The way people argue between 6.52 and 6.48b, you would think DotA had never gone through phases before. But if you were to watch a 6.27b match today, you would be amused and startled at how different the landscape of competitive DotA once was!

6.27b/6.32b

• In brief: 6.27b was the first map that saw a reasonable amount of competitive play. 6.32b was not tremendously different in terms of overall playstyle.

• Strategy: lane control, usually through spammy int heroes. This was pre-deny nerf, pre-bottle/tangos, pre-lc/garena...harass spells single-handedly won some games.

• Heroes: Lich was monstrous because no Sentinel hero could adequately solo him. Heroes like Krob or Rhasta were ubiquitous...now no team would be caught dead with them.

• Items: Ring of Regen, Mek/Nec/Eul's. Before its nerf, multiple Mekansms could be cast in rapid succession. Seeing 5 on a team, while not common, did not raise eyebrows. Also, old Aegis was build able, had 3 charges, and was personally responsible for dragging out a lot of games.

Changelog 6.27b, 6.32b

6.37

• In brief: Towers, now worth +200 gold to each team member, became a new source of income. Potent Sentinel push strats capitalized on this. Melee heroes started to become viable as tangos and the deny nerf were introduced.

• Strategy: Sentinel? Pick Chen. Gank effectively, get some timely towers, never allow Scourge to take a breath. Scourge? Innovate wildly to stave off certain defeat. Tri-lanes and experimentation with new late-gamers like Spectre brought some success, but a .37 game was Sentinel's to win.

• Heroes: Chen's mass movespeed aura armies made it comically easy for him to tower-dive, even at low levels. Heroes that synergized with a Chen-centric strat, like pushy Syllabear, were popular as a result. And, as for the newcomers, Beastmaster began to embark on what would be an illustrious career in competitive play, as did Spectre and the buffed Viper.

• Items: push items, mostly the same as in .32b, although Mek massing was defeated by the nerf. Tangos, with Bottle, would eventually redefine the early game. Midases for Chen's creeps were common but risky, given the fast pace of a typical match.

Changelog 6.37

6.41

• In brief: Imbalances in .37 resulted in the AP mode becoming the standard. Lineups could no longer be refined to perfection pre-game, so teams became more versatile. The era of Bristleback was avoided since he was banned in so many tournaments (later with Alchemist, too).

• Strategy: For the first time...balanced! Playing matches in AP mode made it impossible to abuse one side's potential. Full-out push strats of old gave way to well-rounded teams that emphasized powerful kill lanes, ganks, and just enough late-game to allow a team to be patient in winning.

• Heroes: With strategic possibilities cracked wide open, sleeper powerhouses like Zeus and Warlock were discovered. The Leshrac/Lina + setup stun combo, which has killed everyone more times than they count, started to become popular in this version.

• Items: Bottle + Blink Dagger. These two items would come to dictate the playstyle of competitive DotA in later map versions. Get focused, blink out, come back into the battle with 600 more health...love it or hate it, this was the dynamic of DotA for quite some time.

Changelog 6.41

6.43/6.48b

• In brief: The strategies that began in 6.41 reached an unprecedented level of refinement. Tactics like tri-lanes, roamers, push strats, and late-game strats were brought to the brink of extinction as battle-tested “vanilla” heroes proved effective in defeating them. Jungling peaks with the reign of Centaur. APXL mode was the new way to manage imbalanced heroes, letting teams ban whoever they felt was imbalanced or just annoying!

• Strategy: Similar to 6.41, only vastly more well-developed. Pick from the pool of strong laner-gankers, throw in a dash of late-game. Develop an early-to-midgame advantage in kills and farm, take your towers, and end it before the opponents can rally.

• Heroes: Stunners and blinkers. In particular, Nerubian Assassin and Centaur flourished a great deal more in these versions than in those previous.

• Items: Come on, this wasn't long ago...you remember! Bottle, Blink, Boots, Bracers, TP scroll was a viable item build on almost every viable hero.

Changelog 6.43, 6.48b

6.52

• In brief: There have been a lot of complaints about 6.52, predominantly that the “ganking” style of .48b has been rendered impossible. In the void created by the Blink Dagger nerf, physical damage heroes have become viable, most of whom are inherently late-game oriented.

• Strategy: The classic pool of well-rounded heroes has been supplemented by a swarm of newly-powerful carries. It's basically impossible to ban every viable carry and semi-carry, so farm wars abound.

• Heroes: Brood, Omniknight, and Dragon Knight were rare in earlier versions, but they are just a few of a slew of heroes that start strong and get much stronger.

• Items: BKB was buffed, yes, but even if it wasn't it would still be the best survival tool. The new Scythe is even better than the old.

Changelog 6.52