Not only are Valve making a standalone version of mega-hit Dota 2 mod Dota Auto Chess, the mod’s creators yesterday announced they’re releasing a standalone Auto Chess on PC too. And this came mere hours after Riot Games announced an Auto Chess clone mode for League Of Legends. It’s rare to see a mod attempt to bloom into a full genre in real time.
Riot Games have announced a new League Of Legends mode named Teamfight Tactics, which is heavily inspired by Dota 2 mod Auto Chess. Y’know, the turn-based mod about buying and melding AI-controlled heroes, which has grown so popular that Valve are making an official standalone spin-off. Teamfight Tactics looks like that but in LoL and with a few tweaks to make it fresh and friendlier. It’ll first launch on June 24th. This seems the point that Auto Chess goes from a mod to a genericised mode, which I suppose is fitting considering MOBAs are a genre grown from autocannibalism.
While Valve work away on their own standalone version of Dota Auto Chess, they’re helping the original Dota 2 mod by making it one of the select few selling paid premium features in the game’s store. Launched over the weekend, the Auto Chess Pass gives a month of fancy cosmetic bits and bonus rewards for less than a quid. It’s mostly just fancybits, with the mod still free for everyone to play in full. This is pretty rare for Valve to do, especially given their caution following the Steam paid mods fiasco.
Dota Auto Chess, the most popular mod in Dota 2 these days (and which has nothing to do with chess), is becoming a standalone game made by Valve themselves. I had not predicted that this would be Valve’s next game. Valve say they talked with mod creators Drodo Studio about working together and, while dreams of collaboration fell flat, they did agree to each work on their own versions of it. Presumably some money is changing hands too? So Valve are now making a standalone Dota Auto Chess while Drodo are continuing to work on the mod as well as their own mobile game that basically just replaces the characters. So that’s a game based on a mod for a game based on a Warcraft 3 mod based on a StarCraft mod.
Dota 2‘s International 2019 Battle Pass has plenty of issues. As Matt wrote earlier this month, alongside a waterfall of cosmetics and a special mode, the pass will unlock an in-game assistant that seems to give owners an advantage over those who haven t forked over at least 7.50/$10. But (as reported by The Verge) the pass is paywalling another key feature the ability to avoid players.
Obviously, you shouldn t have to pay to access the ability to not group up with abusive players. Valve calls this an experimental feature (by many accounts it s not working well), suggesting that it could be extended out to all players after this test on Battle Pass owners. More surprising, then, is the fact that Dota 2 has been out for six years without the option to not have to play with someone ruining the fun, whether it be throwing games or yelling slurs. And yet, even though how other people act is a huge part of the experience of many online games, giving players the ability to regulate their interactions often seems to be a secondary concern for developers.
The jungle is a rumblin’, thanks to Dota 2‘s International 2019 Battle Pass. Nowadays Dota 2’s Battle Passes aren’t just big sticker books where you make predictions about how your favourite athletes will perform in the wizard world championships, they’re books you have to buy if you want to play a special mode and access features that give you an advantage. That first inclusion is fair. The second seems… real bad? Ach, we’ll get back to those.
I try not to make a habit of internalising internet comments, but I ll always remember one left on PC Gamer s Dota 2 review that came in when I worked there.
Nobody should be reviewing Dota unless they have more than 500 hours played.
The reviewer in question, the inimitable Chris Thursten, had north of 650 hours of Dota played at the time, and we told the commenter as much via reply. A few minutes later, another response came back.
He needs 750 hours.
This week we got a peek through the vastness of space, with the release of the very first image of a black hole ever captured by humans. Not long after, more players were making similar vast, galaxy destroying horrors in Dota 2 thanks to the abilities of mysterious hero Enigma. Correlation doesn t equal causation and all that, but it s not hard to imagine people getting nudged towards the character. After all, what s more human than seeing an incomprehensible celestial object and wanting one of your very own?
Mars! What is he good for? Absolutely loads of wars.
Another hero has joined the ranks of Dota 2. He’s a spear-chucking, shield-wielding melee carry who is big into war, because he is literally the god of it. I bet you Legion Commander fancies him.
I’m not big into numberwang. Vast numbers of people playing a game might indicate that it’s fun, or it might indicate that it’s Ark: Survival Evolved. (I haven’t played Ark and it could be amazing, this is irresponsible journalism and I will hand in my badge and gun shortly.) Point being, it’s more interesting to write about what has made a game popular than the fact that it is so.
Right. Now I have to convince you this animated graph of the most played Steam games from the past four years is fascinating.