Dota 2

Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. It is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients, a popular game made by fans for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. In Dota 2, two teams of five players each try to destroy the other's main building, called the Ancient. Each player controls a unique character, called a hero, and collects points and items to make their hero stronger.

Dota 2 began development in 2009 and was released in July 2013 for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The game is free to play, and players can buy special looks for their heroes but nothing that changes how the game is played. Valve keeps the game updated and offers extra features through a subscription called Dota Plus.

The game has a big world of competitive play, with teams from many countries competing in big tournaments. The most famous of these is called The International, organized by Valve. This tournament collects money from fans and often has prizes of over US$40 million. People watch these matches live in big arenas and also online, with millions of viewers.

Even though Dota 2 can be hard to learn at first, many players love its exciting gameplay and high quality. Since it came out, it has been one of the most played games in the world, with over a million players at the same time at its peak. The game lets fans create their own game modes and designs, and it has also inspired other games, comics, and an anime series.

Gameplay

See also: Mechanics of multiplayer online battle arena games

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game where two teams of five players try to destroy a big building called the "Ancient" that belongs to the other team, while protecting their own. Players use real-time strategy controls to guide their characters on a single map shown from above.

Each player chooses one of 127 playable characters, called "heroes". These heroes have different looks, strengths, and weaknesses. They are split into two main roles: cores and supports. Cores get stronger over time and can lead the team to win. Supports don’t deal much damage but help cores with healing and other useful skills.

Before the game starts, players pick their heroes in a drafting phase. Once a hero is chosen, no one else can pick it. Heroes start with basic attacks and one skill, but they can learn more skills as they gain experience level. The most powerful skill is called the "ultimate" and needs the hero to be level six to use.

Heroes have three main traits: strength, intelligence, and agility, which affect health, magic points, and speed. If a hero runs out of health points, they leave the game until a timer ends, then return with less gold.

The two teams, Radiant and Dire, start in bases on opposite sides of the map. The map has three paths called "lanes" with towers that defend against enemies. Weak computer-controlled creatures called "creeps" move along these paths and attack enemies. The map is covered in fog of war, so teams can’t see each other unless they are close.

There are also neutral creatures in the jungle area between the lanes. The strongest is Roshan, a boss that gives special items when defeated. Runes appear on the map and give temporary boosts like extra damage or hiding from enemies.

Players can buy items from shops to give their heroes special powers. They get money by defeating enemies and creeps. Different game types change how heroes are picked, like random assignments or faster matches. Special events like Halloween and Christmas bring fun themed games.

Development

See also: List of video games derived from mods

The Dota series started in 2003 with Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a mod for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. It was created by a designer named "Eul". Later, another version called DotA: Allstars became very popular.

A person named IceFrog took over and led the design. By the late 2000s, Defense of the Ancients was very popular around the world. Valve, the company behind games like Team Fortress 2, wanted to create a modern sequel to this mod. They worked with IceFrog, and in 2009 he joined Valve to design Dota 2, which was announced a year later.

Valve used the name Dota for their new game. There was some disagreement over who owned the name, but it was settled, and Valve kept the commercial rights. The game kept many ideas from the original mod but used Valve's own technology. Many people from the original mod community helped create Dota 2, along with professional writers and voice actors.

The game was released in 2013 and included features like coaching for new players, watching others play, and a system for tracking player skill. In 2015, Valve updated the game to use new technology, which brought back many players after some early problems. The game also allowed players to create custom modes and buy special looks for characters.

Release

Dota 2 was shown to the public at Gamescom in 2011 during a big tournament called the International. Valve started sending out invitations for a special testing phase to players of an older game. Originally, the game was planned to fully launch in 2012, but Valve changed their plans. They allowed everyone to talk about the game openly in September 2011.

After almost two years of testing, Dota 2 officially came out on Steam for Windows on July 9, 2013, and later for OS X and Linux. Not all characters from the original game were included at first; they were added later, with the last one arriving in 2016.

In December 2016, Dota 2 got a big update called "The New Journey." This update changed many parts of the game, including the map, the way players plan before a match, and a new system for improving character abilities. In 2017, Valve made changes to the ranked matching system, requiring players to register a unique phone number. They also changed the way players were ranked to be more like other competitive games.

In 2018, Valve started making smaller updates every two weeks instead of big ones. They also introduced a monthly subscription called "Dota Plus," which offered extra features and rewards for players.

Esports

Valve wanted to get lots of players from an older game, Defense of the Ancients, to try out Dota 2. They did this by holding a special tournament at Gamescom in August 2011, which later became a big yearly event called The International. Starting in 2013, the prize money for The International came from players buying special in-game items called "Compendiums." These items gave players cool cosmetics and bonuses. A quarter of the money made from selling these Compendiums went to the prize pool. In 2013, this raised over $2.8 million, which was the biggest prize pool in esports at the time. By 2021, the prize pool for The International had grown to $40 million.

Other big esports events also started including Dota 2 competitions in the early 2010s. By the end of 2011, Dota 2 was already one of the best-paying esports games. In 2015, Valve held the Dota 2 Asia Championships in Shanghai, with a prize pool of over $3 million. By June 2017, professional Dota 2 tournaments had given out over $100 million in prizes, with most of that coming from The International events.

Major Dota 2 events, like traditional sports, have analysts who talk about the games before and after they happen. During the games, there are play-by-play and color commentators who explain what’s going on. Most Dota 2 tournaments are shown live on Twitch, an online platform. Some events are also broadcast on TV in different countries around the world.

Reception

Dota 2 has been very well received by reviewers and players alike. Many consider it one of the greatest video games ever made. Reviewers praise its deep gameplay, balance, and rewarding nature. The game’s design, including its user interface, voice acting, and characters, has also been highly complimented.

One common point of discussion is the game’s learning curve, which can be quite steep for new players. Some reviewers noted that the game’s community could be unwelcoming to newcomers. Additionally, there have been concerns about third-party websites that allow betting and gambling on match results, which some feel should be more strictly regulated. Despite these criticisms, Dota 2 remains a favorite in the MOBA genre, often compared favorably to other popular games like League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm.

Awards

Dota 2 has received many awards and nominations since its release. It won several awards in 2013, including PC Gamer’s esport game of the year and GameTrailers’ Best PC Game of 2013. IGN awarded it Best PC Strategy & Tactics Game, Best PC Multiplayer Game, and People's Choice Award. The game was also nominated for several other major awards, including the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year and the British Academy Games Awards’ best multiplayer game. It continues to be recognized in the esports world, winning the award for best MOBA at various award ceremonies.

Legacy

Before Dota 2 was even released, it was already very popular. Just a month before it came out, over 330,000 people were playing it every day on Steam, more than all the other top ten games combined. For four years, it was the most played game on Steam, with over one million players at its peak. It stayed at the top until another game, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, took its place in 2017. Big tournaments for Dota 2 attract millions of viewers, and some schools even teach students how to play.

Because Dota 2 became so popular, the creators made many products with the game’s characters and items, like clothing, toys, and statues. They also worked with other companies to make special items for the game, like computer mice and virtual reality experiences. In 2018, they released a card game called Artifact and added special content from other games into Dota 2.

Valve made a movie called Free to Play in 2014 about the game and its players. They also started a series called True Sight in 2016, showing real players in big tournaments. Valve supports fans who dress up as characters from the game and even holds contests for short films and comics. In 2021, an anime series called Dota: Dragon's Blood started on Netflix.

Scientists have also used Dota 2 to study how computers can learn. They created computer players that got better by practicing over and over. These computer players have even competed against top human players.