Jan 20, 2019
The Chongqing Major
Dota 2 - Ward


The Chongqing Major Main Event bracket has been set, and sixteen of the top Dota teams in the world now wage battle over the winner's share of the $1,000,000 USD and 15,000 DPC points that hang in the balance.

Fans can tune in each day now through January 27 on SteamTV to catch all of the playoff action. With 4,950 DPC points awaiting the winners less than halfway through the competitive season, it's anyone's guess what the Dota Pro Circuit standings might look like in one week's time. Will an established contender strengthen their grip on the leaderboard, or can a surprising upstart upset the status quo?
Jan 14, 2019
True Sight — The International 2018
Dota 2 - Ward


Join world champions OG and a sold-out crowd as they broadcast live from the Nordisk Film Cinema Palads in Copenhagen, Denmark for the world premiere of True Sight — The International 2018.

Tune in live on Tuesday, January 15 from 11:00am PST, with hosts Kaci and PyrionFlax, to journey behind the scenes of OG's epic five-game clash against PSG.LGD, to be followed by a live Q&A session with the audience and the champs themselves.

Last year, Dota fans around the world watched as history took place in Vancouver. Now it's time to look back and see exactly how the story unfolded.
Jan 14, 2019
Dota Auto Chess is like Football Manager with wizards
Dota 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Matt Cox)

People have been making weird and wonderful custom Dota 2 games for years. With so much good stuff coming from outside the dota-sphere, that’s easy to forget – but not when a possible bug convinces the internet you’ve got more players than Grand Theft Auto V.

That seems have happened with Dota Auto Chess, a custom game where you pit teams of increasingly powerful wizards against seven opponents. Even with that bug in mind, it’s still throbbing with players – popularity made me notice it, but quality kept me playing. For half a game, at least, until I got crushed by the people who knew what they were doing.

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Jan 13, 2019
A Dota 2 custom mode may be 2019 s most popular new game
Dota 2

A Dota 2 custom game mode designed by China-based Drodo Studio is taking the Dota 2 world by storm, reaching 100,000 concurrent players earlier today and racking up over 670,000 subscribed users. Dota Auto Chess is a strategic, tactically complex mix of board game and Dota custom map. Play is based around drafting hands of heroes, combining them to upgrade them, and then deploying them correctly to win victories over eight other players in a series of one-on-one matches. The game has become wildly popular, with more concurrent players today than, say, Grand Theft Auto 5 or Football Manager 2019. Like Dota 2, Dota Auto Chess is completely free.

Dota Auto Chess is a weird name for it, I’ll grant. That makes sense since it’s cross-cultural, but the game doesn’t really have that much to do with a match of chess other than an 8x8 board. In truth, it inherits more from tactical board games like Neuroshima Hex or Warcraft 3 mods like Legion TD and Hero Line Wars.

Each round of the game you’re drafted a random hand of heroes you can buy using gold you’ve accumulated. Those heroes are then deployed to the grid and fight automated battles against each other. If you buy three of a specific hero, like Axe the Orc Warrior, you can combine them into a more powerful version of that hero. If you own three of a hero type, you get a bonus to that hero type—three warriors nets you +8 armor, for example. Each hero also has a race, with three of a race getting a bonus—so three Orcs nets you +250 health for all Orcs.

Did I mention that the draft is timed? It’s timed. You have 30 seconds to buy and combine, and you need to watch what enemies are drafting because there are only 20 of each hero available in the whole game. If others pull and buy the pieces of your combo from the pool before you then you're out of luck.

See where this gets complex?  You’re simultaneously trying to beat enemies as cheaply as possible to save gold for later rounds while you build up combos and counter-combo what your enemies are doing. Got enemies with lots of stuns? Well, maybe you should aim for some Nagas and get stun resistance.

It’s a fascinating game, and rounds play so quickly that you can’t help but keep playing more of the game’s mini-tournaments. You don’t have to be great at Dota 2 to win, because the game automatically fights for you using the heroes you’ve deployed. Lose once from a bad hand? Well, just jump into another match and go for it again. Fights against neutral creeps break up the fights with players and net you bonus gold, so the pressure isn’t always completely on.

Here’s a bit of an explainer from Team Secret Operations Director Matthew Bailey: 

You can find Dota Auto Chess here on Steam, or in-game in Dota 2's workshop.

Jan 10, 2019
Dota 2 Update - January 10th, 2019
Dota 2 - Valve
* Fixed a bug that caused Quickbuy items to disappear when multiple identical items were queued and the first item was completed.
* Fixed a bug that caused player profile information (such as Ranked Medals) to not update in some cases.
* The highlighted items at the Secret and Side shop now include items that can be completed with what's available in your inventory, and what's available at the shop you are near.
Dec 22, 2018
True Sight World Premiere
Dota 2 - Ward


Team OG stunned the world in August when they held strong against PSG.LGD to claim the Aegis of Champions in a thrilling five-game conclusion to The International. Now, it's time to journey behind the scenes of this epic clash to see the real story of how one of the most exciting comebacks in esports history unfolded for the players involved.

Join OG and a theatre audience on January 15, 2019 to catch the world premiere of True Sight — The International 2018, coming to you live from the Nordisk Film Cinema Palads in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The broadcast will begin at 8:00pm CET, to be followed by a Q&A session with attendees and the champions themselves—hosted by Kaci and PyrionFlax. Tickets to join OG at the live premiere in Copenhagen will be available starting on December 25, with more information on how to tune in at home coming soon.

In the meantime, check out the teaser available on YouTube.
Dec 20, 2018
Dota s Christmas event turns Rubick into the Grinch
Dota 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Matt Cox)

It’s Christmas Frostivus in Dota-land, but Rubick doesn’t care. “Swept up in the zeal of unraveling and reshaping arcane energies” – we’ve all been there – “Grand Magus Rubick marches a mob into Frosthaven, intent on uprooting the original Frostivus tree to explore the mysterious font of power beneath it.” Which means, of course, that five heroes have to defend a Christmas tree in co-op wave survival.

I’ve had a go! It’s better than usual. Mostly because of the bonus round where you get to ride penguins.

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Dec 19, 2018
Rubick Arcana & Frosthaven Event
Dota 2 - Ward


In today's update, Rubick steals the show, unveiling his own Arcana item before kicking off the events of Frosthaven, a new special game mode available through January 3rd.

Featuring all-new custom animations and effects—including 115 custom stolen spell effects, dynamic cape colors, and more animations than any other hero in the game—the Magus Cypher Arcana has helped Rubick unlock a deeper mastery in manipulating the arcane arts. No longer content just to mimic the spells of his enemies, Rubick can now alter the very core of the magic used against him, changing it to his liking and casting it back with his own signature style.

But the new influx of arcane knowledge has left Rubick in want of even more, and his sudden ardor has turned arboreal. In the secluded hamlet of Frosthaven, atop the heart of an ancient power, grows the original Frostivus tree, from which all the world's holiday presents flow. Rubick, swept up in the zeal of unraveling and reshaping arcane energies, intends to uproot the tree to explore the mysterious font of power beneath it. And only five heroes stand between him and the end of Frostivus forever.

Head over to the Frosthaven Update page for more information on this chilling special event and a complete rundown of Rubick's new Magus Cypher Arcana.

As you take to the lanes looking for a spell to steal, we also hope you'll enjoy this Arcana's remastered take on the original voice performance of the late Barry Dennen, who imbued Rubick with a magic that helped the Grand Magus steal our hearts in the first place.
Dec 13, 2018
Here's what happened when we tried to bet on esports at our local bookies
Dota 2

We have an odd relationship with gambling in the UK. You'd be hard-pressed to find a high street or city centre that doesn't have at least a couple of bookmakers' shops mixed into it, offering bets on everything from horse racing and football to whether or not Kate Winslet will cry if she wins an Oscar (yes that was a real thing). But how does esports fit in?

According to a recent study by the UK's Gambling Commission, the percentage of British adults who have at some point in their lives placed a bet on esports is 8.5 per cent, with three per cent having placed those bets in the month the study was conducted. That's a surprising statistic for a sport many consider to be still quite niche. And it makes sense most of those bets will be online, given the nature of esports and the audience for it. But it also got me wondering: just how easy it is to walk into a betting shop and wager some cash on an esports event?

To find out, I picked three (at the time of betting) upcoming and current events to bet on, with the intention of gambling on three specific teams to win either the tournament or a particular match. These were Team Liquid to win the ESL One Dota 2 tournament, Ninjas in Pyjamas to win that day's ECS CS:GO season six game, and for the Overwatch World Cup, I had to back the home nation and bet on the UK. Secondly, I decided I had to be able to place the bet in store. We all know you can bet on esports online, so that didn't count.

Read more…

Dec 9, 2018
Dota 2 Update - December 9th, 2018
Dota 2 - Valve
7.20e:
==
* Wraith Band: Bonus agility reduced from +8 to +6 (cost reduced by 25)
* Bracer: Bonus strength reduced from +8 to +6 (cost reduced by 25)
* Null Talisman: Bonus intelligence reduced from +8 to +6 (cost reduced by 25)
* Power Treads: Bonus damage reduced from 16 to 12

* Anti-Mage: Counterspell duration reduced from 1.4 to 1.2
* Anti-Mage: Counterspell manacost increased from 40 to 45/50/55/60
* Beastmaster: Level 25 Talent reduced from +40 Inner Beast Attack Speed to +30
* Brewmaster: Drunken Brawler critical damage reduced from 200/220/240/260% to 170/200/230/260%
* Brewmaster: Drunken Brawler cooldown increased from 20/19/18/17 to 23/21/19/17
* Bristleback: Strength gain increased from 2.2 to 2.5
* Bristleback: Bristleback now considers damage from towers as valid
* Chaos Knight: Chaos Strike lifesteal increased from 35/45/55/65% to 50/55/60/65%
* Dark Seer: Surge speed reduced from 36/54/72/90% to 30/45/60/75%
* Dazzle: Poison Touch cast range reduced from 600/700/800/900 to 500/600/700/800
* Dazzle: Poison Touch manacost increased from 80/100/120/140 to 95/110/125/140
* Dazzle: Shallow Grave cooldown increased from 60/45/30/15 to 60/46/32/18
* Death Prophet: Spirit Siphon charge replenish time reduced from 60/55/50/45 to 60/52/44/36
* Death Prophet: Exorcism damage increased from 56-61 to 59-64
* Ember Spirit: Strength increased from 20 + 2.4 to 21 + 2.6
* Grimstroke: Ink Swell max stun duration reduced from 1.7/2.4/3.1/3.8 to 1.4/2.2/3/3.8
* Grimstroke: Soulbind cooldown increased from 90/70/50 to 100/75/50
* Gyrocopter: Agility gain increased from 2.8 to 3.1
* Huskar: Level 10 Talent reduced from +20 Damage to +15
* Juggernaut: Omnislash bonus damage from 30/45/60 to 30/40/50
* Keeper of the Light: Will-O-Wisp off period increased from 1.75 to 1.85
* Keeper of the Light: Will-O-Wisp AoE increased from 650 to 675
* Lifestealer: Agility gain increased from 1.9 to 2.4
* Lina: Base armor increased by 1
* Lone Druid: Base movement speed reduced from 340 to 330
* Lone Druid: Spirit Bear movement speed increased from 340/350/360/370 to 340/355/370/385
* Lone Druid: Level 10 Talent reduced from +150 Attack Range to +125
* Lone Druid: Level 20 Talent improved from -0.2 Spirit Bear Base Attack Time to -0.3
* Magnus: Empower bonus damage reduced from 20/30/40/50 to 10/20/30/40%
* Magnus: Empower cleave reduced from 20/38/56/74% to 14/34/54/74%
* Magnus: Reverse Polarity cooldown increased from 120 to 130
* Night Stalker: Dark Ascension cooldown reduced from 160/140/120 to 140/130/120
* Outworld Devourer: Equilibrium mana restore from 80/100/120/140% to 65/90/115/140%
* Phantom Assassin: Phantom Strike duration reduced from 2.25 to 2
* Phantom Assassin: Stifling Dagger manacost increased from 30/25/20/15 to 30
* Phantom Assassin: Coup de Grace critical damage reduced from 210/330/450% to 200/325/450%
* Phantom Assassin: Blur manacost increased from 30 to 50
* Puck: Base armor increased by 1
* Puck: Illusory Orb cooldown reduced from 14/13/12/11 to 13/12/11/10
* Queen of Pain: Agility increased from 18 + 2 to 22 + 2.2
* Queen of Pain: Scream of Pain manacost reduced from 110/120/130/140 to 95/110/125/140
* Riki: Base damage increased by 3
* Sand King: Sand Storm damage reduced from 25/50/75/100 to 20/40/60/80
* Shadow Fiend: Base armor increased by 1
* Slark: Level 20 talent reduced from +1.5s Pounce Leash to +1.25s
* Spectre: Haunt illusion damage increased from 40/55/70% to 40/60/80%
* Storm Spirit: Base damage increased by 2
* Sven: Base movement speed increased from 290 to 295
* Sven: Warcry shield health is 25% stronger on your hero
* Terrorblade: Metamorphosis movement speed loss increased from 25 to 30
* Undying: Flesh Golem cooldown increased from 110 to 125
* Undying: Level 10 Talent reduced from +10 Health Regen to +8
* Ursa: Base movement speed increased from 305 to 315
* Venomancer: Poison Nova damage increased from 30/55/80 to 40/65/90
...