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The DOTA 2 Battle Pass has become synonymous with the most exciting period of the game's annual calendar. The hype for The International, one of the biggest tournaments on the esports scene, has once again started picking steam, and players have been clamoring for Valve to release the Battle Pass 2022.
Players nowadays are well aware of the concept of battle passes in competitive online games. In the simplest terms, the pass upon purchase gives players access to a number of unique cosmetics, titles, and other such items through a tier system.
The basic concept of battle passes in video games was showcased for the very first time during The International 2013 where Valve introduced it as the Compendium. Over the years, the battle pass has only grown in size and stature.
The DOTA 2 Battle Pass features a huge number of tiers for players to conquer, and provides a large number of items to play around with in the game. This article provides five things about DOTA 2's Battle Pass for new players of the game, which have made it one of the most sought-after things to get a hold of among the fans.
5 features of DOTA 2 Battle Pass that new players need to be aware of
1) The Prize Pool
Possibly, the most interesting aspect of the game's Battle Pass is the fact that 25% of all battle pass sales are directly added to the prize purse of The International. This has meant that year after year, The International has remained the biggest esports event, with respect to the prize pool, alongside an ever growing amount of prize money.
The crowdfunded nature of the battle pass has ensured that Valve repeatedly breaks the record for the biggest esports prize pool over the past decade since the game's Battle Pass, earlier called Compendium, began. The International 10 had a purse of a little over $40 million, around six million more than the previous iteration.
The insane prize money attaches a distinct fervor around the annual event, with players giving it their all to get a bigger piece of the pie and lift the hallowed Aegis of Champions above their head.
2) The Arcana
Amidst the countless cosmetics that exist in DOTA 2, the Arcanas are the rarest among the ranks of them all. They bring the biggest changes to how a hero looks in the game and how certain of their abilities, be it animation, particle effects, skins and sounds, change in-game.
At the moment there are twenty arcanas in the game for twenty heroes. Not all of these are purchasable once the pass is over. Players also get to vote on which hero they would like to have an Arcana of. This is a feature provided to any battle pass holder.
Part of the Aghanim's Labyrinth Battle Pass, the latest Arcana was the Dread Retribution Bundle released for Drow Ranger. It is likely that players will finally get the long-awaited Faceless Void Arcana this time around, while the fringes cheer and hope for a Chen Arcana.
3) Immortals and Cosmetics-like emotes, voice-lines
The DOTA 2 Battle Pass contains a number of cosmetic items that players can equip upon purchasing, or as they level up. The pass also features unlockable emotes, particle effects, iconic voice-lines and more. The added animation effects include blinks, fountains, teleportations and more.
Immortal sets are cosmetics that have custom ability effects and animations for heroes, but are not as encompassing as the Arcanas. DOTA 2 wiki states that there are 488 Immortal items, of which 34 are couriers and the missing heroes are Chen, Dawnbreaker, Marci and Io. It is likely that some of them will appear in the next battle pass.
Iconic lines from casters are also added as unlockable awards at various levels of the battle pass for players to equip and spam in-game. Notable ones over the years include "Lakad Matataaag! Normalin, Normalin."
4) Unique game modes and Cavern Crawl
Valve has utilized the Battle Passes to often introduce unique custom game modes that players can engage in. This is different from normal 5v5 matches with different goals and expectations. Some of these modes are real fan-favorites, like Siltbreaker 2017, Aghanim's Labyrinth 2020 and the Underhollow 2018.
DOTA 2 Battle Passes also bring the Cavern Crawl. Although it is not a custom game mode, it is an interesting mechanic that awards players with points and cosmetics upon winning matches with specified heroes.
5) Collector's Cache and Battle Level Bundle
Collector's Cache are high-quality submissions that have been presented to the DOTA 2 Workshop. The community has a say in the items that are presented and it makes for a gala time seeing all the artists sharing all their work across the game's subreddit. DOTA 2 wiki describes the treasure as follows:
"Collector's Caches are special Treasures that contain exclusive, untradeable cosmetic items. They can only be purchased during The International each year. Contents are generally based on the aesthetic theme of each year's tournament."
Valve also releases the Battle Level Bundle for pass owners to pick up. It is a special offer that has a discounted price for players to pay and get hold of cosmetic treasures and battle pass levels.
Valve recently revealed where The International 2022 will be held. They also announced the structure and schedule of the tournament and the date for the upcoming patch.
