Dota 2 – 5 years since beta
Dota 2 was officially released on July 9, 2013.
Dota 2 moved out of beta on July 9, 2013, when Valve announced the official release of the game. We will be taking a look at what has been happening over these past 5 years, focusing on both in-game changes and other matters of interest.
dota 2 VERSIONS
Just think about this for a second: Dota 2 has seen 68 different versions in its lifetime, including both minor tweaks and major changes which reshaped the game in a variety of ways. The last pre-release patch was 6.78c, the game version used at The International 2013, where 
NAVI.GG.BET finished in second place.
Dota 2 Reborn
Another major update, which was introduced in September 2015, transformed the way Dota 2 looked while also adding a set of social features, introducing custom games and transitioning the game to a new engine, Source 2.
Talents and other
However, the largest update of the game so far was the 7.00 patch, released on December 12, 2016. This version brought aboard a new character, Monkey King, who became a top pick in pubs. Among a lot of other changes introduced, talents were by far the most prominent one.
The new mechanics of the game was seen as a breath of fresh air along with the addition of the backpack, supplying three extra item slots to the player.
MATCHMAKING
Seeing that thousands of players play only for the sake of the coveted ranking number displayed on their profiles, Valve changed the system by adding ranks last spring. The ranks are Herald, Guardian, Crusader, Archon, Legend, Ancient and Divine (a new one is Immortal, for top 5,000 players).
The last Battle Pass also brought the opportunity to find the game by roles, with the player immediately taking up a certain position.
Although the matchmaking system is still heavily criticized, it now works a lot more smoothly due to players having to get calibrated every six months.
IN-GAME EVENTS
Unfortunately, we haven't seen too many in-game events recently. Last Diretide and Frostivus were held in 2013 and then were suspended despite numerous community requests (not taking Frostivus 2017 into consideration as it's just a set of mini-games).
Although players saw several New Bloom and Dark moon events transpire, it would still be great to have something more complex. Moreover, the Underhollow mode can be accessed only by Battle Pass owners.
Dota Plus
Speaking of Battle Pass, a few words should be said about Dota Plus, which appeared this spring with a set monthly fee.
At first, the function seemed truly great, as it offered a unique experience, but with time more and more players started complaining about its unstable work and weird things which it suggested. As a result, it seems like most players will not be renewing their subscription until Valve implements what was originally intended.
The International
After getting out of the beta phase, five The Internation events were held for Dota 2 with a total of $ 77,786,346 up for grabs!
Thus far, we saw two teams from Europe, two teams from China and one from North America win the event. We are all excited for the tournament's eighth iteration having over $ 20,000,000 in prize money on the line – the competition will be held on August 15-25 August in the city of Vancouver, Canada.
Dota Pro Circuit
With the Dota Pro Circuit competitive system, the teams finishing within the top 4 at the events supporting DPC receive qualifying points. Thus, eight best teams qualify to get directly invited to The International, while the remaining teams have to go through qualifiers.
Despite being criticized by the Dota 2 community, the first season of DPC allowed the fairest and most transparent distribution of invites to Vancouver. Moreover, Valve will be reviewing at the critical comments to ensure the new season will see a revamped version of the Dota Pro Circuit.
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What's been your favorite thing about Dota 2 since it came out of the beta? Let us know in the comments!
