DOTA 2 Message Board

Valve's Source Filmmaker is an amazing tool, and this fan film is a great example. It shows poor Tidehunter trying to land a hit on Kunkka and failing. And failing. And failing. I hope Valve hires this guy to do the clips for their future DOTA 2 videos.Read more...

Tickets for Valve's Dota 2 International 2014 Championship have sold out. Quickly. The event's roughly 10,000 tickets sold within an hour, according to what Valve's Doug Lombardi told Rod "Slasher" Breslau. Is it safe to say this game might be just a little popular?

Those hoping to make a trip to Seattle for the competition aren't totally out of luck; general admission tickets can be found on eBay for as low as $200, though that's still twice as much as their initial, non-secondhand $99 price tag. Those looking for some price comparisons should know that floor seating tickets were originally sold for $199, while VIP tickets were priced at $499.

The Dota 2 International 2014 will take place at the Key Arena in Seattle from July 18 to July 21. This is the International's fourth year in existence, with last year's International boasting a prize pool of more than $2.8 million, the largest in eSports history. The prize pool for this year's championship has not been finalized. [Image: Valve]

Valve tend to approach every project with a similar ethos, regardless of whether they’re making a game, some software, an operating system or, it turns out, a movie. Their first attempt at the latter, a documentary about professional Dota 2 players called Free To Play, spent much of last year being beta tested in front of private audiences, was premiered at The International 3 in Seattle, and then disappeared back into development for another eight months. As of yesterday, it’s now in general release, and available to download for free via Steam.

A trailerThe full movie is embedded below along with some more detail. … [visit site to read more]

At this moment, there are 385,000 people playing Dota 2, and millions more play it every day. Valve's new documentary about the first major Dota 2 competition is a great peek at some of the players behind one of the world's biggest games.Read more...

Heroes of the Storm‘s developers might have made some major missteps (that they apologized for), but that doesn’t mean the game itself isn’t looking extremely promising. I played a fair amount of Blizzard’s MOB- excuse me, “hero brawler” during BlizzCon, and I found it to be a streamlined approach to an often unwieldy genre that could provide a nice alternative when lengthy LoL or DOTA 2 matches sound unappetizing. But man, it’s still really weird to see Jim Raynor – decked out in full space marine garb, no less – riding a pony whose spine probably looks like a rusted-over sawblade at this point. 17 mins of informatively shoutcasted footage below.

… [visit site to read more]

At some point, we’re just going to have to accept the fact that Valve is all. Where once it was merely a humble game developer, it now has a synonymous-with-PC-gaming storefront, its own series of console-ish boxes, a mini-convention, a virtual reality department, the largest collection of virtual hats on Earth, and every number in human history all the way up to 2. Oh, and now it’s got its own movie too, because why not? Free To Play: The Movie is a high-budget Valve production about three DOTA 2 pros. Color me intrigued. And also purple. I am feeling very purple right now.

… [visit site to read more]

Free To Play, the ominously-titled documentary about professional Dota 2 players, will be out on March 19, Valve just announced. It'll be Free To Watch on Steam.Read more...

Valve is a strange company. The mega-dev has always paddled against the inundating current of conventional wisdom, but it gets especially odd when it defies its own internal logic. Oh yeah, also infuriating. As we’ve observed on multiple occasions, the house that Newell built is often extremely open, responsive, and communicative… except when it’s really, really not. Half-Life 3, a recent bout of (still-unexplained) layoffs, Diretide, etc. These lapses don’t make Valve a Bad Guy or anything, but they do strain the developer’s relationship with its 65-million-strong audience. It’s an odd dichotomy that’s more relevant than ever with the evolution of Steam Machines and SteamOS apparently in the community’s hands. So I decided to ask Valve a simple question: What gives?

(more…)

INT: Valve HQ, midnight. GABE NEWELL, DOUG LOMBARDI, MARC LAIDLAW, CHET FALISZEK, ERIK WOLPAW, ROBIN WALKER, SAXTON HALE and MR G. MANN sit astride their genetically-engineered red and black-striped lynx, supping liquid gold from goblets carved out of velicoraptor skulls.

NEWELL: Gentlemen! I have gathered you here today to discuss my gravest concern. The day we have long awaited is here.

ALL: [Anxious muttering, some shouting.]

NEWELL: [HOLDS UP A HAND] No, please, silence. It’s true. The time has come. We have made… [bows head. In pride? In shame? In reverence?] We have made enough money. We need no more. Our work is done. Complete our last remaining project, and then we shall shut the doors on our empire.(more…)

It's not a traditional game, and would never have had a traditional "release date", so today is the closest DOTA 2 will get. After years of betas, invites, sign-ups and queues, the game is now open to everyone.Read more...

Valve have learnt their lesson from Diretide: don’t deny the Dota 2 community their holiday celebrations. That means that Frostivus is back. The holiday event is traditionally quite lovely. Last year’s Frostivus started normally before being taken over by The Greeviling, an update and game mode in which players can use their Greevil a secondary hero. At this point, I’d normally make a crack about how I don’t understand any of this and don’t care, but truthfully, I do understand it. It’s just easier to be flippant than explain all the context. Instead, this time, I’ll take door number three and link to the Dota 2 wiki page about the Greeviling event.

(more…)

The witch is dead, League of Legends pros can once again stream whatever they want, and eSports is saved! OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but I really didn’t like the potential implications of Riot’s decision to contractually forbid its pros from streaming Dota 2, Hearthstone, World of Tanks, and tens of other extremely popular games. Fortunately, after copious uproarious outcry, Riot decided to rethink its portentously controlling decision. Now pros are able to stream whatever strikes their fancy or tickles their murder bones, though certain sponsorships/promotional angles are still off-limits. This is admittedly much better, but I’m still concerned about Riot’s position near the top of the eSports food chain. Allow me to explain why.

(more…)

When I wrote my Homeric epic about attending League of Legends’ Championship Series, one of my biggest fears was that Riot’s stranglehold on its own game’s eSports scene could eventually suffocate pros and the scene itself. A game creator, after all, will inevitably have different priorities than a dyed-in-the-wool sports organization – especially compared to the way eSports leagues currently operate. And yet, here we are. LCS season 4 contracts are now in the hands of pros, and they contain some sticky stipulations. The most worrisome among them? The one that forbids all contracted pros from streaming DOTA 2, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Heroes of Newerth, World of Tanks, and many more for the duration of the season.

(more…)

Well, my Heroes of the Storm interview ended on a strange note, didn’t it? You don’t know the half of it, either. You weren’t actually there. As I attempted to explain why designing female characters that look as empowered as their male counterparts is absolutely not about political correctness for political correctness’ sake, the room’s atmosphere seemed to me to become extremely curt. Browder seemed highly resistant to engaging on the topic, and sounded particularly severe when saying “We’re not running for President.” Because clearly, that’s the only scenario in which this sort of thing really matters. When you’re trying to make kissy faces at the camera and win hearts by pretending to care about The Real Issues.

Now, I don’t know if Browder meant for it to come across that way, and he could well have misinterpreted the bottom line of my questioning. If so, that’s fair and understandable, and I apologize for using him as an example. Also, I very much appreciate that he said he’d at least take the feedback to mind. But the attitude he seemed to express is an incredibly prevalent one both within the industry and among its closest followers, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss it in detail.(more…)

Papa Blizzard, Papa Blizzard! Why are Aunt Kerrigan and Uncle Diablo fighting? No, seriously, why? I didn’t even know they were from the same side of the family. Or the same dimension. And yet, for all the “because why not”-ness of the game’s premise, Heroes of the Storm plays quite nicely, taking MOBA mechanics and sanding down the rough edges to a point of real intuitiveness – sculpting a svelte ice swan from a figurative iceberg. I discussed the surprise hit of BlizzCon with game director Dustin Browder, and we touched on everything from business models to plans for a map editor to whether or not Heroes counts as a “casual” MOBA. That was all delightful. Unfortunately, Browder’s perspective on the MOBA genre’s epidemic of absurd, hypersexualized female characters turned out significantly less so. 

(more…)

“Do you want a scoop?”

“Yes.” That didn’t seem sufficient. An emoticon — X and D get a lot of mileage from me — gets stapled on. “Yes, I do.”

Jing is my primary contact in the sometimes seedy world of Dota 2 trading. He’s an administrator at Dota2traders, a straight-laced gent with an encyclopedic knowledge of market prices. Which is invaluable in his field, really, because couriers in Valve’s re-imagining of the world’s most popular mod can fetch prices upwards of $10,000 dollars.

We start with the pleasantries. You know Dota 2 is getting a new patch? Yes. You know the thing about socketing and crafting? Yes. Well, traders are mad about it. Why? Because there’s a chance we’ve all just lost thousands and thousands of dollars. Amid my growing consternation, Jing goes on to provide an account of how one simple update could be held culpable for such staggering financial damage.(more…)

Indie developer Davey Wreden revealed that the next Dota 2 announcer pack update will feature the dry, understated wit of Kevan Brighting, narrator of the off-kilter PC hit The Stanley Parable.

Wreden and The Stanley Parable co-developer William Pugh are currently writing the script for the upcoming add-on. A release date has not been announced.

Portal's GLaDOS voiced a previous Dota 2 announcer pack, chiding players with demoralizing comments throughout every match. It's unlikely that Brighting will offer much more in the way of encouragement, but those who enjoyed the mind-warping game he narrated will get a kick out of his take on the proceedings.

Dota 2‘s latest update is a big one. Not only does it introduce the much requested Halloween event, Diretide, but it’s got three new heroes, a coaching mode, and a socketing system. A lot of people who understand what any of this means are very excited right now.(more…)

Last year, Valve ran a special in-game event for Dota 2, called "Diretide," to coincide with the real-world event of Halloween. This year, Diretide was nowhere to be found, and it's only been just recently that Valve explained why. So why no Diretide this year?

According to a post on the Dota 2 blog, a "significant" update was taking up most of the team's focus and energy. The team reasoned that ceasing work on the update to work on Diretide "seemed like something you would actually be unhappy with us for." As for why Valve waited until now to explain themselves: "You were already mad and disappointed in the lack of Diretide. Telling you that you weren't getting it at all wouldn't have really helped much," the post states.

To make amends, Diretide will be coming to Dota 2 with the next update. When that update will hit, however, is a question currently lacking an answer. The blog also notes that, "while we always want the community to tell us exactly how we're doing, this is probably a good time to stop cc'ing innocent car manufacturers with your messages." The post doesn't mention it, but one Dota 2 developer has also tweeted that he'll involve the police if he gets another call about Diretide on his personal number. So, you know, maybe stop harassing people.

After Blizzard’s own community invented what is now considered the MOBA genre, the lumbering blue giant finally has one of its own. Again. Heroes of the Storm was originally conceived as a StarCraft II map editor showcase, then reinvented as a slightly more robust standalone, then renamed, then consigned to more than a year of worrisomely silent obscurity. But now, at last, it’s slowly but surely trundling down the danger-laden lane to completion. And it’s good. Really, really good. Heroes strips the MOBA genre – or “hero brawler” according to Blizzard’s sweaty, desperate attempts at renaming the genre – down to its basest essentials, and they just… make sense. Matches are quick, convolution is minimal, and there are even some fairly unique heroes mixed in with a handful of DOTA/LoL re-skins. Read all about it below.

(more…)

Valve made a lot of people angry this year when they elected not to ship a Diretide event for Dota 2. They've reversed course in a new blog post today, explaining why Diretide hadn't been planned for this year and saying that the event will be included in the game's next update.Read more...

Valve normally runs cute little Halloween events for some of its games. Team Fortress 2 gets Scream Fortress, for example, while DOTA 2 had Diretide. Oh, except for this year. And boy are people upset.Read more...

Outrage after outrage, man. First Valve practically destroys Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by daring to mess with the most integral part of the experience, the chickens. Now they're at it again with Dota 2—the latest patch messes with the bongs.Read more...

You might remember that DOTA 2 officially launched not too long ago. This may in part be due to the fact that it’s one of the biggest PC games ever, making it difficult to forget about in the same way that a herd of rhinoceroses just kind of hanging out in your living room would at least spend a fair amount of time in your peripheral vision. It is, of course, already quite good, but Valve plans to continue updating it until the Earth molts away its wriggly organic shell, leaving behind naught but dust and roaches. The first step in that process? A (very) soon-to-be-launched update fittingly titled First Blood. It includes LAN play! Also lots of other things, including Portal’s own wise-cracking cracker of psyches GLaDOS as an announcer. Details below.

(more…)

This is the first part in a new series looking at contemporary multiplayer gaming and the e-sports phenomenon.

Since Steam’s inception, just a handful of marvellous gems have topped the Steam Stats page. Games like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and Sid Meier’s Civilization V have earned accolades, snared players in their thousands, and then hovered around the 50,000 mark. For Valve’s Dota 2, now just wrapping its beta period, that figure currently sits at 500,000 concurrent users (not including China and South Korea). Five hundred thousand!

More users play Dota 2 simultaneously than the nine other ranked games combined and it is only going up from there. Why?(more…)

Good news: Dota 2 is getting a GLaDOS announcer pack, meaning that you'll have the ability to pay to have GLaDOS chide you as you play. "Bad" news: the clip that teases her inclusion has a most surprising revelation.Read more...

The winner of The International 2013 Dota 2 Championship is Alliance, a group of five players from Sweden. Alliance beat out team Natus Vincere in a five-game match to earn the title and win more than $1.4 million.

The five-day event was held in Seattle, Washington this year, and had a prize pool of over $2.8 million. Natus Vincere won the tournament in 2011, the first year it was held during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, and took home $1 million. Valve is offering replays of the event on the official Dota 2 site.

The International 2013 Dota 2 Championship has a winner: Swedish eSports team Alliance.Read more...

Starting today in Seattle, we'll be seeing the top Dota 2 teams from all over the world verse each other in The International—the largest known tournament for the game—for a prize pool of $2.8 million. Grand Finals close the event out this Sunday, but you can watch it all, live and right here.Read more...

Whether you prefer League of Legends, StarCraft II, DOTA 2 or Call of Duty, there is a little something for everyone this weekend.Read more...