'Dota 2' Update Pairs Beginners With Newbie-Friendly Heroes, Opponents
"Dota 2" maker Valve hopes that by presenting a smaller selection of heroes to new players, the game can be made easier to pick up and learn by beginners to the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre.
Valve hopes to make learning "Dota 2" a fun experience by easing players into the intricate choices inherent in the game. In a blog post dated Friday, July 28, the company behind one of the biggest MOBA games today announced a set of changes that can make it easier for new players to get started.
The "Dota 2" team hopes to get some of the "issues that caused unnecessary challenges for new players" out of the way with their new update, which will give beginners a smaller pool of heroes to choose from for their first few games.
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For the first twenty-five games of a fresh "Dota 2" account, players need only choose from a subset of heroes chosen by the game's development team. Valve has put their experience, along with player feedback, into choosing a set of heroes that are easy to pick up and learn for new players, hopefully introducing them to most of the game's mechanics before they move on to some of the other challenging heroes.
Along with a smaller pool of heroes, "Dota 2" will also be pairing relative beginners to existing players with "high behavior scores." Hopefully, being paired with other "Dota 2" gamers who have received positive online feedback will make their online experience a positive one as well.
This move could also be Valve's way of admitting that the "Dota 2" community may need these kinds of player filters to make it a newbie-friendly space, as PC Gamer noted.
While Valve continues to work on improving the general quality of the "Dota 2" community, this "high behavior" filter could go a long way with helping new players get a good first impression from their online "Dota" experience.
Finally, the announcement from Valve welcomed "Dota 2" beginners to the overview of the upcoming International "Dota 2" Championship, which will add a newbie-friendly stream for the event on Aug. 7.
