The importance of voicecomm in DotA 2

In a game like Dota 2 where team play is such an integral part of the game, good communication is essential. Organising ganks, keeping tabs on enemy heroes, deciding who will ward and who will build a Mek or even just making sure you don't end up with three urns on the team.

Talking with the four other people on your side an be the difference between and easy win and a rage inducing loss. Yet the majority of players are unwilling to talk. Even after Valve went to all the trouble of integrating an in game chat feature, saving people the organisation nightmare of making sure everyone was using the same chat client, people seem determined not to make use of it.

Some people claim that they can type just as fast as someone talking. With shorthand like 'ss' or 'oom' you can sometimes get your point across fairly quickly, but in my experience talking is almost always faster. Not only that but you can also explain complicated concepts more easily. Saying 'I'm getting smoke, lets all gather up and head to the enemy jungle to get Lycan' is much faster than trying to type it out. Talking with your team not only helps everyone work together but also adds a human touch. It's much easier to get mad at someone typing some words on a screen than the voice of the person behind the keyboard.

Even when they have a microphone, people are hesitant to talk, if at all. Playing with friends I've known for years who I know have a mike are often reluctant to talk in game. Is it embarrassment that keeps us all silent? Are we concentrating so hard on last hits and item builds we don't have a few seconds to talk to everyone else? I was in a game recently where one person on our team was talking a lot, just chatting and almost immediately everyone was saying 'How do I mute?' Maybe it is just another case of the well documented anti social aspect of most Dota players. Whatever it is, if everybody on your team is quiet, do can encourage you team to communicate. Who knows, you might even make a friend!

Finally if you haven't got a microphone make it a priority to get one. It will improve your game dramatically being able to communicate more easily with your team and Dota 2 is free to play so use some of that cash you saved on a decent mike. Maybe then I can hear more than just silence.