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

　　

Front End Changes

Year Beast Changes

We have some general changes to the Year Beast gamemode that will be implemented before he returns on Friday.

　　"Meanwhile, as heroes return to their day-to-day grudges and prepare for the Year Beast’s return, a number of changes are being made. First, we’ve significantly increased the number of Flamesalt Ingots you’ll receive after a match, and now you’ll find more Crimson Parcels as well. We’ve also boosted how many Ingots you’ll find in those Parcels.

　　Additionally, we’re changing how Year Beast teams are formed in order to make sure you’ll be matched up with players investing the same number of Ingots as you. When the Year Beast returns on Friday, you’ll choose from one of several Ingot Tiers. When the match begins, a set amount of Ingots from each player will be collected based on which Tier was selected, ensuring that all players have the same amount of gold to spend on the fight. Jade Token rewards will differ based on which Tier you’re playing.

　　Speaking of rewards, there will be times when we feel it’s necessary to update the Year Beast battle in the middle of a cycle. When we do so, high scoring players from matches both before and after those changes will be counted and rewarded separately, so you don’t need to worry about competing with players who played a significantly different version of the fight than you.

　　And for those of you not competing for high damage, but still eager to get your hands on Redhoof, you now have a chance to obtain the Redhoof courier by redeeming Jade Tokens to open a Bloom Harvest or Bloom Bounty."

　　Prepare yourself: the Year Beast returns on Friday!

　　

New Arcana Item

Terrorblade's Arcana

Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm

　　Deep in the hell of Hell, Terrorblade lay bound behind fractal walls, sentenced to an eternity of twisted contemplation. He stared long into the reflection of his own worst self. And long did his worst self stare into him. Now they rise together, a single entity more powerful than ever before.

　　This item includes custom upgrades to these features:

　　Socketed with a gem that tints the coloring of Terrorblade and all of his abilitiesNew base skin & model with special ambient effectsNew spell effects and iconsSeveral new animationsAltered voiceNew Hero icon, portrait, loadout pose & minimap iconCustom death effect for Terrorblade's victimsCustom death and respawn musicNew Icons

　　Arcana Voice Examples

　　terr_shards_rare_02.mp3

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　　terr_shards_ally_04.mp3

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　　terr_shards_ally_05.mp3

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　　Arcana Stringers

　　buyback.mp3

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　　respawn.mp3

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　　death.mp3

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　　Loadout Animation

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　　In Game Shots

　　Prismatic Gem Swapping

　　The Terrorblade Arcana is the first Arcana item that allows you to alter the base colour of the effect by using Prismatic Gems which will alter the ambient, footstep, spell and projectile particle effects. The process of doing this is by owning an alternative Prismatic Gem and replacing the existing one via the socketing UI.

　　The default Prismatic Gem is a new Reflection's Shade color.

　　To replace the existing color drag a new Prismatic Gem onto the existing one.

　　Hitting apply will save the replacement gem and you'll lose the old one in the process. Unfortunately the preview option doesn't work with the Arcana item.

　　Some example colors.

　　

Hero Texture Updates

Terrorblade's Textures

NOTE: The horns were bugged in these screenshots.

　　Model Viewer Comparison Shots

　　Drag the slider all the way to the right to reveal the updated Terrorblade textures.

　　Gallery

　　Gallery

　　Gallery

　　Gallery

　　In Game Shots

　　

Hero Animation Updates

Luna's Animations

Luna's new Blessings of Lucentyr Set has had an extra animation added to the existing nine new ones from yesterday's update.

　　Lucentyr Idle Animation

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Terrorblade's Animations

Terrorblade also received an update to his running animation.

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New Couriers

The Redhoof and Jadehoof that were teased in yesterday's patch post are now here. Players in the top 10% of yesterday's Year Beast appearance will receive a Genuine Redhoof and players in the top 1% will receive a Genuine Jadehoof.

　　

Redhoof

In Game Shots

　　The courier will leave little red hoofs behind.

　　

Jadehoof

In Game Shots

　　The courier will leave little green hoofs behind along with blossom petals. As well as featuring a sparkling Jade effect on the actual courier itself.

　　

New League Passes

King of the North

"The University of Manchester E-Sports Society brings you King of the North! The online qualifier will run on February 15th and 22nd. Qualifiers are open to any teams made up from university students in the north of England and Wales. The finalists who emerge from these qualifiers will be invited to Manchester on March 19th this year to play in front of a live audience at the event."

　　

Amateur Dota 2 League Season 3

"The third season of the Amateur Dota 2 League kicks off where Amateur teams compete to be crowned champions!"

　　

Orena Dota 2 Cup

"32 South African teams compete for a total prize pool of R12,700 and gaming equipment from SteelSeries!"

　　

AOC Pro Cup Season 1

"AOC Pro Cup features the best Dota 2 teams in Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan and Oceania competing for a cash prize of $2000!"

　　

Dota 2 Champion's League Season 2

"Champion's League Season 2 will feature 10 top teams from Europe and North America fighting for $50,000! Includes the Gladiator's Revenge set plus every ticket purchased increases the prize pool by $2.50!"

　　Includes the new Gladiator's Revenge set for Pudge.

　　

Back End Changes

Updated Strings

The name for the new Prismatic Gem that comes with the Terrorblade Arcana.

　　"UnusualAbysm" "Reflection's Shade"

　　Store banners for the new Arcana item.

　　"StoreBanner_Header_TB_Arcana" "Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm"

　　"StoreBanner_Text_TB_Arcana" "What color is your soul?"

　　

Unreleased Cosmetic Items

Abaddon's Items

Disruptor's Items

Kunkka's Items

Legion Commander's Items

Omniknight's Items

Unreleased Custom Couriers

Shroomy

Is great.

　　

Predictions For The Next Hero