Dota 2 gets a new hero all about friendship and the abyss

Valve has been slowly bringing the heroes created for the original DotA mod over the years to Dota 2, and since Arc Warden’s addition late last year, there’s been just one left to go. Now, finally, a year after his expected reveal at least year’s International, the final DotA hero who hasn’t made the transition to Dota 2 since the game launched in 2011 is almost here.

Announced during The 2016 Dota 2 International Championship’s yearly All-Star match, Vrogos the Abyssal Underlord is a teamfight oriented control hero with a special, obnoxious ability: he can teleport his teammates and himself to a friendly unit on the map with his ultimate ability.

Abyssal Underlord made its debut as a "surprise" as the 10v10 combined players/fans game got underway. Johan "N0tail" Sundstein’s Sand King was quickly replaced with the Underlord, sending a rumble through the crowd.

It was widely believed in online Dota 2 community circles that Valve would announce and release the hero last year, with subtle teases referencing the character in official art and lore. The hero’s purple and green color themes even made an appearance on stage at one point during last year’s all-star match. Underlord’s official existence has been less than a secret for years now, as files within Dota 2’s test client included the hero, and tutorials online have described how to use the un-finalized hero in bot matches. He was most recently hinted at in the free online comic Valve commissioned and released for The International’s compendium/battle pass starring the Legion Commander a month ago.

Judging by previous hero reveals at The International, Abyssal Underlord will likely arrive in Dota 2’s main client a week or so after the tournament concludes, along with a balance patch. You can find more information about how to watch The International 2016 here, and you can learn more about watching Dota 2 as a normal, not-obsessed person with our guide.