Hard Mode Hard Support

Cousin Andrew has been organising inhouse Dota 2 games lately, and I think it has been really good for practice. To play against opponents that actually ward, buy dust/gem and carry teleport scrolls already makes a huge difference to the random matchmaking games that we usually play. And the fact that both teams are usually on some chat program means you are punished a lot more for any mistake you make.

Last night, we played a game against some of Cousin Simon's friends, and one of them was playing Pudge. I kept getting hooked over and over again, even when I knew where Pudge was. I think I don't really know the range of his hooks as well as I should.

The pro teams seem to label the players within a team using a 1-5 scale, where the player 1 has the highest priority on farm, down to play 5 who has the lowest priority. E.g. if player 2 and player 3 are in the same lane, player 3 should allow player 2 to get all of the last hits where possible. Player 5 is typically the "hard support", and as they are the lowest priority for farming, they tend to have almost no items by the end of the game. There was a comic I saw with Crystal Maiden who had a huge smile on her face because she finally saved up enough gold to buy a big item. She goes to the shop, and finally gets to buy.... boots. I think I play the 5 position better than I play the others, so I have been focusing on that.

In the matchmaking games we usually play, I end up getting a lot more farm than I should, because I usually figure, if the person I'm lanning with isn't able to last hit very well, I might as well take the money, otherwise nobody is getting it. This usually means I have better items than I normally would if I were to truly play the 5 position. This also means I've become really complacent as I normally get away with doing things that I probably wouldn't have been able to get away with if I had no items.

So I've decided to try playing hard mode hard support in matchmaking games (when I play a support hero). The basic idea is that you cannot buy any items that boost your health. So nothing with +strength or +health. I'm still  undecided about whether +armour and +magic resistance are allowed, but I'm just going to say they are for now and see how difficult the games are.

I played a couple of games today, and realised that this rules out a lot of the typical support items (Mekansm, Pipe of Insight, Drum of Endurance, etc.). Poor Olek had to get a pipe for the team because I had banned myself from doing so (even though I had already built the Hood of Defiance). So I've decided to split it into Not-So-Hard Mode Hard Support, where only items that give you more strength than any other stat (with the +health stat at a 19:1 ratio for "strength" and +mana at a 13:1 ratio for "intelligence"), and Hard Mode Hard Support, which is what I initially described.

Items banned in not-so-hard mode hard support

• Gauntlets of Stength
• Belt of Strength
• Ogre Club (however, you can purchase this to make your Aghanim's Sceptre as long as it's the last component you need)
• Bracer
• Power Treads in Strength form
• Urn of Shadows
• Drum of Endurance
• Skull Basher
• Abyssal Blade
• Vanguard
• Black King Bar
• Heart of Tarrasque
• Sange (however, you can purchase this to make Sange and Yasha, as long as you never have any of the components of Sange in your inventory (stash is OK) except the recipe)
• Heaven's Halberd
• Satanic
• Reaver
• Vitality Booster (however, you can purcahse this as part of your Soul Booster or Rod of Atos as long as it's the last component)

Additional items banned in hard mode hard support

• Iron Branch
• Circlet
• Ultimate Orb
• Wraith  Band
• Null Talisman
• Magic Wand
• Ghost Sceptre
• Headdress (except as the last component of Pipe of Insight)
• Buckler
• Ring of Aquila
• Mekansm
• Necronomicon
• Dagon
• Rod of Atos
• Aghanim's Sceptre
• Scythe of Vyse
• Ethereal Blade
• Soul Booster
• Manta Style
• Bloodstone
• Linken's Sphere
• Sange and Yasha
• Eye of Skadi
• Point Booster

Additional items banned in masochistic hard mode hard support (no armour/magic resist)

• Slippers of Agility
• Band of Elvenskin
• Blade of Alacrity
• Ring of Protection
• Chainmail
• Helm of Iron Will
• Platemail
• Cloak
• Power Treads in Agility form
• Ring of Basilius
• Tranquil Boots
• Medallion of Courage
• Vladmir's Offering
• Veil of Discord
• Armlet of Mordiggian
• Butterfly
• Hood of Defiance
• Blade Mail
• Shiva's Guard
• Assault Cuirass
• Helm of the Dominator
• Yasha
• Diffusal Blade
• Eaglesong

Items allowed in super you must really hate your life hard mode support (i.e. Consumables, basic boots and bottle)

• Clarity
• Tango
• Healing Salve
• Smoke of Deceit
• Town Portal Scroll
• Dust of Appearance
• Animal Courier
• Flying Courier
• Observer Ward
• Sentry Ward
• Bottle
• Boots of Speed

I realise the whole thing is a bit contrived, as most hard supports will get a bracer or two to avoid being one-shot, but that's why this is hard mode. You need to position yourself so you avoid damage completely. So far I'm 1-1 for hard mode hard support, and I've found the biggest problem is that you really need to end the game quickly, or get a large enough advantage that the other team can't really go hunting for you. Once the game drags out, your lack of health means even the other supports can auto attack you to death pretty quickly.

It is pretty challenging, as you usually have to go back to heal a lot more often and play a lot safer meaning you are pretty underlevelled for most of the game. I think I'll try hard mode hard support when I'm not the only support on the team, and not-so-hard mode hard support if I am the only support. Baby steps.

Would You

First of all, I want to state that this is a hypothetical situation.

We have a social committee at work, who organises a bunch of events, and which I am a part of. As with any group, there are people who contribute more effort, and there are people who contribute less. It is a voluntary thing, and we don't get paid for it - and it also takes up time at work (and lately, I've been staying back late to make up for the time I spend on social committee things). It wouldn't be so bad that some people are not contributing much except for two things: 1. Some people are assigned tasks, and rather than let someone know if they're too busy to do them, they just leave them unfinished until it's too late. 2. At the end of the year, everyone on the committee gets a voucher, and it's the same amount regardless of the amount of work you actually did.

There is a guy on the committee who does not do tasks, and constantly complains he's busy. It's fine that he's busy, but then you have to wonder why he's on the committee if he never has time for anything. It's stressful for the people who have to take over his tasks at the last minute, because we usually find out too late that it hasn't been done - e.g. no ice has been ordered for the drinks tubs. Drinks arrive. Wait and wait and wait for the ice. Eventually decide that the drinks will not be cold in time, so a bunch of people have to find 20+ bags of ice. He shows up 2 hours later, "Sorry guys, I was too busy to order the ice."

It is at the point where we want to ask him to leave the committee (politely). Someone has volunteered to do it, but is really stressing out over it, because they hate confrontations. We all work in the same building, and who knows when our teams are going to need to work together. It just seems like it will create a heap of trouble. Why not just avoid assigning him any tasks and make sure he doesn't join next year? I was perfectly happy to do this, until he said he was unable to make a lunch time committee workshop as he had something really important on. I wasn't able to make it either, as I had something with my team, and I happened to see him leave the building. I needed cash from the ATM, so I was able to see that he just walked into a cafe, ordered a sandwich and a coffee, and sat there eating and drinking by himself. I had asked him earlier in the week, and he said to me that he was free on Thursday. For him to pull his "I'm so busy" routine again, only to be sitting and eating his lunch by himself annoyed me. Especially when everyone else has been giving up multiple lunch breaks to work on this.

One of the tasks he has been assigned is to take photos at some of our events. I've seen him with his camera taking photos, but strangely, I've never seen one of his photos. He has been asked to share these photos with everyone else, but claims he's too busy to upload them. You can tell that I've been spending too much time on Reddit when my first thought is that he might just be using this as an excuse to take creepy photos. But let's say, hypothetically, that I went in search for such photos, and I am fairly certain I found them.

In my head, I can see this playing out so easily. I just walk by his desk, and say his username in such a way that anyone else would think I'm just saying something to myself, but he will hear. Then, in a later conversation, I'll suggest that he should leave the committee. That way nobody has to stress over finding a way to ask him nicely, and he won't be causing trouble.

Then I realised, it's probably not a wise idea to cross this guy. In the words of Lucius Fox:

"Let me get this straight. You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands; and your plan, is to blackmail this person?"

So I ask you, would you do it?