Dota 2
Dota 2
The International 2019 Dota 2 hero tier list
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 is a game that has incredible balance, and almost limitless room for creativity among its professional players. Still, no matter how flexible a metagame gets there are always going to be some characters that are better than others. Things have come a long way since 2012, when heroes like Lycan and Naga Siren dominated the meta, and Jakiro was impossible to win with. But there is still a …
Dota 2
The International 2019 groups revealed just hours in advance
Steven Rondina
The International 2019 starts in less than 24 hours, but teams are just now finding out what group they will compete in. Dota 2 community manager Wykhrm Reddy revealed the two groups that teams will compete in for the first phase of TI9. Group A is comprised of Alliance, Chaos Esports Club, Keen Gaming, Mineski, Newbee, PSG.LGD, Team Liquid, Team Secret, and TNC Predator. Group B is comprised of Evil …
Dota 2
With The International 2019, only two players have attended every TI
gabhernandez
It’s hard to make it to the top of the Dota 2 scene, but it’s much harder to stay there. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi have managed to do that for nine years to this point. The pair of captains are set to become the last two The International All-Timers, competing at every installment of The International in Dota 2’s history. Longtime Dota 2 fans likely need …
Dota 2
Dendi splits from Natus Vincere, now a free agent in Dota 2
Olivia Richman
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin is now a free agent. According to a statement from Natus Vincere, the star player requested early termination of his contract. The organization says they “met his wishes and released him,” and thanked him for his help in developing the Na’Vi brand. “Together with NAVI, I’ve come a long way, with many ups and downs. I’ve made an incredible number of friends, many of whom I’m still in touch …
Dota 2 Summer Scrub update brings big changes before TI9
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
In anticipation of The International 2019, Valve called upon Dota 2 fans to point out some of the small, lingering problems with the game client so they could be remedied. And there were a lot of them. Four weeks after announcing the Summer Scrub, a massive Dota 2 update has arrived fixing dozens of minor bugs and UI issues within the game. Though most of the update tackles more granular …
The International 2019 talent and casters lineup revealed
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
With the event just eight days away, the broadcasting talent for The International 2019 has finally been announced. Dota 2 community manager Wykhrm Reddy unveiled the full lineup in a post on Twitter. While there are no particularly surprising additions to the team, there are a few noteworthy individuals who won’t be coming back. Alex “Machine” Richardson will not be appearing at The International 2019 after appearing at both The …
Immortal Treasure III arrives shortly before The International 2019
gabhernandez
Dota 2
With less than two weeks remaining before The International 2019, Valve has unlocked the Immortal Treasure III for Battle Pass owners. The reveal brought mixed reactions from Dota 2 fans. Battle Pass owners have waited for the exclusive content longer than in past years, but were not treated to anything particularly special from the set. The Immortal Treasure III features exclusive cosmetics for Axe, Clinkz, Lycan, Mars, Terrorblade, Slardar, and …
Dota 2 pros are not happy about alternative UI removal before TI9
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
The International is fast approaching, but that hasn’t stoppd Valve from making some in-game changes. With only two weeks before TI9, Valve released an update that removed the optional unit query panel. “We started fixing a couple bugs with it and felt that the feature needed large design changes to be usable by a bigger portion of players, as less than one percent of players have used it after we …
OG announces new sponsor ahead of The International 2019
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota 2
OG has announced an official partnership with SteelSeries. The gaming peripherals and accessories manufacturer is partnering up with the European squad at the perfect time, with the news coming just a few weeks ahead of OG competing at The International 2019. OG made the reveal on its Facebook page. “It’s a pleasure to once again be working with SteelSeries, their products have been part of my entire life,” OG captain …
Midas Mode receives EG bid to eliminate cliffs, Secret chimes in
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses has joined in the fun of the Million Dollar Midas Mode project. Evil Geniuses expressed its interest in Sir Sadim’s pre-selling of assets in the Dota 2 map. In a Twitter post, the team offered to buy all cliffs in the upcoming Midas Mode 2 tournament. Evil Geniuses’ conditions include removing all cliffs from the map should the team enter an elimination game. Tournament organizer Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner …
Alliance wins Dota Summit 10, gain extra momentum before TI9
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Alliance made a bold move by signing up for the Dota Summit 10 just weeks before the start of The International 2019, but that move paid off. The European squad took first place at the event, raking in $42,000 for their efforts. More importantly, Alliance looked the part of a legitimate TI9 contender as they skated to first place without much difficulty. Alliance first asserted its dominance in the group …
Dota 2 update 7.22f shakes up balance before The International 2019
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
It seems as though Valve really hated Dota 2’s meta at the Epicenter Major. The third patch between the last major of the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season and The International 2019 has arrived. Version 7.22f continues the sweeping nerfs of the pro scene’s most popular heroes. Though none of the nerfs are overwhelming on their own, many of the affected heroes took hits in 7.22d and 7.22e as well. …
Study shows Dota 2 has most toxic online gaming community
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota 2
A study on harassment in online gaming has been released and the results are exactly what one would expect. Well over half of those who have played popular multiplayer titles have experienced some form of harassment while playing, per the Anti-Defamation League. In a study of 15 games, Dota 2 was found to have possibly the most toxic gaming community of all, with 79% of players responding that they had …
New NiP jersey for The International 2019 draws ire from fans
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota 2
Esports organization Ninjas in Pyjamas has been the talk of the community for the past few days, and not for any good reasons. This time, it’s the organization’s new Dota 2 jersey that fans are laughing about. With The International 2019 coming soon, NiP has created a new jersey for its Dota 2 players. And while the design was supposed to represent a storm of fans’ energy and excitement incorporated …
Newbee signs former Forward Gaming lineup for The International 2019
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Newbee is headed to The International 2019, but not in the way one might expect. The Chinese organization revealed the signing of the former Forward Gaming lineup on its Facebook page. The move comes after its standing team failed to clear the Chinese qualifiers. “Newbee and the players, coach and manager of former Forward Gaming have come to an agreement that the team will be representing Newbee, as well as …
Upcoming Dota Underlords buffs revealed by Valve after meta shift
M Alzamora
Dota 2
Valve has confirmed plans to implement new balance changes in Dota Underlords that would address a powerful and polarizing meta shift that occurred as a result of the most recent changes to the game. The official Dota Underlords Twitter account posted about the incoming tweaks. The company comically mentioned Arc Warden four times to tease that it’s almost certainly getting nerfed. Hunters and Primordials will also receive attention this time …
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.
Dota 2
Dota 2
Dota 2
Dota 2
