The dark bargain is struck. Today through December 7th, the Nemesis Assassin Event will allow all heroes a unique opportunity to earn trophies and items. During each day of the event, contracts will be put out on the life of those heroes listed on Oracle’s Nemesis Registry, and these contracts can either be Fulfilled or Denied during the course of the match.

Owners of the Manifold Paradox Arcana will enjoy many custom upgrades to their specialized assassin, including an evolving weapon and a kill marker to show the location of their kills, but it’s important to remember that the hunter easily becomes the hunted, so rewards can be earned by all who participate successfully in the event.

You’ll also be able to purchase the Treasure of the Defender’s Vision, which includes mythical items. Or you can earn this treasure by using the charm and making three correct victory predictions. Visit the update page to see the Nemesis Assassin Event explained in detail. Will your favorite hero make the list?

The dark bargain is struck. Today through December 7th, the Nemesis Assassin Event will allow all heroes a unique opportunity to earn trophies and items. During each day of the event, contracts will be put out on the life of those heroes listed on Oracle’s Nemesis Registry, and these contracts can either be Fulfilled or Denied during the course of the match.

Owners of the Manifold Paradox Arcana will enjoy many custom upgrades to their specialized assassin, including an evolving weapon and a kill marker to show the location of their kills, but it’s important to remember that the hunter easily becomes the hunted, so rewards can be earned by all who participate successfully in the event.

You’ll also be able to purchase the Treasure of the Defender’s Vision, which includes mythical items. Or you can earn this treasure by using the charm and making three correct victory predictions. Visit the update page to see the Nemesis Assassin Event explained in detail. Will your favorite hero make the list?

An enigmatic new hero strides onto the battlefield. Oracle is coming to let you seize the fates of both friend and foe. Prefer to deal a deadlier destiny? Phantom Assassin's new arcana, the Manifold Paradox, is available for preorder, and will be on sale for 20% off until December 7th. Learn about the Nemesis Assassin Event in Day 3 of the Foreseer’s Contract update, arriving this week!

An enigmatic new hero strides onto the battlefield. Oracle is coming to let you seize the fates of both friend and foe. Prefer to deal a deadlier destiny? Phantom Assassin's new arcana, the Manifold Paradox, is available for preorder, and will be on sale for 20% off until December 7th. Learn about the Nemesis Assassin Event in Day 3 of the Foreseer’s Contract update, arriving this week!

A mysterious figure, a ruthless assassin, and an infinite number of possibilities. The Foreseer’s Contract is coming soon. Head to the update page to get your first peek at a deal with incalculable ramifications, then come back next week to learn more.

Meanwhile, the Dota 2 Workshop has been redesigned to include a voting queue, which will make it easier for Dota workshop users to discover new items to vote on, as well as let us on the Dota team know which items you’d like to see shipped in-game.

The new design will also make it easier to browse new item submissions by authors you follow, find out what your friends are favoriting, and receive Workshop-related updates from the Dota 2 team. Workshop authors should now mark their sets as "sets" in the "edit collection" page, as this will give us a better opportunity to showcase your item sets.

So once you’re done reading The Contract, be sure to head over to the Dota 2 Workshop and start voting!

A mysterious figure, a ruthless assassin, and an infinite number of possibilities. The Foreseer’s Contract is coming soon. Head to the update page to get your first peek at a deal with incalculable ramifications, then come back next week to learn more.

Meanwhile, the Dota 2 Workshop has been redesigned to include a voting queue, which will make it easier for Dota workshop users to discover new items to vote on, as well as let us on the Dota team know which items you’d like to see shipped in-game.

The new design will also make it easier to browse new item submissions by authors you follow, find out what your friends are favoriting, and receive Workshop-related updates from the Dota 2 team. Workshop authors should now mark their sets as "sets" in the "edit collection" page, as this will give us a better opportunity to showcase your item sets.

So once you’re done reading The Contract, be sure to head over to the Dota 2 Workshop and start voting!

The long awaited metamorphosis of Shadow Fiend arrives at last. In addition to a completely new look for his form and effects, the update also contains the Demon Eater Arcana. This Arcana provides a fiery reimagining of Shadow Fiend, complete with new effects, sounds, animations, icons, and an altered voice. We also thought it'd be fun to allow you to show off your skill at triple-razing enemies to the ground, so with the Arcana equipped you'll be see a fiery celebration of your skill. Finally, if you buy the Demon Eater set before October 31st, it will come with an 'Exalted' quality.

Yet Shadow Fiend isn't the only one receiving special treatment - this update also contains the much-anticipated 6.82 balance update, which introduces an arsenal of additions and tweaks affecting every part of the game. Major systems have been overhauled, and heroes have been retooled and reworked. Bloodseeker and Phantom Lancer both now sport new abilities, you'll find a new rune in the river, a new item in the shop - the list goes on and on. And for the first time in years, the Dota 2 map itself has changed, with significant layout changes to Roshan's lair, base fountains, and more.

What are you waiting for? Head over to <a href="http://www.dota2.com/rekindlingsoul/">The Rekindling Soul Update Page</a>.

One more thing: we on the Dota 2 team have a number of updates in the works right now that we're really excited about, some for the rest of this year, and a big update for early next year. But we're pretty sure we won't be able to make enough progress on the larger update if we put it down to work on Diretide - so we've decided that we're not going to ship a Diretide event this year. We know that last year we weren't clear enough in our communication about this, so this year we wanted to be up front about it early. Next year will bring monumental changes to Dota 2, and we're confident that when you've seen what we've been working on, you'll agree it was worth it.

The long awaited metamorphosis of Shadow Fiend arrives at last. In addition to a completely new look for his form and effects, the update also contains the Demon Eater Arcana. This Arcana provides a fiery reimagining of Shadow Fiend, complete with new effects, sounds, animations, icons, and an altered voice. We also thought it'd be fun to allow you to show off your skill at triple-razing enemies to the ground, so with the Arcana equipped you'll be see a fiery celebration of your skill. Finally, if you buy the Demon Eater set before October 31st, it will come with an 'Exalted' quality.

Yet Shadow Fiend isn't the only one receiving special treatment - this update also contains the much-anticipated 6.82 balance update, which introduces an arsenal of additions and tweaks affecting every part of the game. Major systems have been overhauled, and heroes have been retooled and reworked. Bloodseeker and Phantom Lancer both now sport new abilities, you'll find a new rune in the river, a new item in the shop - the list goes on and on. And for the first time in years, the Dota 2 map itself has changed, with significant layout changes to Roshan's lair, base fountains, and more.

What are you waiting for? Head over to <a href="http://www.dota2.com/rekindlingsoul/">The Rekindling Soul Update Page</a>.

One more thing: we on the Dota 2 team have a number of updates in the works right now that we're really excited about, some for the rest of this year, and a big update for early next year. But we're pretty sure we won't be able to make enough progress on the larger update if we put it down to work on Diretide - so we've decided that we're not going to ship a Diretide event this year. We know that last year we weren't clear enough in our communication about this, so this year we wanted to be up front about it early. Next year will bring monumental changes to Dota 2, and we're confident that when you've seen what we've been working on, you'll agree it was worth it.

The International draws near! All around the world players and spectators are preparing themselves for the battles to come. It all begins next Tuesday the 8th with the start of the Playoffs. To help you get the most out of the biggest event in Dota history, visit The International Tournament Website, where you can review the entire tournament schedule, find spoiler-free streams of each day's games, learn about the new Multicast and Newcomer's Broadcast streams, locate a local Pubstomp, read up on the latest TI4 news, discover what this year's champions stand to win, and more.

Need more ways to keep track of The International? Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter (#TI4), Flickr, and Instagram.

Once the dust has settled and the new champions have emerged, everyone who owns a Compendium will discover a new gem in their inventory to show off their dedication to The International by displaying their Compendium level, as well as a new emoticon to match. The types of gem and emoticon received will change based on the owner's Compendium level when the tournament ends:

• Copper (Level 1)
  
• Bronze (Level 10)
  
• Silver (Level 25)
  
• Gold (Level 50)
  
• Platinum (Level 100)
  
• Diamond (Level 500)

Finally, we're launching a new batch of treasures on the store, all of which feature sets and items from pro players and teams. Open a Treasure of the Elemental Trophy, Tangled Keepsake, and Cannon's Fuse to claim items from a variety of pro teams and players, or purchase a Treasure of the Eternal Alliance to earn one of several new items from last year's grand champions, Alliance.

The International draws near! All around the world players and spectators are preparing themselves for the battles to come. It all begins next Tuesday the 8th with the start of the Playoffs. To help you get the most out of the biggest event in Dota history, visit The International Tournament Website, where you can review the entire tournament schedule, find spoiler-free streams of each day's games, learn about the new Multicast and Newcomer's Broadcast streams, locate a local Pubstomp, read up on the latest TI4 news, discover what this year's champions stand to win, and more.

Need more ways to keep track of The International? Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter (#TI4), Flickr, and Instagram.

Once the dust has settled and the new champions have emerged, everyone who owns a Compendium will discover a new gem in their inventory to show off their dedication to The International by displaying their Compendium level, as well as a new emoticon to match. The types of gem and emoticon received will change based on the owner's Compendium level when the tournament ends:

• Copper (Level 1)
  
• Bronze (Level 10)
  
• Silver (Level 25)
  
• Gold (Level 50)
  
• Platinum (Level 100)
  
• Diamond (Level 500)

Finally, we're launching a new batch of treasures on the store, all of which feature sets and items from pro players and teams. Open a Treasure of the Elemental Trophy, Tangled Keepsake, and Cannon's Fuse to claim items from a variety of pro teams and players, or purchase a Treasure of the Eternal Alliance to earn one of several new items from last year's grand champions, Alliance.