For about ten years, I've been playing Dota, and during that time, I’ve mostly been in the Herald and Crusader brackets. Recently, though, I managed to climb up to Legend by watching pro players, analyzing games on YouTube, and using third-party websites like Dotabuff and Dota2ProTracker. I’ve developed the ability to mimic a pro player’s gameplay almost perfectly just by watching how they play.

For example, there was one time I completely replicated Ceb’s and iceiceice’s offlane playstyle. I stomped the enemy team so hard that I looked like a smurf. However, when I try to play without watching or imitating anyone, I hit a plateau and often get stomped instead.

Interestingly, this doesn’t just happen in Dota. Even outside the game, I’ve noticed I have a knack for mimicking movements. For instance, I once saw a skateboarder jump and grind on railings. On my third or fourth try, I was able to copy their moves almost perfectly, even though I couldn’t get it right on the first attempt.

It seems like I excel when I have something or someone to observe and emulate, but I struggle when I rely solely on my own instincts.