New season patch brings Dazzle, Io, more changes to Dota Auto Chess

The first season of Dota Auto Chess has concluded and Drodo Studio has released some huge changes to the game.

Major changes were added to the popular Dota 2 custom game as it closed its first season. These include reworking hero synergies, rebalancing of existing heroes, and adding new chess pieces to the game.

Drodo Studio also marked April 30 as an “offseason” day. This means that all games played for the day will not contribute to players’ previous ranks. All players can start recalibrating their ranks on May 1.

Players were also rewarded free candies based on previous ranks. Pawn players got 20 candies while Queen players received 320 candies and a BlingBling Crown.

In a previous Twitter post, the game developers informed players that each season at Drodo Island Chess Room will last for two months.

In-game features were also revamped to incorporate more detailed information from each player. An informational panel was added and includes each player’s current chess pieces, hero levels, and active synergies.

This feature will greatly help players to save time in investigating opponents’ boards. Checking an opponents’ board for information is an essential part of the game, helping to build the right lineup and lay out future strategy.

Two heroes were also added to the custom game. Dazzle, a Troll Priest, costs $3 and has an active ability of Shallow Grave. IO is an elf with no class that has a passive ability.

IO can be added to any chess pieces to level up. IO is considered a legendary piece and costs $5.

One of the most contested synergies was reworked. The knights perk was reworked to include a 40% chance to proc a damage-reducing shield for all friendly knights with the first-level synergy. Having six knights will grant all allies a 35% chance to proc a damage-reducing shield.  

Another notable change is a tweak to the early end mechanism. The top 3 ranked players in a game are now able to cast two votes instead of one. The game will automatically end after a total of 4 votes.

For the full list of reworked heroes and items, here are the complete patch notes.