The International doesn't just draw near. Like a supernatural clockwork carnival barker out in a dark forest, it beckons. We're two weeks away from the first games of The International Group Stage, and if you're a fan of professional esports, it's time to get excited. Floor tickets for all three days are sold out, but some arena seats are still available. Whether you've already bought your tickets or you're holding out until the last possible minute, we look forward to seeing you at Copenhagen's Royal Arena in September.

As our annual lead-up to the big event, we've just released this year's International Compendium. We even called in a favor with our newest old friend, who graciously volunteered to walk everyone through it. For those of you new to The International, the Compendium is a collection of activities and rewards focused on the players, teams, and matches in this year's tournament. Out-predict, out-fantasy, and out-bingo your friends while you watch — all while earning TI-themed rewards ranging from a new HUD to brand-new heroic effigies and a flashy new versus screen to show them off on.

Lastly, as you may have noticed by our clever introductory allusions, or by looking at the image above, or by clicking any of the links in this post, or by launching Dota before reading this, today's update also includes our newest hero: Cogliostro Kettle, The Ringmaster, has arrived. He's here, he's free, and he's available to all players right now.

But why introduce him further, when he's happy (believe us, more than happy) to introduce himself? Read on for his tragic backstory.

Patch 7.37b is out now. You can check out the patchnotes here.

Additionally, a few bugs were fixed over the last several days:

• Fixed Iron Talon being affected by spell amp and damage resistance
  
• Fixed Khanda working on illusions (now has the same behavior as Phylactery)
  
• Fixed true sight not working correctly with Bristleback's Seeing Red
  
• Fixed Crystal Maiden's Arcane Aura not having a range indicator for the 1200 proximity bonus
  
• Fixed Dark Willow being unable to be targeted by teammates while in Shadow Realm
  
• Fixed Doom's Devil's Bargain not working if he sells items via the Courier
  
• Fixed Drow Ranger's Sidestep being cancellable by issuing an attack order
  
• Fixed Earthshaker's Slugger applying the push to enemies that are alive in some rare circumstances
  
• Fixed a crash related to Enchantress' Little Friends and Tormentor
  
• Fixed Juggernaut's Level 10 Talent not applying Duelist Damage until Juggernaut dies
  
• Fixed a crash with Lone Druid when passing Neutral Items to the Spirit Bear
  
• Fixed Lone Druid's Gift Bearer rerolls not working correctly
  
• Fixed Mars' Spear of Mars sometimes failing to impale one of the targets if multiple are speared with Aghanim's Shard
  
• Fixed Medusa's Gorgon's Grasp damage being reduced by physical damage block
  
• Fixed Medusa's Gorgon's Grasp turn restriction piercing debuff immunity
  
• Fixed Morphling's Morph proccing Phylactery/Khanda on the actual hero when it is cast on an illusion
  
• Fixed Morphling's Morph proccing spell block on the actual hero when it is casted on an illusion
  
• Fixed Nyx Assassin's Mind Flare sometimes applying to multiple enemies if they are too close together, even without Level 25 Talent
  
• Fixed Pugna getting a spooky stacking buff that didn't do anything when killing an enemy with Life Drain
  
• Fixed Sniper's Take Aim self-buffs being dispellable by ally dispels
  
• Fixed Visage not gaining the damage bonus or armor reduction from Level 10/20 Talents along with the Familiars
  
• Fixed Visage's Gravekeeper's Cloak sometimes not gaining new stacks when Visage was no longer affected by Break
  
• Fixed Weaver leveling Geminate Attack after damaging enemies with a Shard upgraded Shukuchi proccing multiple attacks
  
• Fixed Windranger's Easy Breezy movement speed not working correctly when using Force Boots

Over the last few days we've addressed the following issues:

• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused input lag for a number of seconds
  
• Fixed auras not applying correctly if the match duration goes for too long (applies to multiple damage instances of Doom, etc.)
  
• Fixed cooldown reduction sometimes not working properly when decrementing by very small values (Staff of the Scion, etc.)
  
• Fixed melee damage block sometimes not blocking any damage
  
• Fixed Bloodstone's tooltip not showing the provided Mana Regeneration
  
• Fixed Ironwood Tree not being purchasable in demo mode
  
• Fixed Mirror Shield blocking spells while on cooldown when Lotus Orb is active.
  
• Fixed Unwavering Condition causing a crash
  
• Fixed Alchemist Unstable Concoction not being usable on Spirit Bear
  
• Fixed Bane's overlap of Nightmare and Fiend's Grip having a brief window where abilities without cast points were castable
  
• Fixed Beastmaster Drums of Slom not working correctly when Beastmaster illusions are present
  
• Fixed Bloodseeker's Bloodrush facet crediting Bloodseeker with erroneous assists
  
• Fixed Bristleback's Seeing Red facet causing the visual effect to stack indefinitely
  
• Fixed Clockwerk's Cog having an erroneous Leash tooltip
  
• Fixed Death Prophet exorcism targeting outposts
  
• Fixed Drow Ranger casting Glacier interrupting Multishot with the Sidestep facet
  
• Fixed Elder Titan's Tip the Scales effect not working on towers that were invulnerable due to the corresponding previous tier tower still being alive
  
• Fixed Elder Titan's Tip the Scales effect not working while Elder Titan was dead
  
• Fixed Ember Spirit not being able to level all talents
  
• Fixed Hoodwink's Acorn Shot not being reflectable from heroes with no projectile
  
• Fixed Jakiro's Liquid Frost occasionally dealing extra damage from Blood Grenade damage over time
  
• Fixed Kunkka's Ghostship not using the "Prize of the Saltworn Mariner" immortal effect when Kunkka has an Aghanim's Scepter
  
• Fixed Lifestealer's Ghoul Frenzy not being fully breakable
  
• Fixed Lina not being able to level all talents
  
• Fixed Leshrac's Diabolic Edict sometimes dealing less damage than expected
  
• Fixed Lone Druid able to receive more destruction gold from Philosopher's Stone
  
• Fixed Lone Druid's Spirit Bear values not matching the tooltip values
  
• Fixed Lone Druid's Demolish and Entangling Claws abilities not displaying their levels accurately
  
• Fixed Luna's Lunar Blessing tooltip sometimes causing a client crash
  
• Fixed Mars Dauntless working against (or with) Illusions
  
• Fixed Nature's Prophet Curse of the Oldgrowth damage over time being inconsistent with Ironwood Treants facet
  
• Fixed Nature Prophet's Spirit of the Forest tooltip not displaying the 5th level
  
• Fixed Ogre Magi multicasting 3x and 4x before getting the second and third level of the skill
  
• Fixed Omniknight's Repel missing Voice Responses
  
• Fixed Phantom Lancer's Illusory Armaments Innate giving infinite damage
  
• Fixed Phantom Lancer's Illusory Armaments Innate giving zero damage
  
• Fixed Razor's Dynamo sometimes granting the wrong amount of spell amplification
  
• Fixed Rubick not applying Death Rime damage when stealing Ancient Apparition's spells
  
• Fixed Rubick crash that occurred when a stolen Ghost Ship spell expired right before reaching its destination
  
• Fixed Sand King Stinger not being stealable
  
• Fixed Skywrath Mage level 15 talent not being updated to Concussive Shot slow
  
• Fixed Snapfire Lil' Shredder dealing less damage than intended with critical strikes
  
• Fixed Sniper's Headshot tooltip incorrectly stating that it works on allied creeps
  
• Fixed Spectre Reality sound being inaudible to the enemy if she teleports to a location hidden in fog of war
  
• Fixed Spirit Breaker's Planar Pocket spell redirection for abilities that sought new targets during redirection, causing unintended extra damage in the whole area
  
• Fixed Techies' Blast Off! Self Damage tooltip not reflecting the correct damage type
  
• Fixed Tiny's Toss not triggering Phylactery when the tossed target is the same as the primary target
  
• Fixed Troll Warlord's Berserker's Rage dealing damage to himself
  
• Fixed Venomancer Plague carrier not respecting Disable Help
  
• Fixed Visage's Lurker tooltip using the term 'Cooldown Reduction' instead of 'Cooldown Acceleration'

Since patch 7.36 affected basically every hero in the game, it's no surprise that 7.37 is mostly focused on getting the playing field leveled again. A bunch of heroes are getting new innates and facets, and there's even a rework of Medusa. 7.37 also includes more informative tooltips, which should give you a better moment-to-moment understanding of all the variables that go into murdering someone in a forest. Check out the patch notes here!

June has come and, as it tends to do, now left us, probably forever. You'd be forgiven for forgetting all about crowns and them falling dramatically from the heads of fantasy birds and just enjoying your summer — slowing down, taking it easy, having a picnic at the beach or just napping for a while in a hammock. Well, we hope you enjoyed it, because July has come roaring into all of our lives, and with it, Crownfall Act III: The Frosts of Icewrack. In fact, the lazy, meandering intro to this blog post is probably all the lounging around your poor eyeballs are going to get. Even as this June-esque paragraph winds its way towards a rambling sun-dappled conclusion, Act III is ramping up, July-like, to be the most eventful act yet.

Act III comes with an entirely new overworld map, located in the frigid north. It has mysteries, no small number of monsters, quite a bit of snow, and one hell of a barroom brawl. (And, as always, some surprises you'll have to find on your own.) Act III also comes with the Crownfall Collector's Cache, featuring 16 of the highest-rated sets from the last community vote.

If you've been playing along through Crownfall as each act releases and want to jump right in to the new Act III content, you can start with Act III's intro comic, The Dragon, following Shen and her allies as they land in Icewrack, searching for Kestrel and his army. If you want a refresher on how we got here, you can also read the Act I intro comic, Ascension Day, and the Act II intro, The Battle of Hell's Basin.

If you're just joining in now, this is your reminder that all of the previous acts are still available, and will remain so through to the end of Crownfall. Speaking of which, given how much the event has grown since we initially imagined it (and how much its still growing), we've also decided to extend the event end date to October.

We're looking forward to the final battle with Queen Imperia. We'll see you there.

There are millions of Dota players around the world, and every day their adventures offer up experiences ranging from universal (a savvy swipe of an Aegis) to one-in-a-billion (a RAMPAGE by Chen) — including thrilling moments, silly moments, and everything in between. And since the only thing as fun as playing Dota is savoring those signature plays with friends, today we're excited to roll out Game Recording, a new built-in Steam feature that makes sharing those special Dota moments easier than ever before.

Game Recording lets you save your gameplay — either by recording in the background or manual hotkey activation — to replay at your convenience. Recordings in Dota 2 will include a timeline filled with game-defined markers, but you can also add your own markers at any point. Scrub through a recording while you're still playing to review things like confusing teamfights or a failed gank, or take your time after the game to find the most entertaining moments and memes-to-be that you want to share. You can easily clip the good stuff and discard the rest. Snipping and sharing your clips with friends is just a few clicks away.

Ready to get rolling? Simply opt into the Steam Beta Update in your Steam Interface Settings to join the fun. You'll be clipping and shipping highlights in no time. Need a bit more info on how it works? Head over to the Steam Game Recording webpage for more in-depth details. Then start sharing your clips through Steam or wherever you chat with your friends — we're excited to see what you make! And if you run into any issues or feel the feature is missing something, please share those thoughts as well. In the meantime, we'll keep working on improvements as the Beta moves towards full Steam release, and we'll also continue looking at ways to enhance how Dota specifically can make use of all the new features.

The regional battles on the Road to The International have concluded, and we now know all sixteen teams destined to clash in Copenhagen this September.

But there's also another competition to remember — in which the auteurs of the Dota scene grab their pens, friends, and camera lenses and treat the community to a breadth of cinema that rivals any film festival.

That's right, it's time for this year's Dota 2 Short Film Contest, officially open for submissions. Filmmakers will have until 3:00pm PDT on August 18, 2024 to submit their short film creations of 90 seconds or less to the Dota 2 Steam Workshop to be eligible for consideration.

All Dota players are welcome to visit the Workshop to discuss, vote on their favorites, and help us select the best entries. The top ten finalists will be showcased as part of The International live broadcast. After reviewing the Workshop ratings and discussions, Valve will nominate the top entries to be featured in the Dota client for a final voting process by the community to determine the winners.

The top three selections will score prizes of $25,000, $10,000, and $5,000, and each of the other top ten finalists will win $500. (As a refresher for anyone who missed the winners last year, or wants to enjoy them again, the top three entries from last year were Chemical Rage by 4fun, Finish Pls by Keller Max, and GAME BREAKERS by Anomidae.)

Visit the Dota 2 Short Film Contest site for more information and guidelines on the submission process. And be sure to stop by the Workshop page regularly to help review the submissions you would like to see showcased at The International, coming to you live from Copenhagen in September.

Patch 7.36c is out now. You can check out the patchnotes here.

Additionally, a few bugs were fixed over the last several days:

• Fixed taunts being unequipped when changing facets
  
• Fixed a crash related to Block of Cheese
  
• Fixed a crash when creating items with self-restoring charges in custom games
  
• Fixed Abaddon and Nyx Assassin not avoiding damage properly
  
• Fixed Bloodseeker's Sanguivore healing for less than intended
  
• Fixed Bristleback's Bristleback with Snot Rocket firing Quills when receiving large single instances of damage
  
• Fixed Clinkz's Aghanim's Scepter not increasing Skeleton Archer health
  
• Fixed Clinkz's Burning Barrage first attack not benefitting from Tar Bomb
  
• Fixed Crystal Maiden's Crystal Clone always being cast towards the Frostbitten target if Crystal Clone was cast during Frostbite's backswing animation
  
• Fixed Dark Seer's Level 10 Talent Wall of Replica Illusion Damage not working correctly
  
• Fixed Drow Ranger's Precision Aura occasionally causing client crashes
  
• Fixed Earthshaker's Level 15 Talent Fissure Range not increasing Fissure range
  
• Fixed Io's Overcharge granting slow resistance without Aghanim's Shard
  
• Fixed Marci's Special Delivery working on illusions of Marci
  
• Fixed Marci's Level 10 Talent Rebound Cast/Jump Range not increasing cast range
  
• Fixed Meepo and Ogre Magi auto leveling attributes when they could level a skill instead
  
• Fixed Meepo not receiving Urn of Shadows and Spirit Vessel charges when they are placed in the Neutral Item slot via Pack Rat
  
• Fixed Monkey King's Simian Stride not having reduced cooldown when Monkey King is between 90% and 100% HP
  
• Fixed Morphling's Ebb showing incorrect item cooldowns
  
• Fixed Morphling's Flow reducing cooldowns by too little
  
• Fixed Morphling's Morph permanently stealing Axe's One Man Army
  
• Fixed Phantom Assassin's Blur range radius indicator using old values
  
• Fixed Phantom Assassin's Blur with Aghanim's Scepter changing the vanish buffer duration
  
• Fixed Phoenix's Dying Light dealing less damage than intended
  
• Fixed Phoenix's Fire Spirits attack speed slow not using updated values
  
• Fixed Primal Beast's Trample occasionally causing client crashes
  
• Fixed Riki and his allies having a miss chance when attempting to deny in Smoke Screen
  
• Fixed Rubick sometimes being able to steal Timbersaw's old Second Chakram ability
  
• Fixed Shadow Shaman's Aghanim's Shard Serpent Wards sometimes expiring prematurely
  
• Fixed Shadow Shaman's Hex not being disabled by Disable Help
  
• Fixed Snapfire + Ricochet II + Blade Mail proccing Ricochet attacks against Supernova
  
• Fixed Snapfire + Ricochet II + Lil' Shredder dealing less damage than expected
  
• Fixed Snapfire + Ricochet II + Revenant's Brooch vs high evasion targets causing secondary attacks to proc more secondary attacks
  
• Fixed Snapfire's Ricochet II attacks being able to miss
  
• Fixed Spectre's Aghanim's Shard Active component sometimes not updating to the correct values
  
• Fixed Templar Assassin's Level 15 Talent Psi Blades Attack and Spill Range giving more attack range than intended
  
• Fixed Terrorblade's Metamorphosis attack range in the ability tooltip being incorrect (tooltip only change)
  
• Fixed Treant Protector's Sapling occasionally causing friendly units to get stuck on the Sapling Tree
  
• Fixed Underlord's Abyssal Horde minions not attacking if the "Summoned Unit Auto Attack" setting was turned off
  
• Fixed Venomancer's Plague Wards attacking while their carrier is invisible to the target
  
• Fixed Venomancer's attached Plague Wards not triggering aggro
  
• Fixed Visage's Familiars having various issues
  
• Fixed Witch Doctor's Voodoo Switcheroo sometimes causing Witch Doctor to get stuck if a tree was planted while he was transformed
  
• Fixed Facet Selection in Ability Draft occasionally picking an unintended facet

Millions of people around the world will be watching The International this year online. But there's no substitute for being there, and for those of you planning on traveling to Denmark to watch the best Dota teams battle for the Aegis of Champions in person, read on for all the information you'll need.

The International is being held in front of a live audience in Copenhagen's Royal Arena, with the top eight teams battling it out on the main stage from Friday, September 13th through Sunday, September 15th.

Tickets will be available here on Ticketmaster:

• Tickets will go on sale June 10, 2024 at 10am CEST, Copenhagen local time.
  
• Tickets are assigned to a specific seating area: Floor tickets are assigned seating; arena Level 1 and Level 3 tickets are GA.
  
• Tickets can be purchased for a single day (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday), as two-day bundles (Friday+Saturday, or Saturday+Sunday), or as a three-day bundle (Friday+Saturday+Sunday).
  
• Friday tickets are 1240 DKK, Saturday tickets are 1540 DKK, and Sunday tickets are 2040 DKK (including fees).

FAQ

When and where is The International 2024?
The International will take place across three days (Friday, September 13 through Sunday, September 15) at Copenhagen's Royal Arena.

How can I buy a ticket to The International?
Tickets go on sale June 10, 2024 at 10am CEST (Copenhagen local time) at this link: https://www.ticketmaster.dk/artist/941884 .

What type of tickets are available?
Tickets can be purchased for a single day (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday), as two-day bundles (Friday+Saturday, or Saturday+Sunday), or as a three-day bundle (Friday+Saturday+Sunday). There are three categories of tickets: Floor tickets are assigned seating; arena Level 1 and Level 3 tickets are GA. You can choose your days and your seating category through Ticketmaster.

What are the prices for each type of ticket?
All prices below include the 40 DKK Ticketmaster fees.

• Single Daily tickets
  • Friday - DKK 1240
    
  • Saturday - DKK 1540
    
  • Sunday - DKK 2040
• 2-Day Bundle
  • Friday + Saturday - DKK 2740
    
  • Saturday + Sunday - DKK 3540
• 3-day Bundle
  • Friday + Saturday + Sunday - DKK 4740

Can I sit anywhere, or will there be preassigned seats?
Floor seating is assigned. You will make your selection when purchasing your ticket. Tickets for Level 1 and Level 3 are General Admission. A GA ticket holder can sit in almost any available seat except for reserved sections (i.e. for press or pro players).

How many tickets can I buy?
Purchases are limited to five tickets per transaction.

How do I pick up my tickets?
Tickets will be available in your Ticketmaster account as Mobile Entry Tickets – no pickup needed! Make sure to save your ticket to your phone's wallet ahead of the event for easy access.

What happens if there is an issue with my mobile ticket?
Please reach out to Ticketmaster support regarding all ticket-related inquiries. There will be a Will Call office to assist you on-site at the event as well.

Is re-entry permitted?
Yes. On your way out you must check-out by scanning your ticket when you are exiting the building, otherwise re-entry will not be permitted.

Can I get a refund on my ticket?
Tickets are non-refundable, unless the event itself is cancelled for any reason.

Can I transfer or resell my ticket?
Yes, tickets can be transferred between accounts and bought/sold on Ticketmaster directly. Instructions on how to transfer tickets can be found here. Instructions on how to buy/sell tickets can be found here.

How do Crimson Witness Treasures work this year?
Everyone who has bound their attendee badge to their Steam account will be eligible for random Crimson Witness Treasure drops on the First Blood of each game at The International. Each badge binding is valid for a single day.

The International is heading back to Europe this September, and companies interested in producing and distributing regional language broadcasts of The International 2024 are encouraged to apply now.

We are now accepting proposals for the Live Event Broadcast Production of The International 2024 in Russian, Chinese, and Spanish language broadcasts. The RFP (Request for Proposal) documentation and instructions for submissions can be found here.

Please reach out to theinternationalrfp@valvesoftware.com with any additional questions.
For those seeking additional licenses and feeds, please fill out the form that pertains to the correct request:

• Production companies seeking a commercial license to produce a regional language broadcast of The International 2024 without additional access to the event can apply here.
  
• Streaming platforms interested in restreaming the official broadcast feeds to their platform can apply here.

Thanks in advance to everyone interested in working with us to make The International 2024 the best yet.