Dota 2 19th June Patch – Content Analysis

This week’s Dota 2 test client update has arrived early bringing us the shitty wonderful wizard, Rubick. You can view the full changelog here. 

Front End Changes

UI Updates

This week’s patch brings a couple new additions to the UI. An interface for selecting the in game announcer you want to use and updates to the tournaments watch tab.

Announcer Selection UI

The announcer selection UI lets you choose between the default Dota announcer and custom announcer packs that you can now purchase.

The interface for changing the announcer in game:

The announcers on the test store (At a guess the Mega Kill sets will play for all of the players in the game when the killing spree message is related to you, eg: you get a double kill):

Backpack UI

The in game backpack has been updated to now display 64 items instead of 25.

Visual Updates

We’ve a couple of visual updates in this patch.

Mirana’s Arrow

Mirana’s arrow has received a 20% reduction in size.

Skadi Particle Effect

Skadi now has a particle effect.

Hero Animation Updates

We’ve a number of animation updates for the older heroes in this patch.

Alchemist’s Animation Updates

Alchemist has some new animations:

run_haste
injured_run
victory
spawn
teleport
teleport_end

Victory animation (No one will ever see this):

Ancient Apparition’s Animation Updates

Ancient Apparition has a number of new animations:

ancient_idle_injured
ancient_idle_alt
aa_victory
ancient_run_haste
ancient_run_injured
aa_spawn
aa_teleport
aa_teleport_end

Teleport Scroll start animation:

Anti-Mage’s Animation Updates

Anti-Mage has a couple new animations:

teleport
teleport_end

Teleport Scroll end animation:

Axe’s Animation Updates

Axe has a few new animations, mainly for his Blood Chaser cosmetic item.

run_injured_blood_chaser
idle_injured_blood_chaser
attack_main_injured

Dota 2 Store Update

The in game Dota store has been updated with a number of new additions. We’ve new items, couriers, announcers and more. (Some of the icons are temporary)

New items (for Witch Doctor)

New Couriers

Frog:

Imp:

New Taunts

(This is not one use, you get 50 uses out of it).

New Announcers

You can listen to the announcers here:

Dr. Kleiner’s Pack: http://www.dota2wiki.com/wiki/Dr._Kleiner_Announcer_Pack

Juggernaut’s Pack: http://www.dota2wiki.com/wiki/Juggernaut_Announcer_Pack

Nature’s Prophet’s Pack: http://www.dota2wiki.com/wiki/Nature’s_Prophet_Announcer_Pack

In Game League Passes

The weekly readers will know that there have been a number of references to an in game league pass system. The system will now be launching with JoinDOTA’s Defense tournament becoming the first 3rd party tournament to make use of it.

The league passes will allow you to view all of the tournament games live on Dota TV (In game, in glorious HD) and will also give you full access to the replays. You can find a full blog post from Valve detailing this new system here.

Tournament Tab

The tournament tab has been updated to reflect the release of the league pass system.

Each tournament is now displayed on a separate row with a tournament card, name and description.

Clicking on the tournament will open a full page view displaying a list of the current live tournament games and a list of replays for matches which have already finished.

The tournament system in action:

Rubick, the Grand Magus

The arrival of Rubick in Dota 2 gives us a version of the hero who is not limited by engine limitations and some sexy custom spell animations that are specific to him for the spells he steals.

Rubick – Lore

“Any mage can cast a spell or two, and a few may even study long enough to become a wizard, but only the most talented are allowed to be recognized as a Magus. Yet as with any sorcerer’s circle, a sense of community has never guaranteed competitive courtesy.

Already a renowned duelist and scholar of the grander world of sorcery, it had never occurred to Rubick that he might perhaps be Magus material until he was in the midst of his seventh assassination attempt. As he casually tossed the twelfth of a string of would-be killers from a high balcony, it dawned on him how utterly unimaginative the attempts on his life had become. Where once the interruption of a fingersnap or firehand might have put a cheerful spring in his step, it had all become so very predictable. He craved greater competition. Therefore, donning his combat mask, he did what any wizard seeking to ascend the ranks would do: he announced his intention kill a Magus.

Rubick quickly discovered that to threaten one Magus is to threaten them all, and they fell upon him in force. Each antagonist’s spell was an unstoppable torrent of energy, and every attack a calculated killing blow. But very soon something occurred that Rubick’s foes found unexpected: their arts appeared to turn against them. Inside the magic maelstrom, Rubick chuckled, subtly reading and replicating the powers of one in order to cast it against another, sowing chaos among those who had allied against him. Accusations of betrayal began to fly, and soon the sorcerers turned one upon another without suspecting who was behind their undoing.
When the battle finally drew to a close, all were singed and frozen, soaked and cut and pierced. More than one lay dead by an ally’s craft. Rubick stood apart, sore but delighted in the week’s festivities. None had the strength to argue when he presented his petition of assumption to the Hidden Council, and the Insubstantial Eleven agreed as one to grant him the title of Grand Magus.”

Rubick – In Game Shots

Yes, this is Rubick using Batrider’s Firefly spell and flying around on his staff like a witch.

Rubick – Model Viewer Shots

Not pictured in the model viewer is the awesome bubbling particle effect at the top of his staff.

Back End Changes

Updated Strings

The Battle Point clarification strings have been updated and now say that all bot matches (not just practice matches) will not award Battle Points, which at a guess means COOP games will no longer be awarding BP:

    "DOTA_Chat_NoBattlePoints_Bots"  "Battle Points will not be awarded for this match because it is against bots."
									

Strings for the new announcer selection UI:

    "DOTA_Announcer_Select_Title"      "CHOOSE AN ANNOUNCER"
    "DOTA_Announcer_Default"        "Default Announcer"

									

Wisp now has ability strings:

    //Wisp

    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether"                    "Tether"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether_Description"              "Tether yourself to an allied hero granting both of you bonus movement. When you heal health or mana your target gains the same amount. Stuns any enemy unit that crosses the tether. Breaks when they distance is too great or you cancel the tether."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether_radius"                "MAX RADIUS:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether_movespeed"              "SPEED BONUS:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether_stun_duration"            "STUN:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether_break"                "Break Tether"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_tether_break_Description"          "Break the link to the unit you are tethered to."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits"                    "Spirits"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_Description"              "Summon five spirits that dance in a circle damaging all that they hit around you. If the wisp hits an enemy hero they will explode damaging all in an area around them."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_creep_damage"            "CREEP DAMAGE:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_hero_damage"              "HERO DAMAGE:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_min_range"              "MIN RADIUS:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_max_range"              "MAX RADIUS:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_in"                  "Spirits In"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_in_Description"            "Calls the spirits closer to you. Can be toggled on and off."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_out"                  "Spirits Out"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_spirits_out_Description"            "Sends the spirits farther away from you. Can be toggled on and off."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_overcharge"                  "Overcharge"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_overcharge_Description"            "You and any unit that you have tethered gain increased attack speed and damage resistance at the cost of draining 2.5% of your health and mana per second."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_overcharge_bonus_attack_speed"        "ATTACK SPEED:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_overcharge_bonus_damage_pct"          "INCOMING DAMAGE REDUCTION:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_relocate"                  "Relocate"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_relocate_Description"            "CHANNELED - Teleport yourself and any tethered ally to any location on the map. After the spell expires you and any tethered ally will return to where you teleported from."
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_relocate_channel_time"            "CHANNEL TIME:"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_relocate_return_time"            "RETURN TIME:"

    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_tether"                  "Tethered"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_tether_Description"            "Movement speed increased and giving regen to ally"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_tether_haste"              "Tethered"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_tether_haste_Description"        "Movement speed increased and getting regen from wisp"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_overcharge"                "Overcharged"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_overcharge_Description"          "Attack speed increased, Incoming damage reduced"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_spirits"                "Spirits"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_spirits_Description"          "Surrounded by friendly spirits"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_relocate_return"            "Return"
    "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_wisp_relocate_return_Description"      "About to return to old location"
									

The team strings have been updated to reflect the new banner systems:

    "Team_Create_Full_Name"     "Full Team Name"
    "Team_Create_Full_Name_Desc" "This will be shown in your team's profile page."
    "Team_Create_Tag"           "Team Tag/Abbreviation"
    "Team_Create_Tag_Desc"    "This will be shown in lobbies, scoreboards, and the in-game HUD."
    "Team_Create_Logo"          "Upload Team Logos"

    "Team_Browse_Logo"          "Team Interface Logo. This logo will be used in the HUD, lobbies, and so on. It will be resized to 250 x 150 pixels."
    "Team_Browse_Base_Logo"     "Team Base Logo. This logo will be used to decorate your in-game base. It will be resized to 256 x 256 pixels."
    "Team_Browse_Banner_Logo"   "Team Banner Logo. This logo will be placed on your in-game banners. It will be resized to 256 x 256 pixels, with the front of the banner in the left half of the image, and the rear in the right."
    "Team_No_Logo"        "NO LOGO SPECIFIED"
									

Subscriptions tab has now been renamed to “Tournaments”:

    "dota_watch_subscriptions_tab"                "TOURNAMENTS"  
									

Failing to download a replay will now display an error message, giving the user some information on why their download failed:

    "replay_download_failed"                    "REPLAY DOWNLOAD FAILED"
    "replay_download_fail_code"                    "Download Error: %s1"
    "replay_download_open_failed"                  "Unable to open replay file.  Please ensure no other processes have this file open."
    "replay_download_create_failed"                  "Unable to create replay file of the specified size.  Is your disk full?"
    "replay_download_request_fail"                  "Failed to send request for part of file."
    "replay_download_handle_fail"                  "Failed to find file handle."
    "replay_download_chunk_not_found"                "Failed to find file chunk in download list."
    "replay_download_write_failed"                  "Unable to write to replay file."
    "replay_download_data_failed"                  "Failed to get data from download buffer."
    "replay_download_decompress_failed"                "Failed to decompress replay file.  Please try downloading the replay again."
									

Strings for the new league pass system:

    "missing_league_subscription"    "This game is a league game that requires a subscription to watch."

    "DOTA_LeagueViewPass"  "Activate this tournament?"
    "DOTA_LeagueViewPassEnabled" "Tournament Activated! You can find it under the Watch/Tournament's tab."

    "DOTA_Subscription_Teams"  "Teams"
    "DOTA_Subscription_TeamsVS"  "%s1   VS   %s2"
    "DOTA_Subscription_Website" "Tournament Website"
									

The voice actors credit list has been updated, listing Barry Dennen (Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer) as Rubick’s voice actor.

    // Voice Credits
    "DOTA_ActorCredits"          "Barry Dennen - Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer, Rubick"
									

The drop rate modifier message has been updated to display more information:

    "DOTA_DropRateModifier_Remaining"            " - Remaining: <font color='#FFFFFF'>%s1, %s2</font>"
    "DOTA_Time_Remaining_Minute"        "%s1 Minute"
    "DOTA_Time_Remaining_Minute_Plural"      "%s1 Minutes"
    "DOTA_Time_Remaining_Hour"          "%s1 Hour"
    "DOTA_Time_Remaining_Hour_Plural"      "%s1 Hours"
    "DOTA_Time_Remaining_Day"          "%s1 Day"
    "DOTA_Time_Remaining_Day_Plural"      "%s1 Days"  
									

There is now a store tab for “Tournaments” and there’s also a string reference to a additional crate type that can potentially award more than one item, “In addition, this crate has a chance of containing an extra bonus item”:

    "Store_Tournaments"      "Tournaments"

    "Econ_Additional_Crate_Drop"    "In addition, this crate has a chance of containing an extra bonus item:"
									

Unreleased Hero Portraits & Ability Icons

We’ve another new portrait for one of the unreleased heroes in this patch.

Wisp’s Portrait & Ability Icons

Wisp now has an in game portrait and finished ability icons.

      

Unused Cosmetic Items

We’ve more updates to the unused cosmetic item models.

Queen of Pain’s Cosmetic Items

Queen of Pain’s snake dagger has been updated and now has some textures:

Unreleased Store Items

There are now more references to these “Strange Essences“. We have a number of new types instead of the standard “Carries Killed” one that we were already aware of.

Strange Essences

At a guess, these strange essences will allow you to turn any existing cosmetic item into a strange item, applying which ever stat tracking attribute you like, ranging from the number of first bloods you’ve gotten to the number of wards you’ve planted.

First Blood:

Godlike:

Gold:

Wards:

New Chest Series

Similar to Juggernaut and Nature’s Prophet, there’s now a chest series for Axe.

Unreleased UI Updates

Team UI

The team UI has once again been updated, the new system allows for teams to upload three types of logos now, a “Team Interface Logo”, a “Team Base Logo” and a “Team Banner Logo”.

These logos will be displayed in game replacing the base logo and the base banner with the custom images the team has picked.

Valve Lambda team’s base:

Materials Update

More texture updates for the unreleased heroes.

Luna’s Materials Update

 

 

Undying’s Materials Update

 

 

Particles Update

We’ve a bunch of particle updates for the unreleased heroes.

Disruptor’s Particles

Keeper of the Light’s Particles

Luna’s Particles

Templar Assassin’s Particles

Wisp’s Particles

Relocate timer:

Predictions For The Next Hero

Going to carry on sticking with Luna as my prediction for the next hero. Also Undying and Wisp are most likely going to arrive soon as well.

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