Fantasy Dota 2 returns year-round with new DPC fantasy challenge

Fantasy Dota 2 is now a year-round affair with the mini-game no longer being a part of The International Compendium and now instead being integrated into the client in a more permanent way as a part of the Dota Pro Circuit.

The news was revealed on the official Dota 2 blog, as was a thorough detailing of the new format. Because the new Dota 2 fantasy game will be attached to the DPC, the daily lineup is a thing of the past. Replacing it is something more akin to fantasy football. 

Much of this will still be familiar to Dota 2 fans and the scoring and best practices seems to be the same. Players open up player card packs which are earned by purchase through Supporter Club Bundles or by winning daily games of Dota 2, and then set their lineups using owned player cards in the Dota client. From there, they receive points based on the players’ in-game performance and receive rewards based on how many points they’ve accrued throughout each period.

There are a few key differences that set this apart from the TI fantasy game of the past, however. 

Rather than being isolated within an event, the new Dota 2 fantasy game will play out throughout entire tours, the six-week-long leagues that decide competitors for majors. This will see Dota 2 fans set their lineups for each week, rather than each day. Players will only receive points from one match per card per week, so there’s little point in trying to take advantage of make-up games or tiebreakers.

It does not seem as though the fantasy game will include the DPC majors.

Fans can set their lineups for each region, but will only receive rewards from the region that they performed the best in. Strategically, this means fans are best served by just sticking to one or two regions and building up a smaller collection of cards rather than spending money on an abundance of Supporter Club Bundles in order to field a team in every region.

In terms of rewards, fans receive “fantasy levels” based on how well their team performed. The top 50% are guaranteed at least one fantasy level, the top 25% receive two, and the top 10% receive three. For every three fantasy levels a player receives, they get one DPC Tour Treasure which will be released at the end of the season.

How to get Dota 2 DPC Fantasy card packs

Players can receive DPC fantasy card packs through the “Watch” tab in the Dota 2 client.

Every player can receive 10 free Dota 2 player card packs for the DPC fantasy mini-game, but they’re somewhat hidden at this time. Here’s how to get them:

1. In Dota 2, click on the “Watch” tab on the top of the screen
2. Select “Fantasy” on the top bar
3. Select “Player Cards”
4. Redeem cards in the bottom-left corner of the menu

Just follow the graphic and click each part of the menu. Players will then receive their 10 free packs, which are a strong starting point for any individual region. From there, players can receive card packs each day after winning a game of Dota 2. The packs can be found in this menu and opened in this same way.