How Long are Dota 2 Games?
Even though most players would confidently say that an average Dota game length is about 40–60 minutes, the real answer is not so simple. Still, if you just want to free up time for a single game, that’s the quick answer for you, although it isn’t guaranteed to end in this timeframe. Continue reading if you want to see what affects game length and how to make your MMR grind faster.
Average Dota 2 Game Time
The answer to “How long are Dota 2 games?” can be anywhere between 20 and 80 minutes. Such a wide time frame is a result of factors, the most important of which is the rank you play at.
For instance, in lower brackets, a match can last about 20 minutes just because a high-skill player on a new account happened to be in the lobby and stomped it. On the other hand, in balanced low MMR games, teams sometimes struggle to close matches, and the fights may continue until one side gets lucky.
In higher brackets, fast games are more than likely if both teams go for specific pace-based strategies, gambling on the success of their plan in the early to mid-game. However, even then, high-MMR games could be so tight and balanced that both teams are too scared to make a wrong move to act quickly. In such cases, matches are usually quite long, and the outcome is typically decided by who has more buybacks available.
Factors Influencing Dota 2 Match Duration
In this section, we will discuss factors that impact game duration in more detail.
Skill Level
A simple truth is that at different levels of play, people approach the game differently. For instance, low MMR players mostly think about getting powerful as soon as possible and having fun, while high MMR players take into account things like team synergy and countering the enemy. This usually leads to shorter games in lower brackets and longer games in higher ones. However, predicting how long the match will last if you know the skill level of the players is still hard because of other factors we describe further.
Hero Picks and Strategies
A typical hero lineup for Dota 2 is 1 mid, 2 bottom, and 2 top laners with rare 1/1/3 variations. In any case, there should be 2 supports and 3 cores. If one team maintains that balance and the other doesn’t, chances are high that the one that lacks one of the roles will lose spectacularly in no time at all. That’s why the lower-bracket games can end very fast — newer players tend to choose easier heroes that don't fulfill the roles their team needs to win. As a result, they are getting crushed without even having a chance to compete.
In higher-level games, especially on the professional stage, teams often go for late-game picks. This means that they get heroes who become powerful only with lots of items and levels, which requires their teammates to constantly delay the enemies’ pushes. If they succeed, the game goes on for long enough until their Medusa or Terrorblade are strong enough to go and counter-attack. Such scenarios usually take around 45–55 minutes.
However, there are also strategies based around fast-pushing heroes and early-game domination. Characters like Chen, Nature's Prophet, Death Prophet, etc. can dominate the early game, take tier 1 towers fast, and leave no safe space for the opponent’s late-game heroes to farm. Typically, if this initial plan succeeds, the game will last no longer than 20–30 minutes.
Game Modes
How long is a Dota 2 game if we’re speaking about unusual game modes?
Turbo is a Dota 2 mode that is designed for faster games. Here, XP and gold gain are boosted, and buildings are "thinner" with less HP and buffs. In Turbo, heroes get stronger more quickly, which encourages faster pushes, given how easy the towers are to destroy. Because of that, the games usually last around 20 minutes. However, players tend to use Turbo games to try out the new builds they come up with, so the matches sometimes turn into 1h+ constant back-and-forth without a single thought of hitting buildings.
Conclusion
That’s it for today! The average Dota 2 match duration time is about 40 minutes for esports and matchmaking games and 20 for the Turbo mode. While most matches fall into certain patterns depending on the skill levels involved, there are items and builds that can change how long the game will last in a single minute. If you have some questions left, feel free to ask in the comments.
