Game phases

An overview of the eleven sequential phases that make up a Legends of Dota Redux match, from loading through to the live game.

Every match progresses through eleven distinct phases. The server advances through them automatically; players interact with each phase via the custom UI panels that appear at the appropriate time.

Phase overview

#	Internal constant	Name	What happens
1	PHASE_LOADING	Loading	The server waits for all players to connect and finish loading. Setup timers are suspended and auto-launch is disabled until this phase completes.
2	PHASE_OPTION_VOTING	Option voting	Players vote on high-level game settings — map variant, gamemode (All Pick, Single Draft, etc.), banning rules, and fast-start options. Votes are counted by percentage threshold.
3	PHASE_OPTION_SELECTION	Option selection	Remaining options that were not resolved by vote are configured. The host or server defaults finalise the option set that will govern the rest of the match.
4	PHASE_BANNING	Banning	Abilities (and optionally heroes) are banned from the pool. Each player receives a limited number of bans. Invisibility abilities can also be banned globally if that option was voted in.
5	PHASE_SELECTION	Hero & ability selection	Players choose their hero and pick abilities from the filtered pool. This is the primary pick phase for standard All Pick and similar modes.
6	PHASE_DRAFTING	Drafting	Placeholder phase reserved for draft-style modes (e.g. mirror draft). Players alternate picks from a shared pool of heroes and abilities.
7	PHASE_RANDOM_SELECTION	Random selection	Used in All Random mode. The server automatically assigns a hero and a randomised ability build to each player. Players can still review their assigned build before the game starts.
8	PHASE_REVIEW	Review	All players can inspect their finalised build and those of their teammates before heroes are spawned. No further changes can be made at this point.
9	PHASE_SPAWN_HEROES	Spawn heroes	Heroes are created on the map. The item-picking panel becomes available simultaneously. Internally this phase transitions immediately into item picking.
10	PHASE_ITEM_PICKING	Item picking	Players spend their starting gold on starting items from the shop before the game clock begins.
11	PHASE_INGAME	In-game	The game clock starts, creeps spawn, and normal Dota 2 rules apply. Chat commands and in-game votes become available.

Phase transitions

Phase advancement is managed by the pregame controller (pregame.lua). Each phase has a configurable timer; when the timer expires the server calls setPhase with the next phase constant. Some transitions are gated — for example, the server will not leave PHASE_LOADING until all connected players have loaded.

The PHASE_DRAFTING constant exists in the code as a placeholder. Draft mode behaviour is partially implemented but may not be fully available in all map variants.