Dota 2 legend Loda takes swipe at analysts: "Stop making it sound so simple"

Jonathan "Loda" Berg is a legend of the Dota 2 scene, and he’s no stranger to voicing his opinions. In his latest series of tweets, he’s taken a swipe at analysts for being too simple.

“I’m so tired of listening to analysts using their own pub experiences to explain pro dota2," said Loda. "Just because you know that A -> B in pub, it doesn't automatically translate into pro games."

Loda added that knowledge and experience from public games can sometimes translate to professional games, "but there are levels upon levels of meta" that often get overlooked. "Stop making it sound so simple," he said.

To build on his point, Loda urged casters not to explain their opinion as fact. He believes analysts can use their experience to explain important concepts about the game. But he doesn’t want them to “preach it as the truth” and instead thinks they should acknowledge it’s an opinion.

Naturally, he received mixed responses, which prompted him to dig deeper. "There are also enough pro games to go around for you to make comparisons to other pro games rather than your own pubs,” he added.

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Mike "Wickd" Peterson, a former League of Legends professional who is now a content creator, echoed his sentiment. He believes it's something that applies to analysts in League of Legends too.

Loda responded, expressing his belief that analysts often inflate their knowledge. "Perhaps there was a point when they were up to date with everything," he said. "But then they didn't keep doing that homework, but still keep expressing themselves as they do."

This prompted Gabriel "Lyrical" Cruz, a popular Dota 2 analyst and caster, to respond. "Come on man whatcha talking about?" he said. "The point of the cast is to take something super complicated that very few people understand and make it relatable/entertaining."

Lyrical's point is a valid one, and it correctly sums up the other side of the issue. "Sometimes the point is to simplify it and then the revelation of the complexity is part of the entertainment," he said.

Lyrical acknowledged that casters don't always get it right. But he believes it's better to be entertaining than accurate and bland, which makes sense. After all, most spectators aren’t professionals either.

Loda’s opinion matters because he is a legend in the Dota 2 scene. He famously won The International 2013 with Alliance, which cemented his place as a legend of the game. After he retired, he became the team's co-owner and head coach.

However, he's known for being very opinionated. This goes all the way back to when he famously called out Clement "Puppey" Ivanov and Daniel "Dendi" Ishutin for their game-breaking "fountain hook” exploit.

However, he's known for being very opinionated. This goes all the way back to when he famously called out Clement "Puppey" Ivanov and Daniel "Dendi" Ishutin for their game-breaking "fountain hook” exploit.

It isn’t the first time Loda has stirred the pot, and it won’t be the last. But the question remains: Should analysts make more of an effort to understand and explain the professional meta? Or should they stick to entertaining and breaking down information in layman's terms?

We'll see more about the discussion in weeks to come.

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