Dota 2
Dota 2
Why are creep denies showing up as question marks in Dota 2?
William Davis
Are you seeing question marks pop out of creep denies in Dota 2? Don’t worry, it’s not another crazy glitch. Dota 2 players may notice something different when they hit the lanes on April 1. Instead of the normal exclamation mark, creep denies currently emit a question mark. The simple sentence-ender has an important place in Dota 2 culture, so there’s no way that it’s a silly glitch. Instead, it’s …
Dota 2
How to play Huskar, Dota 2’s most terrifying midlane monster
William Davis
Playing Huskar is an easy way to gain some precious MMR in Dota 2 7.31b, if you know how. Thanks to a bunch of buffs in 7.31, Huskar is currently the winningest hero in all of Dota 2. His signature ability Berserker’s Blood now grants up to 25% magic resistance at lower health, and 7.31b’s Inner Fire nerfs aren’t enough to slow him down. Huskar is now the perfect hero …
Dota 2
TORONTOTOKYO reveals his best Dota 2 mid lane heroes
William Davis
The best mid lane heroes of Dota 2 7.31 are a mix of magic and physical burst including Lina, Pangolier, and Kunkka, according to Team Spirit. Late on March 29, Team Spirit revealed its third hero tier list for patch 7.31b. The International champion mid Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek claims that Lina is the best hero in the game after an avalanche of buffs in 7.31b. The list also reveals what …
Dota 2
These are the top 5 most annoying heroes in all of Dota 2
William Davis
Annoying heroes are a necessary part of Dota 2, but these five heroes are aggravating as soon as the horn blows. The draft phase is one of the tensest parts of any Dota 2 match. Experienced players can get a pretty good idea of how the game will go just from the picks and those of any skill level can get an idea of how annoying the game will be. …
Dota 2
OG vs Team Secret WEU DPC Spring Tour betting analysis
William Davis
OG and Team Secret are both gearing up for one of the most important matches of the Western European DPC season. After a disappointing fifth-place finish in the first 2022 Dota Pro Circuit season, Team Secret is looking to bounce back with early wins in the Spring tour. OG stands in its way as an explosive fan-favorite. The two squads will close out the second week of the European DPC …
Dota 2
Here are Dota 2’s best offlane heroes, according to TI10 champ
William Davis
Team Spirit’s Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov put together a tier list of the best offlane heroes in Dota 2, with Primal Beast sitting at the tip. The TI10 champion has revealed his tier list for the best and worst offlaners of Dota 2 patch 7.31. New hero Primal Beast sits at the very top as the king of the hard lane. Reasons were not stated, but it’s most likely due to …
Dota 2
Fly finally discusses N0tail breakup, nightmare bootcamps
William Davis
Tal “Fly” Aizik has come forward about fan drama between him and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein. The discussion took place on the most recent episode of the We Say Things podcast hosted by Shannon “SUNSfan” Scotten and Troels “syndereN” Nielsen. Quadruple major champion Fly joined them to discuss his long career and the current state of professional play. After discussions on his rise through Heroes of Newerth and the state of …
Dota 2
Auto Chess is getting a MOBA that looks like a Dota 2 ripoff
Steven Rondina
Original auto battler Auto Chess is still plugging along, and now its developer is looking to get fans to try out its upcoming MOBA. Unsurprisingly, the game looks a lot like Dota 2. More than a year since the initial announcement of an Auto Chess MOBA based on the characters used in Drodo Studio’s auto-battler, an official trailer for the game has dropped. Though it largely looks the part of …
$500,000 Dota 2 Arlington Texas Major announced for August
William Davis
Dota 2
American Dota 2 fans can finally look forward to another Dota 2 major taking place on home soil. PGL has announced plans for a $500,000 Dota 2 major in August 2022. The tournament will take place in Arlington, Texas as part of the Dota Pro Circuit. After almost six years away, Dota 2 will finally get a major in the United States. PGL has also confirmed plans for a live …
OG vs Team Liquid: WEU Dota Pro Circuit Spring betting analysis
William Davis
Dota 2
When OG and Team Liquid are playing Dota 2, nothing is guaranteed except entertainment. The first week of the Western European Dota Pro Circuit will end with an exciting best-of-three match between OG and Team Liquid. Both teams have a ton of legacy, but recent roster changes point to a very volatile match. If you’re looking to stock up your betting purse for the Spring tour regional finals, here’s our …
Dota 2 Supporter’s Club lets fans show their allegiance in-game
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 Supporter’s Club is a big part of Valve’s MOBA esports scene, and fans can now support their favorite teams in-game for the Spring tour. Dota 2 is all about in-game expression, and Supporter’s Club lets players display their favorite pro players and teams in-game. The program allows players to purchase packs including voice lines, sprays, emoticons, loading screens, and more from their favorite teams. 50% of the money …
Multiple top Dota 2 pros permabanned by Valve for match-fixing
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Lai “AhJit” Jay Son and Cheng “vtFαded” Jia Hao are among a number of Southeast Asian Dota 2 pros now being banned for match-fixing and collusion. On the morning of March 12, Beyond the Summit announced the sudden disqualification of Team Orca from the upcoming Dota Pro Circuit tour. No explanation was given for the decision beyond the promise that further news would come soon. Later that day, Beyond the …
Hokori vs SG Apu League Sunset grand finals betting analysis
William Davis
Dota 2
Apu League Season 4 Sunset Series will end with a firecracker match between Hokori and SG esports. South American Dota 2 never sleeps. Several tournament organizers have stepped in to fill the gap between Dota Pro Circuit seasons, and Claro Gaming is one of them. The Apu League is a great event for fans and bettors to get acquainted with the state of SA Dota 2. Regional titan Hokori blazed …
The upcoming MMR reset can help you shoot up the ranks in Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
The annual MMR reset is the perfect time to shoot up the ranks in Dota 2. While playing the game and achieving long-term skill development is fun, all Dota 2 players know that sweet MMR number is the real name of the game. Grinders will get a new opportunity to jump up multiple ranks thanks to an upcoming MMR reset opportunity. The recalibration feature will become available again on March …
Valve asks Dota 2 players for help with Spring Cleaning Update
William Davis
Dota 2
Another Dota 2 Spring Cleaning Update is coming in 2022, but the competitive MOBA is too buggy for Valve to handle alone. Valve has announced its intention to push another Spring Cleaning Update for Dota 2. As part of the announcement, Valve has asked Dota 2 fans to list bugs and performance issues that need to be addressed. This is the latest in a long history of Spring Cleaning Updates …
Dota 2 update 7.31b brings new Plus sets and an unusual courier
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 players can enjoy the new 7.31b hero changes while Dota Plus users appreciate a new batch of exclusive skins. Valve unexpectedly dropped a big Dota 2 update late on March 1, 2022. Dota 2 balance patch 7.31b makes considerable changes to heroes affected by the big update that was 7.30. Lina and Meepo are the most buffed and nerfed heroes respectively in this latest patch, though a total …
Gabe Newell says “criminal activity” was behind Steam’s NFT ban
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve Software CEO Gabe Newell is intrigued by the technology surrounding cryptocurrency and NFTs, but the state of the industry surrounding them will keep them off Steam. A variety of game developers and publishers are trying to figure out a way to elegantly incorporate blockchain technology into their games. That has been met with intense pushback from fans, as well as many within the industry. Likely the biggest name to …
How to handle Dota 2’s new, more dangerous jungle in patch 7.31
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 patch 7.31 buffed tons of heroes and items, but jungle creeps enjoyed bigger gains than any hero. Here’s how to deal with them. Whether you’re a fragile support or a raging Primal Beast, the jungle is scarier than it ever has been. Every neutral camp has new tools to fight back against heroes. From new ancient camps to tons of new creep abilities, here’s everything new about the …
Here’s how to play and build Primal Beast, the new Dota 2 hero
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Aghanim’s Labyrinth is gone from Dota 2, but the Primal Beast is here to stay. After several teases, the limited-time game mode’s final boss has been added to Dota 2 as a playable hero. The Primal Beast will be sticking around and boasts a move set heavily inspired by the boss version of the character. As an initiator and disabler with a mix of stuns and mobility tools, the hero …
Invictus Gaming vs. Team Aster OGA Season 6 China betting picks
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
With the Dota Pro Circuit’s regional finals now done, third-party events are filling the gap. The best one going on at the moment is OGA Dota PIT Season 6, which is hosting matches between big names from the region including Team Aster and Invictus Gaming. The event has been bringing together top Chinese teams throughout, and the action isn’t being dialed down in the playoffs. After taking upper bracket losses, …
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.
