I decided to catch up with Dota 2 during the Bali Major this year. It has been five years since I’ve watched Dota. (It’s been even longer since I played it.) I’ve really been enjoying Dota again. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed.
First, the game has totally changed. I guess it’s normal that an ongoing game changes but the amount of changes that has happened in Dota is staggering.
The biggest change are changes to the map. The lanes are huge now. In the past, the lanes were narrow and they were confined. The trees are much more sparse especially in the jungles.
Another big change is that there is a warp that goes from the off-lane jungle to the safe-lane jungle. I’m trying to understand how the pros are utilizing this warp. It seems like it is used after killing Roshan.
Roshan is another change that has been made. Roshan used to be located in the river but now there are two spots where Roshan spawns in the safe-lanes. I’m still not sure if he spawns in both or if it’s only in one. I’m not an expert and I have done zero research into these changes.
There are also some objective “fountains” located throughout the map. It takes a moment for the hero to do the objective and they get something from the objective. I am not 100% sure how these work.
Gems have also changed a bit. They seem to spawn in the river as they always have but there are some other spawn points.
The last change that I can think of, remember this is coming from a self-proclaimed amateur who has been away from things for some time; there are some new heroes.
It is cool to see new heroes. One of them rolls up into a ball and it’s a swashbuckler. There is a lizard that grabs a hero and slams them into the ground like Hulk did to Loki. There are others but I haven’t gotten a good idea of what powers they have because as I have only been watching streams for about a week.
I’ve been really digging the teams and the casters for the Bali Major. Dota has gone through some tectonic shifts in the last few years not only because of the version upgrades but the community has changed as well.
I feel like the community is strong. Is it as strong as it once was? I don’t think so but I still think that Dota has a strong community and the game is well made enough to withstand the test of time.