How much does the Drow Ranger arcana really cost?

No matter how hard a player works, the Drow Ranger arcana will cost quite a bit in the new Dota 2 battle pass.

Dota 2 players have been left frustrated throughout 2021 as Valve has effectively multiplied the price of new arcana skins by making them exclusive to battle passes. While other games like Fortnite and Apex Legends allow players to earn some great prizes from seasonal battle passes through regular play, Valve is forcing fans to pay money for the battle pass, then forcing them to spend even more money to get anything of real value from it.

The current battle pass released alongside Aghanim’s Labyrinth: The Continuum Conundrum adds three high-quality skins including an arcana for Drow Ranger, a hero persona for Mirana, and an exclusive bundle for Hoodwink. Once again, players can’t actually earn these skins without paying Valve a significant chunk of change on top of the cost of the battle pass.

But how much does the Drow Ranger arcana actually cost? Here’s what it takes to get this skin.

Can you get the Drow Ranger arcana for free?

No, players cannot obtain the Drow Ranger arcana without buying a significant number of battle pass levels.

Given that the latest Dota 2 battle pass is set to run for 10 weeks, it’s fairly easy to track how many levels players are actually able to get for free. Here’s how many levels players can earn from grinding in the game:

• 31.25 battle pass levels from Cavern Crawl
• 20 battle pass levels from Aghanim’s Labyrinth BP rewards
• Up to 50 Aghanim’s Helping Hand chests, which give random amounts of BP, with a estimated return of 60 levels

The X factor in this is the Aghanim’s Helping Hand chest. So far, players have reported obtaining anywhere from 250 to 10,000 BP in each chest. Players can receive up to four Helping Hand chests each week from weekly rewards as well as one bonus chest per week in games that include a Drow Ranger.

It is unclear what the average reward from each Aghanim’s Helping Hand chest is, but the weekly rewards for the Nemestice Battle Pass yielded about six levels per week. Given how Valve has historically given Dota 2 players less bang for their buck with each passing event, the Helping Hand chest rewards likely average out to one level or less each. A generous estimate would have it be around the same 60 total levels available in the Nemestice Battle Pass.

If so, this means players can get up to 111.25 battle pass levels for free. This is less than the necessary number of levels for the basic Mirana hero persona, and only about one third of the progress required to get to the Drow Ranger arcana.

How much does the Drow Ranger arcana cost?

To instantly obtain the Drow Ranger arcana, it costs players approximately $140.

This is the cost for buying the level 100 battle pass bundle and then purchasing levels to bring it up to level 333. Doing so can be done at any time, but there are thriftier ways to reach that level.

The Nemestice Battle Pass had limited edition bundles that contained 60 levels for $15. Players were allowed to buy two for a total of 120 levels priced $30. 

When combined with the $45 level 100 battle pass bundle, players would then be able to buy their way to the Drow Ranger arcana by grinding out every possible point for a total of $75. Players can bring up their battle pass the rest of the way for about $40, bringing the total up to $115.

Players may not need to spend that outright if they actually play the game, though.

There are other “bargain” levels up for grabs including the likely release of a Collector’s Cache and possible makeup levels for the inevitable bugs and server outages that will happen during the battle pass’ duration. 

But either way, players will need to spend at least $75 in order to have a chance at getting the Drow Ranger arcana.