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30 CommentsDota 2 set for release this summer, before The International 3 in August
By Samit Sarkar on Jun 17, 2013 06.17.13
Valve plans to release the full version of Dota 2 this summer, before the International 3 tournament, according to a report in the July 2013 issue of PC Gamer confirmed by ValveTime. The International 3 is set to take place Aug. 7-11 in Seattle. Valve first unveiled Dota 2 during Gamescom 2011 after working on it for two years, and launched an invite-only beta in November of that year. Dota 2 is a free-to-play title, but interested parties can spend $29.99 for an Early Access package on Steam that Valve launched at the end of May 2012.
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12 CommentsDota 2 network gives player lifetime ban for throwing match to win bets
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Jun 17, 2013 06.17.13
Dota 2 network StarLadder TV has banned a player for betting on his team losing after a "suspiciously horrible performance," reports Join Dota. Player Alexey "Solo" Berezin bet $100 on his team, roX.KIS, to lose its Star Series match against team zRage last week. Berezin reportedly won $322 in bets for the loss. Starladder issued Berezin a lifetime ban and handed out three-year bans to three of his teammates, as well as a year-long ban for the entire team. Team roX.KIS issued a statement stating they did not throw the match, and that the team "believes in the innocence of its players and staff" and the "evidence base is very uncertain." The team states the IP from which the bet was made is not Berezin's, and the site where he placed the bet, egamingbets.com, allows betters to cash to...
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13 CommentsDota 2 patch makes many balance tweaks, may add native offline support
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Jun 05, 2013 06.05.13
The latest patch for Valve's massive online battle arena Dota 2 brings with it a score of balance changes and tweaks to champions, and may also add native offline support for the game client, according to posts on Steam and Reddit. In addition to a few bug fixes correcting some incorrect attack properties and Ownage sounds not playing for certain kills, the patch brings a lengthly list of changes made to various heros' damage-dealing, skills sets, HP and MP costs and strength boosts. Tweaks have also been made to several dozen attacks, including damage increases and decreases as well changes in cooldown time. Reddit user "vtor67" also posted on Reddit's r/Dota2 forums a screenshot of the game's test client running without a connection to the Steam servers. The user writes that this...
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25 CommentsDota 2 ban system results in a rise in improved behavior
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 29, 2013 05.29.13
The negative communication ban system Valve is testing with multiplayer online battle arena Dota 2 has resulted in a significant drop in negative behavior and number of banned players, as well as a rise in players who improve their behavior, according to a post on the Dota 2 blog. The system was set up in an effort to discourage negative communication and derogatory speech among players in the Dota 2 community. Valve reports there has been a 35 percent drop in negative interactions since the system was implemented, and less than one percent of Dota 2's active players are currently banned. Of those who are banned, Valve reports 60 percent of players modify their behavior in the future and receive no further bans, and the total number of reports are down by more than 30 percent. A...
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6 CommentsDota 2 breaks own record for most concurrent users on Steam
By Jenna Pitcher on May 21, 2013 05.21.13
Valve's real-time action game, Dota 2, broke its own record for the most concurrent users in history on Steam since its own record in March. Dota 2, which is still in beta, registered a peak of 329,977 players on Saturday. That day coincided with Dota 2's West Qualifier for The International tournament, which ran from May 13 to 19. Last March, Dota 2 registered 297,000 players, breaking The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim's record in 2011 by nearly 10,000 users. A graph depicting Dota 2's growth in comparison to Skyrim can be viewed here. Dota 2's The International tournament's East Qualifiers are underway, running from May 20 to 26, with the main tournament taking place on Aug. 7. Valve released The International Interactive Compendium, a virtual book to keep players filled in on tournament...
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13 CommentsPapa John's promotion offers half-price pizzas for eSports support
By Samit Sarkar on May 20, 2013 05.20.13
U.S.-based fans of eSports have a few major incentives to dine at Papa John's for the next week, since the fast-food pizza chain is offering a half-price discount for online orders made in support of eSports. From today through May 27, eSports fans can head to pizza.gg and click through to the Papa John's website in support of the eSports players, teams and leagues of their choice, even for individual games. That includes organizations like Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses for games such as League of Legends and Dota 2. They'll receive 50 percent off a pizza by entering the promo code "PIZZAGG." Of course, it wouldn't be a video game-related promotion without some gamification, and as more people order pizzas, they'll unlock 10 levels of objectives for swag like mouse pads, T-shirts and...
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19 CommentsValve unveils Steam Trading Cards for players to earn and trade for rewards
By Dave Tach on May 15, 2013 05.15.13
Valve unveiled a beta program for Steam Trading Cards today, which users can earn, trade and cash in for rewards, according to a press release from the company. Participating players will earn game-specific trading cards and turn them in for rewards like game badges, profile backgrounds, emoticons, coupons and more through the Steam Trading Cards program. "Up to half" a game's card set will be available from playing the game. The other half is "earned through your collecting prowess." Players who "craft" their cards into game badges, which appear on user profiles, can also "level up" their badges by collecting the set of cards again. Games supporting the Steam Trading Cards at its beta launch include Don't Starve, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2...
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4 CommentsDota 2 launches digital 'interactive compendium' for The International tournament
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 08, 2013 05.08.13
Alongside the Dota 2 International tournament, Valve will launch The International Interactive Compendium, a virtual book designed to keep players caught up on tournament events, the company has announced. The Compendium is currently on sale in the Dota Store at $10 each. Those with tickets to attend The International tournament will receive a Compendium as part of their admission. The Dota team wrote on the game's official blog that the Compendium will also allow players to sync up with other viewers to play rounds of Dota 2, as well as give buyers eligibility for special virtual item drops through the duration of the tournament. Compendium owners will also be able to vote on community polls relating to the tournament, including which tournament participants should receive certain...
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4 CommentsDota 2's third The International tournament heads to Seattle on Aug. 7
By Michael McWhertor on Apr 25, 2013 04.25.13
Valve will host its third Dota 2 championship tournament on Aug. 7 when The International returns to Seattle, Wash. for a five day event. Sixteen teams will compete in The International 3. The first team invited to this year's tournament will be returning champions Invictus Gaming. Valve says on the official Dota 2 website that 12 more teams will be announced "over the coming days." The winners of the East and West Qualifiers will join those 13 invited teams. Those qualifiers will be hosted by GDStudio from May 13 to 19 for the West division and by BeyondTheSummit from May 20 to 26 for the East division. A wild card match between the two runners-up of the East and West Qualifiers will determine which team scores the sixteenth and final spot. The International championships for Dota 2...
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6 CommentsDota 2 update introduces new Skywrath Mage hero
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Apr 21, 2013 04.21.13
Dota 2's latest update introduces players to a new character, Skywrath Mage, and implements several gameplay and community fixes, according to a post from Valve. Skywrath Mage is a radiant ranged intelligence hero and deals damage with abilities such as Arcane Bolt, Mystic Flare, Concussive Shot and Ancient Seal. The Dota 2 wiki page notes that while the Skywrath Mage is one of the game's most powerful heroes, he's also weaker to attacks. Several bugs have been fixed with the update as well, including problems with the Timberchain traveling too fast or not latching, buff bugs and Fixed Tower attack speed. Reports have also been reduced to four per week and now allow single selection of behavior type. You can read the full update here. Thanks for the tip, Andre.
