Dota 2: What do to during mid game?

Introduction

Dota 2 has four main stages that most games go through:

• Early game
• Mid game
• Late Game
• Ultra Late game

While Ultra Late game is not really seen that often, every single Dota 2 match has some sort of a mid game. As you can probably guess, this is one of the most important parts of the entire Dota 2 game because if you fail here, chances are that you will lose. Recovering after a hard mid game is pretty much impossible, especially if the enemy lineup has a good idea of what it's doing. That's why it is important to follow a couple of rules that could make the difference between a win or a loss.

Don't farm alone in the lane

Once the laning stage is over, staying alone in your lane is not really the best decision you can make. Although it might be tempting to get that extra gold, you need to remember that if you get picked off, your team will probably lose the upcoming team fight, which will result in a push or a Roshan kill from the enemies.

In order to avoid all this, simply farm in places where you know you can escape or when you have vision of what's happening.

Buy team-based items

Buying the right items for the mid game depend heavily on what position you're playing. If you happen to be na offlaner, you should definitely aim at having at least a Pipe of Insight/Crimson Guard. This will allow your team to engage into team fight a lot easier, which is what happens during the mid game. 

On the other hand, if you're playing a tempo-controlling/snowballing carry or mid, you have to get some fighting items such as Desolator, Maelstorm, Drums of Endurance, etc.

Try to use a Smoke of Deceit with your allies

Last, but definitely not least, you should also try to do the so-called "Smoke ganks" as much as possible. This is especially true if you're playing a hero that has good pushing capabilities. Once you secure that vital kill on the enemy hero, you will have a time window where you can either push or secure Roshan. Whatever the case may be, always try to make the most out of it if you want to win.