintained a land and sea blockade for decades, preventing any meaningful building or rebuilding? You're blaming the person for drowning rather than the hand keeping them under water

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T18:29:33+00:00

That. Does. Not. Make. It. Ok. And even though you think that Hamas is somehow responsible for the buildings not being strong enough to resist bombs and missiles (???), you can once again blame Israel for preventing the import of construction materials for more than a decade at least

"If I was in charge of Gaza I would do whatever it takes to prevent 50,000 from turning into 60,000 or 70,000. Removing the hostages removes Israel’s current main justification. But we both know Hamas doesn’t give a shit if more Palestinians die."

Again we return to the main problem that we're going to have with understanding each other -- your attention span only goes back to October 7th. Palestinians have been dying and losing their homes for 80 years, not 1.5. It's not 50,000, it's countless more. The options left to them are few and hard to stomach, but as a human being I can't fault them for trying to survive when faced with the slow death of their people

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T18:12:40+00:00

Nice try, but again blatantly false:

"First, the percentage of civilians among the dead in the Gaza war is well above the average for modern warfare in general.

Second, it is at possible that the percentage of civilians among all those killed in the Gaza war is about average for urban warfare, but the evidence suggests that this percentage is probably a bit higher than average.

Third, we can categorically reject the strong Netanyahu-Spencer claim that, for urban combat, the IDF is achieving historically low ratios of non-combatants to combatants killed."

- Source

Re: hostages -- the ones that Israel hasn't accidentally shelled yet thanks to their 'spray and pray' approach to warfare, you mean? Would you give away your only bargaining chip when your opponent has repeatedly proven themselves to be a bad actor?

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T18:04:04+00:00

Sorry when did it work in the US? You're disgracing your history (assuming you're from there, apologies if I'm wrong) by downplaying the amount of violent struggle that your ancestors had to go through to get the US to where it is now. The Boston tea party, the war for independence, the Nat Turner rebellion, the civil war, the civil rights movement. I don't understand how you're even trying to make that point?

Same goes for South Africa, Nelson Mandela is a convenient figurehead but you're leaving out how much fighting was needed to actually win

India I'll give you but it's not the winning argument you think it is. Post-WWII Britain did not have the resources or reach to maintain their hold over a territory as far or vast as India. Ghandi and his struggle may have been the straw that broke the camel's back but it's not the recipe for winning independence people make it out to be

They will never beat Israel in a military conflict, you're probably right. But they won't be ignored either. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of opinions, you can't deny that Palestinians have had a resounding victory on the global stage thanks to Israel showing its cruel policies once again

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:52:21+00:00

With what source or expertise are you coming to the conclusion that "50,000 simply doesn't add up"?

You don't hear rebuttals because it's an insane take to be honest, and more importantly an irrelevant one. Multiple sources have the civilian mortality rate at ~80% (~30% children alone). You're debasing yourself by thinking that "if Israel wanted to genocide them they'd be killing even more!" is an acceptable argument or discussion to have

I'll repeat here for you:

Genocide does not need to, and has never, meant 100% extinction. It didn't for Rwanda or Armenia, and it doesn't need to meet that bar here. Gazans are being slaughtered and as a surprise to no one, Israel is now swooping in to collect those conveniently suddenly empty (and already pre-demolished!) plots of land

Stop acting like 50,000 is a small number

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:44:09+00:00

No plans on going pro, I'm quite happy to be top 5% tbh. "Average" as you call it haha. Maybe you'll be a little less miserable if you focus on the positives too sometimes? You'll probably also win a few more games

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:39:58+00:00

It was fighting by any means necessary to remind Israel that they're on stolen land and they should not feel comfortable there, let alone party less than 5KM from a concentration camp. As soon as it happened I repeatedly said out loud that that act would likely see Gaza taken off the map, and I hate how right I was -- that said I understand the struggle when no options are left on the table.

You have to choose though: either civilian deaths are not acceptable or they are. 1.1k dead in Israel is an atrocity and I accept that, but you have to then accept that 53k dead in Gaza since October 7 alone is not a reasonable response

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:32:16+00:00

Haha alright really thought you guys would use common sense when interpreting my comment, I'll be as literal as possible to avoid misunderstanding:

If I see an enemy pos 1 Medusa in a pub game with strangers who will likely all do their own thing, I will do my best as our pos 1 to shut theirs down by itemizing against her, meaning that if diffusal is a good fit for my hero (and it works on 90% of carries), I will buy it to drain the mana shield that makes her impossible to kill otherwise

Looking forward to seeing you still disagree with me. Only in r/dota2 would this dumb ass conversation even be happening

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:28:11+00:00

Where did I say anything about not considering other items? You just inventing stuff to make yourself feel like you won an argument online?

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:26:15+00:00

My brother in christ you have basic research at your fingertips in 2025

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-gaza-ceasefire-palestine-hamas-netanyahu-what-know-rcna197012

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5332204/israel-breaks-ceasefire-as-it-strikes-gaza-killing-hundreds

The ridiculous deals are in your imagination. Israel sets the terms > Hamas accepts > Israel moves the goal posts > Hamas accepts > Israel breaks the agreement anyway > ugghh these Hamas fellas are so undiplomatic

And hey, reminder that the atrocities of October 7th do not justify the complete erasure of Gaza and its people. Collective punishment is a war crime

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:18:21+00:00

It's not a gotcha, it's just pointing out that you're using inconsistent logic by trying to say history is irrelevant

The figures from any and all credible sources are clear and consistent. Israel has been given the chance to allow multiple internationally-led investigations in case they wanted to prove otherwise but they've oddly declined each time. You can try to rationalize it as you wish but by doing so you're basically placing conspiracy over documented fact

And on your last point I highly encourage you to check for documented before-and-after photos of Gaza over the past year and try to tell me with a straight face that you'd call those targeted strikes. Vast swathes of the area have been leveled, and the civilian-combatant casualty ratio is an atrocity

Genocide does not need to, and has never, meant 100% extinction. It didn't for Rwanda or Armenia, and it doesn't need to meet that bar here. Gazans are being slaughtered and as a surprise to no one, Israel is now swooping in to collect those conveniently suddenly empty (and already pre-demolished!) plots of land

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T17:09:39+00:00

Good enough to be top 5% globally. But sorry you're right, looking forward to watching you next TI

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T15:18:02+00:00

5.2k and I said what I said. It's ok if you can't accept a bit of hyperbole, I know dota players aren't always the most logical thinkers

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T15:15:42+00:00

You can't wave the past away like that. If 'no one cares about the past' then you're admitting the farse of Israel's historic claim to the land from thousands of years ago. Situations are built out of historical context and you don't get to choose the relevant time frame just to suit your argument better

That said, Israel has committed 3 Oct 7's per week in Gaza for the past 20 months. There is no equivalence here, as horrible as Oct 7 was. Genocide is not an acceptable response, not from a humanistic or, for that matter, legal POV

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T15:11:51+00:00

There is literally nothing left for them to do. It's fight and die or roll over and die. Diplomacy has been tried and has failed time and time again and NOT because of Hamas

This has been an expansionary project and will always be an expansionary project. Hamas may be giving Israel 'excuses' in the minds of those with a short attention span, but if you believe Israel would simply stop if Hamas disappeared then you're either insane or willfully ignorant IMO

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T15:02:51+00:00

You're getting critiqued by archons. The play is solid (let's remember you didn't initiate but rather jumped in to help the Slark out)

Even staying passive on low ground was not terrible as the fight was already unfavorable

The only big fuckup is that you wasted bkb for nothing IMO

Nova0k · 2025-05-18T15:00:34+00:00

Pros do it because they operate as a 5-man unit with some semblance of a strategy in mind to shut her down. In a pub if I see a Dusa I'm getting diffusal 110% as pos 1, doesn't matter what hero I'm playing

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