Showing posts with label Dota-2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dota-2. Show all posts
Friday, 12 July 2013
Na'Vi flips tournament to emerge champions of Alienware Cup
Nothing is evidently impossible. Na'Vi, after succumbing to a bad start and even finishing last in their group stage, managed to dramatically flip the whole tournament to emerge from the losers bracket to champions of this year's Alienware Cup after a lengthy 5-game final.
Known for their top talents in the game but also most importantly the unprecedented chemistry the team holds together, Na'Vi once again turned heads and proved that it haven't lost its touch despite finishing second in last years's The International 2.
This result is particularly significant as Alienware Cup brought together all 10 out of 17 teams before the highly-anticipated, annual The International 3 (TI3) where the world will once again be held together to witness the top teams around the world in one global stage competing for up to 2.5 Million worth of total prize pool and most importantly the famed glory of championing Dota 2.
Malaysian Dota 2 teams Neolution Orange and Invasion.MUFC finished 5th/6th and 9th/10th bringing home USD3,000 and USD1,000 respectively.
Malaysian Dota 2 teams Neolution Orange and Invasion.MUFC finished 5th/6th and 9th/10th bringing home USD3,000 and USD1,000 respectively.
Final placings:
1st: Natus Vincere - USD25,0002nd: LGD.cn - USD12,000
3rd: Invictus Gaming - USD7,000
4th: DK - USD5,000
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Dota 2 confirmed for full release this summer but not in Asia
Though officially still in beta, Dota 2 has long established its name as the successor to arguably the first and renown MOBA title Defense of the Ancients. Valve has made Dota 2 as tightly-sealed as possible a few years ago when it first started. Beta keys used to be traded at quite a premium price (you can still buy one now at $30), but in the past 2 years Valve has since genuinely opened it up to anyone and almost everyone with a dozens or so beta keys flying around the globe like nobody's business.
Speaking to GameSpot, Doug Lombardi Marketing VP of Valve has recently confirmed that Dota 2 will be fully released in the wild this summer but more specifically we speculate before the religiously annual The International 3. It is also rumoured that this will come after the launch of both highly-anticipated heroes Abaddon and Legion Commander.
However, Lombardi also clarified that this will first only be opened in North America and Europe leaving Australia and more particularly Asia where some of top teams reign from, in the dark for now. This is actually understandable as we've known that Valve is still bulking up to work on their server infrastructure in order to ensure a truly smooth experience once the doors to its cult opens up to the public. But once again, it really doesn't make a wow difference once it opens up as most of us are probably gaming on it right now. Well unless,Valve do have something in store for us, something they have been known for.
However, Lombardi also clarified that this will first only be opened in North America and Europe leaving Australia and more particularly Asia where some of top teams reign from, in the dark for now. This is actually understandable as we've known that Valve is still bulking up to work on their server infrastructure in order to ensure a truly smooth experience once the doors to its cult opens up to the public. But once again, it really doesn't make a wow difference once it opens up as most of us are probably gaming on it right now. Well unless,Valve do have something in store for us, something they have been known for.
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Troll Warlord rages onto Dota 2
All hail the king of trolls, or so they said.
Troll Warlord, another classic and one of the more popular heroes from the original DotA has finally been added to DOTA 2 in the latest patch update (24th January).
For those unfamiliar, though very unlikely, Troll Wardlord is a strong carry capable enough to be one very formidable foe. It excels both in range and melee, and with a tunelling attack speed stack on a single target, it will be difficult to deal with in individual fights. While during team fights, Troll's ultimate can be the determining factor with a global attack speed increase for all allies.
Some complain it's imbalance, but we simply reckon its a great hero to play with, and an obviously good choice to trick your enemies into believing they stand a chance when you are in fact fighting with an increasingly-formidable speed. Oh, and that ulti, its a tower breaker.
If you are relatively still new, learn about Troll Warlord at dota2.com/hero/Troll_Warlord
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Top 5 PC-exclusive games releasing in 2013
2013 is a year highly-anticipated for the release of some major next-gen consoles. While make no mistake we are still very much thrilled for finally, their arrival (assuming so), we are equally as excited for the PC platform and its exclusive games set to release this year. As with most PC-exclusives, our top 5 are mostly online based and feature multiplayers of MMOs, RPGs and a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) no gamer could never have heard before. But save the introduction, in no particular order, here's our 5 most anticipated PC-only titles ready for 2013:
The Elder Scrolls Online
Release: Mid-2012
The Elder Scrolls series have been known for its vast land of endless adventure and deep exploring. With the announcement of an MMO based on its franchise, unless you haven’t played one of its titles before, you can’t say you aren’t a little excited about it.
But there’s another side of a story to this. Skyrim, Morrowind, and the past few Elder Scrolls titles have been a true icon of what RPG adventure games should all be about, but with a MMO in sight, some have argued for fear that it will not represent the franchise itself, but instead eroding its core qualities of freedom and exploration and focusing instead on the usual MMO gimmicks - endless, multiple quests, guild wars, trading, and ultimately shouting the loudest in the world chat system. As a huge Skyrim dragonborn and the love for exploration inked in us, the only question left is: to which alliance should i be loyal to. The Daggerfall Covenant, the Aldmeri Dominion, or the Ebonheart Pact?
Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarms
Release: March 12
Starcraft 2 is undeniably a force of its own already. A division itself in the global eSports scene, it has gained a massive following around the world and in particularly, Korea. Following after Wings of Liberty, Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (HoTS) will see the first expansion in the series and a focused, in-depth campaign on the Zergs. Thus the title, bringing you back to the core of all zergs, the ‘heart’ of the swarm. Starcraft 2: HoTS will feature a few multiplayer changes though first beta testers have reportedly mentioned that there were very slight and could not really feel a differential impact. But what remains a mystery and the tingling sense of unknown delight, is its campaign as we probe further into the protagonist Sarah Kerrigan.
Company of Heroes 2
Release: Early 2013
7 years later and the then highly-popular 2006 game is back in World War 2 with a fresh new front – the Soviet side. Company Heroes 2 will see you leading the Soviet army into the battles mainly against the German invasion.
With a whole new faction brings along an entirely new perspective on how a communist country operates in battles, and with the extreme weather and sheer coldness of the Soviet territory, it will be interesting to see how many more possibilities the new environment can be employed. And of course, the Battle of Berlin, the one very fight that made all the difference in today's world, the one moment in history that mattered significantly - simply said, it can't be missed.
World of Warplanes
Release: Currently in closed beta
World of Tanks exploded into the online gaming and even the eSports scene last year. And this year, it looks like creators Wargaming.net will be expanding its franchise into the horizon with a World of Warplanes. Though still in closed beta, Wargaming.net has been marketing it quite heavily in major events and press abroad. It could only mean that it's opening up soon, and we're going all in on this.
Fly the air, control the skies, and call it a win. Upgrade your planes, unlock the exclusives, and in the heat of war brave yourself to bring the rest of players down in the multiplayer arena. And for the record this is going to be a very community-focused game where you battle and interact with other players while for its storyline, is quite basically, inessential. But if you loved War of Tanks, and has a crush on planes, it's gonna be a hell of a ride!
DOTA 2
This is one game no PC gamers need an introduction to. Whether you follow this, its other MOBA counterparts, or just an ordinary gamer, you would surely have in some point have heard about it and seen it in action. This is a game with arguably the biggest following around the world, but while it remains in beta its take-up rate is like no other, and it's certainly going to boom in thousands once it open for all.
Now before you start questioning me on its release, let me be clear that no exact dates have actually been given, so a release in 2013 may not even happen. However, we here believe that after 2 years in closed/open beta and its demand ever-increasingly strong, Valve should certainly come to a point soon (this year) to officially announce its release. Another possibility, we believe would be when all the original DOTA heroes have been ported over.
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and that's our 5 games we definitely will get our hands on when it releases on PC. What's yours?
Friday, 4 January 2013
DOTA 2 Australian Servers are finally live
With the latest 3rd of January patch update, Valve has finally installed a local Australian server on DOTA 2. Based somewhere in Sydney, the installment of the server would undoubtedly benefit local players in the land down under
For a start, unnecessary other-continental pings will be dropped bringing an overall smoother gameplay and definitely minimising every gamers' bane - lag and connection spikes.
But together in this addition will also bring all the Aussies on one platform ultimately tightening up the community and encouraging further friendly competition, instilling interest and bringing up the Australian DOTA 2 scene.
Since moving to Melbourne for studies, I have been playing on the SEA server considering that well it's the closest we can get right. Occasional lags have been a recurring thing so with this update we'll get back on whether it is actually smoother in-game.
Monday, 24 December 2012
DOTA 2 The Asia: The Results
1st place: LGD (China)
Last weekend was one heck of a blast at KLCC (Convention Centre) as two major events Comic Fiesta 2012 and TGX 2012 were held at the same venue, despite in different halls. Though we can not rid yet of how awesomely packed the place was with gamers, cosplayers and comic-enthusiasts alike, this post will first serve to highlight one of the biggest regional esports tournament this year, DOTA 2 The Asia held in conjunction with TGX 2012.
Attracting and bringing all the top talents of DOTA 2 around this region and even renown shoutcaster Toby 'TobiWan' Dawson in one venue, The Asia was set to be a massive sight and a must-go event for all DOTA and esports fans. True enough, though sound systems backtracked the event a little, it indeed soon proved to be one heck of a festival for both avid fans and onlookers alike.
But in midst of all these, are the true carry-ers, gankers and supporters in the game, focusing hard and working as one to grab an edge over the other team. All dedicated whatever they had, all played with profession and sportsmanship, but some were less fortunate, while some, advanced.
After the two days long tournament, after rounds of hard battles and overcoming some serious ganks, team China's LGD eventually took the lead against Malaysia's very MUFC in the finals, taking home the tournament title along with $15,000, while MUFC had to settle with 2nd place and $9,000. Meanwhile, Orange Esports, after succumbing to co-country team MUFC during the semi-finals, proceeded to take hold of the Philippines' MiTH-Trust, gaining 3rd place and $6,000.
I would also like to use this opportunity to commend both our boys Orange eSports and especially MUFC. MUFC gave a pretty solid performance from the very start, being the only team in the competition who was completely undefeated during the group stages and obviously, before the finals. Both of our teams had done Malaysia very proud for taking 2 out of the top 3 places, among all the top talents an in such a competitive regional scene. Keep it up!
2nd place: MUFC DOTA (Malaysia)
3rd place: Orange eSports (Malaysia)
Thank you, RGN for the photos!
Thursday, 20 December 2012
DOTA 2 updates with 'Greeviling' Christmas event
Since Valve took over the reigns of DOTA, the company has since evolved what used to be a mere Warcraft map into its own platform and game client via Steam, evolving one of the currently most popular online games played globally into an even larger phenomenon.
One of the biggest additions was its Diretide event to celebrate Halloween, introducing an entirely new game mode followed by new tactics and strategies, challenging us at first then rewarding us with the top collectibles in-game.
Now, come Christmas, what seemed like a 'Frostvirus' event announced on DOTA 2's official blog at first has now came to a twist. 'Frostvirus', whatever that might be, has been cancelled due to, err, basically a spawn of raging Greevils...
Right, but Valve and DOTA has written a post in its trademarked mix of wit and sheer weirdness, though pretty much brilliant, reading
"Misery piled on misery! As the cold closed in, how we looked forward to Frostivus. Instead we get The Greeviling! The shops have been plundered, our gifts ripped open, our precious items scattered through the woods by a dire tide of Greevils!"The update will see you battling with these Greevils, or in other words its similar to a PvE (Player vs Environment) mode, to take back all the presents then giving them to other players. Wait, what? Yeah, but after all, tis' the season of giving isn't it? Who knows, you can always get a present back from your fellow players! Till then, here's to a Merry Greeviling!
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
DOTA 2 The Asia to have multiple-language streams
DOTA 2 The Asia, one of the most prestigious regional tournament yet, is set to go from the 22nd till the 23rd. A total of 12 teams will be battling it all out right in the middle of Malaysia's hub Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre for a total of USD 15,000.
With an important tournament as such, the organisers have also managed to bring one of the most popular commentators into the scene, plus attracting several other commentator streams in the many languages of South East Asia.
Official Channels:
[English] Toby 'TobiWan' Dawson and Joshua 'Jtan' Tan (live onsite):
http://www.twitch.tv/rapturegaming
[Thai] Pinkle: http://www.twitch.tv/raptureth
[Vietnamese] Pewpew: http://www.twitch.tv/rapturevn
[Tagalog] Marlon: http://www.twitch.tv/raptureph
Other channels:
[English] Toby 'TobiWan' Dawson and Joshua 'Jtan' Tan (live onsite):
http://www.joindota.com/en/live/tobiwan (Stage matches)
[English] David 'GoDz' Parker and David 'LD' Gorman: http://www.twitch.tv/beyondthesummit
[Chinese] 啃西咯: live.neotv.cn/live/pipe-20 (LGD matches)
[Chinese] Kent and Rihou:
- http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/tv/kentdota2.html
- http://www.twitch.tv/rihou1648 (LGD matches)
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Timbersaw makes the cut in latest DOTA 2 update
In a time once before, there used to be a goblin raging through forests taking down both trees and foes. While his teammates fight till the end, trees are his biggest allies as he uses his coat of of steel to withstand the gaining forces of his enemies. But, Goblin Shredder is now no more.
Introducing Timbersaw, its replacement
With his four skills Whirling Death, Timber Chain, Reactive Armor and Chakram, Timbersaw has evidently a love to cut trees down, while of course causing a considerable amount of damage.
I'm no pro, but Timbersaw is a heck of a nuker early game with its short cooldowns and double doses of comboing Whirling Death and Timber Chain. It's Reactive Armor then makes Timbersaw one of the most durable tanks in the game, with its armor increasingly stacking everytime he receives damage. That said, he can be a great nuker early game earning kills like cutting trees, and the team's tanker late into the game. Double dose of annoyance, perfect.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
[DOTA 2 The Asia] Official group stages and schedule
DotA is arguably one of the more popular, if not the biggest game in Malaysia, South East Asia and especially up north China. To acknowledge the fact and to celebrate all the top talents from each countries around the region, DotA 2 The Asia has been organised.
DotA 2 The Asia will be held from the 22 to the 23rd of December in conjunction with TGX (The Game Expo) Malaysia 2012 and its group stages and schedule have recently been announced.
I would say that both groups are fairly balanced, with probably LGD or MUFC (if they perform at their best) taking the lead in Group A, while Zenith and Orange having a good chance in Group B. But don't get me wrong, all the other teams are equally competitive, but track records have shown that China's LGD and both Malaysia's Orange and MUFC to be the better contenders for this year's one of the biggest regional DotA 2 tournament.
The official schedule, click image to enlarge.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Malaysia's Orange Esports finishes 4th in WCG DotA 2 finals while Invictus Gaming crowned champions
Definitely no pressure at all but our boys from Orange Esports DotA is arguably Malaysia's strongest Esports team yet. The team, who is also strongly supported and sponsored by Razer, are multiple champions for various tournaments in local ground. However, their international records have yet to be as successful though at many a times, they often only miss their footing at the very last moments. Unfortunate.
In their latest major international attempt, Orange Esports advances into the 2012 World Cyber Games (WCG) DotA 2 Championships. Despite having a pretty good set in its League games, the team unfortunately then were set up against now-champions Invictus Gaming from China (they also won The International 2012) and proceeded to play 3rd placing playoffs against DevilMice from Belarus.
Despite being favourites in the game, Orange Esports gave in 0-2 to DevilMice, finally finishing the annual Games in 4th place.
The team's dissapointment was in any case, evident but I as a huge supporter for the Esports industry in Malaysia and for the team Orange Esports themselves who really are progressing in each tournament, really do believe that the day will come when we will overcome and make a bigger name, internationally.
Keep it up, Orange!
Friday, 16 November 2012
[DOTA 2] Introducing Live Player Activity Map
If there is one game any PC gamer in the world would know of and has played before, that would probably be DOTA 2. DOTA, since its inception as a Warcraft in-map game created by IceFrog, has been growing tremendously and is now indisputably one of the most well-known and popularly-played online game in the world.
To celebrate the continuously demanding reception to enter (still in beta) DOTA 2, Valve has set up a dedicated page to live-track the traffic and players online to give an overview of the number of live games played at any current moment.
As seen in the picture above, the popularity and current player activity is measured in its size and frequencies of orange heat spots, which at the time i'm posting this is particularly heavy in the Europe and South East Asia.
Keep in mind that DOTA 2 is in beta mode so there still is a whole pool of players waiting to enter. And when DOTA 2 officially opens up to everyone and anyone in the public, then THAT will be interesting to see...
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Imagine DOTA based on Marvel Characters. It's coming, sort of.
You should definitely have heard of Defence of the Ancients (DOTA), probably know League of Legends (LOL), and may or may not know Heroes of Newerth (HON). These games and its 'genre' MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) are arguably one of the more popular online games these days headlining almost every major competitive gaming event.
Hopping on the scene would be Disney Interactive as the company recently signed a contract with Korean developer Smilegate in plans to develop a MOBA-based title featuring Marvel characters. Yup, a whole legion of Marvel characters, set to unleash in 2014 for Asia only.
And oh, i'm assuming the Hulk will be a tanker, probably Centaur-like, Captain America as erm Sven, and Thor as, Zues-like? What other Marvel heroes can you relate them to?
Source: MMOCulture
Friday, 26 October 2012
Centaur Warrunner comes to Dota 2
I was actually pretty surprised when I realised that when Dota 2 first started, Centaur wasn't a hero option there then. Centaur to me seemed like a classic hero and a commonly-known one throughout the original Dota, so it seemed natural for the big guy to be in it. Nevertheless, here is that freaking tank (or at least used to be) as the latest addition to the Dota 2 hero lineup.
However, this may come as a surprise to you as I would say rather important changes has been made and this in particular (very obvious too) in his ultimate. Instead of Great Fortitude, it is now replaced with a new skill Stampede. This grants you and all allied player units on the map max movement speed and zero unit collision for a short duration. Any enemy units you or your allies come into collision will take some damage and get stunned, though enemies can only be affected by the stampede impact once.
For the details of the new ultimate, along with the rest of the changelog, see here.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Official Game Titles For WCG 2012 Announced
One big question arises every year as the annual WCG (World Cyber Games) comes closer to date - What would the official game titles be for the year? For the norms, Dota (now Dota 2) have always been on their list for the past few years, and it would probably be one of the most highly-popular title during the annual tournament too, or well at least, for me.
Likewise, Dota 2 is officially one of the games to be celebrated this year, and was also the first game to be confirmed in the list of titles. But recently, the officials of WCG has unveiled the rest of the games, as follow:
Official Game Titles:
- Cross Fire
- Dota 2
- Starcraft 2
- Warcraft 3
- Fifa 12
Promotional Game Titles:
- Counter-Strike Online
- Dota Allstars
- World of Tanks
Personally, the games announced are pretty much expected, besides the fact that League of Legends have been mercilessly taken out, leaving Dota 2 standing centre-front. But what's your thought on this? What games do you think should have been included? Drop your comments below!
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
WCG Asian Championship 2012 To Be Held In Malaysia For The First Time
Competitive gaming, or more professionally known as E-Sports, is gaining popularity and fan support in Malaysia through recent years, which was especially accelerated in 2007 when the first WCG (World Cyber Games) Asian Championships was introduced to this part of the world.This year, it is set for a huge change and would definitely heighten up the E-Sports scene in Malaysia as the WCG Asian Championships 2012 has recently been confirmed to take place at Kuala Lumpur. Or more specifically, from the 7th to 9th of September, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
After years of hosting the annual championships in either Singapore or Indonesia, the day has finally come for Malaysia to show what we got.
As depicted on the poster above, Dota 2 has been confirmed to be part of one of the official tournament games. However, that is all the information available and when the rest of the games are unveiled, we will be updating further. Stay tuned, for the largest gaming showdown in Malaysia yet.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Counter Strike: Global Offensive Releases August 21
Valve was pretty quiet this E3, but they at least did announce the official release date of Counter Strike: Global Offensive. CS:GO has been in beta for quite some time so it's kinda expected that they will be releasing the game soon. It will be available via Steam, PSN (PlayStation Network) and XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) for only around $15 (RM45).
That said, Valve made no announcements on the availability of Dota 2 unfortunately.
Friday, 1 June 2012
DOTA 2 Confirmed as Free-to-Play with Dota Store
When DOTA 2 was first announced quite some time back, Valve mentioned that the game may need players to pay. Of course, most of us were rather disappointed as after all, we've played (the original) Dota for a long, long time, all for free.
But nevertheless, it's beta was free and since we've got an invite, we didn't really complain much. But now that the beta has been going on for quite some time speculations and rumors have arise that Valve may have changed their mind about getting players to pay.
Fortunately, Valve did. On their official Dota 2 blog, Valve recently confirmed that Dota 2 will be a free-to-play title. But if it is free-to-play, then how would Valve get their money back? Would they use a system like League of Legends or their (in my personal opinion) copycat rival Heroes of Newerth's, who restrict players access to certain heroes?
The short answer is no, all heroes would be available free of charge. However, similarly, players will have the option to buy new skins for the heroes, or for this case, 'cosmetics' for 'customisation' which would be available in their newly-introduced Dota Store (which we would talk about it in more detail later).
Till then, happy gaming!
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Dota 2 Updated, Gets New Better Interface (Thank God)
Honestly, Dota 2's first user interface was just horrible. Everything seemed so crammed and tiny and mini and I simply couldn't imagine people with smaller-sized screens playing this game, because other than its gameplay, its visual display is just bad. Real bad.
Luckily, finally, Valve made an effort to update their UI (user interface) switching it back to a more classic Dota-like display which I would definitely say is more visually appealing to the eyes. Yes, it's THAT much better.
The courier UI now allows item delivery with just a single click; but its still so damn small! but i guess it's ok since its just a courier...lol
And yes, a the item icons are finally bigger; but the icons in the shops are still darn small!
So to the developers of Dota 2, if this post ever reaches you, please take heed the 'suggestions' of a mere player like me. And to all the Dota 2 gamers out there, if you agree in what nonsense I've just rambled about, do give us a like.
Monday, 16 April 2012
Got my beta key, downloading Dota 2...
So yes, this is what I'm currently (and finally) playing now. If you haven't received any invites to its beta yet, I may be giving some out pretty soon so stay tuned! Meanwhile, like our Facebook page just beloww. Cheers!
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