Dota 2
Dota 2
Why are PSG.LGD players rubbing XinQ’s belly before pro games?
William Davis
Rubbing the belly of your teammate sounds like a strange pre-match ritual, but for PSG.LGD’s Dota 2 team, it’s becoming a longstanding tradition. One of the strangest phenomena in Dota 2 esports is watching PSG.LGD walk up to the squad’s support player Zhao “XinQ” Zixing and begin to rub his belly. Team captain Zhang “y`” Yiping is the most common masseuse, but offlaner Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida has also been seen …
Dota 2
Topson confirms a comeback to pro Dota 2, but when?
Steven Rondina
Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen is looking to make a comeback to Dota 2 esports, but it doesn’t seem like he will be returning to OG. The two-time TI champion has been out of action since The International 2021 and was openly discussing retirement before the event. As is often the case in esports, that idea didn’t hold up over time. With the qualifiers to The International 2022 looming, Topson is considering …
Dota 2
Dota 2 fans are freaking out over this pro’s massive biceps
William Davis
A $4 million Dota 2 tournament’s stream is occasionally being blocked by one pro’s massive biceps. Riyadh Masters has continued to Dota 2 esports tradition of silly things happening on stream. In case of Tundra Esports stand-in offlaner Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin, fans have noticed that his abnormally large biceps are partially blocking their view of the team cameras. In addition to that, the Riyadh Masters memes include extremely rapid commentary …
Dota 2
Which casters are commentating at the PGL Arlington Major?
William Davis
The casters and analysts for the PGL Arlington Major have been announced, but some fans aren’t happy with the lineup. Tournament organizer PGL has announced the talent for the Dota 2 Arlington Major. The list includes many iconic casters including Gabriel “Lyrical” Cruz and David “GoDz” Parker. Many newer talents are getting their time to shine at the year’s second-most important Dota 2 event. However, the lack of some recognized …
Dota 2
iceiceice isn’t with Team Secret for Riyadh Masters, here’s why
William Davis
Fans of Daryl “iceiceice” Xiang will be sad to hear that he will not be appearing with Team Secret at Riyadh Masters. Fan-favorite offlaner iceiceice will not be attending Riyadh Masters 2022 with Team Secret. Fellow Dota 2 veteran Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok will take his place in the offlane. The exact reason is not known yet, but iceiceice’s absence could be linked to multiple restrictions affecting travel. Four players have …
Dota 2
PSG.LGD helped another team’s TI11 chances, will Valve stop it?
William Davis
Chinese powerhouse PSG.LGD chose to forfeit its final game to Xtreme, and the Dota 2 scene doesn’t know how to feel about it. On July 17, PSG.LGD was scheduled to play its final match of the season against Xtreme Gaming. However, just hours before the planned game, PSG.LGD announced that it would be forfeiting the game to Xtreme. Clever fans may have finally found out exactly why the multi-time The …
Dota 2
Techies and Bounty Hunter have the funniest Dota 2 bug
William Davis
The funniest glitch in Dota 2 involves a T-posing Techies spinning at mach speed across the map. Dota 2 players have discovered a new glitch that may rank among the funniest in the whole game. The setup involves Techies, Bounty Hunter, and a strange interaction with Lotus Orb. The result is one of the wildest graphical glitches possible. While somewhat complicated at first, it is reasonable enough to see in …
Dota 2
The best heroes, tricks, and strategies for Dark Moon in Dota 2
William Davis
Dark Moon is a great way to unwind from playing competitive ranked Dota 2 games, but it can quickly become more stressful without the right strategies. Dark Moon was one of the first PvE modes added to Dota 2. Predating Siltbreaker and Aghanim’s Labyrinth, the mode is a fun tower defense mission against 15 waves of enemies. After five years of absence, the mode is finally back in its original …
ana returns to pro Dota 2 as Team Liquid sub at Riyadh Masters
William Davis
Dota 2
After over a year of speculation, Anathan “ana” Pham will finally return to pro Dota 2 with Team Liquid. Team Liquid has announced that ana will stand-in for Team Liquid at Riyadh Masters 2022. This will mark the first time ana has played in formal pro Dota 2 competition since May 2021 at the European Dota Pro Circuit. This could potentially mark the beginning of a major comeback for the …
EternaLEnVy really quit pro Dota 2, here’s what he’s doing now
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao may actually be done with Dota 2 esports, and he’s now discussing his new plans on social media. On July 2, EternaLEnVy took to Twitter and simply said “retired competitive.” While the message was clear, it’s never easy to accept a retirement in Dota 2 esports, as players routinely call it quits and come back months or even just days later. EternaLEnVy himself isn’t immune to this …
All about how to get and create effigies in Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
Valve may have forgotten about Dota 2 effigies, but fans can still show off their wacky creations in-game, if they know how. Effigies are a big part of Dota 2, but newer players may never have heard of them. The effigy system allows players to create a custom statue of a hero that appears in the base as a destructible building. Whether it’s a player’s favorite hero letting loose an …
The longest Dota 2 pro game ever drove everyone insane
William Davis
Dota 2
The longest Dota 2 pro game ever cost the sanity of everyone involved. Though Valve has made significant steps towards limiting game length, Dota 2 matches can still last a ridiculously long time. Recent Dota Pro Circuit seasons have included games lasting well over an hour, and pub matches have now reached well into the four-hour territory. However, pro games are famous for resolving quicker than normal ranked matches. That’s …
Dota 2 now has a surrender option, but only if you do this
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 finally has a surrender option, but there’s a catch to it. Valve shipped a major update for Dota 2 on July 6, but it wasn’t a balance patch. A massive overhaul to matchmaking has been implemented that overhauls the experience for those who play in parties. This is exclusively available to full parties of five players, so those who solo queue will have to continue suffering through games …
These are the most expensive Dota 2 skin loadouts in the world
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 has many expensive skins, but some heroes cost a lot more to bling out than others. While skins in Dota 2 have never quite reached the heights of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, there are still plenty of expensive immortals and sets to seek out. In the case of popular picks like Rubick, Juggernaut, and Pudge, the price of rare immortals can quickly grow into the hundreds. If you wanted …
This item now turns Visage into the best hero in all of Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
Statistically speaking you’ve probably never played the best hero in Dota 2 version 7.31d, because the powerful-yet-unpopular Visage is the best in the game right now. According to Dota 2 stat trackers, Visage has the highest win rate in Dota 2 this week at 55.32%. He is the only hero above 55%, making him inarguably overpowered. There’s no doubt that Visage is strong in 7.31d, but what’s pushing up his …
All there is to know about Topson, the star mid laner of OG
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen is one of Dota 2’s top stars and became an overnight sensation after joining OG. Here is his complete history in professional Dota 2. Topson first appeared in professional Dota 2 in 2016, competing with the all-Finnish Oogway team in a number of regional European leagues. The team, which also featured a mix of journeyman and developing talent, most notably 4 Anchors + Sea Captain player …
Here’s the complete history of Ceb, OG Dota 2 coach and player
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs is one of the most decorated coaches and players in Dota 2 history. Here is his story. Originally using the handle 7ckngMad, Ceb first appeared in Dota 2 shortly after the game’s launch in 2011 with Team Shakira, an all-French roster. The squad established itself as one of Europe’s best squads at DreamHack WInter 2011 by taking fourth, a performance that saw the squad sponsored by Western …
Here’s when you actually should break your items in Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Roshan gives players free items, but there are occasions where it’s better for Dota 2 players to break an item instead of picking it up. A recent Dota Pro Circuit match between Team Liquid and Tundra Esports had an odd circumstance. While playing as Marci, Tundra’s Martin “Saksa” Sazdov found himself holding a dropped Aghanim’s Shard by Roshan. Rather than using it, he dropped it on the ground and broke …
Dota 2 vet Illidan returns, quits team after just one DPC match
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 esports is a chaotic space, but it doesn’t get much more chaotic than Ilya “Illidan” Pivcaev’s one-day stint with Team Empire. Illidan is a veteran in the Dota 2 pro scene. The Russian was the backbone of Virtus.pro for three years and helped establish the organization as elite with a top-six finish at The International 2015. Though he became a journeyman from there, he had stints on a …
New Dota 2 Chest of Endless Days includes error Lycan
William Davis
Dota 2
The Chest of Endless Days is the newest Dota 2 skin set, but a funny glitch seems to have snuck past Valve. Dota 2 now has another set of hero skins to open in the Chest of Endless Days. The new case includes 13 new sets with three rare opens. The ultra rare of the set is Heir of Menace Invoker, a regal take on his childlike persona. Unlike most …
Few games have proven to have the resilient popularity enjoyed by Dota 2. The multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA for short, has been among the biggest and most successful projects released by gaming giant Valve, and it continues to enjoy great popularity to this day.
That popularity has endured despite a great number of changes that have been made to both the game itself and to the communities surrounding it. The competitive title’s history reaches all the way back to another game created and published by another developer, but with Valve now leading the way, Dota 2 seems primed to last well into the future.
From Blizzard to Valve, Dota 2 continues to evolve
While know today as one of Valve’s key game properties, Dota 2 has its origins in a real-time strategy game developed and published by famed video game company Blizzard. One of the franchises that keyed Blizzard’s success and reputational growth in the games industry is WarCraft, which today is best-known for the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft.
But prior to the success of World of Warcraft, the high-fantasy franchise was experienced through a series of RTS games. The third main title in that series, WarCraft 3, provided players not only with a great experience right out of the box, but also with the opportunity to heavily modify the game and its functions, and to play modified versions of the experience as custom games online with other players.
The most popular of these custom game modes was arguably Defense of the Ancients, or DotA for short. This custom game mode saw two teams of players face off against each other with strong individual champion characters, as opposed to building out complex home bases and developing broad armies of diverse units.
It was an entirely different way to play the game, and it proved so popular that would eventually give birth to an entirely new genre of video games: the MOBA genre.
The continuation of the original DotA became Dota 2, a project developed under the guidance of famed developer and publisher Valve. Flush with success from online marketplace Steam and its own franchises including Half-Life and Portal, Valve was more than willing to invest in this new and innovative game type.
The International sets Dota 2 apart
While there have been many other competitive games created and released since, including other popular MOBAs such as Riot Games’ League of Legends, Dota 2 has stood apart for remaining true to its roots and for massive competitive events like The International. First held in 2011 for the purpose of bringing together disparate competitive teams from all around the world with more than $1 million on the line, the esports tournament quickly grew into the biggest such event of each calendar year.
One of the main drivers behind that immense growth was the upwards trajectory of the tournament’s prize pool. Partially funded by Dota 2 players and esports fans, the prize pool for The International began increasing in 2013 and eventually ballooned to a massive total of over $40 million by the time 2021 rolled around. For the groups of players and coaches who climbed this mountain and won its top prize, it was a truly life-changing event.
For varied reasons, Valve eventually soured on running the event itself and on the idea of having so much money filtered into one specific event. Prize winnings were dropped significantly in 2022, and even further for the 2023 and 2024 events. But despite the prizes on hand no longer being quite so astronomical, The International still boasts a prize in the low millions, and it remains the biggest event on the Dota 2 competitive calendar and arguably on the greater esports calendar across all games.
