Dota 2 is a real-time, multiplayer, five-versus-five battle for control of the other team’s side of the map. For now, just remember that lane creeps march down each lane every 30 seconds and are used for basic gold and experience, plus attacking the enemy base. Dota 2 began technically as a remastered version of DotA: All-Stars, a custom, fanmade game in Warcraft 3. They’ll take all the lane creeps in the mid and safe lanes. They’ll take all the lane creeps in the mid and safe lanes.

After a community vote, the film “On The Cliff,” directed by Keller Max, has won the Dota 2 Short Film Contest this year. Taking on a comedic approach, “On The Cliff” shows the struggles of several Dota 2 heroes as a Rubick uses his Telekinesis to place them on the cliff — a common struggle in public Dota 2 matches. The second and third place awards, respectively, went to “Ursa Minor,” directed by Alexander Frey, and “GLHF,” by 4fun and Septimus. “Ursa Minor” shows the hopes and dreams of Lone D

So, when Tal “Fly” Aizik announced the end of his tenure as captain for OG Dota, many were wondering what it’d mean for his future. In his new position with Evil Geniuses — yes, that Evil Geniuses, of North American fame — the team already achieved a high mark: second in their group at The International, only below last year’s champions, Team Liquid. They take on Team Secret in their first match of the TI8 playoffs this week. TFC: So, now you’re going to be facing Team Secret, who finished fourt

At the helm of the team is Avery “SVG” Silverman, who has been seen around the North American circuit plenty. Avery “SVG” Silverman: I am obviously happy with our performance, but I don’t put a lot of stock into it. That’s pretty much what I’m going to put my stock in; how we’re performing on the main stage and how can we go on to win it. So I just think they’re trying to find a new direction that works for them. I think they’re finding their new direction and it’ll work well.

The Flying Courier: You’re back in your famous captain role in OpTic Gaming. The Flying Courier: You did take a break for a little bit to do CEO work and panel analysis. The Flying Courier: You guys got into the upper bracket in a breathtaking last-day comeback. The Flying Courier: Speaking of big teams, North America has been doing really well so far. The Flying Courier: Any last words to the Green Wall, or anyone following your team at TI?

The biggest Dota 2 tournament in the world, and possibly one of the biggest in esports, can put a candle up to traditional sports’ size and prestige. Dota 2 is a massive game, and The International, for all its fame, amplifies Dota 2’s complex nature in big ways. It’s truly an international tournament, as eighteen teams fly out from a number of regions across the world to participate. It’s a mecca of sorts for Dota 2 players and all sorts of other intense, hyper-dedicated video game enthusiasts.

Valve has announced that VGJ.Storm used two coaches during their drafting phases, breaking tournament rules, and will be issued a minor penalty for their first series of the main event. The official ruling is that it was “likely a misunderstanding rather than malicious.”Today we learned that VGJ.Storm had used two coaches during their group stage drafts. When we asked VGJ.Storm, they said that they asked a PGL employee if they could have more in the draft, and he told them that he doesn’t care a

The first stage of The International wrapped up shortly ago, which means the final pieces of the main event are coming together — and the stage is being set. This past week, the teams split into two groups, then battled all their fellow teams within the group in best-of-two matches. The group stage was where the flow of the main event, taking place live at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, is determined. Now, we get to see that momentum roll onto the big stage. For now, here’s where these teams stand —

The International’s main grand spectacle, the main event on the main stage, is finally here. FormatThe main event is a double-elimination bracket:It works like this:The bracket was formed via the group stages. Upper bracket matches are not elimination matches. Lower bracket matches are all elimination matches. Note: Spoilers may come in the form of filled bracket and match slots due to previous results.

There are plenty of reasons you should have your eye on the group stages. If you thought an eighteen-team bracket was unusual, you were absolutely correct, and the group stage is where this gets amended. The bottom team of each group will get knocked out at the end of the group stage, knocking out two teams. For many Dota 2 events with sixteen teams, the group stage is a placement; for others, half the teams get knocked out to make room on the main stage. But we won’t know until we see it happen

The team at CreativeForge Games clearly hates that, so it built Phantom Doctrine to be different at its most basic level. Phantom Doctrine is a turn-based tactics game out now on Steam and GoG. Where the XCOM reboot used a simple action bar with just three or four options at first, Phantom Doctrine makes use of an elaborate, multilayered interface from mission one. Phantom Doctrine is badly in need of documentation. I expect the same will be true of Phantom Doctrine.

A World of Warcraft player has already claimed the title of the world’s first to hit the level cap in Battle for Azeroth, just hours after the game’s newest expansion launched. A player known as Gingi managed to hit 120, the game’s max level, in just four hours and 17 minutes. This is something that took closer to six or seven hours for other fast players thus far, putting Gingi and his group of two others in the lead by almost a full two hours. Then they were off to the races, sprinting through

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s take on battle royale multiplayer modes, Blackout, will be playable for the first time starting Sept. 10 during a limited beta, Activision and Treyarch confirmed today. PlayStation 4 owners will get the first crack at the Blackout beta. It’s not clear yet when players on Xbox One and Windows PC will be able to jump in, but Black Ops 4’s first multiplayer beta was on PS4 a week ahead of other platforms. It’s still not clear how many total players the Blackout mode will

Collect player cardsOf course, the first thing you need is your Player Cards. To do so, go to the Compendium portion of the pass:Then, at the top, you’ll see “Player Cards” — open that up now and you’ll see this screen:At the top, it’ll show your Player Packs. Silver — Uncommon — Silver cards provide you with three bonus stat multipliers per player. What’s the point(s)With all this fancy player Gold and Silver and point mumbo-jumbo talk, you may be wondering — what are the stats, anyway? The Bat

This year, Valve has given Battle Pass owners another opportunity to decide who’s getting some special cosmetic treatment in the form of a new Arcana. Rubick, for instance, had to beat out Omniknight and Sniper, where Void faced Anti-Mage, Drow and, in the prior semifinal round, Invoker. Last year Rubick came in second with a record margin, as literally less than nine thousand votes came between Rubick and sweet victory. The semi-finalist votes were a no-brainer, with Rubick getting 16.6 million

It’s the start of The International 8, the biggest event in Dota 2 — and possibly the world (at least financially). Eighteen teams have come together to fight it out for a massive prize and the glory of being known as the best Dota 2 team in the world. But first, they need to make the cut in the group stages. The top four teams from each group advance into the Upper Bracket, playing live at the Main Event in the Rogers Arena. The bottom team from each group is eliminated from The International e

Dota 2 is a game of a ton of history and storylines, but one esports commentator wants to make it easy and exciting. Long-time Japanese esports commentator 17uu has put himself on a quest to introduce as many of the players attending The International 8 as possible, via videos on his Twitter profile. And it’s certainly not a dull task either, as each video, most of which are translated with English with subtitles, hypes up each player’s quest at the upcoming tournament. Sccc, for instance, is a

Paramount Picture’s upcoming live-action/animation hybrid Sonic the Hedgehog movie has finally found its Sonic. Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) has been cast as the titular character and will star opposite Jim Carrey, who is playing the evil Doctor Robotnik. The upcoming film sets Sonic on a quest to defeat his archnemesis Doctor Robotnik, who has imprisoned animals in robots and stolen at least a few Chaos Emeralds along the way. The film, directed by John Fowler (Where the Wild Things Are)

The new Warfront activity is one of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth’s most anticipated features. Battle for Azeroth will launch with only one Warfront, the battle for the Arathi Highlands in the Eastern Kingdoms. Once one faction reaches 100 percent, they’ll gain access to the Warfront, which they can then queue up for. Warfronts start off as fun and engaging, and will be pretty rewarding for the first few weeks after Battle for Azeroth launches. In its launch state, Warfronts are fun enou

Today the developer released the first of many video explainers for Red Dead Redemption 2, launching in earnest a hype-cycle that will culminate with the game’s October 26 release. But I suspect no number of promotional videos will, or can, capture what makes the series (and its sibling series, Grand Theft Auto) special. The best moments of the original Red Dead Redemption involved leisurely rides across the countryside, keeping an eye out for surprising moments in the world around you. Rockstar