Players have found a Personal Game Data page that includes practically everything you need to know about yourself, which, of course, is what Valve wants to know about you, too. There are a lot of cool statistics you can dig up now — including many you didn’t even know they were keeping. The “Match History,” for instance, includes custom games as well as typical matches, and reports also include commends. And if you’re a Counter-Strike: Global Offense or Team Fortress 2 player, you can do this to

Once again, it’s not Thursday, but instead, a Dota Pro Circuit Major has just ended. So yep, that’s right — it’s the first patch of the post-Pro Circuit season! Which means we’re probably going to get back on schedule — at least, until The International 8 passes late this August, according to Valve. Just about 50 heroes have been changed this time around, most with relatively minor tweaks, especially to Talents. Some items are seeing some minor changes as well this time.

Valve has officially shared the qualifier format and slots for this year’s mega-tournament, with six regions each receiving at least one spot at the event. Anyone can give the dream a shot in their region’s Open Qualifiers, but they must fight through the best of the best in the Main Qualifiers. Here are the number of slots for each region’s respective Open and Main Qualifiers:North AmericaSix Open Qualifier teams advance to Main QualifiersEight teams play in Main QualifiersThree teams advance t

While the China Dota 2 Supermajor still races on, the first eight teams qualified for TI8 are now mathematically locked in. And with no more points available for any other teams in the running, VGJ.Thunder quietly earned themselves an invite for TI8. The distribution is pretty skewed towards China, with five teams attending from the region; none will represent the Americas, whereas all other regions see representation. Plus, with OpTic dropping into the regional qualifiers, NA will certainly be

The chat wheel noises are back by popular demand. A spammable favorite, these were introduced as part of last year’s Battle Pass, with pro players using them throughout The International 7. The noises include anything from applause to lines by casters in official Dota 2 matches. So now, obviously, chat wheel spamming is the best way to the new Immortal medal. Epic Caster Pack — Level 1205All of these are from the same game, with Filipino casters Dunoo & Lon at ESL One Katowice“Easiest Money of m

Six months have passed in the new Dota 2 Ranked system, which means the first season has already elapsed. One of two main changes will be that instead of starting with no stars, each medal will have one to five stars instead. While it’s unknown how this will change MMR corresponding to medals, you’ll only have to grind up five stars instead of six. Similar to before, the rest of the medals will go as follows:Herald (1-5 stars) Guardian (1-5 stars) Crusader (1-5 stars) Archon (1-5 stars) Legend (

After all, this year, there are less ways to grind for Battle Points, and spending money is the other way to go. The level one Battle Pass has neat stuff, plus the reassurance that $2.49 or so of your purchase goes towards TI8’s massive prize pool. If you’re considering picking up the Battle Pass, or just need a refresher on what you’ve already picked up, here’s what you get with the $9.99 base Battle Pass. The International 8 CompendiumThe origin and staple centerpiece of the Battle Pass, the T

Now, much sooner than last year, Valve has revealed the general structure of the 2018-19 Dota Pro Circuit, the annual competitive system premiered this year. While this year’s general concepts of Majors, Minors and Qualifying Points are still there, how these will all work in tandem is being dramatically overhauled. Major & Minor pairings and rulesThe biggest change to the system will be to the event system. Next season, Minors and Majors will be “held in pairs,” according to Valve, with more sp

After promising not to patch during Dota Pro Circuit Majors, they showed some patience, and it paid off for everyone. Then, given the proximity to The International 8, Valve had something to say about further patches. According to Valve, they’ll have more focused patches to bring the game’s balance up to a professionally-viable level for The International 8. In their own words:The upcoming patches will be mostly focused on balance tweaks in preparation for The International. Plus, a ton of heroe

As the founder of Valve, one of the largest video gaming companies in the world, he is the Word of God on all things Valve — including Dota 2. So one curious had an extremely pressing question about a certain controversial Dota 2 character, Io, the beautiful gosh-darned ball of light:How does he wear or hold his boots? I mean, Io is literally a ball of light:You’re expected to wear and upgrade boots on every hero. So with Io being a Wisp and also a Fundamental of the universe and all, we’re sure

It’s the last tournament with the standard Major payout, with $1 million in the purse and 1500 Qualifying Points awaiting the teams. Competition Format: This event’s group stages will be “GSL,” a double-elimination format, followed by a single-elimination playoff stage. The winners of the initial match play each other for first seed, while the losers of the initial match meet for an elimination match. Playoffs continue in a best-of-three single-elimination bracket, including a Third Place Decide

Dota 2 Battle Pass owners that are truly invested in the competitive side of the game now have another reason to follow the upcoming final Majors, as Valve has opened predictions for the MDL Changsha Major. It appears this feature will be available during the final three Majors of the Dota Pro Circuit season: MDL Changsha, ESL One Birmingham, and the Perfect World Super Major. Typically, the Battle Pass only has predictions for the crown jewel, The International. If you own a Battle Pass and wan

After two more long weeks, the Dota 2 balancing team returns to bring us yet another gameplay balance patch. There are absolutely changes you need to keep in mind next time you pick up a game, affecting everyone who plays, so we’ll dive right in. Major changesThe Bounty Rune saw some pretty heavy changes this week. Bounty Rune spawns have slowed down from every 2 minutes to every 5 minutes, but everyone gets a slice. So now it’s a pretty valuable pick-up, and there are certainly going to be figh

The end of the Dota Pro Circuit draws near, and The International 8 is hot on its heels. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until August 20th for the action, as there are plenty of group stage matches the week before — and qualifiers in early June. It’s also worth noting that the exact date per region may vary or is subject to change, given differences between organizers. Just like last year, meanwhile, the group stage appears to be Wednesday through Saturday, with a one-day break between. This

The International 8: Keeping up-to-date with Dota 2’s — and esports’s — largest annual tournament We’re keeping up with the latest on this massive Vancouver tournament, including dates, news and moreThere’s no tournament like The International, held each year to challenge players dedicated to the complexity of Dota 2. The International moved in its second year from Germany to a concert hall in Seattle and, eventually, into the Key Arena. However, this year, it’ll take place in Rogers Arena in Va

While plenty of Dota 2 fans are pretty focused on the Battle Pass, let’s not forget one more important thing coming up: the biweekly gameplay patch. Since the last time we came around, we saw penguins held hostage, this year’s Battle Pass released, and Infinity War released. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Winrates are as of Thursday, May 9 at about 2:00 PM ET, and are subject to change before the actual 7.15 patch drops.] Here’s the issue: There’s a massive spike in win rate and pick rate in the last 24 hours.

The end of the Dota Pro Circuit draws near, and The International 8 is hot on its heels. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until August 20th for the action, as there are plenty of group stage matches the week before — and qualifiers in early June. It’s also worth noting that the exact date per region may vary or is subject to change, given differences between organizers. Just like last year, meanwhile, the group stage appears to be Wednesday through Saturday, with a one-day break between. This

The Battle Pass ensures that all three of these come together in a way that will make everyone happy, and it’s already made history in its first day. In the first 24 hours of the TI8 Battle Pass, fans brought the prize pool up to $5,669,282 USD, according to the Dota 2 Prize Pool Tracker, made by esports manager and community contributor Matthew “Cyborgmatt,” Bailey. For those wondering about the math, players didn’t actually spend over $5.6 million prize pool — actually, the real number may sur

The anticipation for this year’s Compendium is so high, it’s driven people to (fake) crime — and Dota 2 fans are captivated. Before major patches or release, the Dota 2 community, especially on Reddit, is known to get pretty antsy. Right now, fans awaiting the release of the Battle Pass and/or Compendium, the set of DLC that feeds into The International’s prize pool. So naturally, with Dota 2 having a hat-driven economy and community, players are staving off the excitement with funposting. But D

After nearly nine months of competitive Dota 2, weeks of anticipation and over 24 hours of post-teaser anxiety, the next chapter of the Battle Pass is here. Implemented as continuation or expansion of The International Compendium, which began in 2013, the Battle Pass gives fans an opportunity to fund the biggest Dota 2 tournament in the world. Last year, fans dished out enough to bring up the prize pool from the base of $1.6 million to a jaw-dropping $24 million. But for the everyday player who