Dota 2
Dota 2
TI11 qualifier team penalized for player’s racist courier name
William Davis
A courier is supposed to be a trusty battlefield companion, but one Dota 2 pro has paid a steep price for giving it a racist name. South American Dota 2 team Infamous received a penalty in the qualifiers for The International 2022 for using a Name Tag item to apply a racial epithet name onto a courier. As a result of Leonardo “Leostyle-” Sifuentes’s poor name choice, Infamous completely lost …
Dota 2
The ending to DOTA: Dragon’s Blood season 3 explained
Steven Rondina
Are you confused over the ending to DOTA: Dragon’s Blood and need the conclusion explained to you? Dota 2 is a tall drink of water from a lore perspective. Every game is canon, different skins represent different characters, and everyone is fighting over chunks of the moon that are actually living things. The animated series maintains all that, then adds a bunch more on top of it. Couple all that …
Dota 2
EternaLEnVy really quit pro Dota 2, here’s what he’s doing now
Steven Rondina
Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao may actually be done with Dota 2 esports, and he’s now discussing his new plans on social media. On July 2, EternaLEnVy took to Twitter and simply said “retired competitive.” While the message was clear, it’s never easy to accept a retirement in Dota 2 esports, as players routinely call it quits and come back months or even just days later. EternaLEnVy himself isn’t immune to this …
Dota 2
How to disable Dota 2 heroes talking, or just quiet them down
William Davis
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 …
Dota 2
Aghanim’s Labyrinth Collector’s Cache drops with free courier
William Davis
The fan-voted Collector’s Cache for the Aghanim’s Labyrinth Battle Pass is now available for purchase in Dota 2. The Collector’s Cache is an important part of any Dota 2 battle pass. In addition to adding a bunch of new sets, it gives Workshop artists a chance to flex their muscles with new skins for heroes. It also gives fans a new way to earn battle pass levels while picking up …
Dota 2
How to create an empty map for practice in Dota 2
William Davis
An empty Dota 2 map is still full of possibilities. Practicing in Dota 2 is a lot harder than it has to be. The last hit trainer and demo mode leave a lot to be desired, especially if you’re interested in the more niche parts of the game. Vision and jungle strategies are pretty inaccessible in the standard practice environment. Luckily for studious players, you can make your own lab …
Dota 2
How status resistance works and how to counter it in Dota 2
William Davis
Understanding how status resistance works can help you avoid certain death in Dota 2. Status resistance is a polarizing mechanic. On one hand, there are supports barely getting out alive thanks to Aeon Disk. On the other are Ursas and Spirit Breakers who just refuse to stay stunned. Understanding the finer points of status resistance allows players to use it to their advantage. It’s also possible to counter opponents’ status …
Dota 2
The lore behind every Dota 2 arcana and persona
William Davis
Arcanas and hero personas are the biggest lore development for almost every Dota 2 hero and they also add lore to each hero. Dota 2’s most prestigious sets show a brand new side of their hero. Hero personas and arcanas completely rework a hero’s look and present a new twist on them. Each one comes with its own backstory for how the hero earned their flashier form. Here’s the story …
Twitch leak reveals who the richest Dota 2 streamers are
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
An enormous Twitch leak has rocked the world of streaming, and the realm of Dota 2 wasn’t left out of it. Tens of thousands of streamers had their earnings revealed after a 120-gigabyte leak revealed private emails, user data, and even Twitch’s source code. Much of the focus of these leaks was on the million-dollar annual salaries of streaming personalities including Felix “xQc” Lengyel and Turner “Tfue” Tenney, but it …
Who is Ephey? The soft-spoken analyst that’s heading to TI10
William Davis
Dota 2
One of Dota 2’s breakout stars will be behind the analyst desk at The International 10. Mira “Ephey” Riad is a Dota 2 caster and analyst who recently debuted on the professional scene. Her big break at the WePlay AniMajor captured the attention of thousands of fans. She’s since made appearances at OGA Dota PIT Season 5 and ESL One Fall Bootcamp Edition. She’s now slated to appear on the …
How to activate cheats and spawn heroes in Dota 2 demo mode
William Davis
Dota 2
With thousands of interactions to test, every Dota 2 player should get acquainted with demo mode. Demo mode provides a safe environment for players to test interactions in Dota 2. Valve provides the basic tools to test skill builds and different items, but there’s a lot more to learn once players take the plunge. Here’s how to set up a custom hero testing environment in Dota 2 demo mode and …
What low priority means and how to escape it in Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
It may not have any real impact on your Dota 2 account, but a stint in low priority can cause long-term psychological damage. Low priority is one of the most dreaded punishments in Dota 2. There are multiple ways to earn a stint in low priority matchmaking and there’s only one way to get rid of it. If you’re trying to figure out why you can only queue for single …
Here is how Dota 2 hero bans work
William Davis
Dota 2
You have the perfect Dota 2 hero pick planned yet they’re inexplicably banned when you go to pick them. We’ve all been in that situation, so why do some Dota 2 heroes randomly get banned in each match? Dota 2’s ban system is a strange mechanic that’s never fully explained in-game. Players can nominate one ban each, only for a completely different set of characters to get removed from the …
Valve dev debunks Dota 2 players’ “forced 50% win rate” theory
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 players have always speculated that the matchmaker forces a 50% winrate, where a five-game winning streak will inevitably be followed by a five-game losing streak. But a Valve developer has finally debunked that theory. Dota 2’s matchmaking system is an extremely complicated series of algorithms designed to give players the fairest match possible, adjusted for queue time. Fans have spent years discovering some of its criteria through experience …
Keen, Oglodi, Slithereen, and more Dota 2 races explained
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2’s 121 heroes draw inspiration from all sorts of established fantasy archetypes, but each one comes with its own unique twist. The world of Dota 2 is extremely diverse. Valve has made an effort to create all sorts of unique characters to go alongside standard humans. While there are plenty of one-offs like Magnus, Puck, and Ursa, many heroes can be confidently codified as the same species. Some heroes …
Find out how toxic you are in-game with your Dota 2 word cloud
William Davis
News
Want to see exactly how positive or toxic you really are in Dota 2? All-chat word clouds have become a hot topic in the Dota 2 community. The service allows players to view their all-chat language over the course of their account’s full history, which can say a lot about a player and their behavior. To see your own Dota 2 wordcloud, go to OpenDota and log into the platform …
Does a Saudi prince own the most expensive Dota 2 Steam account?
William Davis
Dota 2
One of Dota 2’s biggest spenders could be a prince from Saudi Arabia. The claimed Saudi prince has become an urban legend in the Dota 2 and Steam community. In the Steam Name section, the account’s owner introduces himself as (His Royal Highness) Prince Abdullah bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The profile is currently named “♥️Pls watch my Dota Anime! Thx♥” but the mysterious owner appears to go by …
This Dota 2 training game will help you raise your MMR
William Davis
Dota 2
Manta dodges? Armlet toggles? Backswing cancels? Messing up any of Dota 2’s advanced techniques can cost you a kill or even your life, but there’s an easy way to practice. Training Polygon by c0mb1ne is a Dota 2 arcade game meant to help players practice difficult mechanics. The custom game has modes for ability dodging, Armlet toggling, skillshot training, and more. Training Polygon is available for free in the Dota …
The complete list of every Valve-banned Dota 2 pro player
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve’s handling of esports tends to be all or nothing, and that is doubly so when it comes to player discipline. The Dota 2 publisher basically only has one tool when it comes to player behavior and competitive integrity, that being the threat of a permanent ban from Valve-sanctioned tournaments. Though players in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can still carve out a career thanks to the abundance of events outside of …
Why are Dota 2 skins like Dragonclaw Hook plummeting in value?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dragonclaw Hook owners have been pulling out their hair over the last six months as the most enduring prestige item in Dota 2 has plummeted in value. The Pudge cosmetic has always been highly sought after. Though most cosmetics from 2012 look dated and ugly by today’s standards, the Dragonclaw Hook has always been an eye-catcher simply because of its unique visuals and amazingly high price tag. At its absolute …
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.
