Huge Dota 2 update changes just about everything about the game
Dramatic new gameplay and heroes lead some players to call it Dota 3
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Your support makes all the difference.A major update to Dota 2 has been rolled out, bringing new characters, gameplay and features to the hugely popular game.
Dota 2 developer Valve published a blog post detailing all the changes introduced through the Outlanders update, also known as the 7.23 gameplay update.
All players will now receive their own courier and can level up their heroes to 30, while significant changes were also made to the map.
The Outlanders update also finally brings the characters Void Spirit and Snapfire to the game, which were first revealed in August.
Snapfire, a shotgun-wielding grandma goblin, was greeted with intrigue by Dota 2 players when she was announced.
Little was known about her abilities beyond her fondness for baking cookies and throwing them at people. With the latest update, Valve revealed everything there is to know about the latest hero.
“Just as happy to blow your legs off with her trusty scattergun as to fill your belly up with a deliciously-dangerous cookie, Beatrix Snapfire delights in riding into battle with her dragon toad Mortimer, always ready to mow down their enemies with her home-made heavy artillery,” her description states.
Snapfire’s weapons include the Scatterblast gun that works best at point-blank range, and Firesnap Cookies that can be fed to Mortimer or allies to allow them to hop.
Mortimer is also fitted with mounted battle cannons called the Lil’ Shredder, as well as the ability to unleash Mortimer Kisses – burning globs of “firespit” that incapacitate enemies.
The second new character, Void Spirit, is the eldest of the game’s so-called spirit brethren and is able to “stand guard over multiple areas of the battlefield at once”.
The update page states: “Not even the other spirits claim to understand the mind and machinations of the eldest amongst them... Privy to secrets that would shatter a mortal mind, the void spirit observes the workings of the universe from an unknowable vantage.”
The drastic nature of the update led some eSports teams to label the Outlanders update Dota 3.
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