How to Watch Friends Live Game in Dota 2 [4 Methods]

Through the "Watch Game" Feature (With Delay)

The first method is the most commonly used way of spectating a friend’s game, which is simply by clicking the "Watch Game" button. This is a free method that allows you to spectate your friend’s ongoing game, but with a few minutes delay.

1. Find the friend that you want to spectate on your friend list, which is located on the left side of your screen.
2. Right click the selected friend, and a few options will show up.
3. Look for the button that says "Watch Game"
4. Click the button, and it will instantly load you into the live game.

This particular method is the most straightforward one, but the drawback is that you will be spectating with a delay. However, you will be able to see the vision of both teams and access the net worth graph, buyback status, and other information using this method.

Through The Watch Tab (With Delay)

Players are also able to spectate live friends’ games through the Watch Tab, which can be found on the top of the main menu screen. The features of this method will be exactly the same as the previous method. This is just an alternate way to jump into spectating the game that your friend is in.

1. Click the "Watch" button on the top of your screen, which is in between "Store" and "Learn"
2. Under "Watch", click on "Live"
3. The two previous steps will take you to the watch menu, where you’ll notice lots of games with professional players filling up your screen.
4. Scroll down all the way to the bottom, as that is where your friends’ games will be displayed.
5. Select the match that you want to spectate, then press Watch Game.

Keep in mind that there will still be a delay when watching your friends play a live game. For ways to spectate games with absolutely no delay, continue reading!

Through Dota Plus (No Delay)

The first way that will allow you to observe your friend’s match with zero delay is to subscribe to Dota Plus. Dota Plus is Dota 2’s monthly subscription service which will give you lots of perks and bonuses. The particular perk to look for when it comes to watching a friend’s games is the Live Spectating feature.

Watching live through Dota Plus will allow you to watch your friend in real time, but you will only be able to see what your friend and his/her team can see. There is limited vision, and no access to information such as net worth and buyback status.

Here are the steps to how you can watch your friend’s game with no delay:

1. Find the friend that you want to spectate on your friend list, which is located on the left side of your screen.
2. Right-click the selected friend, and a few options will show up.
3. After subscribing to Dota Plus, you’ll notice a new option, which is the "Watch Friend Live" button.
4. Click the button, and it will instantly load you into the live game.

The Live Spectating feature in Dota Plus is exactly what players look for when they want to watch their friends’ live matches, so they can see the same things at the same time.

Through the Coaching Feature (No Delay)

Valve Corporation added the Coaching feature for players to teach random, lower-ranked players for free. In return, these coaches get coaching points, and so it has significantly aided the market for Dota 2 coaching services. Though the system is fully functional, players also use the feature to coach their friends and spectate them live.

This makes the Coaching feature a better alternative than the Spectating Live feature from Dota Plus. Let’s figure out how you can set up a coaching session with your friend:

1. First off, have your friend request a coach, by pressing the headphones icon on the bottom left of their screen.
2. The game will ask you to choose a language for the coaching session. Pick a less-popular language, so that you will be able to find each other easily. An example would be Hungarian.
3. Once your friend is done, you can now search for him/her by searching for players from the coaching tab.
4. Once you’re searching for players, change your language to whatever your friend has set. In the example above, Hungarian was used.
5. Then, once you have found your friend, simply become their coach.

Here are all these steps presented visually:

If all the steps have been followed correctly, then you’ll be able to spectate your friend live with no delay, for free! Keep in mind that your friend can also request a coach while they are in the middle of a game as well. Try asking them to pause the game to set up the coaching session.

You will also be able to draw lines on your friend’s map to show directions, and alt ping them!

However, since the feature is free, there will be some drawbacks.

• You will have to communicate with your friend to set this up, as opposed to just immediately hopping in with Dota Plus.
• Your Dota 2 rank must be higher than the friend you’re trying to spectate.
• Your rank must be above the fixed minimum rank that the game has set.