“Pay to win” is a phrase that is thrown around a lot with any free-to-play game, but Valve actually flipped that around in Dota 2 by making the new Queen of Pain Eminence of Ristul Arcana a “pay to lose” affair.
The new premium cosmetic from the The International 10 Battle Pass significantly overhauled the game’s resident succubus, giving her a new color scheme, new weapon, and new voice. The Arcana also adds a completely new set of animations for the hero’s attacks and spells. Among them is a new blink animation, with an extra little touch that sees a ring of fire appear on the spot where she lands.
The trouble is that this ring of fire ignores the game’s fog of war. This means that enemies can instantly identify Queen of Pain’s exact location after blinking, making it very easy to hunt her down even if she jumps into the treeline that surrounds the map.
This is a huge handicap for Queen of Pain players, and it’s a big enough issue that anyone playing in ranked matchmaking ought to steer clear of the new skin.
Eminence of Ristul is the second Arcana skin to arrive from the TI10 Battle Pass, following Wraith King’s The One True King Arcana that transforms him back into Skeleton King. Three more are currently in the works including an Arcana for Windranger and Hero Personas for Anti-Mage and Pudge.
The Eminence of Ristul is second-most expensive skin in the TI10 Battle Pass, tasking players to reach level 445 to earn it. This carries a price tag of approximately $200.
