Whoever is responsible for timekeeping at Valve should be fired. Why? Well, on September the 2nd, Lord Gaben’s organisation announced that the official Dota 2 Reborn update would be arriving, and I quote, “within the coming weeks”. I took that to mean maybe a month, possibly two – I mean, this is Valve after all! Then, yesterday, a week after the initial announcement, it was said that the update would be coming to the main client “in the next day or two”. Again, this is Valve we’re talking about here, so I took it to mean sometime tomorrow – the latest possible time. Yeah, that timekeeping employee really should be fired for being too accurate, because Reborn has now officially become the main Dota 2 client.
Those who ignored the Reborn Beta were forced to preload the update yesterday in preparation for its official launch. I hope you’ve done it overnight or something already, because it was pretty damn big!
Finally, Dota 2 has received the overhaul I’ve been wanting for so long! You can see what the new changes are right here, here, and here.
Don’t worry, if you’re a lazy bugger, here’s a quick recap of what the Reborn update brings to the popular MOBA:
- Overhauled dashboard
- Redesigned hero browser
- New ways to watch/spectate
- Improved ways to learn Dota 2 (guided bot matches, tutorials focusing on game mechanics)
- Custom games (you can play them, or make your own with developer tools)
- Source 2 Engine (basically, this is what powers Dota 2 now)
- Source Filmmaker in Dota 2
- Improved networking
Keep in mind that this is a really basic overview. If you’d like a more detailed read, I would highly recommend clicking on all three of the hyperlinks I’ve left above.
One thing I was looking forward to in Reborn the most was the improved networking. Would playing on European servers be a lot less laggy? It didn’t feel like it when I played the beta, but that was months ago. Regardless, there are still South African servers, which are the optimal way to play the game any day.
I look forward to seeing what else Valve will be adding to their MOBA now that Source 2 is powering it. Maybe now we will finally get those outstanding heroes from the original DotA. Would it be too much to ask if we will be getting Diretide this year too? I really hope so!
Last Updated: September 10, 2015
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 10, 2015 at 12:09
Well of course a day or two, if they said three days it would never arrive. 😉
RinceThis
September 10, 2015 at 12:43
Corner, now!
Dom
September 10, 2015 at 12:24
So *this* is why my Dota 2 wanted to download 7GB last night. I uninstalled it because fuck downloading a 7GB update for a game I don’t play. 😛
RinceThis
September 10, 2015 at 12:57
lol
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:46
Goodbye Sir. Fare thee well in all your future gaming endeavors! Crystal Maiden will miss you. I feel like she’s the only genuinely nice hero out of the lot. But that’s just because she’s as thick as a log. 😛
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 12:28
My gf played on the EU servers last night. Not only were the people much, MUCH better at dota, but they were far more pleasant. Also, the lag was not noticeable.
Scruff304
September 10, 2015 at 12:34
I might have to give the EU servers a bash again. I tried them a few months ago (wanted to try ranked) and while not impossible to play, I could definitely notice the delay.
z1n
September 10, 2015 at 13:06
I also noticed that. However when I was on EU (a while back, source 1) i was getting 220-250ms. I’ve been told Reborn improves that a lot. Any idea of the latency your gf was getting?
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 13:46
No actual numbers no, but she didn’t notice much difference between that and our local servers, which was nice. She did say they were rather boring to play with, the EU players. XD
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:47
I find that they’re not as aggressive on EU servers. Or that could just be because I’m horribly shit at DotA and they’re just good. 😀
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 13:48
Says the captain of a team that made playoffs.
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:49
WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND RUINING MY SECRET IDENTITIES?!
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 13:52
I didn’t say which team. There are 22 that made playoffs. 2 being retired before competing though, if I read the tables correctly.
z1n
September 10, 2015 at 13:49
Clearly you missed the russians.
SargonTheRebornBatpanda
September 10, 2015 at 14:06
I used to get Russians so often when I was new and pretty shit at DotA. But I haven’t heard a Russian accent in RSA or Europe West for over a year now. Perhaps the RNG Gods have deigned to smile upon me in this way, rather than providing me with awesome loot drops. 🙂
Scruff304
September 10, 2015 at 14:40
There an option now in Reborn which you can tick, and it will give you some simple stats. Think it FPS, Ping and Packet loss. Get her to try it out.
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 14:44
I might do the same. If and when I return to Dota. For now I’m still on my latest Terraria binge. Expert mode and the 1.3 content are going to keep me busy for weeks. Again. XD
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:46
I have folks reporting 150ms.
z1n
September 10, 2015 at 13:48
Yeah that’s what I’m hoping for.
TBH been playing on 3g the last couple of weeks which is around 100-150ms. As long as the latency is consistent it’s fine to play with.
RinceThis
September 10, 2015 at 12:38
Well this makes me sad…
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 10, 2015 at 12:47
…
RinceThis
September 10, 2015 at 12:55
Trap sprung!
Alien Emperor Trevor
September 10, 2015 at 13:05
….
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:44
So the cat from the last picture is now hidden inside David Hasselhoff’s watch?
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 13:47
Why did the cat steal the knife?
For the watch!
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:49
I want to laugh. I do. But it uses a sect of popular culture that’s quality makes me physically ill. 🙁
Admiral Chief Returns
September 10, 2015 at 12:47
Meh
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:43
“1 person found this to be excellent”
“1 person found this to be excrement”
Now… people.. don’t let your irrational hatred of a MOBA stain the honour of our good and just Cabbage! The article was well presented! Sheeeesh. Haters ganna hate yo. 😛
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 13:47
I’ve just double the positive vibes yo! Let’s get more positive vibes!
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:51
YES! 2 for logic and reason, 1 for human excrement!
HairyEwok
September 10, 2015 at 13:47
I’ll try the EU servers just a bit, SA servers are way to toxic for me at the moment.
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:51
I just started playing HotS ranked calibration matches. People said HotS wasn’t toxic. Holy shit were they wrong. Just try playing ranked. NOT what I expected.
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 13:53
Try Smite. Not toxic at all, actually. Quite fun as well.
SargonTheBatpandaOfAkkad
September 10, 2015 at 13:55
No. No. No. I haven’t the space in my head for anymore of these games. 😛
Mossel
September 10, 2015 at 14:13
Yeah I got told to do everyone a solid and never play HotS again! haha. But that happened once, haven’t had issues since.
SargonTheRebornBatpanda
September 10, 2015 at 14:17
Oh. You’re one of THEM, then. I tell those people about a really awesome game they should go play that’d REALLY suit their personalities. I hope DotA 2 gets a few more lifelong fans soon. 🙂
Other than that. I find Swedish players to be the most friendly (and amongst the most mechanically skilled) in games thus far. But small sample size, irrelevant, etc. Just an observation.
Matthew Holliday
September 10, 2015 at 13:58
not sure SA servers even work atm anyway, they were down last night and was unabale to find games on reborn the previous night.
played EU last night, ping was 200, but it was pretty smooth and very consistant. felt like an SA 150
HairyEwok
September 10, 2015 at 14:01
Yeah I saw they were unknown with India last night. Played a custom game of 10v10 with just the click delay on the EU server, but otherwise the gameplay was smooth.
Pariah
September 10, 2015 at 14:22
It was a bug. Fixed in a patch this morning.