Dota 2

Dota 2 is the official follow-up to the 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 engine in 2013, using the which formerly succeeded , it was later ported to 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 , or ).
==Bugs/Limitations==
Use GitHub to report gameplay bugs in order to prevent duplicate or outdated bug reports at the wiki.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 and .
==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 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 (in addition to pre-compiled light).
; Steamworks integration
: Building upon community-driven features from , 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 ===
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.
==See also==
* Dota 2 Workshop Tools
* Dota 2 Addon Portal - Documentation for the old Source 1 engine release.
==External links==
* Website
* Gameplay Updates on dota2.com
* Dota 2 on PCGamingWiki
* Dota 2 on Liquipedia
* Dota 2 on YouTube