Feb 5, 2014
Dota 2 Update - February 5th, 2014
Dota 2 - Valve
User Interface
- Alt+Control clicking enemy heroes in the top bar now sends a hero has returned chat message
- Alt clicking on a store item will announce to your allies that you will purchase that item
- Fixed item alerts not working properly
- The game no longer freezes while a replay is being decompressed after the download is completed.
- Fixed Legacy Keys not being set correctly when reconnecting
- Legacy Keys now work correctly when querying (and allow you to use to proper legacy keys if taking over a bot)


Gameplay
- Fixed Terrorblade illusions taking too much damage
- Fixed Phoenix Sunray healing half of the amount it should
- Fixed AoE gold not being given to hidden heroes (such as Phoenix using Supernova, Brewmaster using Primal Split)
- Fixed Radiant having vision for a small area just outside the Dire fountain


Community
- Abandonment penalties will now be applied much more quickly after the abandonment occurs. (Previously the penalty was applied at the end of the match that was abandoned.)
- Abandonment in a ranked match before first blood will now count as a loss for the abandoner and all party members. (MMR will decrease.) For all other players in the game, the match will not be scored. After first blood, the same rules apply as before: the match will be scored for all players. The abandoner will always receive a loss, but all other players will be scored a win/loss according to the actual match outcome.


Workshop
-Master Assassin’s Tails (Bounty Hunter) – fixed chest strap skinning
-Form of Great Grey (Lycan) – added portrait entry
-Icewrack Pack wolves (Lycan) – added portrait entry
-Mysterious Vagabond Pack (Shadow Shaman) – fixed cloth issue during movement
-Demon Blood Helm (Axe) – fixed cloth issue during movement
-Prisoner’s Anchor (Alchemist) – fixed skinning on saddle
-Swamp Fins (Tidehunter) – fixed skinning
-Soul Reaper (Necrophos) – fixed loadout issue
-Excavator’s Treasure (Tidehunter) - fixed skinning
-Adjusted skinning on Rubick capes: Councilor's Robe, Cloak of Inscrutable Zeal, Tails of Resonance Vibrance
-Stone Dragon Soul (Earth Spirit) - weapon is now two separate pieces. Added default weapon particles to this and Staff of the Demon Stone
-Beast of Vermilion Wilds (Beastmaster) - now equips correctly
-Jade Talon (Pudge) - fixed orientation


Audio
-Minor adjustments to Terrorblade's Voice to give the base and morph forms more presence in the mix


Tooltips
-Fixed Random Hero button tooltip to say that you gain 200 gold for randoming a hero
-Removed duplicate health regeneration description from Alchemist's Chemical Rage tooltip
-Removed mention of Beastmaster's Call of the Wild destroying previous summons
-Fixed Beastmaster's Call of the Wild (Hawk) advanced tooltip to say that the Greater Hawk's invisibility starts at 4 seconds of inactivity.
-Reworded the description of Elder Titan's Earth Splitter to better explain how its damage is done
-Added cast range to Keeper of the Light's Mana Leak
-Removed inaccurate information in Mirana's Sacred Arrow tooltip regarding its affect on invisible units. Sacred arrow will stun and damage invisible units
-Removed inaccurate information in Mirana's Leap tooltip. The Leap buff is applied when and where she begins Leap
-Added Slow duration and percentage to Shadow Fiend's Requiem of Souls tooltip
-Added a description of Silencer's innate Intelligence Steal buff to that buff's tooltip.
-Reworded the description of Spectre's Desolate to better explain that the bonus damage is done when the attacked enemy is alone (has none of its allies nearby)
-Removed inaccurate information in Viper's Corrosive Skin tooltip. Corrosive Skin is applied to an enemy when an attack hits
-Fixed Warlock's Upheaval tooltip to say that it can be channeled for up to 16 seconds
-Fixed typo in Dust of Appearance tooltip
-Removed inaccurate information in Eye of Skadi tooltip regarding lifesteal stacking. Eye of Skadi can stack lifesteal on both melee and ranged heroes
-Removed inaccurate information in Ghost Scepter's tooltip. Boots of Travel does not dispel Ghost Form, however using a Teleport Scroll does
-Fixed inaccurate information in Radiance debuff tooltip to say that its burn does 50 damage per second
Jan 29, 2014
Dota 2′s New Bloom update will let you rewrite history and rise like a phoenix
Dota 2
Dota 2 New Bloom


Phoenixes traditionally symbolise rebirth, but that's not always the case. They also have pretty strong links to death: as seen by the quality of the third X-Men movie, or here, by the deadliness of Dota 2's new Hero. The eternally inflammable bird headlines the Day 3 announcement phase of tonight's New Bloom update. The update won't be completely without the spirit of renewal, however. A newly announced feature will let players Quantum Leap into replays, taking control of the action in an attempt to rewrite history.

"Now you can take control in any replay created after the New Bloom update, then act out the rest of the match from that moment forward," announce Valve on the New Bloom micro-site. "During a replay, hit the Takeover button to create a lobby where everyone can choose which hero to portray. Resume the match, and become the one to turn the tide of a favorite pro play, discover a way to escape an impossible setup, or relive a cherished team fight again and again." My doomed plan: create Takeover games seconds before the end of the match in order to persuade people I'm good at Dota.

Understandably, Phoenix's abilities are heavily based around setting things alight, along with introducing allies to healing rays of searing light. The ultimate is particularly interesting - transforming Phoenix into an enemy-damaging supernova that - as long as it isn't attacked within six seconds - stuns enemies and fully regenerates the bird.

Previous announcements for the New Bloom festivities include a phase-warping Year Beast of deadly splendour, the introduction of Terrorblade, an new Spring map variant, and a giant change list of Hero rebalancing.

New Bloom will be released later today.
Jan 28, 2014
Rebirth in the New Bloom Festival
Dota 2 - SZ
Out of the cold and chaos come the very things that the New Bloom Festival is here to celebrate: rebirth and renewal. In this final rush of revelations, a cosmic force arrives to light the skies, while the past itself begs to be rewritten. The New Bloom Festival makes ready!

<a href="http://www.dota2.com/newbloom/day3/"><img class="alignnone" title="So majestic." alt="So majestic." src="http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/images/blogfiles/new_bloom_day3.jpg" width="100%" /></a>

The New Bloom Update will be available tomorrow.
Jan 28, 2014
Rebirth in the New Bloom Festival
Dota 2 - SZ
Out of the cold and chaos come the very things that the New Bloom Festival is here to celebrate: rebirth and renewal. In this final rush of revelations, a cosmic force arrives to light the skies, while the past itself begs to be rewritten. The New Bloom Festival makes ready!



The New Bloom Update will be available tomorrow.
Jan 28, 2014
The Chaos of the New Bloom Festival
Dota 2 - SZ
New life means new chaos. As the Year Beast stirs from its slumber, a much darker presence prepares to unleash itself upon the world of Dota. But the chaos doesn't end there: every hero, and every power, will feel its impact. The New Bloom Festival approaches!

<a href="http://www.dota2.com/newbloom/day2/"><img class="alignnone" alt="" src="http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/images/blogfiles/new_bloom_day2.jpg" width="100%" /></a>
Jan 28, 2014
The Chaos of the New Bloom Festival
Dota 2 - SZ
New life means new chaos. As the Year Beast stirs from its slumber, a much darker presence prepares to unleash itself upon the world of Dota. But the chaos doesn't end there: every hero, and every power, will feel its impact. The New Bloom Festival approaches!

Jan 28, 2014
Prepare for the New Bloom Festival
Dota 2 - SZ
As the cold days grow longer and the first blooms slowly reach above the snow, powers both benevolent and savage have begun to stir. Discover the first of many developments that the coming renewal will bring to the world of Dota. The New Bloom Festival is about to commence!

<a href="http://www.dota2.com/newbloom/day1/"><img class="alignnone" alt="" src="http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/images/blogfiles/new_bloom.jpg" width="100%"" /></a>
Jan 28, 2014
Prepare for the New Bloom Festival
Dota 2 - SZ
As the cold days grow longer and the first blooms slowly reach above the snow, powers both benevolent and savage have begun to stir. Discover the first of many developments that the coming renewal will bring to the world of Dota. The New Bloom Festival is about to commence!

Jan 27, 2014
Dota 2 Update - January 27th, 2014
Dota 2 - Valve
- Fixed items failing to upload from the workshop
- Fixed a crash when disconnecting from a game
Jan 27, 2014
Dota 2′s New Bloom heralds the arrival of the Year Beast, also Terrorblade
Dota 2
New Bloom Dota


Dota 2's holidays are a volatile thing. Diretide was delayed, and Frostivus is constantly cancelled. Will the fledgling celebration of New Bloom fair any better? Probably. After all, it centres around the arrival of a giant, evil beast that must be smashed and bashed to pieces. In this world of lane-pushing wizardry, violence and terror(blade) would seem to be the secret to long-lasting and untampered festivities.

What are the haps for this most horsey of updates? It's the traditionally twisted spin on real-world celebrations - in this instance the Chinese New Year. The Dota 2 variant involves a Year Beast, a monster both horrifying and valuable. "The same source that imbues the creature with terrible power also covers its being in rare materials, ready to be crafted into unique armaments if they can be pried from its body," explains the New Bloom micro-site.

It's not entirely clear what form the Year Beast will take, but, after having consulted with resident Dota fanatic Chris, there are two possibilities that seem the most likely. The first is that it'll be tied to a new game mode, as with the previous Wraith-Night event. The second, more interesting idea, is that the Year Beast will be a random encounter on the map. The last update already set precedence that new map designs are restricted to unranked play. If New Bloom's Spring map follows the same pattern, it could be that the phasing doom-beast will be a feature of it, leaving ranked play as the serious mode for hardcore wizards.

Hero speculation is also rife, with people reading phrases like "reappear refreshed and renewed" as a sign that Phoenix could be making an appearance. What we do know for sure is that Terrorblade is incoming, as he's the star of the Day 2 reveal.

Even more interesting is the planned introduction of ability draft mode, which sounds like pure, undiluted chaos. "Unlocked at level 11, in this mode each player is randomly assigned a hero, and each hero's abilities are placed into a pool. Players then take turns choosing which abilities their hero will bring into battle. Behold the majesty of a Pouncing Pudge, witness Axe fumbling with Psi Blades, and experience the terror of Illusory Orb Magnus."

Of course, this is only early days for the now-customary Valve update teaser process. Who knows, as future updates arrive, the whole bloody thing could be cancelled.
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