Dota 2
Dota 2
Support Doom is the ticket to gaining MMR in Dota 2 7.31
William Davis
Soft support picks are usually ranged playmakers with lots of flashy spells, but Doom boils down the essence of position four into trading and securing kills. A new Doom support build is snatching MMR left and right in Dota 2 public matchmaking. While Doom is generally considered a bad hero with 45.70% win rate, pro players have developed a new build that puts him in an entirely new role. As …
Dota 2
Here’s the date and location for Dota 2’s TI11
Steven Rondina
Details regarding The International 2022 are finally coming out. This includes an estimated date and location for TI11. During the ESL One Stockholm Major, Valve confirmed that TI11 will take place in Singapore. This followed a few days of oddly cheeky posts on Twitter from Valve showing a number of small figurines of Dota 2 heroes. The locations and surroundings of the figures led many to believe that this was …
Dota 2
OG wins ESL Stockholm Major, but could it win TI11?
Steven Rondina
While the old OG was defined by its inconsistency, the new OG is looking consistently great so far. OG are the champions of the ESL One Stockholm Major and are effectively guaranteed a spot at The International 2022. The first major of the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit concluded with OG taking a victory despite a handicap. Sebastian “Ceb” Debs and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein were forced back into action due to …
Dota 2
Tundra opens up on wild mid picks, DPC, and NA vs EU pubs
William Davis
The Stockholm Major is a return to live crowds for Dota 2 esports. For Tundra, this major is also a chance to claim its first Valve event championship. WIN.gg was able to interview Tundra Esports and learn the team’s thoughts on the Stockholm meta, regional pub differences, and why Leon “Nine” Kirilin keeps picking strange heroes. WIN.gg: Sneyking, you recently switched to the captain’s role. Were there any unexpected challenges …
Dota 2
Wraith Pact is the most OP Dota 2 item, Stockholm Major proves
William Davis
As often happens in Dota 2, a new item that everybody forgot about is now the scariest thing in the game. After quietly being added to the game in Dota 2 patch 7.31, Wraith Pact has become one of the most gaming-changing items at the Stockholm Major. Pro teams from all regions are rushing the item from multiple positions due to its insanely strong active ability and its powerful aura. …
Dota 2
NBA Jam announcer pack for Dota 2 up for vote on Steam Workshop
William Davis
If fans want it badly enough, Dota 2 players could soon have their games commentated by the legendary announcer from NBA Jam. A new Dota 2 announcer pack based on NBA Jam is now up for voting on the Steam Workshop. The fully-voiced sound pack is a joint effort between Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner and Shannon “SUNSfan” Scotten of DotaCinema. The pair announced the project on May 11 just before the …
Dota 2
Here are the skins you can earn from Dota 2 major fantasy game
Steven Rondina
Valve hasn’t given either casual or pro Dota 2 players much reason to care about any event outside of The International, but that’s changing with the ESL One Stockholm Major as the Fantasy Challenge returns. Rewards for watching esports are the standard across every major esports title. League of Legends, Overwatch, and almost every other major esport have some sort of reward for regular viewers of their top leagues. Valve’s …
Dota 2
The best level 25 talents that you’re not picking in Dota 2
William Davis
Level 25 talents are flashy, but the better-looking choice doesn’t always have the best win rate in Dota 2. Level 25 used to be the limit for how strong Dota 2 heroes could get, but now it’s just the start. Final talents are a massive upgrade to every hero, offering fancy new abilities, game-changing passives, or huge upgrades. Choosing which one to get is usually easy, but some good choices …
What’s in the TI11 Battle Pass, and when’s its release date?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International Battle Pass typically arrives in May. So what’s to be in the TI11 Battle Pass, and will it release soon? The International is in limbo when it comes to its scheduling. Though the event happened in either July or August each year from 2012 to 2019, the cancellation of The International 2020 turned the Dota 2 esports scene upside down. Things got worse in 2021 when the event …
Here’s the max damage Phantom Assassin can do with one crit
William Davis
Dota 2
Phantom Assassin can crit for thousands of damage in a real Dota 2 game, but that’s nothing compared to the biggest possible crit. While PA can deal huge damage under any circumstances, what if logic and proper builds are thrown to the wind in favor of dealing the most possible damage. The answer is well over 20,000 damage. Naturally, the build starts with a level 30 Phantom Assassin with a …
Topson is planning a return to pro Dota 2, but for what team?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen will seemingly return to pro Dota 2, but what team will he play for? The two-time The International champion was hinting at retirement ahead of The International 2021, and seemingly ended his career after OG’s top-eight run at the event. But now after a six-month break, the competitive itch has seemingly returned to the star mid-laner. In a recent stream, Topson stated in fairly certain terms …
How many playable heroes are in Dota 2 in 2022?
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 has many heroes to pick from, but measuring exactly how many is more complicated than you might think. As of patch 7.31b, Dota 2 has 123 playable heroes in the game. Each hero has a unique set of abilities, stats, talents, Aghanim’s upgrades, and more. All heroes are completely free to play. While not all are available in the esports version of Dota 2, Valve continues to churn …
Why aren’t there Chinese Dota 2 teams at the Stockholm Major?
William Davis
Dota 2
Not seeing your favorite Chinese teams at The Stockholm Major? There’s a very important reason for that. Perfect World has announced that Chinese teams will not attend the Stockholm Major. The competitive region will instead have its own regional final starting on May 6. The choice is most likely related to ongoing health concerns in China. With one of the strongest regions absent from the event, The Stockholm Major has …
The Dota 2 Stockholm Major could bomb without a balance patch
William Davis
Dota 2
The PGL Stockholm Major could be one of the least-balanced events in Dota 2 history unless another patch comes through. Dota 2 patch 7.31b is meant to go out with a bang at The Stockholm Major, but the current state of balance could turn it into a flop. The most recent Dota Pro Circuit season showed just how unbalanced the game is, and the pro meta indicates that it’s getting …
You can borrow Dota 2 HUDs, announcers, more as shared content
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 players can share their cosmetic content with their teammates thanks to an often-forgotten feature in the game. Here’s what it is and how to use it. Cosmetics are a big part of Dota 2, but the customization doesn’t end with your hero. HUD skins and announcer packs are a great way to jazz up an otherwise plain match. It’s okay to have your own favorites, but you can …
How to disable Dota 2 heroes talking, or just quiet them down
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 heroes love to shout voice lines for everything from kills to last hits to moving, but there’s a way to make them a little less annoying. Every Dota 2 player has a certain hero who they just perfectly vibe with, but even the most iconic voice lines can get dull after thousands of hours. Luckily for irate players, there’s a way to tone them down. Here’s how to …
This Dota 2 queue exploit lets you steal MMR from other players
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
An exploit in Dota 2’s matchmaking system is being exploited by high-level players, allowing them to steal MMR. Pro players are gaming some of Valve’s matchmaking tools in order to siphon MMR away from other top names. Nick “GOD_Z” Zhang, formerly known as GOAT of Arkosh Gaming, discussed the phenomenon on Twitter. According to GOD_Z, certain pro Dota 2 players are taking advantage of Dota Plus’s “avoid player” feature that …
What happens if two people pick the same Dota 2 hero forever?
William Davis
Dota 2
It sucks when your opponent picks the same hero that you wanted to play, but what if that happened for every single hero in Dota 2? Dota 2 usually handles people picking the same hero in Ranked All Pick with grace. The hero gets banned, and both players move on to another pick. This is especially common when new builds take over the meta, but it happens with more niche …
This new Sniper build is both silly and hugely overpowered
William Davis
Dota 2
Sniper players have found a devastating new build that uses the new Wraith Band to maximum effect. Wraith Bands are a useful item on almost every agility core. In addition to a good chunk of agility, they grant a nice boost to strength, intelligence, armor, and attack speed. Sniper in particular greatly benefits from all the stats, which conveniently double past the 25-minute mark. The build is growing increasingly popular …
How to play 6.84 Classic Dota online with friends in 2022
William Davis
Dota 2
Ever wish you could jump back in time to play some classic Dota online? You can, thanks to a dedicated community that is keeping the game alive. Classic Dota is a community of hardcore Dota 2 fans that still play the game on the 6.84 patch from 2015. The group uses a custom website and Discord server to organize and initiate matches. Classic Dota is relatively easy to set up …
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.
