Today’s update is now available in the new Dota 2 Test build. Everyone with access to Dota 2 should now see the Test build in their Steam Games Library. The changes in the Test build will remain there for a week, during which time we’ll be fixing any issues in them, before being promoted to the main Dota 2 build. For more info, read our previous blog about the Test build. Note that there will be a limited server capacity for the Test build, so you may find longer queue times there.

Today’s changelog is available here.

Finally, here are some community updates:

* The Team Dignitas Invitational has been announced.
* The fine chaps over at Gaming With Gizmoh are running a 24-Hour Dota 2 marathon for charity. We heard they might even be giving away Dota 2 keys.
* Check out this great looking Dota 2 art.
* Gosugamers has posted an interesting analysis of the Absolute Legends vs Na’Vi match in The Premier League. Watching this confirms what our mothers keep saying to us: We will never be any good at Dota 2.

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Bam! You didn’t think we’d make it this week but who’s laughing now! (Probably you since you just got a sweet new Dota 2 update).

This might be our biggest update yet. Outworld Destroyer joins us this week, along with a ton of new features. Here are some highlights:

• Added new game mode: Single Draft.
• Added querying of dead units. This lets you click allied portraits in the top bar to inspect their items and skills, even when they’re dead.
• Queued move commands show a waypoint flag briefly.
• Added new settings panel.
• Matchmaking displays average wait time for each region.
• New interface for finding lobbies.
• New Matchmaking panel.
• Players can chat and use voice communications while the game is paused.
• Added game mode (AP, SD, CM) selection for matchmaking.
• You can now find replays by MatchID from the Watch panel.
• Added Grid Mode to the Shop.
• Added Repick functionality to the hero picking panel (costs 100 gold to repick, lets you select a hero again).
• Implemented “Suggest invite to party” menu option.
• You can now see which heroes your allies are about to pick.
• Added Steam avatars in the scoreboard.
• Added the ability to jump to any position in a replay.

This update will be available to the main Dota 2 client. The new Test Build release schedule will start next week.

Changelog is avaliable here.

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To show you how much we love you, and how much you are in our hearts, and how damn sorry we are for ruining Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d share with you the final concept designs for three upcoming heroes: Lone Druid, Lycan, and Shadow Demon.

In an upcoming post, we’re going to dive into the actual process that leads up to these final designs, so you can get a sense for how we approach the problem of hero design.

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Yep, we’ve done it again. There will not be an update today.

Now, before you start a petition to get us all fired, let us tell you what is going on. You are probably aware that the number of people with access to Dota 2 is not equal to the size of the Earth’s population (our internal estimate of the number of people who want Dota 2). The primary reason we haven’t allowed everyone access to the game is because we don’t yet have enough server capacity to run all the games it would require. Our server deployment team has spent the last few months flying around the world setting up new server clusters to increase that capacity.

The extensive network changes we’ve been working on, to support the new replay system among other things, has resulted in significant changes to our servers. This is why we’ve taken longer than anticipated to get this update out. It’s also the reason why we’ll be needing to take down all Dota 2′s servers for 24 hours, starting Tuesday 14th at 11am PST.

On the bright side, our game team has been working as usual, building new heroes and features. So you can expect our next update, which we’re probably going to regret saying will be out next week, to be a packed one. In the meantime, here’s some light reading: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time

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We are working on a new update process that will allow us to build new features while minimizing the risk of destabilizing the game for everyone. To achieve this we are creating a new version of the game specifically for testing purposes. Everyone that has access to Dota 2 will find the new test version in their Steam games library, under the name “Dota 2 Test”. Instead of releasing the new content directly to Dota 2 each week, we will put it on this Test version first, where we’ll be monitoring it for any glaring issues. The week afterwards, we will update Dota 2 with the previous week’s Test version (while also releasing more new content in the Test).

As a result of this, both versions of the game will be getting updated each week. If you want to help test the new content, or just try it out ahead of time, you can play on “Dota 2 Test”. If you are more interested in stability and don’t mind being a week behind on new content and features, then you can keep playing Dota 2 as normal.

Unfortunately, the switch from previous update process to this one has been a little tricky, as we get the back end set up for Test, so there’ll be no update today. We still hope to have an update ready in the next few days.

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Clinkz the Bone Fletcher has risen from his grave and from the looks of him, he looks a bit upset.

We’ve been glued to our monitors watching the matches coming out of The Defense, make sure you stop by and check them out.

Next week we will change the way we ship new content to you every week. As mentioned in our previous update, old replays will stop working then, so don’t forget to save your favorite moments out to a video format.

Lastly, patch notes can be found here.

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This week we welcome the return of one of Dota’s most versatile heroes: Invoker!

In addition to the usual set of fixes and additions, this update also enables your Dota Profile page, which you can reach by clicking on your name in the mini-profile. You can also check out other player’s profiles by clicking on their names throughout the UI. On your profile you’ll find a variety of information about your Dota history, including links to replays of your recent games, your favorite heroes, commendations you’ve received from other players, and so on. Check it out, and let us know what else you’d like to see on there.

Also, a heads up about a change that’ll be coming in an update in the next week or two: we’ll be changing the replay format to a significantly better one, which will allow us to support a richer set of features when you’re watching a replay. The unfortunate side effect of the format change is that all old replays will not be watchable. We don’t anticipate ever needing to do this again, because the new format is much more stable. So, if you’ve got a favorite moment in an existing replay, make sure you record it out into a video within the next week.

You can find the latest changelog here.

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We now return to your regularly scheduled programming, starting with the longest changelist we’ve ever composed. If you were to stack all the text in this changelog it would reach the Mad Moon and back.

First things first: Spirit Breaker and Silencer have arrived.

Today’s update also includes several features we are really excited about. First, we’ve incorporated the latest Dota 6.73 changes, including 5 new items: Rod of Atos, Heaven’s Halberd, Ring of Aquila, Abyssal Blade and Tranquil Boots. We’ve also began deploying our new Spectator proxy system that will allow games to have an unlimited number of spectators. Not all games will support this at the start, while we gather data on the system’s performance, but we expect to finish full deployment soon. Another spectating feature we’ve added is Autospeed to replays: Autospeed will fast-forward games until high intensity moments are detected at which point it will return to regular speeds. So you can now watch Dendi harvest Battle Furies with your hands free!

For those running tournaments, this update also includes a new option in Private Lobbies to select which version to run: Latest or Tournament. The Latest version will always include all the most recent changes, while Tournament will create a game with the current tournament rules. And in other tournament news:

• StarLeague teams have been confirmed.
• The Brawl has opened up signups.
• The Premier is ongoing right now with coverage over at DotaCommentaries.com.
• TeamInfused is happening at the end of the month with hardware prizes.

You can find the latest changelog here.

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Today’s update had a contract on its head, and Gondar was happy to claim it.

As always, you can find today’s change log here. Our favorite addition is the broadcasting of spectator numbers to players in a game – a great way to make Dota stress your heart even more is to let you know there’s a crowd watching your every move!

Also, cookies and milk are a thing of the past. This holiday you should leave fresh chops, sweetbread and gravy near the chimney.

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After a long slumber, Ulfsaar the Warrior joins the carnage once more.

One cool new feature found in today’s update is the Suggested Item Editor. With it you can now customize your item builds while you play, and they will be available wherever you go, thanks to Steam Cloud.

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