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This article's documentation is for Source 2. Click here for more information.

Dota 2

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Dota 2
Software Cover - Dota 2.jpg
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Valve Corporation
Series
Release date(s)
July 9, 2013 
Windows:
July 9, 2013
macOS, Linux:
July 18, 2013
Genre(s)
Mode(s)
Platform(s)
Engine
Source 2 Source 2
(formerly Source)
Steam AppID
Written in
Mod support
System requirements
  • Win 7 or later
  • Dual-core CPU
  • 4 GB RAM
  • 60 GB disk space
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600, DirectX 11 capable
Distribution
Official website
Previous game
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive CS:GO (by release date)
DotA (by series)
Next game
The Lab The Lab (by release date)

Stub

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Dota 2 is the official follow-up to the Wikipedia icon Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne custom mod Defense of the Ancients (DotA, retroactively called Dota 1, originally released in 2003). Developed and published by Valve alongside IceFrog, the original developer of the first game, it is an "Action RTS" where players control a Hero unit and engage enemy players using their Heroes' unique abilities. Valve is collaborating with one of the primary contributors of the original DotA series.

While Dota 2 was originally developed and ran in Source Source engine in 2013, using the Dota 2 engine branch which formerly succeeded CS:GO engine branch, it was later ported to Source 2 Source 2 in 2015 as part of Dota 2 Reborn update. This also makes Dota 2 the first Source 2 game (though the first game to be completely made in Source 2, and not ported from previous engine was Artifact, or The Lab - Robot Repair).

Bugs/Limitations

Warning.pngWarning:no longer supports OpenGL and DirectX 9 since 2021!
Clarify: despite this, the DLC "OpenGL support for Windows" still exist. Valve was planning to remove the DLC for all users but it's still remain existing on Steam as of 2023.

Use GitHub to report gameplay bugs in order to prevent duplicate or outdated bug reports at the wiki. Also use it to report client bugs specific to Linux and macOS.

About The Game

The most-played game on Steam.
Every day, millions of players worldwide enter battle as one of over a hundred Dota heroes. And no matter if it's their 10th hour of play or 1,000th, there's always something new to discover. With regular updates that ensure a constant evolution of gameplay, features, and heroes, Dota 2 has truly taken on a life of its own.
One Battlefield. Infinite Possibilities.
When it comes to diversity of heroes, abilities, and powerful items, Dota boasts an endless array—no two games are the same. Any hero can fill multiple roles, and there's an abundance of items to help meet the needs of each game. Dota doesn't provide limitations on how to play, it empowers you to express your own style.
All heroes are free.
Competitive balance is Dota's crown jewel, and to ensure everyone is playing on an even field, the core content of the game—like the vast pool of heroes—is available to all players. Fans can collect cosmetics for heroes and fun add-ons for the world they inhabit, but everything you need to play is already included before you join your first match.
Bring your friends and party up.
Dota is deep, and constantly evolving, but it's never too late to join.
Learn the ropes playing co-op vs. bots. Sharpen your skills in the hero demo mode. Jump into the behavior- and skill-based matchmaking system that ensures you'll be matched with the right players each game.

Features

Pre-Reborn

These are the features first introduced when Dota 2 launched in 2013, running on Source Source engine.

Cloth simulation
Real-time cloth simulation (i.e. soft-body physics) will be introduced to Source.
Deferred shading
A screen-space shading technique allowing the game to renders many lights without huge performance hit.
Global lighting
The world is lit and shadowed dynamically with env_global_light (in addition to pre-compiled light).
Steamworks integration
Building upon community-driven features from Team Fortress 2, players will be able to share strategy guides and coach newer players through Steamworks.
MultiBlend Textures
4-way texture blending, upgrading/replacing WorldVertexTransition
Screen-space Anti-aliasing
Anti-aliasing for use with deferred shading. The option to enable MSAA anti-aliasing (outside of console commands) has been removed as these does not work correctly with deferred shading.
Screen Space Ambient Occlusion
SSAO post-process shader
Published demo file format
Dota 2 Demo Format contains a link and instructions for parsing the Dota 2 demo files
Custom Addon Support
See the Dota 2 Workshop Tools for more details.

Post-Reborn/Updates

See also:  The Source 2 Source 2 features section

These are the features introduced since Dota 2: Reborn update in 2015, which ported the game to the Source 2 engine.

Panorama UI
Replaced the previous Scaleform UI.
64-bit support
Access more than 2-4GB of RAM, better performance.
DirectX 11 (D3D11) and Vulkan support
New graphics API, allowing for better graphics, performance.
Physically Based Rendering support.
Volumetric lighting support.
Todo: List some features added since Dota 2 post-Reborn/Source 2 update.

See also

External links