edit update: the 2nd installment of this guide has been written. you can find it here - http://forums.demigodthegame.com/351074 - thanks for reading!

i've been seeing a commonly re-occuring theme in various posts that come up in these forums. alot of players (particularly new players who don't have Demigod beta or WC3 DotA experience) find that they get killed alot. people have varying reactions to this, some positive and some negative. my aim here is to help players get over the learning curve hump so they don't find the game to be frustrating and can enjoy it for what it is, a very fun team based action strategy game.

before i begin, a brief disclaimer. i'm no pro. i'm not trying to tell anyone that i know what perfect play looks like or that i can beat you or anyone else. i'm just average. however, im good enough to be competitive in any game i play and even if i lose i have fun because it was a good contest. none of the advice i'm going to give here has anything to do with winning. this is all for the purpose of allowing players to get up to the minimum level of competence needed to have a good and fun game.

Part 1: How can I tell if I'm overtextended?

we have to clarify terms to begin with. you're overextended if for any reason you will begin an encounter with an enemy DG at a severe disadvantage. you will almost always die if you engage an enemy DG in an overextended state. most new players die frequently and end up as "feeders" for the enemy team because they have trouble telling when they are overextended and they have trouble getting what ought to be easy kills because they have trouble telling when their opponents are overextended.

A) Over-extended into enemy territory

- this means that you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. you've gone too far away from safe territory and will have alot of trouble getting out alive if anyone challenges you.

- the most obvious way to tell that you're over-extended in territory is simply that you are in range of more than 1 enemy tower. some maps have tower setups that have two light towers right next to each other. these present a massive deterrent in the early game and you shouldn't go anywhere near them until you've got some good defensive upgrades. let your creeps knock down a double tower, you should never expose yourself to two at once, just support your creeps and work the tower with out of range attacks.

- a slightly less obvious way to tell that you're overextended is when you're on the wrong side of a tower's firing range relative to your line of retreat. if you have to cross the whole diameter of the circular firing range to get back to your side then you'll take extra hits. generally you should try to avoid ever being further than halfway into a tower's range. your maximum escape distance should never exceed the radius of the range.

- you might be over-extended in territory for reasons having nothing to do with towers. this can be especially hard to tell if you don't know what to look or.

- make sure your path of retreat is clear. if an enemy DG steps into your path of retreat you need to either find a new way out or leave right the heck now while you still have enough health to get past the guy in your way.

- you might get surprised by a creep wave that you didn't expect to come at you. creeps aren't particularly dangerous to DGs but they'll still plink away at your health and its easy to lose a couple hundred health running past a creep wave. if you're only at 200 health when you're running then the creeps just might kill yo

B ) over-extended in health

- this is what happens when you're not necessarily in a bad spot but you've let your health get too low but are being greedy and staying in the field longer than you should, hoping to cap 1 more flag, or farm 1 more creep wave, or just get in the last couple of hits to knock down that tower.

- you can only judge whether or not you're over-extended in health by having a sense of your health regen rate, how much protection your armor level provides, and how many health recovery spells/items you have access to.

- be conservative about your health until you know exactly how much burst damage an enemy DG can inflict on you. you can easily get surprised by a DG who picked unusual equipment (maybe he's got an Orb of Veiled Storms and you're gonna be taking shots of 500 that you didn't expect, for example).

C) over-extended in mana

- this is alot like over-extended in health except that its hidden to everyone except you. you might give the appearance of being in good fighting condition because your health bar is full but your too low on mana to put up much of a fight if someone challenges you. this is a real trap for new players who figure they can still stick around and farm creep waves since they only really need their basic attack to do that.

- this condition can be very hazardous in team situations. your allies have no way of knowing that your mana is low unless you tell them and vice versa. an ally might be counting on you to support them as they go and push a lane or challenge an enemy DG but you can't do your job because you're out of mana. this is a good way to get one or both of you killed. always let your partner know your mana situation so you don't go do something stupid.

- again, play conservatively, don't be greedy and farm creeps while you're dry. unless you've got a very good mana regen rate being dry is just as good a reason to go hit the crystal as being low on health.

D) over-extended in gold

- you're being greedy and saving up for that Bracelet of Rage that's gonna totally pwnface as soon as you hit 14k gold. surely nothing can stop you once you get that bad ass piece of jewelry. /sarcasm

- low level gear actually provides bigger stat bonuses per cost than high level gear, a Plenor Battlecrown and Vlemish Faceguard together will provide way more mana just about any DG can use even at high level. and they only cost 3250 gold combined. you can always sell them later when you need equipment slots back for stronger upgrades.

- don't be greedy. buy your equipment and citadel upgrades when you can afford them. buy them in a timely fashion so you can build momentum by winning encounters NOW. buy consumables early and often, you'll get much better mileage out of a few mana potions than you could ever imagine.

- don't neglect your citadel. upgrading your team's income rate, experience rate, buidling health and damage, creep health and damage, are all worthwhile uses of your cash. i know it doesn't feel as good as beefing up your stats and going for the glory but thats just because you're a ball hog and want to power dunk on everyone. meanwhile the other team is running a passing offense and shooting field goals so fast you can't keep up. yeah, thats the extent of the sports metaphor. your little league coach told you the same thing. be a team player.

ok, thats enough for the first post. i hope this stuff is helpful. i'll be writing a few more survival guides like this focusing on different topics. please give me some feedback, let me know if there's anything in here you don't understand or disagree with (and provide a reason why if you do disagree).

next topic will probably be How to Tell If You're Walking Into a Trap and How To Set a Trap.

part 2: http://forums.demigodthegame.com/351074