Dota 2
Dota 2
How to handle Dota 2’s new, more dangerous jungle in patch 7.31
William Davis
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 …
Dota 2
Here’s how to play and build Primal Beast, the new Dota 2 hero
Steven Rondina
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 …
Dota 2
Invictus Gaming vs. Team Aster OGA Season 6 China betting picks
Steven Rondina
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, …
Dota 2
Dota 2 patch 7.31 release date, Techies rework confirmed
William Davis
Dota 2 just gave Techies fans a firm release date for patch 7.31, and a time limit on trolling with Techies. Valve has finally confirmed the release date for Dota 2 patch 7.31. This will be the first major patch since the $40 million International 10 in October 2021. A bunch of huge shakeups are in store, including a rework to Techies. What could possibly change about Dota 2’s more …
Dota 2
TSM vs Evil Geniuses NA DPC Regional Finals betting analysis
William Davis
Evil Geniuses is a titan of North American Dota 2, but the newly-sponsored TSM Dota 2 roster could pull off an upset at the Regional Finals according to our betting analysis. The cancelation of the Dota Pro Circuit Winter Major was a shame, but it also created a new opportunity to settle regional rivalries. One of North America’s most heated rivalries now has a chance at closure. Evil Geniuses took …
Dota 2
Where’s your favorite hero on the Dota 2 lore tier list?
William Davis
A Dota 2 tier list with all 122 heroes is tough to make and will vary with each patch, but this list will give you a rough idea of how each character ranks in the lore. Dota 2 lore is an absolute mess in the best possible way. While the game’s general premise comes with mind-blowing lore facts, the heroes themselves are a tangled knot of interweaving stories and feats. …
Dota 2
TI10 champ Team Spirit reveals wishlist for Dota 2 patch 7.31
William Davis
Who better to make Dota 2 patch 7.31 requests than the champions of The International 10 Team Spirit? In a promotional video for the Team Spirit esports organization, the five champions of The International 10 shared their hopes for the future of Dota 2. Opinions varied on map and item changes, but all five Spirit players wanted a big shakeup in 7.31. In the process, Team Spirit also revealed some …
Dota 2
T1 signs Gabbi as carry, quashes ana comeback rumors
William Davis
After weeks of rumors, T1 has finally announced the signing of star carry Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte. Following an abundance of rumors, T1’s safelane carry vacancy has finally been filled. Dota 2 veteran Gabbi is the squad’s newest late-game threat. The new squad will debut at the Southeast Asia regional finals starting February 11. While this is great news for Gabbi fans, those who prefer Anathan “ana” Pham may be disappointed …
Have you beaten any Dota 2 pros? Here’s how to find out
William Davis
Dota 2
Pro Dota 2 players can seem unbeatable, but you can check if you’ve scored any big wins using a stat-tracking website. Dota 2 is one of the most popular competitive video games for many reasons, but the game’s massive skill ceiling is the perhaps the biggest one. The gap between a new Herald player and a skilled pro like Anathan “ana” Pham is an absolute ocean of experience and knowledge. …
How many battle passes will Dota 2 have in 2022?
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 reinvented video game monetization with the battle pass, so it only makes sense that there will be a number of them in 2022. Battle passes have become a staple of competitive video games. It allows developers to keep players interested throughout the year and gives players a chance to score cool cosmetics. While every game has a battle pass in 2022, Dota 2 invented the idea with The …
The coolest celebrity guest voice actors in Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 is full of amazing voice acting, but sometimes celebrity guests step in to provide a little something extra. 122 Dota 2 heroes means an absolute ton of voice acting. The massive pool of talent helps bring the game to life and make every voice line memorable. Certain Dota 2 heroes or voice packs even get special treatment with celebrity guest voice actors. There are many instances in the …
Aghanim’s Labyrinth Battle Level Bundle drops for Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
Frugal Dota 2 players can splurge on Aghanim’s Labyrinth levels for less money with the new Battle Level Bundle. Valve has finally revealed the last-minute discount pack for the Aghanim’s Labyrinth battle pass. The $14.99 package is the most efficient way of boosting your battle pass up to the higher levels. Dota 2 fans can purchase two Aghanim’s Labyrinth bundles each between through February 9. Valve also announced the official …
This is why ana has a 93% win rate on Monkey King
William Davis
Dota 2
Anathan “ana” Pham’s hero pool is already very broad, but one hero stands out as his absolute best. As of patch 7.30e, two-time The International champion ana boasts an insane 93.15% win rate on Monkey King. That win percentage comes from 73 games played on his main pub account, which is currently ranked 153rd in Southeast Asia. This represents one of the most successful hero-player combos in all of top-level …
ana could be returning to pro Dota 2 with T1 after scrim leaks
William Davis
Dota 2
Anathan “ana” Pham could be returning to Dota 2 with a rebuilt T1 roster. New leaks have emerged that suggest the two-time The International champion could make a comeback. The information was accidentally revealed on a recent Carlo “Kuku” Palad Twitch stream. T1’s captain showed that ana is competing with the team in organized scrims. While the information is not conclusive, it’s very possible that the highest-earning carry player of …
Who is N0tail? The complete history of the 2-time TI champion
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, also known as BigDaddyN0tail, is arguably the most successful personality in all of esports, with two The International Dota 2 Championship victories to his name and four major titles. His MOBA career started when he was just 15 years old playing Heroes of Newerth, a MOBA that was a rival to League of Legends and Dota 2. During that time, he began playing alongside longtime teammate Tal …
3 sneaky Dota 2 ward spots that every support should know
William Davis
Dota 2
The right ward spots will help Dota 2 support players rank up quickly. The vision game is an extremely important part of Dota 2. Keeping tabs on enemies is just as important as protecting cores as they farm up powerful items. A great Observer Ward placement can catch a smoke gank or set up the perfect initiation. With deward gold bounties as high as they are, carelessly plopping down wards …
Top LoL organization TSM FTX enters Dota 2, signs Undying
William Davis
Dota 2
After countless rumors, TSM FTX has finally joined the world of Dota 2 esports with the signing of Undying. The League of Legends-oriented sponsor has officially picked up Team Undying to compete in the North American Dota Pro Circuit. The announcement came after months of rumors and hints about the organization entering Valve’s MOBA. This is the first time that TSM will become involved in professional Dota 2. The acquisition …
What happened in DOTA: Dragon’s Blood season 1?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Looking to watch DOTA: Dragon’s Blood Book 2 but need a season one recap to know exactly what’s going on? We’ve got you covered. Dota 2 is a game with convoluted lore. It’s so convoluted that it includes every actual game of Dota 2 that has ever been played as a canonical part of the story. Yes, even that game you might have played with your friends last night or …
Everything you need to know about DOTA: Dragon’s Blood Season 3
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The second season of Dota 2’s animated series is available now, but when does DOTA: Dragon’s Blood Book 3 come out? DOTA: Dragon’s Blood Book 2 is a major improvement over the first season. Though it has some of the same issues as the first season with convoluted lore and a blistering pace, the expanded cast of characters strikes a good balance of comedy and seriousness. Couple that with a …
Valve finally teases a release date for Dota 2 patch 7.31
William Davis
Dota 2
Valve has finally revealed the release date for Dota 2 patch 7.31. After the exciting conclusion of The International 10, fans had a lot to celebrate. Team Spirit’s underdog victory rocked the Dota 2 world, a pro player shuffle was inevitable, and another TI grand finals meant that a patch was soon to be released. While Valve has tuned the game with small patches, the traditional post-TI patch remained absent. …
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.
