Thread: Article: Love It: Dota 2

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I would also gladly pay for DOTA 2. The fact that it is F2P and not pay to win, makes all the difference. The game is already highly polished and has many great features that make me more willing to purchase the cosmetic items with the justification that I want to pay valve for this game.

A $15 chicken 'courier' (which runs items that Heros purchase to and from shops) sounds ridiculous! ...Until you realize that a chicken strapped with rockets, for a game you haven't paid for, for a company you want to support, is really in fact quite excellent. Plus you get comments on how cool the chicken is all the time.

I would say that while the game is still in Beta, at a lower level of play the only issue really comes down to hero balance. With recent nerfs to Keeper of the Light and Nyx Assassin, Valve is obviously addressing this. The characters are generally balanced enough that I don't see matches that are greatly affected by imbalanced characters(again this is at a low level of play) but instead by teamwork, team compositions, and positioning.

I would like to hear your opinion on how this game stacks up to LoL, which I have only played a number of times.

I feel the same way about wanting to pay Valve for the game. I have purchased items to support the game and the community, and I'm basically putting the money I didn't pay for the game into it. I find a lot of people are still resistant to doing so, but I think when you look at it from that perspective it's more understandable. One thing worth mentioning about items is that Steam Workshop is integrated into Dota 2, and that if your items are added to the game then you earn a cut of any sales of the items.

Cluckles is the best courier in the game, hands down. I snatched him up as soon as he was released. Is a $15 item in a game a silly purchase? Well, that's subjective. For folks that haven't gotten into the game, sure. If you're enjoying it as much as I am, and you realize you didn't plunk down $50-60 for the game in the first place, hell no. I also get a lot of comments when I bust him out in game. Another great item I have that gets a lot of comments is the Bastion announcer. I'm still amazed at the level of detail that went into it.

I haven't seen any glaring balance issues at this point, but my impression of the two nerfs you mentioned is that they were meant to open up more choices in competitive games. Both are very strong and picked or banned in nearly every game.

My thoughts on LoL will appear in this weeks' column..