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Dota 2: The New Frontiers Update is out and it's huge

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Dota 2: The New Frontiers Update might be one of the biggest updates to Valve's free to play MOBA ever and it's here now.

Starting with a new map that has been massively expanded with 40% more terrain. The interesting thing here is that the lanes aren't further away and everything is still focused on going through the centre but the expanded space opens the game up some more for new strategies.

Roshan has new homes, there's teleport towers to get from one corner of the map to another, there's Lotus Pools on the left and right sides of the map that spawn fruit to give Mana and HP which you can stockpile into a larger fruit too. On top of that there's powerful new neutral creeps to fight, special towers to capture to give extra vision, a new way to get out the back of your base when the enemy is attacking front and loads more. See the trailer below:

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Another big change is to heroes with a new attribute type with Universal Heroes, Valve say it's a "new main stat group composed of existing heroes that now gain 0.6 damage from each stat, of any attribute". Neutral creeps will get stronger over time now too, killing other players should have more of an impact now too, abilities that disable you have been nerfed so there's less sitting around, there's major changes to how matchmaking works and the list of changes just seems nearly endless.

I think it may be time for me to get back into Dota 2…at least I would, if it wasn't completely broken for me right now. Seems the new release has come with some issues, mine won't even launch on Fedora 38. Update: turns out my issue was a known bug with Vulkan loaders you can work around.

See all on the big update page.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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8 comments

StoneColdSpider Apr 21, 2023
Damn I havnt heard of DOTA 2 in years....... I didnt even realise it was still a thing......
ElamanOpiskelija Apr 21, 2023
Quoting: StoneColdSpiderDamn I havnt heard of DOTA 2 in years....... I didnt even realise it was still a thing......

Oh yes, and League of Legends is still there as well, and it's still even more of a thing.
Purple Library Guy Apr 21, 2023
Talk of "frontiers" reminds me of a terrible old Star Trek joke:

How many ears does Mr. Spock have?
Three. One on the right, one on the left, and the final, front ear.
mamiller Apr 21, 2023
Quoting: StoneColdSpiderDamn I havnt heard of DOTA 2 in years....... I didnt even realise it was still a thing......

MOBA games are like cockroaches, will outlive us all
14 Apr 21, 2023
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I had succumbed to the idea that I don't spend enough time in Dota 2 to get good enough to enjoy it anymore, so I've had updates on pause in Steam and only update it before big tournaments so I can watch them within the game client. I've turned spectator only. However, I will have to try these new changes!
officernice Apr 22, 2023
Quoting: 14I had succumbed to the idea that I don't spend enough time in Dota 2 to get good enough to enjoy it anymore, so I've had updates on pause in Steam and only update it before big tournaments so I can watch them within the game client. I've turned spectator only. However, I will have to try these new changes!

They've really turned things upside down. I finally reached a point where I got some good game knowledge and became somewhat decent. :D Going to be exciting to try this out!! Good luck! :)
ElectricPrism Apr 23, 2023
I did a few games with the bois.

Having played for nearly 10 years since Steam on Linux Alpha? Beta? -- it sure is a really big update.

In many ways it's refreshing. In some ways it's really overwhelming and adds yet another layer of complexity.

Jungle drops can now be converted into whichever Jungle item you prefer.

Some heros have been modified and feel different.

I want to like it, but as a weekly player I really don't know how to feel about it. The warp gates are neat from Top to Bottom lane and the trees feel more Jungle like.

It is cool the lanes have room on each side.

Much complicated feels on this one.
Brokatt Apr 24, 2023
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Quoting: ElectricPrismI did a few games with the bois.

Having played for nearly 10 years since Steam on Linux Alpha? Beta? -- it sure is a really big update.

In many ways it's refreshing. In some ways it's really overwhelming and adds yet another layer of complexity.

Jungle drops can now be converted into whichever Jungle item you prefer.

Some heros have been modified and feel different.

I want to like it, but as a weekly player I really don't know how to feel about it. The warp gates are neat from Top to Bottom lane and the trees feel more Jungle like.

It is cool the lanes have room on each side.

Much complicated feels on this one.

I'm in a similar situation to you. New things are exciting but with this many changes it's a bit overwhelming. The update changes so many aspects of game play. Most of the things I can get behind but expect (hope) a balance patch is imminent. Games so far feels a bit one-sided. Either you get tempo early and win the game of it or you just lose. I see this in pro-level tournament also. Could be that the update is so new that players have not yet found the correct strategies.
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