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

gabhernandez Published 30/04/2019

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.

Read Also

Dota 2

ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel Michael Hassall South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...

News

Polystrike Turns a Dota 2 Mod Into a Standalone Tactical Shooter Hannan Mundia After the community-made mod found success within the community, developer and publisher Robin Entertainment has decided to turn Polystrike into a proper standalone game. Community-made mods of games finding success within the respective game’s community is nothing new. However, only a handful of those mods are able to go on and become a standalone game. One of the more recent examples is The Forgotten City, which started as a mod ...

Dota 2

Team Spirit wins TI15 to lift a record third Aegis of Champions Michael Hassall Team Spirit has defeated TEAM VISION in the grand finals of TI15, The International 2025. In a full five-game series on Aug. 23, Spirit pulled out all the stops and narrowly defeated an incredible VISION team in a back-and-forth series in Shanghai, China. With Spirit’s victory, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov become the first ever three-time TI champions, and Team Spirit becomes the first ever organization to lift ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Finals Preview and Predictions Michael Hassall The International 2026, TI15, has reached its final day, and just three teams remain in the fight for the Aegis of Champions. With the lower bracket final and Grand Final still to come, everything comes down to one final day of Dota 2 action. The lower bracket finalists will first battle for the right to reach the main event’s final series, while the winner will advance to face the upper-bracket ...

Dota 2

TI15’s opening ceremony weaves a tapestry of emotion for Valve’s storied title Michael Hassall The main stage of The International 2026, TI15, kicked off today with the traditional opening ceremony heralding the start of the biggest celebration of Dota 2 on the calendar. On Aug. 20 fans in Shanghai, China, and at home, were treated to a rousing 11-minute series of performances and video packages, introducing TI15’s main stage show. Here’s how the magic unfolded: The ceremony began with a graphic which quite literally ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Playoffs preview and predictions Michael Hassall The Group Stage of The International 2026, TI15, is in the books and we’ve whittled down 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams to just eight finalists. One of these talented lineups will be the ones lifting the Aegis of Champions come Sunday, Aug. 23, but until then, there’s plenty of playoff shenanigans that could go on. Below we’ve put together a preview of the upcoming Playoff Games, along ...

News

The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027 Ben Boland The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...