Valve has finally broken its silence. The Dota 2 developer has shared details of the new ranked season, new hero releases and updates to guilds and Dota Plus in the latest blog post. 

Dota 2 players usually expect new hero announcements at the end of The International. There was no International this year and Valve did not announce new heroes. In the latest post, Valve said Dota 2 players can expect a new hero by November and subsequent hero releases will be spread through next year. 

When Is the Next Dota 2 Hero Releasing?

Snapfire was one of two new Dota 2 heroes in 2019. 

The next Dota 2 hero will release towards the end of November, so it is the same timeline as every year. The only difference this year is the lack of an announcement at the end of TI, cause there was no TI. 

We are hoping a steady state of content will prove to be more engaging to users than the previous approaches.

After the November release, Valve aims to spread out Dota 2 updates throughout the year instead of focusing all content near The International. So Dota 2 players can expect multiple hero releases through 2021 leading up to a potential International event at Stockholm. 

Update to Guilds and Dota Plus

The Dota 2 battle pass introduced guilds and they have been a major hit. Players could earn rewards, mostly focused around the battle pass, by completing guild missions and challenges. Guilds are here to stay albeit with a few tweaks. Guild members now play matches to earn guild points that reward users with Shards. Previously a Dota Plus exclusive, Shards are now available to every player. A new ‘Shard Shop’ offers premium hero sets, legacy hero sets and tools, all of which are available to everyone. 

Dota Plus users can use the new role assistant feature during the pick phase.

The new update closely integrates Dota Plus into the game while also providing non-Dotaplus plebs a sneak peek into the subscription-only feature. A few popular features of the 2020 battlepass such as Chat Wheel sound effects (eg. Moo, Orchestra Hit), Pull timers, post-game healing and gold breakdowns and the MVP feature are now a part of the Dota Plus service. 

How Does Valve Plan to Tackle Toxicity in Dota 2?

Valve has not forgotten about the in-game toxicity, rest assured. Image Credit: Wykrhm. 

Finally, the game developer talks about toxicity in Dota 2, a big talking point in recent months. Valve’s improved smurf detection systems are already separating new accounts from entering the pool of normal or new players. The update helps in identifying smurfs and moving them closer to their correct MMR faster. Some features are already live in the game, but there are a few that are still in the experimental stage. Valve has banned 14000 booster accounts in the past thirty days due to improved detection systems. 

Finally, Valve is working on a new ‘Overwatch system’ similar in some ways to the one used in CS:GO. The Overwatch system allows Dota 2 users to review in-game reports of cheating, hacks and in this case, most likely accounts with negative behavior.

Spooky Release Planned For Next Week

Lastly, we’ve done some engine development that results in moderate performance improvements on multi-core CPU’s and will be bringing those to Dota. There’s still a bit of testing to do as it may result in some bugs, but we are aiming towards the next week or so for it. As you can expect, given the code changes required, the release could be a little bit spooky.

A new performance update will release next week, an update that Valve describes could be spooky. Earlier this year, Valve invited workshop artists to submit cosmetics for heroes with a Halloween theme. 

Reddit user /u/Flam3ss had found information on a Diretide 2020 event in the game’s files during a previous patch update.

Diretide 2020 could be coming soon to Dota 2. Image Credit: Reddit user /u/Flam3ss.

Diretide is one of the most popular events in the game and its return to the game would be a pleasant non-surprise for Dota 2 players. For now, Dota 2 players can look forward to a confirmed new hero release towards the end of November and earning shards in the game. 

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