ZaM wrote:1) As you mentioned, bear has a high MS - especially when used with Sylla's spell. I've seen players leave the entire lane alone to the bear just because they know they aren't going to get any farm. What happens is the other team ignores the bear, Sylla continues using the bear to farm minions and "push" the lanes by waiting for their own minions to attack towers, while his teammates defend the base and don't end up being able to farm anything because it's already a 4v5 and if they do decide to farm, it puts their team at a disadvantage more-so than it is. You're right; early to mid-game, Sylla's bear with rad is insanely annoying. But no one is arguing against a bear with rad. The underlying argument made by the OP is that a player should be banned if by late in the game (when raxes are getting pushed), Sylla is at the fountain unable to defend.
This is a late-game scenario which wasn't my point behind that.
If the underlying argument is banning player A for refusing to defend the base, then this suggestion is easily archived as it's already against the rules. However, and as it's been going on, if we're arguing the bear-only strat being disallowed on ENT then that's why we are continuing. And again to make my point more clear - The bear-only strategy is integrating any potential you have as a hero into your bear and therefor using that unit and producing all items on-to, that unit. Which also means, that unit is practically you and therefor, that unit is required to defend the base, help push and overall contribute to the team and if that unit is not doing so, that unit is against the rules.
The strategy/method is not the issue here, it's merely just a mix of words at this point. To say the bear doesn't hold enough contributing factors to the team is like saying any hero that falls behind doesn't hold enough factors. My responses are generic because if we're speaking to the game as an entirety and not specific views like such in an eyes of a decent player or an innovative one, the bear honestly holds no real difference to a hero and therefor, as I've been saying, to leave it the way it is.
ZaM wrote:2) No one said bear holds a grief-like spot. What we've been saying, however, is bear alone is not enough to win the game in many cases. Yes, it'll work vs bad players with no communication. Quite frankly, even the silliest strategies would work against those same players as well. It does not prove that it is a viable strategy to win games consistently.
It's exactly why DotA is a team game. To be able to push as a team, work as a team and defend as a team will result in all around good progression and potentially a victory. If any hero falls off due to no communication, how is that different from the bear? It's starting to become a "generic" thing to specifically bash the bear method simply because of the little experiences both with/against it. But as an entirety, the bear is fine where it stands.
ZaM wrote:3) I can guarantee a bear running around with rad, dagon, blademail, and whatever else item you can think of will not outperform an Arc with comparable gold (assuming they have the same gold to get their item build).
Again, this wasn't the point of my "comparison". Out-preformance is a weak argument. To say one hero is better than another is both opinionated and unnecessary, every hero holds a unique ability just like the bear does as a unit.
ZaM wrote:4)This strat is just very lousy from a perspective of trying to win games. It's much more effort to control Sylla and his bear together than it is to just use the bear. it takes no effort to run around with bear, clicking teleport as soon as you see an enemy colored dot, and just casting dagon when their hp is low.
Again.. arguing skill over rules. Isn't there an on-going theme with LC being used that it also requires "no effort" etc? Doesn't mean it's banned because, just like bear, it holds a unique purpose to the game.
I am trying to discuss, in yes a very generic and rule-relating sense, that the bear only strat can either work or it can't. In this case, I'm to believe that pros outweigh the cons if I'm being honest. It's just unnecessary to start to hammering down on unique strategies simply because of (reference; OP) a bad game experience.
ZaM wrote:Btw, I disagree with "if we ban this, we'll have to also ban this." It's such a slippery slope fallacy. It's like saying, "If we legalize marijuana, what's stopping them from legalizing cocaine, heroin, etc.," You can legalize one without legalizing the other. If it were up to me, I would ban a sylla "bear only" strategy. But I do understand the pros of it in many situations as well. That's why my opinion on this is that it should be judged on a case-by-case basis. Currently, it seems that the sentiment is you are allowed to use a sylla-only bear strategy and can leave your hero at the fountain and watch while the enemy team destroys your base. I think that can actually lead to more games being ruined than the former.
Off topic:Irrelevant comparison tbh, that was just unneeded.What is the preferred alternative? If a sylla and his bear are both equipped and die whilst trying to defend how is that different from the bear alone trying to defend? They both put in the same effort. If the bear dies and the sylla with no items, summon on cd and 5-10 levels below everyone else walks out into a team of 5 pushing a rax, what is there to benefit then? It's just another death and it's delaying the possibility of the bear respawning. The only difference to be said here is the potential outcome but again, speaking in a rule-sense, if player x defends with team and it's unsuccessful, then oh well. If player x doesn't defend, they are in violation of rules because then yes, player x did not participate and initially let his team die. Same thing to be said if player x was a sole bear player.