As we are slowly approaching the end of the year, Dota 2 players and fans are preparing for what is to come in 2025. We expect to see a lot of tournaments and epic moments, but until then, we have a lot of important things to talk about.
This week was packed with news about our favorite game because there were roster changes, interesting announcements, and more. Let’s cover some of the most important aspects, starting with something that will actually begin next week.
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ESL One Bangkok 2024
Even though the tournament technically starts on December 9 (Monday), we’ve decided to remind you about ESL One Bangkok 2024. The game will bring together all of the big names in Dota 2 for the last time in 2024. We have a complete overview containing everything you should know, so learn more about it.
Dota 2 will be a part of the Esports World Cup 2025
The Esports World Cup 2025 will be one of the most important tournaments next year. Taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this event will include numerous top-tier games. Since Dota 2 was a part of the event in 2024, we were not surprised to learn that it will also be included in 2025.
The 8-week gaming event will take place in the summer and include a hefty prize pool. Similar to 2024, this tournament will consist of many other games. We expect to see CS2, Honor of Kings, Rainbow Six Siege, Free Fire, and many others.
That said, we do not yet have any information regarding the event’s schedule. It will be interesting to see if we will see the same format for Dota 2 as the one in 2024 or if the organizers will come up with something completely different.
Kez receives another set of nerfs
Dota 2’s newest hero is called Kez, and he turned out to be one of the most intriguing new additions to the game in a while. Like all new heroes, however, Kez received some small nerfs within the first couple of days after he was added to the game. The most recent “portion” of nerfs came just a few days ago.
If we take a look at the most recent changes, we can see that a lot of Kez’s abilities received small adjustments. Starting with Falcon Ruysh, the ability now has a 575 range instead of 650. Grappling Claw’s hero bonus heal is now 30/60/90/120 instead of 40/80/120/160. Speaking of this ability, its cooldown is also 16/13/10/7 instead of 15/12/9/6, meaning players can’t spam it as often as before.
The last change following the latest Kez nerfs is related to Talon Toss. The ability’s cooldown is now 16/13/10/7 instead of 15/12/9/6. This, as well as the other cooldown nerf, means that Kez won’t be as elusive as before. People who’ve played against him before these changes probably remember that he was extremely hard to kill.
Changes to attack modifiers, the hud and other nerfs
In addition to these changes, Kez’s win and pick rate are also affected by the changes to the different attack modifiers. For example, Echo Slash does not apply cleave when it hits enemies. This is a very harsh nerf that reduces the hero’s farming speed, but it was needed because he was too strong against certain opponents.
Another change is to Raven’s Veil, which can offer a parry bonus. Sadly, this is no longer the case, so you must wait until you reach level 15 to get this option as a talent.
Alongside these nerfs, the Dota 2 client also added HUD changes for Kez’s different stances. This was a much-needed change because a lot of players had difficulties distinguishing between them. Fortunately, the new visuals make it a lot more appealing.
Lastly, Valve also decided to fix a lot of bugs related to using this hero. As you’ve probably seen when playing, there were a lot of issues with specific abilities, including longer attack ranges.
Beastcoast is now a part of M80
Although we usually do not have that many roster changes in December, there are a couple of big ones. One of them is related to beastcoast, one of South America’s leading Dota 2 organizations.
The most recent news revealed that M80 decided to acquire beastcoast. This move means that the new organization now has Doa 2 and a Pokemon team.
M80 may not be the most recognizable name in Dota 2, but the organization is huge in other games. In CS2, for example, it won the ECL S48 North America and qualified for many other events.
It will be interesting to see how this change will affect beastcoast and the South American Dota 2 scene as a whole.
Aurora benched Malady and TA2000
Another interesting change in Dota 2 is related to Aurora. The team decided to make changes to its roster by benching two players:
- Aybek “TA2000” Tokayev
- Arman “Malady” Orazbayev
These results may not surprise Aurora’s fans because the club has had issues finding its way to success following TI 2023. Losing your carry is never an easy decision, so it seems like the club has an interesting plan regarding who to add.
Aurora tried to make tons of changes after TI, but it just can’t find the successful formula. Despite trying a lot of new things, the team hasn’t been able to achieve anything impressive. In fact, it failed to qualify for ESL One Bangkok 2024, as well as for DreamLeague Season 24.
What’s interesting about the most recent roster change is that we are not sure which players will replace TA2000 and Malady. Considering that the remaining players are from SEA, we expect the new two members to be from the same region.
Conclusion
Do not forget to follow ESL One Bangkok 2024 because it will be a truly amazing event. We will try to provide you with a meta-analysis once it is over, so make sure you follow us for more information.
