Dota 2
Dota 2
SumaiL lawsuit against Evil Geniuses to move to trial
William Davis
After years of legal troubles, the lawsuit between Dota 2 star Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan and his former sponsor Evil Geniuses is finally going to trial. Earlier in 2023, it was revealed that SumaiL had been embroiled in legal troubles with his former esports organization Evil Geniuses. The dispute over converted shares has now reached a fever pitch and there is allegedly a court date for the issue to go to …
Dota 2
Quinn proves behavior score is broken, and Valve responds
William Davis
Three-time major champion Quinn Callahan may have finally met his match in the new Dota 2 behavior score system. Valve has taken many steps to make Dota 2 a less toxic game, but devious players will always find a way to abuse it. In the case of Gaimin Gladiators mid laner Quinn, that means being unfairly targeted for doing literally nothing at all. After more than a dozen matches with …
Dota 2
Dota 2 starts massive smurf ban wave, are you guilty?
William Davis
A smurf ban wave has left 90,000 Dota 2 accounts in the dust and Valve isn’t stopping there. The smurf ban wave was revealed in an official Dota 2 blog post in early September of 2023. Valve claims that more than 90,000 smurf accounts were affected by the wave, with all of them being permanently banned from matchmaking. In traditional Valve fashion, all of those accounts’ items are now locked …
Dota 2
The results of the TI 2023 regional qualifers
William Davis
The regional qualifiers of TI 2023 have finished, and the results are in for which teams scored a last-minute trip to Seattle. Regional qualifiers for The International are some of the most electrifying events in all of Dota 2. While the events themselves don’t have any prize pool at all, they grant emergency access to the most prestigious event in the game. After weeks of preparation, the winners of each …
Dota 2
How to play Witch Doctor, the best hero in Dota 2 7.34
William Davis
After months of boring carry domination, the best hero of Dota 2 7.34 is a fan-favorite position five. Considering all of the massive changes added in 7.33, Dota 2 fans didn’t expect too much out of 7.34. However, Valve has gone above and beyond to deliver a sizable patch for The International 2023. Standout changes have flipped the meta on its head, and while now-universal Invoker is getting the most …
Dota 2
The new best heroes of Dota 2 7.34
William Davis
Dota 2 patch 7.34 is finally here, and as with any big patch, the mantle of best heroes must be passed on. A new patch means tons of things to experiment with and explore in Dota 2. From the exciting new Shard reworks to upgraded abilities, the meta could be turned completely upside down. This patch is especially important since it will be the balance update for The International 2023. …
Dota 2
Dota 2 finally has a punishment for breaking items
William Davis
Watching your carry breaking their items is one of the most disheartening things in all of Dota 2, but now there’s finally a punishment for it. The Dota 2 community is, despite the efforts of its best players, statistically toxic. From voice chat abuse to intentional feeding, it can feel like the worst members of the community never get their comeuppance. However, Valve has secretly added a new system to …
Dota 2
TI 2023 prize pool could be the lowest in years
William Davis
The International is famous for its ridiculous prize pool, but 2023 may put up the smallest prize yet. 2023 is a transformative year for Dota 2. Gaimin Gladiators has swept every major for the first time in history, and the New Frontiers update is the biggest shakeup since the transition to 7.00. However, another major change may be bad news for the highest competitive level of the game. Based on …
Team Spirit wins Riyadh Masters, earns $5 million grand prize
William Davis
Dota 2
In a repeat of their success at The International 10, Team Spirit came in clutch to win one of the biggest prize pools of all time at Riyadh Masters. With the prize pool for TI likely to drop even further this year, Riyadh Masters could be the biggest purse for Dota 2 in 2023. With $15 million on the line, the best Dota 2 teams in the world pulled out …
Ward Roshan Pit with this insane new Eul’s bug
William Davis
Dota 2
Roshan Pit fights are a little rarer now in 7.33, but this ward bug can guarantee you a snatch if used with the right hero. Roshan is one of the most valuable things in Dota 2, right up there with tier-three towers and barracks. The Aegis of the Immortal is the game’s built-in win-more mechanic designed to close out games or give daring teams a fighting chance. However, one rule …
Legion Commander is the best hero of 7.33e, here’s why
William Davis
Dota 2
The best hero of Dota 2 7.33e is practically invisible in pro games, but she can still earn you tons of MMR. 7.33e didn’t shake up the meta quite as much as Valve was hoping for. While the pro meta terrors were all taken down a notch, many of the most obnoxious heroes to see in pubs remain unchanged. Naga Siren currently reigns as the undisputed queen of carry, but …
How to fix Unable to Verify VAC error in Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
The Unable to Verify VAC error can strike fear into the hearts of Dota 2 players, but is it really worth worrying about? VAC bans are terrifying. The thought of all of your hard-earned stats and cosmetics vanishing is enough to make players think twice when getting a pop-up related to VAC. However, Valve’s warning isn’t quite as scary as it seems. If you’re getting hit with a VAC Unable …
Is Naga Siren the secret best carry of 7.33e?
William Davis
Dota 2
7.33e did a lot to nerf the strongest heroes before the imminent release of 7.34, but it also made way for a new best carry to take control. The relatively stale metagame of the last patch has gotten a much-needed kick in the pants, thanks to the new letter patch. As expected, carry terrors Medusa and Morphling have sharply dropped in popularity and win rate. However, a new, even fishier …
TI 2023 patch 7.34 release date confirmed by Valve
William Davis
Dota 2
A rough release date for Dota 2 7.34 has already been announced, but we don’t blame you for missing it. Dota 2 fans were pleasantly surprised by patch 7.33e suddenly dropping out of nowhere on July 13, 2023. The patch tones down some of the more egregious heroes in the game, giving both pros and pubbers alike a breath of fresh air. However, Valve sneakily confirmed that the next International …
TI 2023 will feature a Side Shop made by the community
William Davis
Dota 2
TI 2023 will mark several firsts for competitive Dota 2, and one of them will be a community-hosted Side Shop to help celebrate the event. The International is unique in the Dota 2 esports calendar. It’s obviously the most prestigious event of the year and usually boasts the largest prize pool, but it’s also an annual celebration of Dota 2 and everyone who plays it. From pro players to Heralds, …
Gaimin Gladiators wins Bali Major, ends perfect season
William Davis
Dota 2
With one more trophy at the Bali Major, Gaimin Gladiators has become the first Dota 2 team to win every major championship in a full season. After a dominant run through the entire event, GG has claimed its third major championship of this year’s Dota Pro Circuit. This marks the first perfect season for any Dota 2 team in history. The squad’s upper-bracket run has also cemented it as the …
All the problems with Bali Major, from cheating to stream errors
William Davis
Dota 2
Since it began on June 29, 2023, the Bali Major has run into more problems than any major before this year. 2023 has been a rough year for Dota 2 esports fans. Between the production catastrophes of the Lima Major, which ultimately ran on secondhand equipment, and the current issues in Bali, some fans have gone as far as to compare it to the infamously terrible Shanghai Major. While the …
BetBoom cheating scandal puts Tundra in Bali upper bracket
William Davis
Dota 2
Fans of BetBoom will remember the Bali Major as a dark day in the team’s history, as cheating has taken away the team’s place in the upper bracket. Game two of Tundra versus BetBoom at the Bali Major was one of the greatest Dota 2 esports matches ever played, but it turned out to be for nothing. In yet another instance of accused foul play, BetBoom has been found guilty …
The bug used by Azure Ray at the Bali Major explained
William Davis
Dota 2
Azure Ray has suddenly become one of the most controversial teams in Dota 2 after being accused of exploring a bug on one of the game’s biggest stages. The Bali Major has been mostly free of controversy up to the end of the group stage, but accusations of cheating have now rocked the $500,000 event. Shortly following a match between Chinese team Azure Ray and North American squad nouns, the …
The best Dota 2 tournaments to watch in summer 2023
William Davis
Dota 2
This summer will bring tons of exciting Dota 2 tournaments, Dota 2 stands out as one of the most exciting online games today. Besides playing for fun, competitive tournaments attract a huge fan base as teams contest for prowess and the ultimate pool prize. Dota 2 fans have plenty of events to look forward to in the summer of 2023. With the year’s first half complete, what Dota 2 matches …
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.
