Dota 2
Dota 2
New 7.33 map features weird easter eggs, what do they mean?
William Davis
7.33 came with a ton of cool changes, but it also brought some very strange easter eggs with no explanation from Valve. The new 7.33 map is massive, but there’s even more to it than all the crazy new mechanics like Tormentors and wisdom runes. There are now four mysterious places on the map that provide interesting passive buffs along with potential glimpses into future events and heroes. If you’ve …
Dota 2
This insane Tormenter glitch can kill the enemy fountain
William Davis
Think your Dota 2 games are toxic? A new glitch involving Io, Primal Beast, and a Tormentor can turn every game into a nightmare. Dota 2 players are almost as clever as they are mean. If there’s a way to ruin the enemy team’s good time, they’ll find it. 7.33 introduced a ton of new mechanics designed to make the game fresh and fun, but it was only a matter …
Dota 2
Three saucy 7.33 builds straight from DreamLeague grand finals
William Davis
The grand final of DreamLeague Season 19 was the debut of 7.33 in competitive Dota 2, and pros get to put their theory-crafted builds right to the test. Dota 2 7.33 has hit the pro stage, and the world’s best players have already gotten to work tinkering with the massive new map, long list of mechanics, and addition of Muerta to captain’s mode. However, the new items and item reworks …
Dota 2
Dota 2 Bali Major dates finally confirmed by Valve
William Davis
The dates for the Bali Major have finally been confirmed by Valve, and it will feature a brand-new tournament organizer. The Dota Pro Circuit has been reinvigorated by the long-awaited release of patch 7.33. The slew of new mechanics and hero buffs has completely changed the game, and DreamLeague Season 19 was just a taste of how the pro meta will evolve. To keep the hype train rolling, Valve has …
Dota 2
All the new Dota 2 7.33 mechanics explained
William Davis
After months and months of waiting, the new mechanics in Dota 2 7.33 are finally revealed, and calling them crazy is an understatement. IceFrog, if his rumored return was true, has done it again. 7.33 is arguably the biggest Dota 2 patch since the game first launched, as it has massively expanded the map and number of mechanics in the game. There’s a lot to digest, and even more to …
Dota 2
Valve gives cryptic hints on patch notes for Dota 2 7.33
William Davis
Dota 2 7.33 is already upon us, and Valve is already giving hints on the biggest patch in years. In a considerable break from tradition, Valve is giving Dota 2 fans a sneak peek at the next major patch. The hints were revealed in a blog post on April 19, 2023, which also confirmed the patch’s release date of April 20. It’s not much, but just a few lines confirm …
Dota 2
The highest MMR Dota 2 players at the end of 7.32
William Davis
These four players have earned the highest MMR across all major Dota 2 regions, and they make the old 8K records look tame. Dota 2 becomes an entirely different game at the very highest level of play. The margins for error are incredibly small, and players are skilled enough to recognize and punish even the tiniest of mistakes. However, a small handful of players are able to grind their way …
Dota 2
SumaiL will play for a Chinese team at the Berlin Major
William Davis
Dota 2 all-star Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan will be attending the Berlin Major, but his jersey will be a shock to most fans. SumaiL has been confirmed as a stand-in for Chinese squad Team Aster for the Berlin Major. The news comes after weeks of rumors surrounding a surprise appearance on a foreign team. Among other controversies, SumaiL is not known to speak any Chinese. He also made a career out …
We already know the release date for Dota 2 7.33, here’s how
William Davis
Dota 2
Valve is infamously secretive, but Dota 2’s developer has already revealed a few hints for the planned release date of patch 7.33. 7.32 is now the longest patch in the history of Dota 2, with 226 days of play and counting. 7.32e felt like a slap in the face for many, with the arrival of Muerta and the ridiculous Meteor Hammer buff as a preemptive apology from Valve. The next …
Dota 2 Lima Major used secondhand equipment, Avo+ claims
William Davis
Dota 2
Alvaro “Avo+” Sanchez Velasco has revealed insane details on the Lima Major, including the fact that the event ran on roughshod equipment. The Lima Major is already considered one of the worst-run events in Dota 2 esports, but fans still don’t realize just how bad things got behind the scenes. In the most recent episode of the Side Pull Podcast hosted by Austin “Cap” Walsh and Joey “Leafeator” Thimian, Spanish …
PewDiePie says LoL wouldn’t exist without Dota
Nicholas James
Dota 2
Massive YouTuber Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg says League of Legends wouldn’t exist without Dota, and he’s right. The huge content creator was on the Trash Taste podcast’s 124th episode hosted by fellow YouTubers Garnt “Gigguk” Maneetapho, Connor “CDawgVA” Colquhoun, and Joey “The Anime Man” Bizinger. During the episode, the four began to discuss the multiplayer online battle arena genre and their favorite versions of the wildly popular character-focused team games. During …
The easiest heroes to start playing in Dota 2
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 is tough as nails, but the easiest heroes can make every match feel rewarding for a new player. Dota 2 is arguably the most difficult popular multiplayer game to learn. It can take dozens of matches to get used to the controls, and feeling confident can take dozens more. However, the learning curve is a lot smoother when picking heroes suited to your level. If you’re just now …
When does the Dead Reckoning event end in Dota 2?
William Davis
Dota 2
Dead Reckoning will end soon, and all those awesome Day of the Dead skins will likely go with it. Dota 2 does its best to make new heroes exciting, and in the case of Muerta, Valve put together an entire event to celebrate her arrival. The Dead Reckoning update came with a fun minigame that pits players in a personal duel against a member of the enemy team. Kills and …
Here’s why Arteezy just fed mid in a pro match
William Davis
Dota 2
It’s rare to see Artour “Arteezy” Babaev feed in a pro match, but that’s exactly what happened in one of this season’s most important matches. The road to Dota 2 esports stardom is long and twisted, and one of the first necessary lessons is learning how not to feed. Intentionally dying in a pro game is a rare occurrence, and it usually only happens at the lowest levels of play. …
Will Muerta get a buff before Dota 2 7.33?
William Davis
Dota 2
Muerta is in dire need of a buff, but will she get it before patch 7.33? 7.33 is still a few weeks away, but Valve gave Dota 2 players plenty of fun toys to tinker with in the meantime. Muerta is the biggest one, but the tall order from south of the border has had a lackluster win rate ever since her launch. Valve has given out emergency buffs to …
BurNIng returns to pro Dota 2, to compete in China DPC
William Davis
Dota 2
After five years of retirement, legendary Dota 2 player Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei will attempt to rejoin the DPC. Dota 2 fans often use the phrase “Chinese retirement” to refer to pros who quit the game only to hop back in the competitive scene just a year or two later. It was expected that BurNIng would inevitably return to Dota 2 after he announced his retirement in 2017, but for five …
A Dota 2 pro became Herald, here’s what happened next
William Davis
Dota 2
A wild MMR glitch put a pro Dota 2 player into Herald matchmaking, and the results are not surprising. Former Dota 2 pro player He “Inflame” Yongzheng has recalibrated his MMR to 10, placing him at the very bottom of Herald matchmaking. This is likely due to a bug, which has since been fixed. However, this strange phenomenon resulted in an 8,000+ MMR player playing against the worst players in …
SumaiL is suing Evil Geniuses, here’s why
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 legend Syed “SumaiL” Hassan left Evil Geniuses in early 2020, but he’s not quite done with the American esports juggernaut. It has been revealed that Dota 2 prodigy SumaiL has been engaged in a legal battle with Evil Geniuses since late 2021. The lawsuit is related to stock options given to the player in 2016 when he was just 17 years old. A combination of contract issues and …
Chinese Dota 2 team Knights banned for DPC matchfixing
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 team Knights has been banned for matchfixing, with potential throws at the highest level of the Dota Pro Circuit. Matchfixing is an unfortunately common occurrence at the lower ends of multiple esports, but throwing games for cash at a $500,000 tournament is almost unthinkable. However, the great minds at Knights, a Chinese DPC team that earned a trip to the Lima Major, did exactly that. After an investigation …
$45 million esports tournament Riyadh Masters announced
William Davis
Dota 2
After a test run in 2022, Riyadh Masters is returning to esports with a $45 million prize pool. Saudi Arabian esports organizer Gamers8 has announced a series of tournaments in 2023 that will feature a combined total prize pool of $45 million. The event will include several esports mainstays like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 as well as less-established competitive titles like PUBG: Mobile and Rocket League. The events …
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.
