How eSports Phenomenon ‘DOTA 2’ Captured 2014
Massive online multiplayer gaming brand "Defence of The Ancients 2," (DOTA 2) attempted leaps and bounds in 2014 which was marked by some hits and misses. As the year unfolds, we look back at the some of the highlights (or lowlights) of the eSports phenomenon that captured the imagination of players worldwide.
New Characters Included In the Game
Valve finally relented to a lot of fan requests and pulled the leash on some of the playable characters who were made available in 2014. Terrorblade, who looked like an incarnation of the devil was unleashed, and Phoenix, which embodied the inspired image of a falling star, were some of the selectable new characters made available. Before the year ended, the game added Goblin Techies, a bomb menace that could give all troubles in the map and Oracle who could manipulate and disrupt other characters with arcana spells were added.
Arrow Gaming Match Fixing Scandal
Not to be lost in all the "DOTA 2" news is how international team, "Arrow Gaming" was exposed of its scrupulous ways. It came as a shock to everyone that one of the renowned teams in Southeast Asia purposely lost games to inferior teams in the Synergy League in exchange for item bets. As a result, the team was blacklisted in every tournament and had to issue an apology through their Facebook page. The scandal was exposed after Arrow Gaming's associates (a girlfriend of one of the members) was found to be betting heavily on the other side.
Nemesis Contract
By the end of November, Valve changed the way players approached the game by introducing the Nemesis Contract event. Players who purchase a $35 item for Phantom Assassin will be given an in-game contract to kill a player in the opposing team and whichever team comes out victorious in the end will be granted set items. This arrangement paved the way for strategically placed picks and swayed the gameplay from pushing the towers and conquering each other's bases to fulfilling the contract first and securing the win later. Needless to say, the event was a huge success based on the number of purchases of the cosmetic items and servers getting full traffic during the event.
No Diretide or Frostivus event
Sadly, this year marked the time when no candy cane or Santa gifts came to town. "DOTA 2" cancelled its two staple holiday events in Diretide, the Halloween event which was a huge hit last year and Frostivus, which was supposed to be the Christmas offering. The developers instead focused on game updates and in developing a new engine that could support the ever growing fan base. Recently, it unleashed the "Shifting Snows" update which brings a winter themed map to the players and added new items in the DOTA store.
In the end, all the tweaks that Valve and Steam brought to the legions of "DOTA 2" enthusiasts were geared into producing a better match-making and gaming experience. 2015 is already shaping up to be a better year as the developers have vowed to put out a stable engine and platform that can better match players and reduce in-game inconsistencies.
