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

But there’s one more to go, and GESC Thailand, taking place May 9th through the 12th, is looking to be a promising event. This brought the team count down from nine to eight, but there’s still plenty of excitement to be had. The other wild cards are VGJ.Storm, Keen Gaming and The Final Tribe, as well as Thailand qualifier winner Alpha Red. The more familiar teams, respectively from America, China and Sweden, have been grinding to qualify from their regions. Competition Format:Teams begin in a ro

It’s not a semester of Dota 2 without at least a massive ESL tournament — and the event production company is already prepared for next season. ESL One Hamburg is returning for the fall season, the company announced, and is the first event of its scale announced for the 2018-2019 year. This time, as tournament organizers have more time to prepare this year for the demands of fans and teams, they’ve expanded the event to a larger scale. More importantly, it falls extremely close to the desired Ma

The pros saw it coming, and Dota 2 players have been hoping for it since their rework. Now, in 7.14, it’s finally, happening: Techies is in Captain’s Mode, and now every hero on the roster is enabled competitively. Now it’s time to recognize that the latest Dota 2 patch is actually pretty massive, affecting twenty-two items and over sixty heroes. This time, Broodmother and Io have some serious laundry lists, and Dark Willow got some nerfs that may make her feel just right. Plus, the Magic Wand r

The pros saw it coming, and Dota 2 players have been hoping for it since their rework. Now, in 7.14, it’s finally, happening: Techies is in Captain’s Mode, and now every hero on the roster is enabled competitively. Now it’s time to recognize that the latest Dota 2 patch is actually pretty massive, affecting twenty-two items and over sixty heroes. This time, Broodmother and Io have some serious laundry lists, and Dark Willow got some nerfs that may make her feel just right. Plus, the Magic Wand r

The Dota Pro Circuit’s first-ever season is coming close to conclusion, which means things are coming down to the wire for any squad still in the running. But focusing on the now, there are a few ways things could go for some of the teams. Of course, the teams in the top eight don’t have much to worry about: if they make it into the top four, which earns them QP points, the rich get richer. Viewers should look out for two teams with QP looking to stay in the races: PSG.LGD, currently in eighth,

It’s been almost two weeks since Icefrog and company released the quietly-drastic patch 7.13 into the Dota 2 client… which means the patch is already almost over! This all means we’re back with another Pre-Post-Mortem Patch Analysis! If you want to know how last patch went down and see who’s missing this week, check out the 7.12 Pre-Post-Mortem Patch Analysis! Meanwhile, Zeus is still on his streak of godliness, with a 16.85% pick rate, and Wraith King got some love as well. We’ll see in our w

Competition Format:Teams begin in a round-robin group stage, in which all teams play each other, followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket. The top two teams from each group start automatically in the first round of the upper bracket, which are all best-of-threes. The middle two teams (3rd-4th places) of each group begin in the lower bracket. Winning teams proceed to meet the top group teams in the upper brackets; lower teams meet for the first elimination matches in the lower bracket. Lo

Further and more importantly, many have cried out over the years for a proper new player experience. To Valve’s credit, the “half-speed” game mode has been suggested for new players since its release several months ago. However, the game doesn’t fully get into many of the nuances of the game, including item builds, in-game scenarios and drafting. Of course, with the release of the Plus Assistant, people have suggested that a free month of this become part of the newcomer experience, as it may gi

Further and more importantly, many have cried out over the years for a proper new player experience. To Valve’s credit, the “half-speed” game mode has been suggested for new players since its release several months ago. However, the game doesn’t fully get into many of the nuances of the game, including item builds, in-game scenarios and drafting. Of course, with the release of the Plus Assistant, people have suggested that a free month of this become part of the newcomer experience, as it may gi

We’ve seen each patch come and go with a different spice of change. The most important takeaway is that attribute bonuses are given in bonus amounts to said heroes. For Strength heroes, that was a bit extra status resistance per point, except now that’s been changed to magic resistance instead. To prevent early-game ganks better, Intelligence heroes had some extra magic resistance, but that’s been removed entirely to rebalance the perks. The ones you need to know are that Shrines regen and have

Another patch in Dota 2 is on the way this Thursday, with 7.12 soon to be out the window and 7.13 coming to replace it. But with 7.12 being such a big patch for gameplay changes, it has to have shaken up the meta. So this week, before the new 7.13 patch arrives, we’re going to take a look at the biggest winners — and losers — of 7.12. Note on methodology: No Dota data websites had public data on winrate changes between patches. The top 30 and lowest 30 winrate changes were selected from the last

Another patch in Dota 2 is on the way this Thursday, with 7.12 soon to be out the window and 7.13 coming to replace it. But with 7.12 being such a big patch for gameplay changes, it has to have shaken up the meta. So this week, before the new 7.13 patch arrives, we’re going to take a look at the biggest winners — and losers — of 7.12. Note on methodology: No Dota data websites had public data on winrate changes between patches. The top 30 and lowest 30 winrate changes were selected from the last

We’re in the early days of a Major, and it’s just past 7 AM Valve time, but a patch is a patch and the bi-weekly gameplay balance patch has gotta happen. The first thing that’s pretty easy to pick up on is the inclusion of Pangolier in Captain’s Mode. He and Dark Willow have been controversial picks in pub matches since their release, as many believe they’re pretty overpowered. And that’s before we get into hero changes: Over 50 heroes are seeing some gameplay changes, and literally none of them

We’re in the early days of a Major, and it’s just past 7 AM Valve time, but a patch is a patch and the bi-weekly gameplay balance patch has gotta happen. The first thing that’s pretty easy to pick up on is the inclusion of Pangolier in Captain’s Mode. He and Dark Willow have been controversial picks in pub matches since their release, as many believe they’re pretty overpowered. And that’s before we get into hero changes: Over 50 heroes are seeing some gameplay changes, and literally none of them

Changing up various celebrities and characters is a popular hobby of the Internet, and while Dota has been done before, Dota’s competitive scene finally got the treatment. Of course, Virtus Pro was excited to see the art! Their love for Dota and its community was their inspiration — and maybe some “sweet, sweet Reddit karma. So with two Evil Geniuses Pusheens and one Virtus Pro under their belt so far, in which region does Fluffies’s heart lie? Virtus Pro, Team Liquid).”

A legendary tournament run by Perfect World, the Dota 2 publisher in China, makes its third run this year. Once again, teams will gather for Dota 2 Asia Championship, with sixteen squads fighting for envious prizes — this time $1 million USD, but also a slice of a whopping 1,500 Qualifying Points for the Dota Pro Major. Competition Format:Teams begin in a round-robin group stage, in which all teams play each other, followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket. The top two teams from each gro

Two teams were invited due to high Qualifying Points, and the other six are winners of the DreamLeague regional qualifiers. All teams start in the upper bracket. When they lose, they fall to the lower bracket and play other teams that have fallen into this bracket. All lower bracket matches are elimination matches. This year, the Upper Bracket finals will take place on Saturday afternoon, and the Lower Bracket finals will occur on Sunday.

For six years straight, Valve did everything in their power to keep The International close to home in Seattle, Washington, USA. Now, with their move to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, fans are speculating about why the move could have taken place. However, Valve was likely looking to play safe for a production as hefty as The International. Last year, they essentially took over the entire pedestrian plaza outside Key Arena, putting up a giant screen, phone chargers, water stations and a

For six years straight, Valve did everything in their power to keep The International close to home in Seattle, Washington, USA. Now, with their move to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, fans are speculating about why the move could have taken place. However, Valve was likely looking to play safe for a production as hefty as The International. Last year, they essentially took over the entire pedestrian plaza outside Key Arena, putting up a giant screen, phone chargers, water stations and a