The Outlanders update has finally arrived for Dota 2, bringing two new heroes, a map re-work, and a whopping 62 neutral items with it. This is the biggest overhaul the game has gone through since the 7.0 update back in 2016. It's no doubt that even the most ardent of fans are struggling to keep up with all the changes.
Dota 2 is a Valve MOBA that released in Beta back in 2011. Since then, Dota 2 has become renowned as one of the most complex games ever made, so much that Elon Musk's company OpenAI used the game to develop critical long term planning in its artificial intelligence system. That system, which OpenAI dubs the 'OpenAI5' beat the best players in the world, signaling a massive jump forward for AI. Aside from complexity, Dota is also one of the most popular e-sports in the world. As evidence of that popularity, last year's The International 2019 had the largest prize pool in the history of gaming, a feat achieved in large part thanks to the community's crowdfunding efforts that inflated the prize pool over $30 million USD.
Dota 7.23 or what Valve is calling "Outlanders" is a giant leap in a new direction for the game. The two new characters are Snapfire, a support character who is an elderly woman on a dragon, and Void Spirit, a carry who is the fifth 'Spirit' character to grace the 199 hero roster. But the biggest changes are not these two new playable characters. The map has been re-worked, getting rid of side-shops completely and replacing them with capturable outposts, similar to Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm. Parts of the map have been expanded and neutral camps have been moved, and bounty runes now spawn in four locations instead of two, none of which are on either Dire or Radiant high ground.
The most radical change in Outlanders is the introduction of neutral items. These are items that neutral camps drop in six waves throughout the game. Each item is transferable between team-mates and are designed with team synergy in mind. Some of these items are returning fan favorites like the Ring of Aquila and the Poor Man's Shield, while others are new additions like the Craggy Coat and Witless Shako. Support players may be happy to hear that each character now gets their own courier to transfer items throughout the map. Finally, Observer Wards are now completely free, which should help newer players get a feel for one of the game's most important competitive features.
If there was any expectation that Valve would streamline Dota 2 to appeal to casual fans of other MOBAs, the Outlanders update proves the company remains committed to providing a deep, sometimes complicated experience to its dedicated fans. Valve has expanded the Dota IP in recent years with the releases of Artifact and Dota Underlords that may appeal to fans intimidated by Dota 2's depth, although both games have struggled to take off with the same fervor as the game they are inspired from. Even the mainline Dota 2 game itself currently projects the lowest player count in five years. Perhaps the Outlanders update is exactly what the game needed to get back on course, but it does have the appearance of an update that will mostly go towards satisfying current or lapsed players without doing much to entice newer ones into the fold.
Dota 2 is available now on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.
Source: Valve