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Crownfall's Final BowJan 15, 2025 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/4d7625b8d423a09223b02308f39f8b56e96130a1.png Back in December, it seemed entirely reasonable to bring Crownfall to a close halfway through January. After all, we reasoned, who could possibly need more time than that to finish exploring four huge overworld maps filled with tons of characters to meet, comics to read, and minigames to conquer? Well, if what we're hearing from friends, family, dedicated fans, coworkers, bus drivers, security guards, and even some cats on the internet is true, it turns out a lot of people could actually use more time to finish everything. So we're extending Crownfall's end date one last time (for real this time) to Thursday, February 6. If you've still got progress to make, get moving, because the curtains for this show are finally actually about to, we promise, close. A Frosty Farewell We hope everyone stuffed their bellies full of enough grunch heart to tide yourselves over for the rest of the year, because another season of Frostivus is in the books — and all of the wrappings, trappings, snowballs, and stolen hats have been lovingly packed up and crammed back into the seasonal treasure hutch. Winter Sale Ends Sadly, there were no people begging on behalf of their pets for more end-of-year savings from our winter sale, and since the year did in fact end, and in fact ended two weeks ago, everything in the Crownfall Store is now (finally actually) going back to its regular price. You can still unlock new story nodes with the Midgate, Druud, and Icewrack Pathfinder Packs, deck your heroes out in the sets from Skywrath from Crownfall Treasures I-III, or complete the transformations of Shen and Dragonus with the Vengeful Spirit and Skywrath Mage Arcanas, but unless you've got Crownfall Coins to use, items are back to full price. Roll Credits Crownfall might not be officially ending today, but today's update also includes a little something to celebrate the end of the journey. Everyone on the team put a lot of time into making this happen — from haggling with the Flightless in the bustling bazaars of Midgate; to returning the nomad Oglodi through the crimson sands of Druud to their rightful home of Barzum; to helping the overworked warden of Icewrack settle a domestic disturbance between the citizens of Snowcap Lake and a marauding dragon; and finally scaling the cloud-rimmed spires of Skywrath to commit a long-overdue regicide and put an actual Dota character in charge of everything. It's been a long ride, and a little bittersweet to finally close the book on it. So please join us for one last look back, in the form of a credits sequence featuring new music and some fun surprises. (Just click "Play Credits" on the main menu to roll them.) Frostivus is Upon UsDec 18, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/2bf8a24917d425169d6c9b541482de91c28f5290.png It's been a busy year for Dota. We welcomed a new hero into our ranks (and a long-awaited one finally made his debut); we crowned another team of world champions at this year's TI in Copenhagen; we reworked every hero with new game-changing innates and facets; and we even managed to cram in a four-act multi-month narrative epic about talking birds. And so, as the year winds to a close, we find ourselves filled once again to the absolute brim with the spirit of Frostivus. And that means a sackful of festive gifts for everyone for the duration of the Frostivus event, from now until January 15th. The True Meaning of Frostivus Revealed (Hats) “What kind of gifts?” one might festively wonder. Well, for starters: For the rest of the season, your hero will begin each game wearing a stylish Frostivus hat. But don't think of it as a fashion statement. Think of it as a trophy case. Because you can also steal hats from enemy heroes and get them as gifts from your allies with the new Spirit of Frostivus ability. You can also get them the old fashioned way (murder/larceny), by stealing them off the skulls of heroes you've just killed, off the Tormentors, or if you really know what you're doing, even off Roshan's craggy dead head. And every single hat you take, you can wear on top of all the others in a majestic, murderous hat-stack of glory. Plus since the post-game MVP screen now includes hat tallies, you'll have definitive proof of your hat superiority in the days to come. A Frostivus Story So now you've got a tower of Frostivus hats on your head. But can you truly enjoy them without knowing their exhaustive backstory? The answer, as we discovered, is yes. "They're just colored hats," you say. "Who cares where they came from?" Well, six months ago would have been a great time to mention that, because we wrote a six hundred thousand word legendarium about it called The Hatmarillion. But everybody refused to read it, so we wrote a ten-page kid's book version of The Hatmarillion that takes about a minute to read, and everyone seemed to like that one better. Launch Dota and enjoy the story for yourself! (Frostivus trivia: You'll be able to read it THIRTY TIMES in the time it takes you to get through this blog post!) Frostivus Forge But wait! There's still more Frostivus spirit in the air! Unfortunately, it has been broken down into its chemical components and needs to be reconstituted into a seasonal compound. We've gathered up a pile of all the supplies you'll need to craft rewards in the new Frostivus Forge. The next step? The actual crafting part. All you'll need to do is accomplish a variety of in-game hijinks like “snowball an enemy before you kill them”, “steal a hat”, or “high five an enemy” to earn unique supplies that feed your forge and craft new rewards. Each item requires a different recipe to craft, and you can unlock higher tiers by completing rewards in the lower tiers first....Dota 2 Update - 12/5/2024Dec 5, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsOver the last few days we've made the following changes: Fixed being unable to configure Quickcast behavior on Observer and Sentry wards in the Settings menu. Fixed Razor's Voidstorm Asylum Arcana using the incorrect icon for Storm Surge. Fixed Shadow Fiend Presence of the Dark Lord not losing stacks correctly on death. Fixed lighting issue on seasonal winter terrain. Fixed loading spinners not spinning correctly. Fixed Force Staff's tooltip description ending with 2 periods. Fixed sprays from events which have ended not properly rendering. Fixed various client and server crashes. Fixed Watcher colors not matching their team under some circumstances. Enabled Kez's Sai abilities in Ability Draft. The draft screen will show a random combination of Kez's Katana and Sai abilities. Crownfall: Heroes whose reward tokens associated with meta-progression upgrades now show up under the Crownfall Act IV filter in the Hero pick screen. Crownfall: Fixed Nest of Thorns Loading Screen not being visible. Nest of Thorns: Voiceline rewards for difficulties 3, 5, and 7 are now permanent. Nest of Thorns: Improved visibility of the Reaper, which spawns on difficulties 5 and above. Nest of Thorns: Spirits now ignore range modifiers and always spawn at a set distance away from the player. Nest of Thorns: Fixed score sometimes not updating properly. Nest of Thorns: Fixed incorrect text being displayed if launching the client with an invalid language. Nest of Thorns: Fixed Rot's Scepter obscuring various visual elements in the game. Nest of Thorns: Fixed Echo Slash and Swashbuckle not working correctly on Linux Dota 2 Update - 12/3/2024Dec 3, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsGameplay Update Kez: Echo Slash: No longer applies cleave on units hit. Falcon Rush: Rush Range decreased from 650 to 575 Grappling Claw: Hero Bonus Heal reduced from 40/80/120/160 to 30/60/90/120 Grappling Claw: Cooldown increased from 15/12/9/6 to 16/13/10/7 Talon Toss: Cooldown increased from 15/12/9/6 to 16/13/10/7 Raven's Veil: Applied mark no longer applies parry bonus. Replaced +50 Raptor Dance Radius level 15 talent with new talent: Raven's Veil Mark Applies Parry Bonus Added additional HUD styling to better communicate the current stance Kez is in. Raptor Dance: Fixed particle effect not increasing when radius increased. Echo Slash: Fixed it hitting units slightly further than its range. Echo Slash: Fixed secondary attack cancelling Kez's invisibility. Falcon Rush: Fix secondary attack sound effect not playing. Shodo Sai: Fixed cases where Mark would not be applied properly if it was already applied. Shodo Sai: Fixed parry cancel sub-ability being affected by Faceless Void's Time Dilation. Fixed cooldown reduction not applying to alternate weapon abilities. Grappling Claw: Reworded description to clarify bonus hero healing. 7.37e Gameplay PatchNov 19, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsPatch 7.37e is out now. You can check out the patchnotes here.Dota 2 Update - 11/12/2024Nov 12, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsKez: Kazurai Katana: Damage Per Second reduced from 7/8/9/10% to 6/7/8/9% Falcon Rush: Katana base attack rate increased from 1.3/1.2/1.1/1.0 to 1.4/1.3/1.2/1.1 Falcon Rush: Duration decreased from 7 to 3/4/5/6 Raptor Dance: Increased cooldown from 40/32/24 to 40/35/30 Raven's Veil: Increased cooldown from 40/32/24 to 40/35/30 Grappling Claw: Fixed chain not being broken when linked to a target out of range Shodo Sai: Fixed some Mark interactions dealing more damage than intended Grappling Claw: Fixed it ignoring evasion Echo Slash: Fixed it ignoring evasion Echo Slash: Fixed it killing couriers Echo Slash: Fixed it allowing Kez to escape leashes and movement prevention abilities (i.e. Disruptor Kinetic Field ) Over the days since release of Crownfall Act IV and Kez, we've also fixed several issues: Fixed a client crash with Moon Shard Fixed a server crash involving Ogre Seal Totem and Lone Druid Fixed various issues with Quick Buy Fixed Shen and Dragonus arcana style unlocks not applying to respective cursor icon packs Fixed Juggernaut Primal Prowl style unlock Fixed various crashes with Act IV encounters When winning an Ability Draft game, instead of granting 3 tokens and 2 scrap, grant 2 tokens and 8 scrap. Spleen Sweeper: added a scoring section on the main menu to show scoring information. Fixed score summary not showing after beating all 5 stages. Spleen Sweeper: fixed last stage not granting a completion bonus of 4000 points Castle Carnage: fixed Tunneler particle missing model and issues with grenade bouncing Castle Carnage: fixed phantom terrain blocking some shots Spoon Man: fixed an issue where the mouse cursor would stay invisible after a popup Spoon Man: fixed a crash related to pressing a button before the game is loaded Spoon Man: fixed being able to get stuck inside a block Nest of Thorns: fixed an issue where rewards could fail to be granted Nest of Thorns: fixed an issue where gold amount could fail to be saved Fixed Blind Queensguard (strange vendor) encounter not working Fixed Act IV sprays not showing up in Chat Wheel Crownfall map: clicking on the tokens-received gift alert attached to the inventory now opens the associated encounter Fixed an issue where playing or replaying the Kez debut animation could result in a black screen Fixed new Crownfall trophies not showing up Dota 2 Update - 11/8/2024Nov 8, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsGameplay Update Kez: Base Armor increased from 0 to 2 Base move speed increased from 315 to 320 Falcon Rush attack rate for Sai decreased from 1.3/1.2/1.1/1.0 to 1.2/1.1/1.0/0.9 Fixed bug where Falcon Rush could target units out of range Fixed bug where Falcon Rush ignored the attack speed cap New Dota 2 hero Kez brings two full skill sets to the Valve MOBANov 8, 2024 - PCGamesNA new Dota 2 hero has arrived in an update that developer Valve says "is as big as it gets." The new patch for Steam's second most-popular free game adds the fourth and final act of the Dota 2 Crownfall story mode, and in doing so sees the debut of Kez, the mysterious Skywrath exile first seen during act three. With two weapons each offering unique abilities, he promises to be a very versatile addition to the roster. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: LoL, Legends of Runeterra, and Dota 2 voice actor Sam Mowry has died Dota 2 Crownfall is a new, ongoing story event packed with rewards Valve is banning Dota 2 accounts in the Christmasiest way possible Introducing Kez and Crownfall Act IVNov 7, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_LOC_IMAGE}/3703047/3e9f7a865b5e4c842174387f2d991bed770d24a6.png Today's update is as big as it gets. Not only are we releasing the fourth and final act of our multi-part Crownfall epic, we're celebrating with the debut of Kez, an all-new playable hero! Hero of the Flightless If you helped out Vengeful Spirit in Crownfall Act III, you already trekked your way through the icy tundras of Icewrack, found the Skywrath exile Kez, and convinced him to return home with you. In Act IV, he plans to reband the Kazurai and help you rid Skywrath of Imperia once and for all. And when he's not helping you commit regicide, he'll be all too happy to lend his blades to a little freelance work carving up some Ancients. With the innate ability to swap weapon styles between his Kazurai Katana and Shodo Sai (unlocking more powers than there are days in the week), this martial master's kit comes with tons of options. Check out Kez's landing page to learn more about everything he can bring to the fight. Crownfall Act IV: The Spires of Skywrath Princess Shen was first in line for the throne of Skywrath when her father, King Tatrasiel, fell ill and died. But her younger sister Imperia betrayed her, cast her from the highest tower of the Nest and left her for dead. She was found by the Flightless goddess Scree'Auk, and given the powers of a Vengeful Spirit. Today, the resurrected Shen returns to Skywrath to battle her sister for the fate of the throne. And she will not be alone. All the heroes who have helped her along the way, from Dragonus to Axe to Kez to Crystal Maiden and more, will battle their way through three separate paths up the spires of Skywrath to the Nest of Thorns, where Imperia awaits for a final battle. Crownfall Act IV is the epic conclusion to a journey that's taken us from the humble markets of Midgate to the rolling red sands of Druud and the wastes of the frozen north, and finally to the Nest of Thorns, the courtroom of the queen herself, for an ultimate showdown. Act IV boasts a massive new overworld map with three distinct questing paths, sidequests, minigames, and finally, a chance to defeat Imperia and unlock new Skywrath Mage and Vengeful Spirit Arcana alternate styles. So get ready for plenty of royal treasury looting along the way to the palace. We've also got new Act IV-specific Pathfinder rewards, including custom Crownfall Scree'Auk and Avilliva towers and new Immortals. We've even added bonus content for Pathfinder pack owners for each act. You can now visit the Snake Charmer in Shen's questline in Act IV to claim your limited edition Crownfall character stickers. Getting Caught Up If you've been playing along through Crownfall as each act releases and want to jump right into the new Act IV content, don't forget to read the latest intro comic, "Crownfall", before you start. And if you wouldn't mind a quick refresher of what, precisely, the hell is going on, feel free to read up on Act I's intro, "Ascension Day", Act II's, "The ...Ascension NightNov 6, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/228d7918c4c8facadb6df26130d436fb3c41696d.png Very soon, a flightless named Kestrel will return from his Icewrack exile. He will reform a Kazurai army from the ashes of the old. He will join his new friends, a band of Oglodi warriors, and the rightful queen to storm the palace of the usurper Imperia. And he will change the history of Skywrath forever. This is not that story. Not yet. (That's for tomorrow.) This is the story of a much younger Flightless, who was brave (and stupid) enough to try defying a queen on the first anniversary of her ascension. His name is Kez. This is his story. 7.37d Gameplay PatchOct 3, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsPatch 7.37d is out now. You can check out the patchnotes here.The International Grand ChampionsSep 20, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/5d614dc7454bfde1701834ffc951eb194a3a55af.jpgCongratulations to Team Liquid, Grand Champions at The International 2024. Dropping only three games throughout their championship run, this relentless Liquid squad washed away a field of fearsome contenders to resoundingly earn their place as the finest Dota team in the world. Team Liquid's journey to the Aegis started smoothly with a pair of 2-0 series wins over Aurora and beastcoast, but a 0-2 showing against defending champions Team Spirit reminded everyone that the path to immortality is filled with formidable foes. Their next opponent would only prove that point further. With Liquid holding a 1-0 advantage and the Upper Bracket almost within reach, underdogs BB Team ran away with the second match of their seeding set, threatening Liquid with a much more difficult Lower Bracket path. Undaunted, Liquid leveraged early action in game three to build an avalanching lead and ultimately secure their place in the Upper Bracket to begin the next stage. Once there, the eventual champions never looked back. Their heroes were almost unkillable in a dominating 2-0 win over Xtreme Gaming, with only a single death amongst them in game two. Carrying that momentum forward, they opened their series on the main stage against Cloud9 with another stomp. Game two turned into a closer back-and-forth fight, but Liquid rode an epic late game teamwipe to victory and a place in the Upper Bracket Final against a familiar opponent — and constant obstacle in their path — the dangerous Gaimin Gladiators. Flipping precedent, Liquid withstood Gaimin's early aggression and took the series 2-0, marching convincingly into the Grand Final. After Gaimin battled their way back for a rematch, Team Liquid took the chance to demonstrate that the results of the first matchup were no fluke. They dispatched their old nemesis in decisive 3-0 fashion to secure the Aegis and a place in Dota 2 history. As bearers of the ultimate symbol of victory, these names shall forever be inscribed upon the Aegis of Champions: 2024 - Team Liquid Michael "miCKe" Vu Michał "Nisha" Jankowski Neta "33" Shapira Samuel "Boxi" Svahn Aydin "Insania" Sarkohi Looking Back We would like to once again thank all of the players, talent, and everyone in the Dota community for helping bring this global celebration to life. If you missed any of the tournament, or just want to relive the incredible plays, head over to the Dota 2 YouTube channel, where you can find replays of the entire tournament. You can also find a trove of photos from the event over on the Dota 2 Instagram and Dota 2 flickr. Celebrate the Champions Special Champion edition sticker capsules are now available for purchase for Team Liquid. Each capsule contains one sticker featuring miCKe, Nisha, 33, Boxi, Insania, or Team Liquid. 50% of all sales will go directly to Team Liquid. The International Compendium If you've still got some challenges to complete and rewards to claim in The...The International is HereSep 12, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/19deca390e7d27a5d4f6237fea74d1034cd0a29c.jpg For five straight days, sixteen teams have slugged their way through the Playoffs, and eight teams have earned a coveted spot at the main event: Team Liquid, Cloud9, Tundra Esports and Gaimin Gladiators in the upper bracket, and BB Team, Team Falcons, Aurora Gaming and Xtreme Gaming in the lower bracket. Congratulations to all eight teams as they vie to capture the Aegis at The International — only at Copenhagen's Royal Arena, starting on the luckiest day of the year, Friday, September 13th! Watching The International Live Schedule The International Pre-show starts at 9:30 AM CEST, with the Opening Ceremony starting at 10 AM CEST and the first match between BB Team and Team Falcons starting soon after. Click here for the full schedule. Getting In Arena doors open at 8 AM CEST daily, two hours before every day's first match at 10 AM CEST, Friday through Sunday. Be ready to scan your Ticketmaster pass to gain entry (you can save it to your Android/Apple phone wallet for convenience). Make sure to get it scanned again anytime you leave, so you can use the same pass to re-enter. Getting To The Royal Arena Here are directions to the Royal Arena. There are Metro stations and a train station just a few minutes walk from the arena. Visit Rejseplanen.dk for timetables. Crimson Witness Treasure Drops Inside the venue, there are two locations where you can show your ticket and pick up that day's commemorative badge, one near the ground floor entrance and another near the first floor main entrance. Each day has a unique badge, and you'll have to link that day's badge to be eligible for Crimson Witness treasures, which will be dropped randomly for attendees with bound badges at the first blood of every game. This year’s event-exclusive treasure includes updated Immortal items for Night Stalker, Meepo, Disruptor, Luna and Templar Assassin! Watching The International Online If you're one of the millions of Dota fans around the globe planning to watch The International online, check out the list below. From Twitch to YouTube to SteamTV, The International will be streamed on multiple platforms in multiple languages. English: Twitch, SteamTV, YouTube Spanish: Twitch, Facebook, SteamTV, YouTube Russian: Twitch, SteamTV, YouTube Chinese: Twitch, SteamTV, Bilibili The Secret Shop The Secret Shop has two separate storefronts this year, depending on what part of the globe you're buying from— We Are Nations offers both US deliveries and international deliveries, and Perfect World offers domestic China deliveries and international deliveries. The stores have different items, so be sure to check out both. Get Caught Up If you’d like to see how the top eight teams got to where they are in the standings, you can catch up on Playoffs matches here! The International: Streams, Secret Shop, and MoreSep 3, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/b96eac3cc54c98b1c43b9ed1313cb7e36f4b6f71.jpg The best Dota players in the world have arrived in Copenhagen and the games are about to begin. That's right: The Road to TI's Group Stage is officially underway for The International 2024. There's a lot of fun stuff to cover before the event starts, and not a lot of time, so we're gonna stop introducing the information and start the informing. Let's get to it. Tournament Streams Group Stage is always glorious chaos. This year, almost fifty games will be played in the first two days alone, spread across three streams for each of the four official broadcast languages: English: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C; SteamTV: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C; YouTube: All Streams Spanish: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C; Facebook: All Streams; SteamTV: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C; YouTube: All Streams Russian: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Multi-Stream; SteamTV: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C, Multi-Stream; YouTube: All Streams Chinese: Twitch: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C; SteamTV: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C; Bilibili: Stream A, Stream B, Stream C After Group Stage wraps up, starting Friday, September 6th, both The Road to the International and The International itself will broadcast on one stream per official language: English: Twitch, SteamTV, YouTube Spanish: Twitch, FaceBook, SteamTV, YouTube Russian: Twitch, SteamTV, YouTube Chinese: Twitch, SteamTV, Bilibili If you're looking for unofficial languages, we've got those, too. We've handed out more than a dozen broadcast licenses, ranging from Bulgarian to Vietnamese, so check in with your local Dota community to find the best way to watch online. And as always, anyone is welcome to join in on the streaming fun. We only ask that you follow our community streaming guidelines. The Secret Shop The International Secret Shop is once again open for business. We've got everything from mouse pads to jerseys to a real-life Toy Pudge plush, and so much more. There are two separate storefronts — We Are Nations offers both US deliveries and international deliveries, and Perfect World offers domestic China deliveries and international deliveries. Tickets and Badges Ground-floor tickets for The International have sold out, and even arena seats are mostly gone, but there are still a few left. For attendees: Your Ticketmaster ticket can be used for re-entry. Just remember to scan out as you leave so you can re-enter later in the day if you’d like. Each day of the event, you'll get a new commemorative badge with a unique code that can be registered to your Steam account for potential Crimson Witness treasure drops. (The URL for registration is on the badge.) What Else? That's it for now. Honestly, that was a lot of information, and we're not going to lie, there might even be more on the way. But for now, don't worry about it. Just sit back, relax, and reread this blog post until you can recite it phonetically. We'll be calling everyo...7.37c Gameplay PatchAug 28, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsPatch 7.37c is out now. You can check out the patchnotes here.In-Game Advertisements at The InternationalAug 27, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/67cdd64151254a75d7f2304eca540970c636548f.jpg The International is a celebration of Dota and the global community of players and fans who support it, providing a chance for everyone to come together and see it played at the highest possible level by the best teams in the world. While the heart of The International is the community — everyone who makes a short film or a cosplay outfit or a T-shirt design, everyone who yells from the audience (or their couch) to cheer on their favorite team or hero — the matches they gather to watch are its core: When play begins, the focus is on the game itself and the players battling for victory. Over the years, we've built a number of features into Dota to help celebrate these teams and players; unfortunately during that time we've seen those features increasingly being used not to showcase team or player identity, but rather to host advertisements. This year, to remove distracting elements and allow full focus on the game and the people playing it, we aren't going to have advertisements and sponsorships in-game at The International, including in team banners, base logos, and tags in player names. We're only a few short weeks away from opening the curtain on this year's tournament. Whether you're meeting up in Denmark, or watching online, we'll see you soon.Introducing The Ringmaster and the 2024 CompendiumAug 22, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/3703047/08eb8e3f64d4c4805fdbc84a12d3b444003930d2.jpg 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.Black Myth: Wukong is currently Steam's most played game as it continues to break recordsAug 20, 2024 - VG247As I write this, Black Myth: Wukong, the action adventure from China’s Game Science studio, is the most played game on Steam by player count. There are currently 1,400,932 players in-game (with a peak of 1,443,570), surpassing the likes of Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG and all the usual games that occupy Steam’s top five. Wukong’s launch was already predicted to be strong, with the game being Steam’s number one seller for several weeks, but the concurrent player figures are quite staggering for a single-player, offline game. Read more 7.37b Gameplay PatchAug 14, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsPatch 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 Dota 2 Update - 8/2/2024Aug 2, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsOver 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 s...Dota 2's The International 9 was the Game's Most Watched Event Ever with Over 1 Million Viewers on TwitchAug 26, 2019 - GitHypThe International 2019 made headlines earlier this month when it became the biggest prize pool ever for an esports tournament with $34 million on the line. And with so much at stake, early Sunday morning, Dota 2 set even more records with its first-ever back-to-back champions and its highest viewer count ever on Twitch. Last year’s champions, Europe’s OG, absolutely dominated this year’s event which went late into Saturday night and peaked with 1.1 million viewers early Sunday morning during their 3-1 Grand Final victory over Europe’s team Liquid. After last year’s TI8 Grand Finals saw a 100k decline in viewers, this year’s TI9 had an impressive comeback with a 51% increase in viewership on Twitch. But what was most impressive about this year’s record-breaking stream for Dota 2 was the timing of the live stream on Twitch. With most of Twitch’s regular viewer base still asleep in the United States when this year’s main event ended at 8AM ET/ 5AM PT, TI9 crushed Dota 2’s previous peak of 845k viewers that took place during more normal hours two years ago at TI7 in Seattle.Dota 2’s Player Base is the Highest it's Been in 2 YearsFeb 11, 2019 - GitHypOnce Steam’s most popular game (before PUBG took over), Dota 2’s player base has been on a steady decline since peaking with over a million concurrent players back in 2016. But a new user-created custom game mode and less competition from Blizzard have resulted in Steam's second most popular game making a comeback with Dota 2's player counts now the highest they’ve been in two years. Similar to Dota’s own origin story, a custom map created by Chinese developer, Drodo Games, called “Auto Chess” has captured the attention of Dota 2’s player base in a way that Valve once dreamed only Artifact could. In Auto Chess, players fight across an 8x8 field that mimics a chessboard using Dota’s own heroes for game pieces. Auto Chess' gameplay has been able to create its own little niche of MOBA players who want a greater focus on strategy and less emphasis on fast-paced APM. Dota 2’s in-game counter for Auto Chess has at times shown over 200k concurrent players, which helps explain Dota 2’s own 17% increase in players from January’s 491k average to an average of 573k over the past 30 days. And while Auto Chess can account for most of Dota 2’s new/returning players, another factor has been Blizzard’s announcement that they’ll be shifting focus away from Heroes of the Storm. Considered the third most popular MOBA in the world behind League of Legends and Dota 2, news of Blizzard moving developers to other projects and canceling HotS’ major esports events has made Dota’s community look even more appealing to HotS players looking to abandon ship. Auto Chess isn’t likely to become the next Dota or PUBG creating a new genre overnight, but with its popularity increasing among players, streamers, and catching on even more in China, Valve shouldn’t take any chances letting this developer get away – especially not with Artifact dropping outside of Steam’s top 100 most played games.Dota 2’s The International 2018 Finale was Down Over 100k Viewers Compared to Last Year on TwitchAug 27, 2018 - GitHypEven with a better first day, bigger prize pool, and an epic storybook ending, this year’s biggest Dota 2 event couldn’t manage to top last year's viewers on Twitch. The International 8’s grand finals brought in a peak of 730k concurrent viewers as Europe’s OG took China’s PSG.LGD all the way to the very last game of a best-of-five heart-pounding finale. But while OG’s Cinderella story had Dota 2’s analysts, commentators, and viewers all on the edge of their seats in what many consider TI’s greatest grand finals, it fell short of last year’s peak of 845k viewers. TI7’s far less exciting finale featuring EU’s Team Liquid taking home the victory over Newbee in just 3 quick games. And resulted in an impressive 44% increase in viewership compared to TI6 on Twitch which is still Dota 2’s most watched stream ever. Known for having the biggest single event prize pool in all of esports, The International once again set a new peak of $25 million this year with OG taking home $11 million for first place. However, the $23.9 million contributed by players just barely topped last year’s player contribution of $23.2 million. And surprisingly, it was Day 1 of TI8 that had 100k more viewers than last year’s event. But with player counts down 35% since Dota 2’s peak two years ago and other games like Fortnite taking over Twitch, we predicted that TI8 wouldn’t be able to top TI7’s finale. One thing we didn’t see coming, however, was Valve’s unexpected and accidental reveal of their own streaming service, Steam.tv, which contributed to the decline in viewers on Twitch. Their new site pulled away over 80k viewers from Twitch during TI8’s final matches – but even with the numbers combined, TI7’s viewership still fell short of last year's record-setting peak.Dota 2’s Viewer Base and Prize Pool is Bigger Than Ever at The International 2018Aug 21, 2018 - GitHypWith a peak of 1.3 million players back in March 2016, the decline of Dota 2’s player base and the rise of PUBG on Steam has led to many claiming that Valve’s popular MOBA is a "dead game." But even with the player base at half of what it once was, Dota 2 is far from dead when looking at the game’s stats and popularity as a competitive esport. Last year's biggest Dota 2 event, The International 7, saw its peak viewers on Twitch increase by 44% compared to TI6's grand finals going from a peak of 588k viewers to 845k viewers. This year, TI8 on Twitch is already off to a better start with a peak of 645k viewers on its first day. An increase of 100k viewers when compared to 2017’s first day peak of 546k viewers. Dota 2’s remaining player base have also proven their loyalty and demand for more in-game content by contributing $23 million towards the free-to-play game's Battle Pass system and increasing TI8’s total prize pool to $25 million – the largest it's ever been and an increase of over $200k compared to last year. The International 8’s grand finals are set for this Saturday, August 25th, and while it might not see another 44% increase in viewers, the event should be able to continue its growth and top last year’s peak concurrent viewers on Twitch.Dota 2 Hits New Viewer Peak with The International Up 44% Compared to Last Year on TwitchAug 15, 2017 - GitHypMore Dota 2 viewers than ever tuned in over the weekend to watch The International 7 on Twitch. And with good reason. The Valve-sponsored event for their multiplayer online battle arena game had its highest prize pool ever with a shocking $24 million on the line and the champs taking home over $10 million. Getting into the Twitch numbers, Dota 2 brought in a peak of 845k viewers as Team Liquid defeated Newbee in Saturday's Grand Final. This was an impressive 44% increase in viewers compared to last year when TI6 brought in 588k viewers at its peak. [caption id="attachment_284426" align="aligncenter" width="770"] Dota 2's Peak Viewer Counts on Twitch via GitHyp[/caption] The increase in popularity has also brought Dota 2 closer than ever to topping its biggest competition, League of Legends. Riot’s MOBA hit its own all-time peak of 988k viewers back in 2015, but compared to 2016, LoL’s viewership for its own World Championship event was actually down 5% last October on Twitch. TI7 also helped put Dota 2 over 1 billion total views on Twitch. An impressive number, however, LoL still more than doubles that with 2.1 billion as Twitch's most watched game. But in terms of big eSports competitions, both MOBAs still have a way to go before dethroning Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s record-setting 1.1 million peak viewers that the Valve shooter brought in earlier this year.Steam's Most Played Games of 2016Jan 7, 2017 - GitHyp2016 was another great year for games, but it was also a year filled with the the rise and fall of many new games that over-promised and under-delivered. As a result, Steam's list of most played games in 2016 ended up looking almost the exact same as it did in 2015. Last year's top titles held their spots as newcomers who started off strong quickly lost their player bases by the end of the year. Looking at new releases on Steam in 2016 tracked hourly by GitHyp, the highly hyped and highly controversial, No Man's Sky, had the highest peak player count with 212k concurrent players in a single hour.
  1. Dota 2 / 1,286,617 peak players (#1 in 2015)
  2. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive / 845,806 peak players (#2 in 2015)
  3. No Man's Sky / 212,321 peak players (new)
  4. XCOM 2 / 132,834 peak players (new)
  5. Dark Souls III / 129,922 peak players (new)
Other newcomers such as XCOM 2 (132k players) and Dark Souls III (129k players) also had great launches, but only peaked at half of NMS' record-setting number to round out the top 5. While No Man's Sky, XCOM 2, Dark Souls III, and others such as Tom Clancy's The Division and Total War: Warhammer all had strong launches, none were able to hold their ground and each had huge drops in players that made headlines. Other previous heavy-hitters also made headlines due to under-performing launches such as Call of Duty which was down 76% from last year and Watch Dogs 2 which dropped 61% since the last entry in the series. When looking at the more stable average players per hour metric, 2016 ended the same as 2015 with the exception of Fallout 4 -- which didn't just fall out of the top 5, but also the top 10 at #12.
  1. Dota 2 / 636,607 avg. players per hour (#1 in 2015)
  2. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive / 360,600 avg. players per hour (#2 in 2015)
  3. Team Fortress 2 / 50,802 avg. players per hour (#4 in 2015)
  4. Grand Theft Auto V / 40,258 avg. players per hour (#5 in 2015)
  5. Sid Meier's Civilization V / 37,885 avg players per hour (#9 in 2015)
Dark Souls III dropped to #21 on Steam with an average of 14,186 players per hour. No Man's Sky dropped all the way down to #41 on Steam with an average of 8,393 players per hour. And XCOM 2 barely made the top 50 coming it at #44 with an average of 7,815 players per hour. When looking at the average players per hour, it was actually the free-to-play team-based shooter, Paladins, that ended as 2016's strongest new release ranking in at #15 on Steam with an average of 22,809 players per hour.

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