Dota 2 is no longer the game that people think it is, not since the release of the Version 7.00 patch. This new “Journey” patch introduces changes to almost every aspect of the game; which should completely shake up the meta for the upcoming ESL One Genting in January.
First off, there’s a new hero in the world of Dota 2, the Monkey King. Inspired by Chinese mythology, the Monkey King is a melee carry type hero that brings the ability to leap across treetops. He can also use this perch to come crashing down on enemies with a slowing AOE effect.
Other than that, Valve has also released an Arcana, a “Monkey King” terrain, as well as two digital comic specially for this hero.
Valve has introduced a new pregame which includes a new pick phase and strategy phase. In the new pick phase, players will still be able to use familiar filters to sort heroes. Players will also be able to see hero highlight, team composition summary, and hero suggestions to help you pick a hero suitable for your team. In the strategy phase, players can now plan your lanes and ward spots, purchase starting items, all while the game loads in the background.
The entire UI of Dota 2 has also received a makeover. The HUD (heads up display) now has a smaller footprint and it changes dynamically to show different information according to the game’s situation.
The new Journey update also brings new gameplay to Dota 2. There’s now the Hero Talent Tree that grants a hero new talents to be selected at levels 10/15/20/25. Talents take the place of attritbute upgrades, and alter how a hero functions. These range from damage upgrades, to Ulti improvements, to simply giving the hero bonus XP. The catch is that there are two talents at each tier, and players can only take one of them at a time.
Hero inventories also get a new toy with the backpack that allows the player to carry three extra items. Items in the backpack cannot be activated or grant bonuses, but they can be used to complete recipes and players can swap items with a short amount of cooldown.
The Journey update also brings changes to the map, hero leveling, hero and item changes, new Shrine building, new Ancient creep, and more. For the full list of change, see them here. Other than that, Valve has also introduced community-authored bots, an improved showcase view, as well as hero remodeling on Slardar, Enigma, and Viper.
Those who are interested in getting version 7.00 of Dota 2, can check their Steam software as the update should already be rolling out as we speak. To see the entire list of what’s changed, head on to the official Dota 2 website here.
(Source: Dota 2)
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