This week’s Dota 2 test patch has brought us a bundle of joy with three new heroes to pick from featuring Gyrocopter, Phantom Assassin and Chaos Knight (Yes, all three I listed in my prediction).
You can view the full changelog here.
Front End Changes
We’ve a number of front end changes in this patch. New heroes, UI updates, visual updates and more.
UI Updates
We’ve some more UI updates this week.
Replay UI
The replay UI now has a “Copy to Clipboard” feature that will put a dota 2 link on your clipboard that links directly to the match and the specific time you were at.
For example, “dota2://matchid=15478&matchtime=300” will go directly to five minutes into match 15478.
Item Recycling
This is an undocumented feature that I forgot to cover in last week’s patch. Deleting an item from your Dota 2 backpack will give you a chance of getting back an item of the next rarity tier. (This does not work on chests)
So for example if I was delete my rare Sven bracers there’s a chance that I would immediately get back a Mythical item. The percentages on these are unknown so use at your own risk!
Visual Updates
A couple of visual updates this week, including a special “hall of fame” recognition for Na’Vi.
Aegis of Champions
Back in January we got a model named Aegis, this model has now been put to use inside the fountains of both teams, clicking on the model displays a hall of fame labelled “Aegis of Champions”, currently the only trophy on display is for Na’Vi’s victory at the first International.
Morphling’s Visual Updates
Morphling has received a few visual updates for his abilities.
Agility morph effect:
Strength morph effect:
Replicate overhead timer:
New Heroes
This week’s patch treats us with three new heroes.
Chaos Knight
“The veteran of a countless battles on a thousand worlds, Chaos Knight hails from a far upstream plane where the fundamental laws of the universe have found sentient expression. Of all the ancient Fundamentals, he is the oldest and most tireless—endlessly searching out a being he knows only as “The Light.” Long ago the Light ventured out from the progenitor realm, in defiance of the first covenant. Now Chaos Knight shifts from plane to plane, always on the hunt to extinguish the Light wherever he finds it. A thousand times he has snuffed out the source, and always he slides into another plane to continue his search anew.Upon his steed Armageddon he rides, wading into battle with maniacal frenzy, drawing strength from the disorder of the universe. A physical manifestation of chaos itself, in times of need he calls upon other versions of himself from other planes, and together these dark horsemen ride into battle, as unstoppable as any force of nature. Only when the last Light of the world is scoured from existence will the search be ended. Where rides the Chaos Knight, death soon follows.”
Gyrocopter
“After serving through a lifetime of wars, upheaval, riots, and revolutions, the brass figured Aurel had seen enough. But in addition to a few trinkets and his considerable pension, the erstwhile engineer left with something far more interesting: a long-forgotten, incomplete schematic for a Gyrocopter, the world’s first manned, non-magical flying device. Retiring to the tropical obscurity of the Ash Archipelago with little else but time and money, he set to work building the device. As the years wore on and the remains of failed prototypes began to pile up, he began to wonder if mechanical flight was even possible. A decade and a day after his retirement, on a sunny afternoon with a southerly breeze, Aurel sat in his latest attempt bristling with indignation and expectant failure. With a grunt of effort he pulled the ignition cord and covered his head, waiting for the inevitable explosion. However to his great surprise he began to lift and, following a few panicked adjustments, stabilize. Within an hour, he was ducking and weaving with the breeze, level with the gulls, and Aurel found himself filled with the breathless wonder of flight. As dusk settled in he set a course back to his workshop, but no sooner had he turned his craft when a cannonball tore through his tailfin. Disentangling himself from the wreckage, he swam toward the nearest piece of land in sight, and cursed to see the ship responsible for the cannonball collecting the debris. Days later, when Aurel returned to his workshop, he set to work on yet another gyrocopter, this one capable of carrying a much heavier, more dangerous payload.”
Featuring great voice work such as:
Phantom Assassin
“Through a process of divination, children are selected for upbringing by the Sisters of the Veil, an order that considers assassination a sacred part of the natural order. The Veiled Sisters identify targets through meditation and oracular utterances. They accept no contracts, and never seem to pursue targets for political or mercenary reasons. Their killings bear no relation to any recognizable agenda, and can seem to be completely random: A figure of great power is no more likely to be eliminated than a peasant or a well digger. Whatever pattern the killings may contain, it is known only to them. They treat their victims as sacrifices, and death at their hand is considered an honor. Raised with no identity except that of their order, any Phantom Assassin can take the place of any other; their number is not known. Perhaps there are many, perhaps there are few. Nothing is known of what lies under the Phantom Veil. Except that this one, from time to time, when none are near enough to hear, is known to stir her veils with the forbidden whisper of her own name: Mortred.”
Back End Changes
We’ve a handful of back end changes this week.
Updated Strings
Only a couple of small string updates in this patch.
Strings for the new “Aegis of Champions” hall of fame:
"ent_dota_halloffame" "Aegis of Champions"
Updated voice actor credits (Barry Dennen – Chaos Knight, Gin Hammond – Phantom Assassin, Nolan North – Gyrocopter)
Barry Dennen - Chaos Knight, Phantom Lancer
Gin Hammond - Crystal Maiden, Drow Ranger, Mirana, Phantom Assassin, Vengeful Spirit, Enchantress, Spectre
Nolan North - Brewmaster, Gyrocopter, Lone Druid, Lycan, Ogre Magi, Shadow Demon
Unreleased Courier Update
We’ve a number of updates to the unreleased couriers.
Frog Courier
The frog courier model has been updated with animations and he also has a little backpack now.
Bonus GIFs
Idle fly catching animation:
Death animation:
Flying Frog Courier
The flying version doesn’t have any animations yet.
Imp Courier
The standard and flying versions of the imp courier have had some more animation work done.
Bonus GIF
Death animation:
Flying Imp Courier
The flying version also has had some animation work done.
Bonus GIF
Idle animation:
Unreleased Hero Portraits & Ability Icons
We’ve some new ability icons and another unreleased heroes portrait.
Keeper of the Light’s Portrait
Naga Siren’s Ability Icons
Unused Cosmetic Items Update
This week’s patch brought some new unused cosmetic items into the files. *
* Disclaimer: These items have not been implemented in the game, the models are just in the files, that does not mean they will added into the game.
Axe’s Cosmetic Items
Battlemallet:
Broodmother’s Cosmetic Items
Blademother Set:
Dazzle’s Cosmetic Items
Bone necklace:
Juggernaut’s Cosmetic Items
Slackjaw:
Tidehunter’s Cosmetic Items
Headdress:
Windrunner’s Cosmetic Items
Nature’s Bow:
Witchdoctor’s Cosmetic Items
We’ve a large number of new, unused cosmetic items for Witch Doctor.
Aligator Mask:
Demon Skull Staff:
Horn Mask:
Pet Snake:
Ribcage Backpack:
Shrunken Head Staff:
Spiral Staff:
Tribal Mask:
Voodoo Dreads:
Voodoo Hat:
Voodoo Skullmask:
Wooden Mask:
Materials Update
We’ve a few material updates this week for the unreleased heroes and portrait backgrounds.
Portrait Background’s Materials
We’ve a new portrait background in this patch for Undying,
Undying’s Materials
Visage’s Materials
Particles Update
We’ve some more particles updates for the unreleased heroes this week, including a couple of new arrivals.
Disruptor’s Particles
Rubick’s Particles
Visage’s Particles
Predictions For The Next Hero
Now that we’ve got that chunk of heroes out of the way I’m not sure who will be next, I’m going to go with Undying for the next hero to be released.
Meepo and Luna shouldn’t be too far off as well.
Shoutouts
Got another couple of shoutouts to make this week.
DotaInsight.com
I recently recorded an interview with the awesome guys over at DotaInsight, they have been running a weekly Dota 2 podcast for a while now, it’s very entertaining and I highly recommend checking them out.
You can catch the interview here: http://dotainsight.com/special-cast-cyborgmatt-visits/
And you can find the rest of their podcasts here: http://dotainsight.com/podcast/
Cyborgmatt’s Workshop Collection
I have started putting together a collection of the cool items I come across in the Dota 2 Workshop. I will be updating it on a weekly basis. If you’ve something on the workshop and need a bit of help getting exposure, send me an email and I’ll see what I can do.
You can check that out here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=75132139
