Dota 2
Dota 2
A placeholder item description might have spoiled the next Persona
William Davis
The next Dota 2 persona cosmetic may have been spoiled by a programming error on the new Davion of Dragon Hold set. Davion of Dragon Hold’s set preview page has a button to open your Dragon Knight cosmetic loadout. Strangely, it appears to glitch out and leave the persona slot empty if you already have a set equipped. Hovering over the empty persona slot reveals a description that’s likely a …
Dota 2
Valve may be quitting on Dota 2 esports, but what does that mean?
Steven Rondina
Competitive Dota 2 seems to be in a bad spot at the moment. While that’s not an unusual circumstance, as the game has been seemingly doomed on a number of occasions, a number of indicators suggest Valve is ready to completely drop out of the game’s stalwart esports scene. Even at the best of times, Valve is distant, disinterested, and bumbling when it comes to handling Dota 2 esports. But …
Dota 2
How N0tail, ana, Ceb, SumaiL and more have shaped the OG roster
Steven Rondina
OG’s victories have been so grand that people have forgotten the team’s defeats, but at this point it’s getting hard to remember the team’s wins as more and more struggles pile up. Since winning The International 2019, OG has been in a constant state of uncertainty. Roster changes have been frequent, and competitive performance has been shaky. That has landed OG into a precarious position with the team needing to …
Dota 2
Undying clinch spot in The International 2021 in NA qualifiers
William Davis
After a flawless run through the upper bracket, North American upper-division mainstay Undying has earned a spot at The International 2021. Undying entered the qualifiers as the favorites after Kim “DuBu” Doo-young led the team to a bronze finish in both Dota Pro Circuit seasons. The squad entered with some momentum from their championship at BTS Pro Series Season 6, where they defeated 4 Zoomers 3-1 for the trophy. Undying …
Dota 2
Despite fan outcry, Nemestice Battle Pass sells over 800k copies
William Davis
The Nemestice battle pass has received a lot of criticism, but that hasn’t stopped at least 840,000 players from picking it up. Dota 2 stat tracker and grinding tool STRATZ is recording the number of users who have purchased the Nemestice battle pass. The website tracks both the number of battle passes purchased and the amount of money spent on additional levels. While there’s still time for that number to …
Dota 2
Dendi gets surprise ban from Twitch and fans are frustrated
Steven Rondina
A Dota 2 icon has been thrown off of Twitch, at least for a little while. Danil “Dendi” Ishutin has been banned from Twitch. The champion of The International 2011 and namesake of the DendiFace emoji on Twitch will be taking a vacation for an unknown length of time, according to StreamerBans: ❌ Twitch Partner “Dendi” (@dendiboss) has been banned! ❌https://t.co/UNXOc6G8Js#twitch #ban #firstban #partner #twitchpartner ???? — StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) June …
Dota 2
Puppey vs. N0tail: Who is Dota 2’s greatest player of all time?
William Davis
Unlike most other esports, Dota 2 has never had a clear best player of all time. There is a shortlist of names however, with the top two being Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein. Dota 2 is an esport ruled by elite players with over a decade of experience. Two Dota 2 veterans have elevated themselves to the very pinnacle of the game, and stand tall at the top …
Dota 2
Team Spirit and SG e-sports qualify for The International 10
William Davis
Team Spirit and SG e-sports have secured spots in The International 10 through the regional qualifier series. Both squads will compete against 16 other teams for a piece of TI10’s $40,018,195 prize pool. South America and Eastern Europe were the first regions to host The International 10 qualifiers. Only one team from each major Dota 2 region will ascend to the biggest event in esports history. Team Spirit was the …
DPC champs NoPing booted from South American TI10 qualifiers
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota Pro Circuit regional champs NoPing e-sports were the favorites coming into the South American The International 2021 qualifiers, but fell out of contention. Heading into the qualifier, NoPing e-sports were ranked 15th on the Dota Pro CIrcuit leaderboard. They missed the cutoff for a direct invitation to The International 10 by just three spots. Their dominance in the South American DPC season hinted at a TI10 appearance, but two …
Here’s every Dota 2 hero remodel, and some that could use one
William Davis
Dota 2
Each of Dota 2’s 121 heroes has a distinct look, but Valve isn’t afraid to give out makeovers to their less-developed models. Hero remodels were a relatively common update in the early years of Dota 2, but they’ve become increasingly spaced out as the game has grown more popular. This makes sense, as fewer heroes require a remodel with each one released. Valve also needs to adjust several cosmetic sets …
Valve won’t have anything to do with TI10 qualifier broadcasts
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 2021’s unknown date and location aren’t the only problems with the event right now. A number of personalities in and around the Dota 2 esports scene have confirmed that Valve is effectively playing no part in broadcasting the qualifiers for The International 2021 and is not actively partnered with any of the Dota 2 personalities or institutions that are broadcasting the event. This comes after Valve made nearly …
Na’Vi out of TI10 qualifiers, GeneRaL jabs at former team
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Natus Vincere pulled off one of the most egregious cases of roster poaching in recent Dota 2 history, and now has nothing to show for it. The fan-favorite CIS organization suffered a swift elimination from the qualifiers to The International 2021 despite fielding a highly credentialed roster. This will see the black and yellow brand go unrepresented at the event. After defeating EXTREMUM in the upper bracket, Na`Vi faced HellRaisers. …
Can you get Spectre arcana for free from Nemestice Battle Pass?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
While games like Fortnite and Apex Legends give players a good chance to grind their way to all the rewards in their seasonal battle passes, that hasn’t often been the case with Dota 2. But are things any different this time around? The greatest rewards from each of the recent The International Battle Passes have typically come with a price tag worth hundreds of dollars. That doesn’t change with Nemestice, …
Dragon Knight’s Nemestice Battle Pass skin has pay-to-win buff
William Davis
Dota 2
The DOTA: Dragon’s Blood animated series turned Dragon Knight into a Dota 2 icon. His new in-game hero persona skin from the Nemestice Battle Pass makes the fully armored hero look more like his anime counterpart, but also gives him a small pay-to-win buff. The new Nemestice Battle Pass includes a ton of cosmetics including the new Phantom Advent arcana for Spectre and the Dark Artistry Throwback hero persona for …
Dota 2 fans rage over Spectre arcana’s $150 price tag
William Davis
Dota 2
Arcanas are the most prestigious cosmetics in Dota 2 but fans aren’t satisfied with Spectre’s new Phantom Advent skin. Spectre’s arcana was created as a result of The International 10 Battle Pass’ Arcana Vote. Instead of being available in the Steam Market like other Arcana Vote winners, Valve decided to add the Phantom Advent arcana as the level 330 prize in the Nemestice Battle Pass. The Spectre arcana effectively costs …
TI10 officially out of Stockholm, date and location unknown
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 2021 will not be taking place in Sweden. The Swedish Esports Federation has confirmed that Valve is officially nixing plans to host Dota 2’s grandest tournament in Stockholm. No further information was given on when or where it might happen. This follows an announcement earlier this week from Valve that the event’s status was in doubt due to potential visa issues that could occur due to local organizers’ …
Nemestice adds new battle pass with Spectre Arcana, Davion skin
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Nemestice has arrived in Dota 2 and it’s got a lot to offer to Dota 2 fans. The summer event is effectively offering up what fans would’ve seen from a new The International Battle Pass. Nemestice includes a battle pass, limited time game mode, and a variety of premium skins to players. It also has the same sort of progression system that fans saw from the battle pass in the …
Valve is leaving some teams out of Dota 2 Supporter’s Club
William Davis
Dota 2
The Supporter’s Club system is meant to help Dota 2 teams earn revenue outside of tournaments, but not all teams are getting equal treatment from Valve. In a social media statement, a member of No Bounty Hunter claimed that Valve has ignored their Supporter’s Club submissions for almost a month. They also claimed that many other unsponsored teams have been similarly dismissed. These complaints also give new insight into how …
Underlord is the best off-lane hero for racking up MMR
William Davis
Dota 2
Off-laners are often the deciding factor in close Dota 2 matches, but one hero is particularly good at closing out games. Vrogros the Underlord has maintained an impressively high 54.77% win rate in patch 7.29. That’s just .2% below metagame king Ancient Apparition. Underlord’s success boils down to his robust kit that compliments nearly every strategy. The most recent update included a few useful Underlord buffs. Firestorm’s radius is now …
Nemestice event may bring new Spectre arcana, Void Spirit lore
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Update: Nemestice has arrived, and it did bring the Spectre arcana as part of a battle pass. The International 2021’s date and location are unknown and the event is at risk of being cancelled entirely, but Valve has come up with a consolation prize for casual players. Packaged at the end of the blog post announcing uncertainty around TI10 was news that the previously teased June Dota 2 event is …
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.
