Dota 2
Dota 2
Nerfs to Winter Wyvern, Disruptor in Aghanim’s Labyrinth anger fans
Steven Rondina
In an unsurprising turn of events, Dota 2 fans are mad about something in The International 10 Battle Pass. This time, the controversy surrounds the limited-time game mode Aghanim’s Labyrinth. While the game is intensely difficult to clear even in low-level play, Valve saw fit to make things even harder by nerfing several of the heroes in the game. The update changes a number of facets to each of the …
Dota 2
RodjER splits from HellRaisers ahead of Omega League qualifiers
Jared Wynne
Hellraisers has announced that it will be parting ways with veteran Russian Dota 2 support player Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan. “I’m grateful to my teammates and organization for everything we’ve been through. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to agree on certain things Dota-wise. I wish the guys luck and patience. I also want to thank you, our fans, for your support. It was always a pleasure to read your positive comments.”, RodjER …
Dota 2
Bloodseeker gets huge buffs after 7.27 rework drops win rate by 20%
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 update 7.27b delivered loads of changes to heroes, something that not everyone benefited from equally. Just two days later, update 7.27c has dropped. This delivers desperately needed changes to the heroes that were reworked in 7.27b, as well as changes to some other heroes. 7.27b brought reworks to Razor, Clinkz, and Bloodseeker, and all three heroes saw their win rates either spike or plummet. This resulted in extensive …
Dota 2
These are the best moments from Arteezy’s wild Twitch streams
Steven Rondina
With Evil Geniuses taking a break from competition, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev has been much more active on Twitch of late. That has treated fans of the star carry player to a good bit of fun over the last few days. Though Arteezy doesn’t really set out to be a comedy act while streaming, he’s delivered more than a few laughs. The biggest came during a game as Juggernaut, where he …
Dota 2
Who is Dota 2 creator IceFrog, and what do we know about him?
Steven Rondina
Many esports titles have front-facing directors and designers that put a face to the development team behind the game. Overwatch has Jeff Kaplan, Valorant has Anna Donlon, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has PlayerUnknown. Dota 2 has IceFrog, but he doesn’t quite fit the typical bill. While Kaplan and Donlon routinely get in front of a camera to discuss the state of their game and the rationales behind meta-shifting patches, IceFrog is a …
Dota 2
Aghanim’s Labyrinth revealed as TI10 Battle Pass summer event
Steven Rondina
The special summer event for The International 10 Battle Pass has finally launched. A year after the wholly underwhelming limited-time game mode seen in the TI9 Battle Pass, Valve pulled out all the stops with new mini-game Aghanim’s Labyrinth. While Wrath of the Mo’Rokai was a standard Dota 2 game mode with a few extra bells and whistles, Aghanim’s Labyrinth is a new roguelike PVE experience. Valve made a special …
Dota 2
The definitive beginner’s guide to playing Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 can be a very difficult game to get into for new players. With one of the steepest learning curves in all of video games and a community not necessarily known for welcoming beginners with open arms, getting started can be hard. Making progress in improving one’s skills can feel even harder. But a little bit of help can go a long way, and that’s what WIN.gg is here …
Dota 2
Signs say TI10 Battle Pass Special Summer Event is about to release
Steven Rondina
After weeks of waiting, signs say that the Special Summer Event in The International 10 Battle Pass is likely to be released in the immediate future. In the afternoon of July 12, a relatively large update shipped for Dota 2. The impact of the update isn’t immediately obvious to players, but those who go into the TI10 Battle Pass menu and check the event’s page will find a surprising addition …
Dota 2 fans are mad about Anti-Mage hero persona in TI10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 fans are mad once again. This time, it’s about the new hero persona skin for Anti-Mage which transforms the hero into a female disciple named Wei. Players are venting their frustration over a number of different things regarding the new Anti-Mage skin. These gripes encompass everything from her character model, to her animations, to some of the core functions of hero persona skins. Starting from the top, some …
Royal Never Give Up, Sparking Arrow Gaming finalize surprise trade
Jared Wynne
Dota 2
Chinese organizations Royal Never Give Up and Sparking Arrow Gaming have agreed to a trade, swapping mid lakers and supports. Joining RNG will be Malaysian support Chong “FelixCiaoBa” Wei Lun and Chinese mid-laner Liu “白学家” Yuhao, the latter a relative newcomer to the competitive Dota 2 scene. Sparking Arrow Gaming have acquired the talents of mid laner Gao “Setsu” Zhenxiong and support Xue “September” Zhichuan in return. Alongside the player …
business associates vs Infinity Great American Rivalry bet analysis
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
After months of seeing the same four to eight teams play one another in North American regional leagues, the Great American Rivalry is set to give fans something different. The event structure is standard fare, but it brings some new teams to the table and affords them an opportunity against some of the best in the world. One of the most interesting newcomers is Infinity Esports, a Peruvian-majority squad that …
Is ex-OG carry ana hinting at a return to competition?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Former OG carry Anathan “ana” Pham is playing a whole lot of Dota 2 these days. That might not come as too much of a surprise for Dota 2 fans, given the fact that he is one of the game’s most heavily credentialed players. But considering he’s technically supposed to be retired, it does raise an eyebrow. According to Dotabuff’s stats, ana recently played over two dozen games over the …
Female Anti-Mage hero persona finally arrives in TI10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
After days of clamoring, a big addition to The International 10 Battle Pass has dropped in Dota 2. The Disciple’s Path Hero Persona for Anti-Mage has arrived, giving fans one of the most sought-after cosmetic items of the battle pass. The skin reimagines Anti-Mage as a younger, female disciple named Wei. It’s the second Hero Persona skin in Dota 2, following the Acolyte of the Lost Arts skin for Invoker …
TNC Predator vs. T1 One Esports SEA League betting odds, analysis
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The European and CIS Dota 2 scene is on pause at the moment, but Southeast Asia is still continuing at a brisk pace with the ONE Esports SEA League. The event is currently in its group stage, with 10 teams competing in a round robin format. The hottest matchup on the docket right now is T1 vs. TNC Predator. A few months ago, this would have been a major mismatch, …
Valve was making a Dota 2 RPG starring Axe
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve Software reportedly once had plans to create a new role-playing game starring none other than Dota 2 hero Axe. The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx is a “25,000-word multimedia experience” that pulls back the curtain on Valve, one of the video games industry’s most popular and secretive companies. It brings many different things to light, including some scrapped projects that Valve has discussed in the past. Included among that …
Ninjas in Pyjamas cuts captain SoNNeikO after string of bad results
Jared Wynne
Dota 2
Ninjas in Pyjamas’ Dota 2 team is now without a captain, as Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev has been released from the organization without a clear reason. SoNNeikO announced the news himself with a short post on Twitter. Ninjas in Pyjamas has yet to release a formal statement on the matter, which raises an eyebrow over why and how the decision was made. I am out from nip ! Thanks to my …
Fans are ready for the TI10 Battle Pass special summer event
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 fans are starting to get impatient with Valve. That’s often been the case to some degree, but they’re particularly frustrated right now over the long-awaited “special summer event” meant for inclusion in the The International 10 Battle Pass. While the battle pass is several weeks old at this point, fans are still awaiting the promised mini-game. This has led many to hop on social media and call on …
Ex-OG Seed roster completely dissolves after split from OG
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
OG Seed is no more. After being officially released by the organization, multiple members of the OG Seed roster have announced that the team is dissolving entirely. The team initially expressed a desire to remain together, but later opted to break up. “Some sad news. We have decided to part ways with OG.Seed roster, we were just planning to come from our break and get back into Dota, but some …
Can this OG roster win The International 10?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
OG defied all the odds in two years ago when it won The International 2018. It broke every rule in the book when the team did so again in 2019. Can OG make it three in a row at The International 10, though? That’s the question on a lot of Dota 2 fans’ minds and it’s one that’s very difficult to answer. OG still has a new roster and has …
TobiWan responds to sexual assault allegations, speaks on future
Steven Rondina
News
After several days of silence, Toby “TobiWan” Dawson has responded to the numerous claims of sexual misconduct against him and has also announced his retirement from esports. The famed Dota 2 caster was one of the biggest names mentioned within a cascading series of sexual misconduct allegations across the entire video game industry. In a lengthy Twitter post, TobiWan denied any criminal misconduct but apologized for “offending anyone.” pic.twitter.com/1bOBw4utN5— Inactive …
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.
