This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　

Front End Changes

Changelogs

November 21st, 2013

- New Venomancer model

　　- Update to Gyrocopter model

　　- Update to Axe visuals

　　- Update to Luna model

　　- Update to Omniknight colors

　　- Update to Dazzle model

　　- Update to Pudge model

　　- Necrolyte changed to Necrophos

　　- Windrunner changed to Windranger

　　- Lycanthrope changed to Lycan

　　- Updated Necrophos voice processing.

　　- Bug Fix : Unusual Couriers will properly stop Unusual Effects on death.

　　- Workshop Fix : Workshop weapon submissions for Abaddon will include materialize/dematerialize settings.

　　- Added Teammate cooperation survey question

　　Diretide:

　　- More Flesh Heap fixes for Diretide

　　- Cleave no longer affects Roshan in Diretide

　　- Roshan movement cannot be obstructed during Sugar Rush

　　- Magic Resistance increase reduced from 10 per level to 5 per level

　　- Base Magic Resistance increased from 0 to 50%

　　

November 22nd, 2013

- Fixed -workshop command line parameter not initializing correctly (caused various issues, including not requiring particle date for items that have attached particle systems)

　　- Self-Made items can no longer be chiseled, socketed, or hammered.

　　- Gems extracted from an item that is "tradable after date" or "cannot be traded" will gain the same property.

　　- The 'you have new items' notification has had a few issues fixed. This message will also now expire after 60 seconds if ignored.

　　- The pickup items screen has been removed. New items will be shown when the user enters the armory as popups.

　　- Some issues with client item acknowledgement have been fixed that caused items to be "invisible" to the armory but visible in the Steam backpack.

　　- When an item is hammered and its gems extracted, the now gemless item and the extracted gems will all popup as newly found items.

　　- A bug that caused gems to get stacked on top of the item they were extracted from in the armory UI has been fixed. Items that are hidden under gems can be found by moving the gems or sorting the backpack.

　　- We are in the process of restoring items that had their original special quality (genuine, vintage, etc) changed by gems. At the moment the Inscribed, Autographed, and Ascended qualities will only be set on items that have no other special quality.

　　- The reason for a new item entering the armory is now displayed in the item drop popup, i.e.: "Customer Support Granted You:" or "You Earned a Drop:"

　　- After acknowledging a new item drop, the armory will flip to the page where the item has been placed.

　　- After closing the socketing and crafting UIs the armory will return to its original page instead of going to page 1.

　　- Added new armory filters: "Is Equipped" and "Number of Sockets"

　　- You can now preview color and effect changes in the socketing UI before committing the changes.

　　- Fixed Necrophos VO playing at half speed.

　　- Fixed Juggernaut VO not playing.

　　- Added belt slot to Pudge

　　- The Star Series 8 Prize Pool has been correctly updated to $50,000 base.

　　- Fixed a case where html and 3D views in the UI could become corrupt after using alt-tab

　　- Fixed a crash when using alt-tab

　　- Fixed a crash when watching long replays on 32-bit windows

　　- New custom item sets for Abaddon, Bounty Hunter and Sand King as well as Coco the Courageous courier

　　

November 25th, 2013

DIRETIDE - Sugar Rush

　　- Removed Roshan's 50% Base Magic Resistance

　　- Illusions can no longer be created in this phase

　　- Roshan can no longer be Rooted

　　LINUX/MAC OS X

　　- [OSX] Fixed crash for some users, especially when Command-tabbing.

　　- [OSX] Made Ctrl-click function like a right click.

　　- Upgraded to SDL 2.0.1

　　

November 26th, 2013

DIRETIDE

　　- Wave of Force damage is no longer reflectable

　　WORKSHOP

　　- Enabled Luna on the workshop with new model and texture files

　　- Updated workshop model and texture files (including fbx) for Lion, Axe, Omniknight, Nature's Prophet, Juggernaut, Naga Siren, Ogre Magi, Tidehunter, and Ursa.

　　- Enabled alpha test for Earthshaker materials

　　UI

　　- Improved Chinese IME support.

　　

Hero Model Updates

A number of the older existing heroes have been updated, this ranges from either minor texture updates to complete reworks of the heroes` model.

　　

Axe's Model

New hair model for Axe. RIP ponytail.

　　New Axe #1

　　Old Axe #1

　　New Axe #2

　　Old Axe #2

　　

Dazzle's Model

Full model update.

　　New Dazzle #1

　　Old Dazzle #1

　　New Dazzle #2

　　Old Dazzle #2

　　

Gyrocopter's Model

Full model update.

　　New Gyrocopter #1

　　Old Gyrocopter #1

　　New Gyrocopter #2

　　Old Gyrocopter #2

　　

Luna's Model

New mount model for Luna along with a texture update to her base colours.

　　New Luna #1

　　Old Luna #1

　　New Luna #2

　　Old Luna #2

　　

Omniknight's Model

Texture update for Omni. Blue --> Red.

　　New Omniknight #1

　　Old Omniknight #1

　　New Omniknight #2

　　Old Omniknight #2

　　

Pudge's Model

Full model and texture update for Pudge.

　　New Pudge #1

　　Old Pudge #1

　　New Pudge #2

　　Old Pudge #2

　　New Pudge #3

　　Old Pudge #3

　　

Slardar's Model

Slardar's weapon texture was updated.

　　New Slardar #1

　　Old Slardar #1

　　

Venomancer's Model

Full model update. RIP BananaMancer.

　　New Venomancer #1

　　Old Venomancer #1

　　New Venomancer #2

　　Old Venomancer #2

　　New Venomancer #3

　　Old Venomancer #3

　　

New Hero Icons

To reflect the updated models/textures we also have some updated hero, ability and minimap icons for a number of the heroes.

　　

Axe's Hero Icons

Dazzle's Hero Icons

Gyrocopter's Hero Icons

Luna's Hero Icons

Omniknight's Hero Icons

Pudge's Hero Icons

Venomancer's Hero Icons

Hero Renames

This patch also introduced a few different renames to some of the existing heroes.

　　

New Cosmetic Item Sets

Abaddon's Items

Anointed Armor of Ruination Set

　　

Bounty Hunter's Items

The Second Disciple Set

　　

Dark Seer's Items

The Seers Command Set

　　

Drow Ranger's Items

Gifts of the Shadowcat Set

　　Alternative "Trophy of the Shadowcat" head gear style.

　　

Nature's Prophet's Items

The staff didn't position itself correctly in the model viewer hence why it is separate in these screenshots.

　　Bird's Stone Set

　　Alternative "Hood of Bird's Stone" hear gear style.

　　

Sand King's Items

The eyes don't render in the full hero shot, I have included a secondary shot which shows what the face is suppose to look like at the end.

　　The Caustic Consumption Set

　　

Warlock's Items

The Exiled Demonologist Set

　　

New Cosmetic Items

Axe's Items

The two WETA promotion items for Axe have been updated.

　　Axe of Phractos

　　Guard of the Red Mist

　　

Tidehunter's Items

The Genuine Blink Dagger for Tidehunter that comes as a promotion item with the new HeroClix set has now been updated with cloth physics so it is no longer stiff as a dead duck.

　　

New Custom Couriers

Coco the Courageous

"True courage is not how high you can hold a sword but how high you can hold your spirit... And sometimes, even the strongest of heroes need their spirit boosted! Introducing Coco, a courageous courier of the Redpaw Brewery, determined to bring brew to the battlefield at any cost! No longer shall a heroes thirst go unquenched! The call for brew is sacred and by oath it must be upheld! The brew must flow."

　　Standard Courier

　　Flying Courier

　　

Tory the Sky Guardian

"It's been told that Tory, the Sky Guardian, has been riding the winds since the beginning of time, serving the ancient tribes faithfully as a proficient messenger. Everlasting glory shall be provided to those who are chosen by Tory as allies, as the winds seem to open a path for him while he gracefully flies towards his destination. A skilled companion who can fly above the highest mountain and glide over the bloodiest battlefield, Tory can surpass every flying being in every way possible."

　　Standard Courier

　　Flying Courier

　　

New League Passes

Nexon Sponsorship League Season 2

"Starting in Sep 28th 2013, the Nexon Sponsorship League will span three seasons with a total of KRW 300 million ($267,153 USD) worth of sponsorship funding. Watch the top team matches of Season 2."

　　

Pinoy Dota 2 Online Battle

"Pinoy Dota delivers Philippine E-sports in your hands! This tournament features 2 teams with 6 qualifiers that will compete for P10,000 prize pool on December 9th through February 1, 2014!"

　　

Yard Orange Festival

"16 teams will compete for a grand prize of $1,000! 12 teams will be invited and 4 will earn their spot through qualifying."

　　

The Orena

"32 of South Africa's top Dota 2 teams compete for a total prize pool of R8500 and gaming hardware from SteelSeries!"

　　

Aerocool Dota 2 Gaming Challenge Brazil

"The top 8 Brazilian teams compete for a R$1,000 prize pool and gaming equipment from Aerocool!"

　　

SLTV Star Series Season 8

"The 8th season of the legendary SLTV StarSeries will feature best 18 teams from Europe. They will compete for growing prize pool starting at $50,000. $2.50 of every purchase will go to the SLTV StarSeries prize pool. Round-robin online tournament and LAN finals in Kyiv Cybersport Arena."

　　As noted on the image the Star Ladder Season 8 ticket comes bundled with a weaver set called Threads of Entwined Fate that can be upgraded by watching live Star Ladder matches or replays.

　　The set has three different tiers with each one being more fancier than the previous.

　　Tier 1

　　Tier 2

　　Tier 3

　　The bundle also comes with a special 125% 6 day Star Ladder Season 8 battle bonus.

　　

UI Updates

Armoury UI

The item drop notifications have been updated and now reflect where the item came from, eg drop, trade etc. The item drop notifications will also take you to the page the item is on when you accept the notification.

　　"NewItemMethod_Dropped" "You Earned a Drop:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Crafted" "You Crafted:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Traded" "You Traded for:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Purchased" "You Purchased from the Dota Store:"

　　"NewItemMethod_FoundInCrate" "You Unlocked:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Gifted" "You Received a Gift:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Support" "Customer Support Granted You:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Promotion" "You Received a Store Promotion Item:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Earned" "You Earned:"

　　"NewItemMethod_Refunded" "You Were Refunded:"

　　"NewItemMethod_GiftWrapped" "You Gift Wrapped:"

　　"NewItemMethod_CollectionReward" "You Redeemed a Collection Reward:"

　　"NewItemMethod_PreviewItem" "You are now Testing:"

　　"NewItemMethod_PreviewItemPurchased" "You Purchased:"

　　"NewItemMethod_PeriodicScoreReward" "You Earned:"

　　"NewItemMethod_TournamentDrop" "You Received a Tournament Prize:"

　　"NewItemMethod_RecipeOutput" "You Crafted:"

　　"NewItemMethod_CommunityMarketPurchase" "You Purchased from the Steam Community Market:"

　　"NewItemMethod_GemExtract" "You Extracted:"

　　The Armoury UI also has two new filter roles for "Number of Sockets" and "Is Equipped".

　　

Socketing UI

The socketing system now allows you to preview the unusual effect and colour when changing the Ethereal or Prismatic gems.

　　It is also now possible to reset the total count of the stat tracking Inscribed gems by right clicking on them in the socketing UI.

　　

Back End Changes

Updated Strings

Hero rename strings.

　　"npc_dota_hero_windrunner" "Windranger"

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_windrunner_focusfire_Description" "Windranger channels the wind, gaining maximum attack speed on the enemy unit or structure, although with reduced damage, including damage from Unique Attack Modifiers and item effects. Lasts 20 seconds.nnUpgradable with Aghanim's Scepter."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_windrunner_powershot_Description" "Windranger charges her bow for up to 1 second for a single powerful shot. The arrow deals damage to enemy units and destroys trees in its path. Damage is greatest on first target, and reduces by 10%% for each target it pierces thereafter. If the channeling is cancelled early, the shot will still occur but deal less damage."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_windrunner_shackleshot_Lore" "Windranger's variety of bow skills includes an arrow with thick ropes attached to encumber any escaping target."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_windrunner_windrun_Lore" "Lyralei enchants gusts of winds to fight incoming attacks."

　　"npc_dota_hero_windrunner_bio" "The western forests guard their secrets well. One of these is Lyralei, master archer of the wood, and favored godchild of the wind. Known now as Windranger, Lyralei's family was killed in a storm on the night of her birth—-their house blown down by the gale, contents scattered to the winds. Only the newborn survived among the debris field of death and destruction. In the quiet after the storm, the wind itself took notice of the lucky infant crying in the grass. The wind pitied the child and so lifted her into the sky and deposited her on a doorstep in a neighboring village. In the years that followed, the wind returned occasionally to the child’s life, watching from a distance while she honed her skills. Now, after many years of training, Windranger fires her arrows true to their targets. She moves with blinding speed, as if hastened by a wind ever at her back. With a flurry of arrows, she slaughters her enemies, having become, nearly, a force of nature herself."

　　"npc_dota_hero_necrolyte" "Necrophos"

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_necrolyte_death_pulse_Description" "Necrophos releases a wave of death around him, dealing damage to enemy units and healing allied units."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_necrolyte_heartstopper_aura_Description" "Necrophos stills the hearts of his opponents, causing nearby enemy units to lose a percentage of their max health over time."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_necrolyte_heartstopper_aura_Lore" "Those who come within a short distance of Necrophos can feel pestilence and plague in the air."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_necrolyte_sadist_Description" "Necrophos gains hp and mana regeneration for every unit he kills. Hero kills grant 10x the regen bonus."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_necrolyte_reapers_scythe_Description" "Stuns the target enemy hero, then deals damage based on how much life it is missing. Any kill under this effect is credited to Necrophos. nnUpgradable by Aghanim's Scepter."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_necrolyte_reapers_scythe_Lore" "The amount of death and suffering in the air increases the power of Necrophos's plague magic."

　　"npc_dota_hero_necrolyte_bio" "In a time of great plague, an obscure monk of dark inclinations, one Rotund'jere, found himself promoted to the rank of Cardinal by the swift death of all his superiors. While others of the order went out to succor the ill, the newly ordained cardinal secluded himself within the Cathedral of Rumusque, busily scheming to acquire the property of dying nobles, promising them spiritual rewards if they signed over their terrestrial domains. As the plague receded to a few stubborn pockets, his behavior came to the attention of the greater order, which found him guilty of heresy and sentenced him to serve in the plague ward, ensorcelled with spells that would ensure him a slow and lingering illness. But they had not counted on his natural immunity. Rotund'jere caught the pox, but instead of dying, found it feeding his power, transforming him into a veritable plague-mage, a Pope of Pestilence. Proclaiming himself Necrophos, he travels the world, spreading plague wherever he goes, and growing in terrible power with every village his pestilential presence obliterates."

　　"npc_dota_hero_lycan" "Lycan"

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_lycan_summon_wolves_Description" "Summons two wolves to fight for Lycan. Level 2-4 wolves have Critical Strike, and level 4 wolves have permanent invisibility."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_lycan_howl_Description" "Grants bonus damage to Lycan, all allied heroes and all units under their control."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_lycan_feral_impulse_Description" "Increases the damage and attack speed of Lycan and all units under his control."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_lycan_shapeshift_Description" "Lycan assumes his true form, increasing his combat capabilities. During Shapeshift, Lycan and all units under his control move at maximum speed and cannot be slowed."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_lycan_shapeshift_Note0" "Hex doesn't remove Lycan's movement speed."

　　"DOTA_Tooltip_ability_lycan_shapeshift_Note1" "Lycan has a smaller collision size in this state."

　　New warning message for when you are socketing a gem into an untradable item.

　　"DOTA_Socketing_Not_Tradable_Header" "Socketing Untradable Item"

　　"DOTA_Socketing_Not_Tradable_Body" "This item is not tradable. Any gems added to it will also become not tradable."

　　Strings for the new Inscribed gem reset function.

　　"DOTA_Reset_Gem_Count_Option" "Reset Inscribed Count"

　　"DOTA_Reset_Gem_Counts" "Resetting a gem will return any Inscribed counts to 0. Counts removed in this way cannot be recovered. Are you sure you want to continue?"

　　New store strings.

　　"StoreBanner_Header_SK_CausticConsumption" "Sand King: The Caustic Consumption Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_SK_CausticConsumption" "They'll never find your bones."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_Abaddon_AnointedRuination" "Abaddon: The Anointed Armor of Ruination Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_Abaddon_AnointedRuination" "For the House Avernus!"

　　"StoreBanner_Header_BH_SecondDisciple" "Bounty Hunter: The Second Disciple Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_BH_SecondDisciple" "Dead or alive, you're coming with me."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_CocotheCourageous" "Coco the Courageous"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_CocotheCourageous" "The brew must flow."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_WARLOCK_ExiledDemonologist" "Warlock: The Exiled Demonologist Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_WARLOCK_ExiledDemonologist" "Conjured from the depths of hell."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_DROW_Shadowcat" "Drow Ranger: Gifts of the Shadowcat Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_DROW_Shadowcat" "Fear her crossing your path."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_DARKSEER_SeersCommand" "Dark Seer: Seers Command Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_DARKSEER_SeersCommand" "A commanding sight."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_Tory_the_sky_guardian" "Tory, the Sky Guardian"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_Tory_the_sky_guardian" "Riding the wind since the beginning of time."

　　"StoreBanner_Header_NP_BirdsStone" "Nature's Prophet: Bird's Stone Set"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_NP_BirdsStone" "If you fall in the forest, who will hear you cry?"

　　New cosmetic item style options introduced with these patches.

　　"Shawl_of_Resonant_Vibrance_Style0" "Gathering Shawl"

　　"Shawl_of_Resonant_Vibrance_Style1" "Converging Shawl"

　　"Shawl_of_Resonant_Vibrance_Style2" "Harnessing Shawl"

　　"Crown_of_Entwined_Fate_Style0" "Condensed Crown"

　　"Crown_of_Entwined_Fate_Style1" "Armored Crown"

　　"Crown_of_Entwined_Fate_Style2" "Chitinous Crown"

　　"Feelers_of_Entwined_Fate_Style0" "Gripping Feelers"

　　"Feelers_of_Entwined_Fate_Style1" "Capturing Feelers"

　　"Feelers_of_Entwined_Fate_Style2" "Grasping Feelers"

　　"Limbs_of_Entwined_Fate_Style0" "Scrambling Limbs"

　　"Limbs_of_Entwined_Fate_Style1" "Creeping Limbs"

　　"Limbs_of_Entwined_Fate_Style2" "Skittering Limbs"

　　"Stinger_of_Entwined_Fate_Style0" "Pointed Stinger"

　　"Stinger_of_Entwined_Fate_Style1" "Sharpened Stinger"

　　"Whiskers_of_Entwined_Fate_Style0" "Delicate Whiskers"

　　"Whiskers_of_Entwined_Fate_Style1" "Listening Whiskers"

　　"Whiskers_of_Entwined_Fate_Style2" "Attentive Whiskers"

　　"DOTA_Item_Trophy_of_the_Shadowcat_Style0" "Trophy of the Shadowcat"

　　"DOTA_Item_Trophy_of_the_Shadowcat_Style1" "Fangs of the Shadowcat"

　　"DOTA_Item_Name_Midnight_Locks" "Midnight Locks"

　　"DOTA_Item_Name_Midnight_Locks_Blue" "Blue Midnight Locks"

　　"DOTA_Item_Name_Midnight_Locks_White" "White Midnight Locks"

　　"DOTA_Item_Stoneforged_Horns" "Stoneforged Horns"

　　"DOTA_Item_Stoneforged_Horns_Style2" "Unbroken Stoneforged Horns"

　　"DOTA_Item_Helm_of_Birds_Stone_Style0" "Helm of Bird's Stone"

　　"DOTA_Item_Helm_of_Birds_Stone_Style1" "Hood of Bird's Stone"

　　

Sound File Updates

Necrophos` Voice Lines

Necrophos has had his voice work redone.

　　New Voice:

　　necr_omni_07.mp3Old Voice:

　　necr_omni_07.mp3

Windranger's Voice Lines

Due to the rename a few of Windranger's voice lines have been redone to reflect the change.

　　wind_firstblood_01.mp3wind_respawn_02.mp3wind_spawn_01.mp3wind_spawn_02.mp3

Unreleased UI Updates

Fantasy Team UI

We now have a collection of player portrait shots for the unreleased Fantasy Team system which is currently made up of all of the International 2013 attendees.

　　

Japan Server Region

A new server region has been added to the master region list, the region is listed as Japan which will be handled by the Nexon partner.

　　

Item Drop List Updates

Common Items Drop List

Items Added

　　Armour of the Exiled RoninCarapace of the Chosen LarvaCloud Forged Great BracersCloud Forged Great GirdleHelmet of the Chosen LarvaSturdy Bracers of the Exiled Ronin

Uncommon Items Drop List

Items Added

　　Armlets of Teardrop IceCloud Forged Great MantleCloud Forged Great StaffFire of the Exiled RoninSpear of Teardrop IceStinger of the Chosen Larva

Rare Items Drop List

Items Added

　　Belt of Teardrop IceBurden of the Exiled RoninCloud Forged Great HelmCloud Forged Great WingsEye of LyraleiPauldron of Teardrop IcePincers of the Chosen LarvaVestments of the Exiled Ronin

Mythical Items Drop List

Items Added

　　Azuremir