VALVE Add Multiple Improvements for New Dota 2 Players and will Ban for Smurfing

Just in time for the release of the Dota 2 anime series Dragon’s Blood on Netflix, which is supposed to bring a lot of newcomers to the game, VALVE launch an update aimed to improve new player experience.

One of the main additions to the game is the New Player Mode, which combines concepts of the old Limited Mode and Turbo Mode. In it, the players will have a limited amount of heroes to choose from, while match rules will based on the Turbo mechanics. Interestingly enough, players will be able to leave their game without any penalty, with their place taken by AI. The game will not match new players with experienced players – thus, the match will start even without ten players, filling the empty places with bots, to avoid situations when the queue time is too long.

Other big additions are Streamlined Shop, an optional shop menu with a limited item selection, as well as a new Tutorial Mode with different objectives and rewards. The update also includes a lot of other improvements, including updated Glossary, changes to bots, new in-game tips, and more – to get all the information, head over to the official website.

Another way to help new players to learn Dota 2 is to prevent them playing against “smurfs”, which is when an experienced player creates a new account to play against newcomers. While earlier VALVE used to deal with them by updating their MMR to their actual level, from now on the company will ban these accounts as well as main accounts of such players.

Finally, the developers have revealed that the next major update will be released after the conclusion of the upcoming ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021, on April 9th. The update will feature a new hero and a number of gameplay changes.