Dota 2
Dota 2
New Dota 2 item has game-breaking bug allowing free resurrections
Steven Rondina
At face value, the Magic Lamp is a solid tier-four neutral item that works with any team composition. It gives 300 HP and has a passive that dispels and heals users when they fall below 15% health, somewhat similar to an Aeon Disk. That’s useful all on its own, but a game-breaking bug has been discovered with Magic Lamp that makes it overwhelmingly powerful. Magic Lamp can essentially be used …
Dota 2
SumaiL gives his take on neutral items and the state of Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Syed “SumaiL” Hassan gave his take on the heavy changes to Dota 2 in recent months, and he likes them a lot. The former Evil Geniuses mid laner opened up on neutral items in a recent stream and discussed why he enjoys Dota 2’s current state. “I think this is by far the best gameplay patch, no joke,” SumaiL said on Twitch. “A lot of people dislike the neutral items …
Dota 2
Nigma win WePlay! Bukovel Minor, earn spot in DreamLeague Season 13
Steven Rondina
Nigma’s live event debut at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor didn’t go according to plan, but it was still a successful one. The runners-up from The International 2019 sealed up a first-place finish at the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Royal Never Give Up. This gives the team $72,000, 140 Dota Pro Circuit qualifying points, and a spot in the DreamLeague Season 13 major. The series was a strong showing …
Dota 2
Dendi discusses Dota 2 player count, The International 2020
Olivia Richman
The WePlay! Bukovel Minor had a number of heavily credentialed players in attendance. Nigma brought in a former The International-winning squad, three members of the 2015 Evil Geniuses lineup were competing, and other proven stars like Xie “Super” Junhao and Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao were all competing. But for many fans, these stars still paled in comparison to a legend of the game. Also in attendance was Dota 2 legend Danil “Dendi” …
Dota 2
Royal Never Give Up take spot in WePlay! Bukovel Minor grand finals
Steven Rondina
Royal Never Give Up has reached the grand finals of the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. The Chinese team has looked incredible throughout the event and haven’t slowed down in the playoffs. RNG started its day with a win over Nigma, but have now earned a spot in the grand finals with a win over Geek Fam. Game one started in uncharacteristically sloppy fashion for Royal Never Give Up. The laning phase …
Dota 2
Nigma beat Fighting PandaS, make WePlay! Bukovel Minor playoffs
Steven Rondina
Nigma weren’t in peak form in the WePlay! Bukovel Minor group stage, but they were still good enough to lock up a spot in the playoffs. The ex-Team Liquid squad finished the group stage with a 2-1 record. After dropping their first game at the event to Fighting PandaS, Nigma rebounded with a win over Furia Esports. They advanced to the next stage of the event by taking a 2-1 …
Dota 2
Gambit Esports beats Fighting Pandas, goes to WePlay! Minor playoff
Steven Rondina
Gambit Esports has reached the playoffs of the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. The CIS squad picked up a key win over Fighting PandaS to advance into the playoffs of the event. This sets them up with a series against Geek Fam, and gives them good positioning as they look for a backdoor into the DreamLeague Season 13 major. The series opened in strange fashion. Gambit pinned its hopes on a late …
Dota 2
Nigma upset by Fighting PandaS at WePlay! Bukovel Minor
Steven Rondina
Nigma underwhelmed in its live event debut. The team led by Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi played its first game in an offline setting since its split from Team Liquid in 2019 at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. Despite being heavy favorites to win the event, they sustained an upset loss at the hands of Fighting PandaS to open their run at the tournament. Nigma went with a somewhat strange draft in …
Your primer for everything about the WePlay! Bukovel Minor
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The WePlay! Bukovel Minor is almost here, and fans have a lot to look forward to at the event. Eight formidable Dota 2 teams will face off looking to win the top prize of $72,000, 140 Dota Pro Circuit points, and a spot in the upcoming DreamLeague Leipzig Major. Among that lot are several top esports organizations as well as a handful of newcomers that are looking to make their …
Dota 2 update 7.23f changes heroes ahead of WePlay! Bukovel Minor
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The WePlay! Bukovel Minor is just a few days away, but that didn’t stop Valve from dropping a new balance update on players. Dota 2 patch 7.23f is here, bringing changes to several powerful heroes that have found success in high MMR play over recent weeks. Notably, this is the first update to 7.23 that doesn’t change either neutral items or outposts, suggesting that Valve is finally satisfied with the …
Garter retires from Dota 2 to start LoL career, talks Dota 2 vs. LoL
gabhernandez
Dota 2
A Dota 2 veteran has left the professional scene due to the lack of support for tier-two teams and the game’s inconsistent MMR system. With a career dating back to Dota 2’s inception, Ylli “garter” Ramadani has decided to leave and pursue League of Legends instead. In a TwitLonger post, he pointed out several flaws in the current pro scene. Dota 2 enthusiasts have been crying foul on Valve’s unstable …
EG captain Fly’s support Viper pick takes over pro Dota 2 games
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Alongside Tinker and Invoker, Viper has long been used as a mid lane hero. Viper was also almost exclusively used in low ELO games. His incredibly high early game damage and punishing Corrosive Skin passive was enough to fluster inexperienced players and dominate in the mid game. He didn’t necessarily hold up once the opponents started finishing items like Black King Bar and Pipe of Insight, but ideally the game …
Quick guide to Dota 2 warding in the early, mid, and late game
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Wards win wars in Dota 2. Dota 2 is a game of information and the team that has more of it is going to win the vast majority of the time. Because of that, knowing when and where to place wards is an incredibly valuable tool for players at all levels. It requires quite a bit of game sense to know the best locations for wards as the game progresses …
Dota 2 fans panic as game hits historic player count lows
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2’s player base hit historic lows last month. According to Steam Charts, Dota 2’s average player count in December 2019 was just 384,179, with a peak of 685,165. Those tallies are the lowest in a calendar month since January 2014, a time that was in the middle stages of Dota 2’s initial rise to prominence. This continues what has been a bad six-month stretch for the game. 2019 was …
True Sight TI9 release date revealed, features OG and Liquid
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 fans will be able to experience the grand finals of The International 2019 in a new and much anticipated way. True Sight: The International 2019 is coming, showing the backstage drama that played out during the grand finals series between OG and Team Liquid. Valve released a short trailer for the documentary, showing what fans have to look forward to. The trailer shows both teams discussing the action …
Dota 2 vs. LoL debate continues with G2 Esports CEO, OG’s Ceb
gabhernandez
Dota 2
The Dota 2 vs. League of Legends debate rages on. G2 Esports CEO Carlos Rodríguez Santiago chimed in on the discussion with a minute-long video on Twitter comparing and contrasting the two games, using cars as an analogy. He told fans that League of Legends is like BMW i8, a machine he said is “crafted by the gods.” On the other hand, Dota 2 can be compared to a 1993 …
Royal Never Give Up announces sponsorship with Kappa
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
Royal Never Give Up’s Dota 2 team has gained a title sponsorship deal with Kappa, an Italian sportswear brand. This is likely the first non-endemic sponsorship deal for an esports team signed in 2020. The Chinese esports organization revealed the news in a short post on social media site Weibo. In the translated paragraph, RNG explained that their Dota 2 team has been rebranded as Kappa.RNG Dota 2. This new name …
Dendi forms new team, wins first tournament in over two years
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Dota 2 legend Danil “Dendi” Ishutin won his first tournament in over two years. The longtime Natus Vincere mid laner has put together a new squad in Team MR and took the top prize at the Rivalry Winter Blast. Team MR placed third in the group stage and earned a spot in the lower bracket of the playoffs with a 4-4 record. MR started its run by defeating CIS squad …
Going in depth on the best ways to bet on Dota 2 matches
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Betting on esports isn’t just limited to picking which team is going to win a specific map or series. Different book makers will offer different lines on all sorts of things, offering action that offers varying levels of risk and reward. Each prominent esports title has its own set of markets, incorporating different aspects of the game in a way that can make every phase of the contest exciting. Dota …
SumaiL tops Dota 2 leaderboard at both core and support positions
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Syed “SumaiL” Hassan is sitting out of professional Dota 2 right now, but he isn’t taking any time off from playing the game. The former Evil Geniuses mid laner has clawed his way to the top of the North American Dota 2 leaderboards. As of this writing, he sits atop the rankings at both the core and support positions, beating out former teammates such as Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, Quinn “CCnC” …
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.
