An often neglected aspect of Dota 2, runes provide amazing bonuses to heroes. However, a lot of noob players will neglect runes in favor of farming creeps, which is a huge missed opportunity. This could also be because no one buys wards, but that's a different section of this article. Rune control provides too many advantages for teams to ignore. Most noobs also don't know that runes spawn every two minutes and don't get into the routine of checking when the clock strikes :00. Runes are like mini cheat codes and can swing the balance of a game. The only way to counter rune effects is by getting them before the other team does, so be sure to always be checking for runes and grabbing them whenever possible. Even if it is a rune that you don't need at the moment, take it anyway. It is always better to have possession. Runes like Double Damage and Haste are especially important to grab because they give huge fighting advantages to opposing teams. For example, Double Damage on a Phantom Assassin or Bounty Hunter will make them hit incredibly hard, sometimes killing heroes in three or four strikes. Haste on Night Stalker makes his speed unmatched, making it even easier for him to chase down heroes. With the new Bounty rune, heroes with kill streaks will benefit even more with extra gold and experience. Reasons like these are what make rune control so important for teams to win. Always pay attention to rune spawns and you'll be seeing plenty of victories soon enough.
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