The final battle approaches, and the chosen defenders of the Brine must continue their secret mission into Dark Reef Prison to eradicate the fiendish Siltbreaker once and for all. Battle Pass owners are once again invited to undertake a journey that spans vast domains, where fearsome creatures and monstrous hordes lurk in every shadow, as the first Dota 2 Multiplayer Campaign concludes with today's release of Siltbreaker: Act II.

To accompany this release, we've added an Adventure Mode to Acts I & II that allows for a more casual playstyle. Adventure Mode playthroughs won't garner any Artifacts, achievements, or rewards, but the decreased difficulty and removal of any non-quest goals will let players explore the dangerous world of Siltbreaker without any additional pressure.

We've also introduced changes to the Artifact system for both acts that will help ensure more players can discover these objects of power and factor them into tactical decisions as they play. Players who collected Artifacts in Act I are welcome to utilize them in Act II, and vice versa, but there are some important differences with the new system. Check out today's patch notes for more information.

As you fight your way to a showdown with Siltbreaker, you’ll earn completion stars based on your performance level. The first time you complete a zone with one or two stars will net you Battle Points rewards, and delivering a three-star zone performance will grant a treasure from the aquatic terror himself.

Each Siltbreaker Treasure includes a chance to receive an indescribably-rare Immortal Desert Sands Baby Roshan courier, and Battle Pass owners with Battle Level 165 or higher will receive double the treasures for each three-star zone they complete with the reward bonus active. You’ll also have the opportunity to unlock new Act II achievements for even more Battle Points.

Can you find Siltbreaker and end this dire threat before he makes his escape? Party up with three friends or queue-met allies to find out. The safety of the free seas hangs in the balance, and—should you fail—the drylands might be next.

The Road to the Aegis
Congratulations to Team Liquid, Grand Champions at The International 2017.

Team Liquid were one of six direct invites to this year's tournament, arriving in Seattle with high expectations built upon strong results at recent events.

Captained by a veteran who has competed in The International every year, Liquid established themselves early and never lost a series in the Group Stage. They scored 2-0 victories off of iG.Vitality, Fnatic, Infamous, Team Empire, and Team Secret; and earned 1-1 draws against EG, LGD, and TNC to finish with a group-best record of 13-3.

The main stage, however, would present a more daunting challenge, as Team Liquid stumbled to a 1-2 loss at the hands of Invictus Gaming in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals.

The loss dropped them into the Lower Bracket and set up a do-or-die run through a string of six straight elimination series, forcing Liquid to outlast an aggressive Team Secret, send home an Empire squad that had bested EG, and overcome a relentless VP in one of the most intense matchups of the tournament.

Not done yet, Liquid's next elimination series saw them draft some lesser-used heroes to down LGD 2-0 and reach a Lower Bracket Finals vs Group B's strongest team -- LFY. Despite losing a drawn-out Game 1, Liquid held fast against LFY for a 2-1 series victory and a trip to the Grand Finals, where Upper Bracket winners Newbee were already waiting.

There, Team Liquid would perform the first-ever Grand Finals sweep in The International's history, besting Newbee's elite lineup 3-0 to claim the Aegis of Champions and secure their status as world's best.

As bearers of the ultimate symbol of victory in the struggle between Radiant and Dire, these names shall forever be inscribed upon the Aegis' silver plaque:


2017
Team Liquid
Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen
Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi
Ivan Borislavov "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov
Maroun "GH" Merhej
Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi

Looking Back
If you missed any of the tournament, or just want to relive some of the incredible moments and breathtaking plays, head over to The International site, where you can find replays for every match. There are also loads of photos and videos from the event over on the Media page, our TI7 Youtube playlist, and the Dota 2 Flickr.

We would like to thank all of the players, talent, and everyone in the Dota community for helping bring this celebration of our shared passion to life. The International continues to be the crowning moment of the competitive season, and without everyone's support, none of this would be possible. We hope you enjoyed this year's tournament as much as we did.

The Season Ahead
With The International 2017 now behind us, it's time to turn towards what comes next. In a few weeks, we'll be releasing more details on the coming competitive season, including tournament schedules and other relevant information to help get players and fans ready for another unbelievable year of Dota.

The Trove Carafe for The International 2017 is now available, featuring the item debuts for Jakiro and Oracle, as well as new items for Shadow Demon, Phantom Lancer, Anti-Mage, Troll Warlord, Faceless Void, and Beastmaster.

Each treasure also offers the chance to receive a rare Invoker item, a very rare Golden Treasure that contains golden versions of select Immortals, or an ultra rare mystery courier that celebrates the spirit of The International.

You can also support your favorite broadcast talent at this year's event by purchasing autographed versions of the Trove Carafe. Just select the desired caster from the dropdown menu in the store to inscribe their autograph on the contents.

Attendee Item Drops
As a special bonus to fans attending The International, we will be dropping in-game items to audience members inside of KeyArena. At First Blood in each individual game, a limited number of exclusive Attendee Treasures will drop, each containing visually-unique versions of items selected from this year’s Immortals, and inscribed with a first-blood tracking gem. To be eligible, you must have a badge linked to a Steam account and be in the arena when First Blood occurs. We look forward to seeing you at The International.

The International Main Event
The International 2017 Group Stage has now concluded, resulting in the elimination of Fnatic and HellRaisers after four hard-fought days of Dota.

LFY, Team Liquid, LGD, Newbee, Evil Geniuses, Invictus Gaming, Virtus.pro, and TNC all advance to the Upper Bracket of the Main Event.

OG, Team Secret, iG.Vitality, Cloud9, Digital Chaos, Team Empire, Infamous, and Execration face the challenge of first-round best-of-one games in the Lower Bracket on Monday, August 7 at KeyArena. The broadcast begins at 10:00 a.m. PDT, and all the games can be watched live on The International website.

A small update for Half-Life is now available:

Engine

• Rate limit hltv commands to prevent connection issues

Some of the most satisfying moments in Dota are found in the first stages of learning the game, as you begin to see intricate strategies take shape in the battles around you. However, there have also been some issues that caused unnecessary challenges for new players in the past. With today's update we're introducing two features designed to help new players face as few barriers as possible to enjoying Dota.

The first feature is a change to the hero selection system. To help new players, we are now restricting hero selection to a curated group of twenty heroes for their first twenty-five games. This introductory group consists of heroes that we've learned are very successful in helping new players learn and enjoy the game.

Today's update also introduces a feature that matches new players against players with consistently high behavior scores. It is especially important for a new player to have a good social experience while they are first trying to learn the game. The matchmaking system will now ensure that new players will play with and against appropriately-skilled players that also have a track record of good behavior.

The International is soon approaching, and we look forward to welcoming you to the Newcomer Stream!

Announcing a new exclusive physical reward available to all Battle Pass owners who reach Battle Level 2000, the Collector's Baby Roshan statue! Additionally, as a way to show off your achievement in-game, all Level 2000 players will have a custom version of Roshan replace his default form.

To claim your 8.5cm x 9cm, nickel silver-finished Baby Roshan at Level 2000, please ensure that you have visited the Collector's Aegis registration site to provide your shipping and contact information for the Level 1000 Reward. You will need to use your Steam account credentials in order to access the site, and the same shipping information will be used to send both the Collector's Aegis and Collector's Baby Roshan.

If you have a Level 2000 Battle Pass and previously registered for this year's Level 1000 reward, you're already set.

Deliveries are limited to one statue per registered account and will begin this fall. Registration is required to receive your Baby Roshan, so make sure to sign up before August 25th. Once registration closes, enrolled players will be contacted with more information regarding shipment and customer support.

Please note that all communication regarding your shipment will be sent to the email address you provide during registration, so make sure to provide accurate shipping and contact information.

Like the in-game Aegis effect, the custom in-game Roshan will expire on May 1, 2018.

With The International Group Stage just eleven days away, it's time to unveil more information on the talent, schedule, and events surrounding of the biggest tournament of the year.

Tournament News
You can find the Casters for this year's event—featuring long-time favorites like Kaci and a new host in Sean "Day9" Plott—through the dashboard or in the Talent section of the Compendium. We've also launched the official tournament website today, and the full schedule and format are as follows:

• Group Stage: August 2nd – August 5th, 2017 – Two best-of-two groups of nine teams. Top four teams in each group advance to Upper Bracket, four - eight advance to Lower Bracket, bottom in each group is eliminated.
• Main Event: August 7th – August 12th, 2017 – Like last year, 16 teams battle through a best-of-three double elimination playoff. Lower bracket first round is best-of-one, Grand Finals are best-of-five.

Newcomer Stream
Once the event begins, you can help any friends interested in learning more about Dota by sending them to the Newcomer Stream, which features the main broadcast enhanced with contextual overlays that call out information helpful for understanding the intricate world of Dota during the most exciting time of the competitive season.

Pubstomps
There's nothing better than enjoying The International with friends. But not every fan can make the journey to Seattle to witness the tournament in person. To help people around the world connect with each other for their own celebratory Dota events, we've once again partnered with Barcraft United to facilitate Pubstomp administration. Just visit the Barcraft landing page to find a Pubstomp in your area.

The International 2017 Opening Reel
Each year, fans celebrate Dota together at tournaments and in gatherings around the world. This year we'd like to incorporate some more aspects of the worldwide celebration into the Opening Reel video that starts the tournament broadcast each day (check out last year's video for reference). If you've taken video footage at past Valve events that you'd like to see included in The International broadcast, please head over to the Opening Reel Guidelines page to submit your video for consideration. Each day of the event will feature different footage, and we'll be accepting new submissions—including new footage from this year—until August 11.


Battle Pass Season Extension
Players may have noticed that the Battle Pass Season was recently extended from the original end date of August 20 to help accommodate the delay in releasing Act I of the Siltbreaker campaign. While our initial extension was made knowing the delay would also affect the release of Act II, today we're extending the Battle Pass Season until Monday, September 18 to ensure players have ample time to enjoy the conclusion of the multiplayer campaign once it releases shortly after The International.

The International 2017 Secret Shop is now open for business, offering this year's new lineup of Dota 2 merchandise to fans around the world before the tournament even begins.

Featuring a host of both original and community-created designs, the Valve Store powered by WeLoveFine is now taking orders to ship this year's products almost anywhere in the world. Plus, to help expand the reach of the shop's offerings, our partners at Perfect World will be accepting orders next week at ChinaJoy and the Perfect World Secret Shop.

For fans making the journey to Seattle next month, the on-site Secret Shop will offer a select range of items for attendees at KeyArena, including several gifts with purchase exclusive to fans at the event. More information for on-site purchasing will be available to ticket holders soon, so keep an eye on the inbox associated with your ticket purchase.

Immortal Treasure III is now available, featuring Viper's venomous debut onto the item scene, along with all-new items for Weaver, Legion Commander, Spectre, Winter Wyvern, and Sand King. Each Immortal Treasure III you open also offers increasing odds to receive a rare drop of 50 Battle Levels, a very rare Golden version of the Weaver item, or an ultra rare sword for Sven.

All Battle Pass owners can find an Immortal Treasure III ready to unbox in the Armory, and you can earn more of these treasures by increasing your Battle Level. Head over to the Battle Pass page for a preview of the new items and custom effects contained in today’s treasure.

With The International just around the corner, we'd also like to take a moment to thank the Dota 2 community for the incredible support that has helped this year's prize pool eclipse past records to become the largest tournament purse in esports history. We look forward to welcoming the players and fans to Seattle for the annual celebration of Dota and the community that helps it thrive.

We have updated the public release of Half-Life: Blue Shift.

Changes in this update are:

• Fixed crash when entering certain malformed strings into the game console. Thanks to Marshal Webb from BackConnect, Inc for reporting this.
  
• Fixed crash when loading a specially crafted malformed BSP file. Thanks to Grant Hernandez (@Digital_Cold) for reporting this.
  
• Fixed malformed SAV files allowing arbitrary files to be written into the game folder. Thanks to Vsevolod Saj for reporting this.
  
• Fixed a crash when quickly changing weapons that are consumable. Thanks to Sam Vanheer for reporting this.
  
• Fixed crash when setting custom decals