What’s next for Dota 2?

By Sambit Pal
Modified Jun 16, 2021 10:00 GMT
The last major patch of Dota 2 was 7.29 (Image via Reddit)
The last major patch of Dota 2 was 7.29 (Image via Reddit)

After a long development cycle and several legal disputes over the ‘Dota’ franchise, Dota 2 was released as a public free-to-play game in 2013.

In the seven years since, the player count has seen many ups and downs. There have been many patches of stagnation where many expected the game to die off. But on the contrary, Dota 2 has proved its naysayers wrong in every patch. The first release patch, 6.72, and the current-day Dota 2 look vastly different.

In the most recent major patch, 7.29, Aghanim’s Shards upgrades were the new addition to reinvigorate the game. But what is the future of Dota 2?

Things unlikely to change in Dota 2

It is difficult to predict which turn a MOBA like Dota 2 will take in its next patch. Valve’s signature hush-hush approach towards its community does not help either. But there are a host of things that almost certainly will not happen in the future of Dota.

There will be no engine change in the foreseeable future. Valve ported the whole game into Source 2 back in 2015 with Dota 2 reborn. It was the first public release ever to feature the Source 2 engine. Whether the engine is suitable for Dota 2 is a matter of frequent debate in the custom games community.

An overabundance of particles or units on-screen still pushes the engine to its limits. Such scenarios, however, rarely happen in a regular Dota 2 match.

A part of the community has also been hankering for a surrender option for a long time. The lack of it would look strange considering its presence in LoL, the other juggernaut on the MOBA market. Due to its free-to-play model, smurf accounts are a prevalent menace in Dota.

Even non-competitive matchmaking in lower brackets is a chaotic affair in terms of balance. Games where a new player gets trapped in the fountain as their opponents camp with a mountainous net worth lead are commonplace. Even so, the introduction of a surrender feature is highly unlikely.

Much of the community also prides itself on having no surrender. They also make a solid argument: the bleakest moments of Dota 2 high ground sieges very often turn into dramatic comebacks. It is a part of what makes Dota 2 so great, after all.

‘The Great Confluence’ and map changes

The Dota 2 map is asymmetrical. Traditionally, the global win rate of the Radiant side has often been higher. With the introduction of outposts, this was changed as the Dire side now holds better late-game access to the Roshan pit.

Other than that, many discrepancies exist between the two sides of Dota 2. For instance, a core on the Dire side can jungle more efficiently early to midgame.

Valve tries to address this issue with map changes in nearly every major patch. After Dota 2 7.29, however, players are yet to see the much-expected changes in camp positions and terrain. Such patches usually roll out after a TI, which did not take place in 2020.

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As the Battle Pass goes online and the teams prepare themselves for the ultimate showdown in The Internationals, a post-TI map change is very likely on the cards.

Although purely speculation at this point, this update will likely be called “The Great Confluence,” which the hero Void Spirit refers to often. Along with many potential reworks, Dota 2 players may be looking at a major event on the same scale as Diretide.

Dota 2: Dragon’s Blood

A Valve-sponsored Netflix anime has done much to bolster the popularity of Dota 2. As an added effect, Valve has revamped the “new player experience” with a new set of crucial tutorials and a “New Player Mode.”

The first season of Dragon’s Blood ended on a cliffhanger, and production for the second one is already underfoot. If the anime blows up even more in popularity, it could also mean further quality-of-life changes in Dota 2 for the better.