Next Patch Wishlist
A good balance between cosmetic content and balance update is necessary for the health of the game. While there is very little to complain about balance and meta-wise in the current, relatively fresh patch, we, like many others, are waiting for this year’s Crownfall-style event or, perhaps, even a TI Battle Pass. Here are our thoughts on what it could introduce.
Return of the classics
This is a matter of a lot of debate, but previously exclusive Battle Pass Arcanas and Immortals are slowly making their way back into the game. We fully support this approach, as it allows players to get items that are otherwise unobtainable. Maybe they didn’t play Dota back when it was released, or perhaps they now have more disposable income for their hobbies, but the only people getting potentially hurt by it are Dota traders who hoard various items for profit, rather than for enjoyment.
This behaviour is not necessarily problematic and a healthy trading scene isn’t detrimental to the game, but allowing new players to get cosmetics they like is going to create some extra interest, which is necessary for the longevity of the game.
While we are at it, perhaps the ability to unlock alternative styles on some items that were previously tied to the events and battle passes could also be considered. Personally, I still have a Kunkka Immortal from 2017 that I didn’t have the time to unlock back in the day. And it bothers me a lot more than I am willing to admit, despite not playing Kunkka all that often.
Less crawl, more quests!
Another very important change in Crownfall was the “questing” we got. The mini-games weren’t necessarily ground-breaking and some of them were borderline frustrating, but the questline itself was simply superb.
It is hard to have a “plot” in a Multiplayer, session-based game, but the way it was done in Crownfall was definitely a lot more enjoyable than the previous Cavern Crawls we had in Battle Passes. Between comics and party dialogues, it felt like there was something else to play Dota for, as opposed to simply enjoying the gameplay.
Good writing and great artwork takes time and commitment and last year’s comics were very well done. We hope that this is a new standard of quality we can expect from Dota events, as opposed to a glorious one-of.
Maybe less emphasis on mini-games could also save some time and workload. Sand fishing is still a recurring nightmare.
Aghs Labyrinth?
Labyrinth was by far the best custom event we had in Dota, at least in my opinion. It was fun, fresh and surprisingly deep. The market for co-op rogue-likes is also not particularly saturated, so it might even work as an introduction for new players into Dota.
What surprised me recently is that a lot of younger gamers aren’t familiar with the default Dota control scheme. Between RTS becoming a very niche genre and the rise of mobile gaming, the new generation of gamers are simply not accustomed to free camera control from an isometric perspective. Aghs Lab could be a great introduction to the control scheme, so that the potential transition to actual Dota could be made easier.
For Dota veterans it is simply a great way to unwind after ranked or perhaps reconnect with friends who’ve stopped playing actual Dota. The Dota design space is vast and there are definitely other genres custom games can borrow from, so maybe you have some interesting ideas as to what the next custom game could be?
Closing thoughts
As dedicated Dota players, we often overlook the importance of casual game enjoyment and while we wholeheartedly support the game balancing around higher levels of play and updates that make the game deeper and more complex, there is also nothing wrong with making the game simply more fun.
Wandering Waters update, in our opinion, is still underexplored. There are many hero and item combinations that could pop up and become the “new meta” and we feel like this patch is very far from being stale. So perhaps now is the best time to release an event patch or a Battle Pass one?
What are your thoughts on the matter? Would you prefer the next patch to be a balance and meta update, or an event of some sort? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Your king is back
i absolutely HATE this patch with all of my heart. I feel like i have to comment this while i dont usually do, because i am getting instantly stomped by a couple of early game heroes and have no way to bounce back. So new update pls
The stage is set
give new patch valve PLsss for like months the same heroes have been meta it's so boring to play the game like this vs the same heroes, they should at least do a mini-patch where they nerf the most op heroes before a big patch/event,,,,,
This is the first patch in a long while where there are no real obnoxious overbuffer heroes and I can play the game normally. Yes there are strong winners (WK, Jugger, Dusa) but they can be played around.
I just want an item patch mane
aghs lab would be GOATE, i really enjoy that event compare to the rest. 100% would want it back
The meta and game seems to be pushing towards 5-man-deathball early game push lineups more and more each day... The late game heroes are all but obsolete at this time. And mobility is a must for players to get some farm in between fights as the deathball... There are no pick-offs in the game now, you think you are going on 1 guy and his team is just hiding outside of vision all the time. It is getting ridiculous and favors certain type heroes too much. While chucking some in the bin in the process.
Something needs to be done about this. It seems there is no other way to play now... And having a quirky lineup is just an auto loss at the moment.
Siltbreaker was also great
BATTLE PASS
Map is way too big, get rid of watchers and battlepass
Nerf CM
Buff Omniknight
Nerf WK
Few years ago 55% was considered over imba
Now this branded trash has 58% for ages and nobody cares
They should definitely add some event like crownfall or aghs lab
YES, AGHANIM's LABYRINTH PLEASE VALVE, I'M LITERALLY BEGGING YOU HERE
As a community I think we need to hold back buying event items and battlepasses when the devs take so damn long to address chronic issues plaguing the game. Wintrading took years to fix, and hasnt even been really fixed, just swept under the rug. BS/CS is still doing nothing to moderate behavior. Think about this before you decide to shell out hundreds for a company that wont use a hundredth of the profits from microtransactions to improve game quality.
hot womans
hot womans
I just want some nerfs to meta and annoying heroes like Wraith King, Tinker and Jakiro
Game is like it removed the strategy out of the game and turned it into a 5v5 team deathmatch with a 10 minute laning stage
ага кнч