The "dota syndrome" is basically a form of fear for
change that the individual fights at first but after a time grows accustomed to and
even starts to enjoy.
The term comes from the action-rpg
game DotA, which is regularly updated in different "versions" by it's sole developer Icefrog. In some of those versions, very major changes are made to the
game that might effect the very core of the gameplay. When the changelog for such a version is released, many fans tend to complain about the changes before they've actually tried it (called "theorycrafting"). After a few days however, pretty much all of the
people who previously complained have adapted to the changes and realised they were for the best. Then a few months afterwards, a
new version is released and the pattern repeats itself.