Help
How to get started, what each part of the coach does, and how to reach us.
Quick start
- Get your key. Enter your email on highgroundcoach.app. The key arrives in about a minute, with the download link. No card, no Dota login.
- Install the app from the Microsoft Store on your Windows 10 or 11 PC and paste the key.
- Connect Dota. Dota sends the coach your game through one launch option. If the app shows a warning, open App settings › Game connection: it copies the option for you and checks each link live.
- Play. Launch Dota from the app or from Steam. The coach speaks from your first game, the in-game HUD draws over Dota, and Live game in the app shows the same calls.
- Tune it in Coach settings: how much it says, which groups may speak, your position and the narrator.
Features
Every voice group below can be switched off on its own in Coach settings › What may speak. A switched-off group stops talking, but its advice stays on the HUD and in Live game. To silence everything at once, use the Voice on button in the app's top bar (or How much it says › Muted).
Danger warnings & the danger meter
- You hear
- Short warnings when you are likely to get ganked: a trained model reads where you stand, who is missing and how long they have been unseen. Also “X left mid” style calls for missing heroes, an enemy heading your way, no TP scroll and buyback gold late in the game.
- You see
- The danger meter on the HUD (above the minimap) and in Live game: how dangerous your spot is right now, with the missing and visible enemies.
- When
- All game. How risky a quiet moment must be before it speaks is your choice: Danger warning Yellow, Orange (default) or Red only. A gank landing on you always speaks.
- Turn off
- What may speak › Danger.
Fight calls
- You hear
- Whether to take a fight, leave it or back off, when help is coming and how far away, pickoff chances, and enemy buybacks and respawns that change a fight.
- You see
- “If we fight now” at the top of the HUD and in Live game.
- When
- When heroes from both teams are close enough to fight.
- Turn off
- What may speak › Fights.
Item panel
- You see
- Item suggestions above the quick-buy and in Live game, in three columns: the common next item for your hero, the best fit against this lineup, and utility options against a specific enemy.
- You hear
- Short item lines: a key item against this draft, Aghanim's Shard when it becomes available, and when your key item came earlier or later than usual.
- Choose
- Item suggestions: Pro (what pros build on your hero now), Pub (what Divine+ players build) or All.
- Turn off
- What may speak › Items & draft for the voice; hide the panel with HUD layout › Edit layout.
Draft help
- You see
- Hero suggestions on the pick screen for your position. Meta heroes and Tier list in the app show the same Divine+ and pro numbers.
- Choose
- Draft suggestions: Pro meta (default), My heroes (heroes you played 3+ times in 90 days) or All.
- Turn off
- Hide the Draft picks piece in HUD layout › Edit layout.
Timers: runes, stacks, lotus, Roshan, Tormentor
- You hear
- Countdowns before power, bounty and wisdom runes, lotus, the camp stack (“Stack in ten”), when Roshan can be back, Tormentor and new neutral item tiers.
- You see
- The objective timers on the HUD and in Live game.
- Choose
- Reminders: for each timer, which positions hear it, how early and until when. Stack reminders speak in the jungle by default, or everywhere.
- Turn off
- One timer at a time in Reminders, or a whole group in What may speak: Runes (runes and lotus), Stacks, Macro & objectives (Roshan and Tormentor), Items & draft (neutral tiers).
Lane brief
- You hear
- Your role, their carry, our carry and your job: once when the lane starts and once when it is over, in a calm moment.
- When
- Only when your position is known: the one you set in My position, otherwise the coach's read of your lane.
- Turn off
- What may speak › Macro & objectives (this also silences push, farm and objective calls).
Macro & objectives
- You hear
- Calls such as shove, group or back off, Roshan when it is a real option, and when the draft makes your team stronger or weaker than theirs.
- Turn off
- What may speak › Macro & objectives.
Voices & settings
- Narrator
- Four narrators plus the Windows voice. Play a sample in Voices and pick one. Every narrator reads the same approved lines; only the voice changes.
- How much
- Everything, Full voice (default), Important only or Muted.
- Position
- My position: Auto reads your lane; set it if you want calls for your role from the start.
- Reset
- Restore defaults at the bottom of Coach settings.
In-game HUD
- You see
- Win chance, the fight read, the coach's call, enemy cooldowns under the top bar, the danger column above the minimap and item suggestions. It never takes focus and clicks pass through it.
- Turn off
- Ctrl+Alt+H hides or shows it in game; Show the in-game HUD in Coach settings; HUD layout hides or moves each piece.
OBS overlays
- HUD on stream
- In OBS add a Browser source with
http://127.0.0.1:43726/, width and height = your game resolution, above Game Capture, and switch on Show the HUD on stream. - Stream layouts
- The full horizontal and vertical layouts (calls, map, win chance, item plan) come with a streaming licence; their links are in App settings › Streaming. Ask us to set one up.
Post-game review
- You see
- A review written the moment a match ends: your farm against a benchmark, each death with who killed you, and the coach's warnings on the game's timeline. Open any game from My games.
- When
- When the match ends, over Dota, if After each game: Open the review over Dota is on in App settings.
- Turn off
- That switch in App settings; What may speak › Post-game silences what the coach says after the game.
FAQ
How do I install it?
Get a free key on highgroundcoach.app, install Highground Coach from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 or 11, and paste the key. There is no macOS or Linux version yet.
Microsoft Store or Overwolf?
The Microsoft Store app is available now and has no ads. An Overwolf version is being prepared: the same coach, the same key and the same app screens, with a small ad on Overwolf's desktop window.
The coach is not talking. What do I check?
Look at the top bar: Voice on must be on and How much it says must not be Muted. Check that the group you expect is on in What may speak, and that the narrator's volume in Voices is above 0%. If the app says Dota is not connected, open App settings › Game connection.
Why does it sometimes sound like the Windows voice?
Narrator lines come from a downloaded, checked voice pack. When a line is not in the pack yet, or the pack is still downloading after you change narrator, Windows speech says it at once so you never miss a call. The narrator's own recording is prepared in the background and used next time.
What is free and what is Plus?
Free has no end and needs no card: your first 3 games, then 1 game a day, fully coached, and a basic review of every other game. Plus coaches every game for $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, renewing until you cancel. See App settings › Plans.
What data does it use?
Valve's Game State Integration feed and parts of your Dota window it reads on your PC. The full window capture stays on your PC; the top strip, the selected unit's item grid and recognised text go to our server to coach you. The full detail is in our privacy notice.
Can I get banned for using it?
Highground reads Valve's Game State Integration feed and visible parts of your Dota window. It does not read game memory, inject code or automate play. Highground is independent of Valve and has no Valve approval; we cannot guarantee account safety or future enforcement decisions.
How do I show the coach on my stream?
See OBS overlays above. If OBS was open before the coach started, refresh the Browser source.
The HUD is in the wrong place or covers something.
Open Coach settings › HUD layout › Edit layout to hide or move each piece; the game follows within a second. Reset all puts everything back.
Contact support
Email support@highgroundcoach.app. For a problem in a game, add the match ID and the game time, and attach the file from App settings › Export diagnostics if you can.
Questions and ideas are welcome in our Discord. Refunds and withdrawal requests: the form on the legal page.