DOTA 2 Dev Tracker

The new Ranked season is here. Today’s blog will go over the changes we are doing as well as areas we are still thinking about. The changes in this update will be rolled out gradually over the next two days as we iron out bugs. The calibration part of the new season will begin this Thursday.

Role Symmetry
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One big observation that we had since the previous update was that matches with misaligned roles had a meaningful impact on game quality. An example of this is when the mid player for one team has the highest rank on their team, and the mid player on the other team has the lowest rank. This tended to cause games to be really volatile and not enjoyable. In the past we used to prioritize rank spread between the two teams as one of the main criteria for the matchmaker to judge success, however as part of this update we are changing its priorities. It will...

Road to the Aegis
Congratulations to OG, Grand Champions at The International 2019.

OG rebuffed every challenger and silenced all critics as the first reigning champions in the history of The International to successfully defend their hold on the Aegis of Champions.

After a dominating Group Stage that saw them drop only two games to their fourteen wins, OG squared off against a Newbee squad that was eager to prove themselves on the Main Stage. Newbee eked out a small advantage in the early goings of game one before OG took over and snowballed to victory. The defending champs never trailed in game two, and Newbee failed to ...

The Trove Carafe for The International 2019 is now available, featuring all-new items for Bounty Hunter, Crystal Maiden, Nature’s Prophet, Arc Warden, Templar Assassin, Chaos Knight, and Tusk. In addition, each treasure you open offers the chance to receive a rare item set for Techies, very rare golden versions of the Tusk or Crystal Maiden items, or an ultra rare set for Monkey King.

The Trove Carafe also lets you support your favorite broadcast talent at this year’s event by purchasing autographed versions of the treasure. Select the desired talent from the dropdown menu when purchasing to inscribe their autograph onto the item that you unbox.

Attendee Item Drops

Fans watching the tournament live at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai will once again have the chance to receive special item drops during the Main Event. At First Blood in each indiv...

Today’s update rolls out the exclusive ‘Majesty of the Colossus’ prestige item set for Tiny at Battle Level 255—along with the ‘Reptilian Refuge’ custom Radiant and Dire creeps at level 182—to fill out the Battle Pass rewards line as we approach The International.

Featuring completely new models for each of his Grow states, plus custom animations and effects for Avalanche and Tree Grab, the ‘Majesty of the Colossus’ can only be earned by increasing your Battle Level to 255 before the conclusion of The International 2019 Battle Pass. Players who’ve already grown to level 255 can claim this item set from the rewards line and roll into the lanes in splendor and style.

To accommodate the release of this new item set, Tiny’s item slots have also been updated and simplified to correspond to his four levels of Grow, and his materials have been optimized t...

Today’s update delivers the second half of the Summer Scrub, focused on bug fixes and some quality of life improvements just in time for The International.

One of the first changes you’re likely to notice is the implementation of a new version of the customizable hero grid. Players can now create multiple grid presets, each with their own unique layouts and categories. You can drag and drop heroes around the grid and rename or resize different buckets to suit your needs for any situation.

We’ve also added a new alternate layout for the in-game item shop that allows you to toggle the classic column view to ...

The International Group Stage is almost upon us. As the teams, fans, and broadcast crews make their final preparations for the crowning esports event of the year, it’s time to unveil some of the final details for everyone watching.

Tournament News

Head over to the in-game Compendium for a complete list of Casters and Talent for this year’s event. Don’t forget to fill out your predictions for hero picks, team results, player performance, and tournament meta. Predictions lock before the start of Group Stage play.

We’ve also launched the ...