Basic Hero Making Guide - crazy sheep [DRAFT]

[crazy sheep]

NOTE: I'm pre-posting this thread, so this is NOT the final guide. Please try to keep this thread clean until I finalise everything in here. If you want to give any feedback about this guide, please PM me. Thanks!

A big hi to all the Creators in this forum! I'm writing this guide to give a general insight to Hero Creation, and how to balance a hero suggestion properly. This is only a guide for hero balancing, so feel free not to follow some of the suggestions here if you think that it will help your hero better.

This guide will be divided into several parts, namely:

1. Attributes
2. Range
3. Skills
4. Item Dependence
5. Balance

1. Attributes

Str. Agi. Int. 50% of a hero is defined by their stats, whether they should be a caster, a tank, or a DPS type, or something in between.
There are 2 parts to a hero's attributes: the base stats and the gain. Usually heroes have stats which complement their role, eg: Earthshaker has good base Str and Str growth, as well as a decent Int growth to complement his initiating role with Echo Slam.

Now for some definitions:
Base stats: the stats your hero starts off with.
Stat gain: how much stats your hero gains when leveling up [discounting attribute bonuses].

2. Range

This can be split into 2 subcategories: Attack range and Cast range.
Attack range: How far your hero can attack. Divided into 2 categories based on numbers: Melee [100 - 150] and Ranged [150 - 650].
Cast range: How far your hero can cast a certain spell, and does not come into play when discussing self buffing/instant casts. Varies from 100 [melee range] to global cast range.
Stats and skills will be decided based on a hero's attack range most of the time. For example, a melee hero would have slightly higher base stats if he does not have an escape mechanism. [eg Omni vs Riki]
On the other hand, cast range of a skill can be varied based on the intended role for the hero. But of course balance comes into play still. Imagine Huskar with a 600 range Life Break.

3. Skills

The core of some, if not most heroes. It makes some heroes killers, and others become support heroes by virtue of their skills. Divided into 2 major parts: active and passive skills.

Active skills are skills requiring mana to use. Depending on the hero niche and stats, active skills can have either no manacost [Dark Ritual] or a hefty manacost [Freezing Field].

Passive skills, on the other hand, don't need mana, they just exist whether or not you activate them. A skill point in the skill is all that you need to activate it.

4. Item Dependence

How reliant your hero will be on items to synergise with his/her/its skills and stats. Krobelus is an example of a hero who is item reliant - for her to unleash her ultimate well enough, she needs tanky items [Heart/Bloodstone] to help her survive anything directed at her.

5. Balance

Simply means how to make your hero worth playing and fighting against ingame. You may be tempted to make him unkillable at all costs, but imagine you playing against your creation. Hence balance comes in.

The best advice I can suggest at this point here is simple.

If you want to balance your hero well enough, play a thought game with your hero and another current hero in DotA.
Test the feel of your hero to see if he/she/it will fulfill the role you set. If your hero does things a bit too well without any items, try nerfing some parts. Maybe you could nerf stat gains or base stats. Or increase the manacosts.

[HellCraft]

The range should be 150-700 instead of 150-650.

[AbyssPetra]

how about just sticky Kenshi's Template, they'll know what to fill up.
http://www.playdota.com/forums/5494/...tion-template/

[triangle]

I think it's important to find the formulas used when creating stats.

For example:

Health is determined like this

150 + (strength points x 19)

so let's say your suggestion has 15 str points, it will be;

150 + (15 x 19) = 435 health points



Hang on, I'll get you what I know (it's on the above template too):

1 agi point = 0.14 armor or
agi/7
1 str point = 19 HP
1 int point = 13 MP

Suggestions start with 150 HP, and 0 MP.

[NoThlnG]

I was actually making a hero making guide but I think it can be merged with yours

This is what I planned to write (not finished yet)

How To Make a Good Hero Suggestion
By : NoThlnG

Contents

1. Model
...1.1 How to Select a Good Model
...1.2 Unused Model Lists
2. Basic Informations
...2.1 Primary Attributes & Stats
...2.2 Attack Range & MS
...2.3 Story

...2.4 Other Details
......2.4.1 Affiliation
......2.4.2 Roles

......2.4.3 Themes
3. Skills
...3.1 Originality / Uniqueness
...3.2 Simpleness

...3.3 Clearness

...3.4 Synergies
......3.4.1 Forced Synergies

...3.5 Fitness to the Warcraft and DotA
4. Icons
5. Templates

__________________________________________________

1. Models

This is the first step of making a hero.

Models will determine if the skills suitable or not as well as it's fitness in DotA.

1.1 How to Select a Good Model

Thre are several things you should keep in mind which are :
- Fitness to your theme (You can't use burning model for ice theme)
- Fitness with your skill (You can't use hero that use sword for arrow skills)
- Fitness to DotA and Warcraft (Cartoonish, realistic, etc are excluded because of this reason)
- Repetitiveness (Don't use heroes inside DotA. Make a remake instead)

1.2 Unused Model List

These are several sites that contain lists of unused models

Warcraft :
-
-
-

Non-Warcraft :
-

__________________________________________________

2. Basic Information

One of the most important, but often neglected part of the hero.

Basic information here contains stats include primary attribute, attack range, MS, story, affiliation, roles and themes. I will explain them one by one here

2.1 Primary Attributes & Stats

You should carefully choose the right primary attribute for your heroes.

STR heroes should look strong or big. Heroes that carry giant / heavy weapon or heavy armors and helms mostly belongs here.

AGI heroes should look fast or agile. Looks weaker, or at least smaller than STR heroes. Heroes that carry light weapons mostly belongs here

INT heroes should look intelligent. Heroes that carry some wands/staffs or wearing robes or mage hats mostly belongs here.

Now stats. Most people just give stats without any deep thinking. They just give crazy starting stats and stats gain which in game, it will be totally imbalanced.

This is how I give base stats.
- Very Low = 10 or below
- Low = 11 ~ 13
- Medium Low = 14 ~ 16
- Medium = 17 ~ 19
- Medium High = 20 ~ 22
- High = 23 ~ 25
- Very High = 26 or above

It doesn't matter which stats you'll give what number. But make sure that your stats average is still at medium.

EXCEPTION!

- If your hero is too weak at early you can give high base stats (like FV and Meepo)
- If your hero is too strong at early you can give low base stats (like Anub'seran)

Other things to remember :
- If your hero has high base stats, balanced it or reduce it's stats gain
- If your hero has low base stats, balanced it or increase it's stats gain
- Don't waste stats on something unimportant. If your hero is spell based, don't waste your stats on agi. Use it on str or agi.
- Look at your skills. If your skill needs lot of int then give very high stats on int.

2.2 Attack Range & MS

There is nothing much I want to say here but remember these :
- Don't give attack range more than 650 without any reason it will cause imbalanced.
- Most int heroes are ranged and most str heroes are melee while agi is about 50:50.
- In most case, melee heroes having more MS than ranged heroes.
- Spell casters tend to have lower MS then attack-based heroes.

2.3 Story

I'm not a good story-makers so I can't say much about it.

But keep the story interesting but still related to DotA.

These things are good to be mentioned in stories :
- The hero's origin
- What hero did before he came into DotA
- How did he came into DotA (what event make it)
- How powerful the hero

2.4 Primary Attributes & Stats

[crazy sheep]

Originally Posted by notveryclever

I think it's important to find the formulas used when creating stats.

For example:

Health is determined like this

150 + (strength points x 19)

so let's say your suggestion has 15 str points, it will be;

150 + (15 x 19) = 435 health points



Hang on, I'll get you what I know (it's on the above template too):

1 agi point = 0.14 armor or
agi/7
1 str point = 19 HP
1 int point = 13 MP

Suggestions start with 150 HP, and 0 MP.

Thanks for pulling up the stats and calculations. Just to let you know, I have them as well, but I wasn't sure whether they should enter this guide.

Originally Posted by NoThlnG

I was actually making a hero making guide but I think it can be merged with yours

This is what I planned to write (not finished yet)

How To Make a Good Hero Suggestion
By : NoThlnG

Contents

1. Model
...1.1 How to Select a Good Model
...1.2 Unused Model Lists
2. Basic Informations
...2.1 Primary Attributes & Stats
...2.2 Attack Range & MS
...2.3 Story

...2.4 Other Details
......2.4.1 Affiliation
......2.4.2 Roles

......2.4.3 Themes
3. Skills
...3.1 Originality / Uniqueness
...3.2 Simpleness

...3.3 Clearness

...3.4 Synergies
......3.4.1 Forced Synergies

...3.5 Fitness to the Warcraft and DotA
4. Icons
5. Templates

__________________________________________________

1. Models

This is the first step of making a hero.

Models will determine if the skills suitable or not as well as it's fitness in DotA.

1.1 How to Select a Good Model

Thre are several things you should keep in mind which are :
- Fitness to your theme (You can't use burning model for ice theme)
- Fitness with your skill (You can't use hero that use sword for arrow skills)
- Fitness to DotA and Warcraft (Cartoonish, realistic, etc are excluded because of this reason)
- Repetitiveness (Don't use heroes inside DotA. Make a remake instead)

1.2 Unused Model List

These are several sites that contain lists of unused models

Warcraft :
-
-
-

Non-Warcraft :
-

__________________________________________________

2. Basic Information

One of the most important, but often neglected part of the hero.

Basic information here contains stats include primary attribute, attack range, MS, story, affiliation, roles and themes. I will explain them one by one here

2.1 Primary Attributes & Stats

You should carefully choose the right primary attribute for your heroes.

STR heroes should look strong or big. Heroes that carry giant / heavy weapon or heavy armors and helms mostly belongs here.

AGI heroes should look fast or agile. Looks weaker, or at least smaller than STR heroes. Heroes that carry light weapons mostly belongs here

INT heroes should look intelligent. Heroes that carry some wands/staffs or wearing robes or mage hats mostly belongs here.

Now stats. Most people just give stats without any deep thinking. They just give crazy starting stats and stats gain which in game, it will be totally imbalanced.

This is how I give base stats.
- Very Low = 10 or below
- Low = 11 ~ 13
- Medium Low = 14 ~ 16
- Medium = 17 ~ 19
- Medium High = 20 ~ 22
- High = 23 ~ 25
- Very High = 26 or above

It doesn't matter which stats you'll give what number. But make sure that your stats average is still at medium.

EXCEPTION!

- If your hero is too weak at early you can give high base stats (like FV and Meepo)
- If your hero is too strong at early you can give low base stats (like Anub'seran)

Other things to remember :
- If your hero has high base stats, balanced it or reduce it's stats gain
- If your hero has low base stats, balanced it or increase it's stats gain
- Don't waste stats on something unimportant. If your hero is spell based, don't waste your stats on agi. Use it on str or agi.
- Look at your skills. If your skill needs lot of int then give very high stats on int.

2.2 Attack Range & MS

There is nothing much I want to say here but remember these :
- Don't give attack range more than 650 without any reason it will cause imbalanced.
- Most int heroes are ranged and most str heroes are melee while agi is about 50:50.
- In most case, melee heroes having more MS than ranged heroes.
- Spell casters tend to have lower MS then attack-based heroes.

2.3 Story

I'm not a good story-makers so I can't say much about it.

But keep the story interesting but still related to DotA.

These things are good to be mentioned in stories :
- The hero's origin
- What hero did before he came into DotA
- How did he came into DotA (what event make it)
- How powerful the hero

2.4 Primary Attributes & Stats

Your guide looks really good, but it seems to cater to those Creators just starting out. Hmm. Maybe we could do a collaboration? PM me and we'll see what we can work out then.

[NoThlnG]

Originally Posted by crazy sheep

Your guide looks really good, but it seems to cater to those Creators just starting out. Hmm. Maybe we could do a collaboration? PM me and we'll see what we can work out then.

Sorry but I changed my mind. I'm gonna post separate guide though you may use some parts of mine...