Although Dota 2 is still suffering adverse network conditions, Valve are ready to roll out a new hero, fulfill some Compendium promises, and add a bunch of extra additions to the game with the Foreseer’s Contract update.
So, the big one: Oracle is joining Dota 2, and he’s going to be incredibly annoying. His Q ability, Fortune’s End, hurls out a charged bolt that damages and purges the target, with the purge duration equating to the time spent charging it. His W, Fate’s Edict, stops the target hero from attacking and grants them 100% magic resistance, but increases the amount of damage they receive from all other sources – and yes, that can be cast on both allies and enemies. His E, Purifying Flames, can also be cast on both allies and enemies. This instantly hits for a large amount of damage, but that damage is followed up by a heal-over-time effect that will restore even more life over the next 9 seconds.
Finally, his ultimate is False Promise, which can only be cast on allies. This dispels the target (removing negative buffs), gives them invisibility while attacking, using abilities, and moving, and delays all healing, damage, and regeneration effects until False Promise ends. Once False Promise ends, all healing and damage applied during that time happens immediately. In short: 7 seconds of complete invulnerability for an allied hero at level 6, plus an invisibility buff while they fight, and it’s possible to heal them through any damage they take during said period of time. Not least because all healing is doubled when False Promise ends. Purifying Flames, anyone? That only has a three-second cooldown…
The big thing at the left isn’t part of the Arcana; it’s part of the background. Sorry.
If Oracle doesn’t float your boat, then perhaps you’ll be interested in Phantom Assassin’s Arcana, the Manifold Paradox. This is a pair of glowing swords for Phantom Assassin which make her dual-wield (obviously), alter her voice, give a new base skin with ambient effects, new hero and spell icons, a new loadout pose and effects, custom spell effects for all abilities, a custom portrait and minimap icon, and an animated chat emoticon. It also shows enemies a special splash effect when hit by Coup de Grace, the weapon evolves and changes as Phantom Assassin “fulfills contracts”, and her kills on the battlefield are marked by a Paradox Memorial. It’s 20% off until 7 December, dropping the price to £16.79.
I’m not sure whether that contract fulfilment means “whenever she kills someone” or if it ties into the event surrounding this update, but… we’ll get to that in a bit.
There’s some more interesting stuff to talk about, but let’s hope over the boring stuff first. There are new sets for Centaur Warrunner, Clockwerk, Timbersaw, Venomancer, and Necrophos, which can be purchased singly or can be acquired through the new chest – which may also contain a new courier. There’s the Charm of the Defender’s Vision which lets you predict victory for your team; three correct predictions causes it to turn into a Treasure of the Defender’s Vision, while making two incorrect predictions turns it into a Charming Celebration item with three charges, and this can only be purchased during the event surrounding this update. And, yes, the Compendium gems and emoticons have now “awoken”.
Creeps: the unsung heroes of Dota 2. Who aren’t Heroes.
Back to the interesting stuff. New creep models are in, with creeps becoming larger and more menacing as you destroy enemy structures. Heroic Effigies are in, letting players who purchased this year’s Compendium create and pose a statue of their chosen hero and place it in their base as a structure.
There are also a swathe of little tweaks and changes, as you’d expect. Phantom Assassin and Oracle will both be getting bot AI; Pounce is now removed by Blade Fury; Broodmother and Phoenix are now in Captain’s Mode; there’s improved detection of Poor Network Conditions; there are new healthbars for Ancients, Roshan, and hero creeps like Spirit Bear and Visage birds; some particles and portraits are fixed; each of the new runes now has their own unique sound; etc.
What we don’t know about is the new event surrounding this update, because that’s going to form the crux of the Day 3 update. All we know is that it’s called the Nemesis Assassin event, and so it’s probably going to tie into that whole “Oracle is hiring Phantom Assassin to murder people” thing we saw in the Day 1 comic.
The Foreseer’s Contract update is due to hit Dota 2 later this week. Check back tomorrow, when we’ll hopefully have some details on the Nemesis Assassin.
