Dota 2 is a game we all love, not just because of the game play but with everything happening in and around the Dota 2 community. From professional tournaments, to new patches and metas, strategies that blow your mind all the way up to what we have come to love: The Battle Pass. The Battle Pass is something Valve releases before every major tournament and it worked fine till now. But with the new format of Minors and Majors, it seemed that there would only be the TI Battle Pass each year. But Valve did come with a solution for that by releasing ‘Dota Plus’ which would be a replacement for the Majors Battle Pass.

Dota Plus, an evolution of the Majors Battle Pass, has been released https://t.co/zYWekkZboL — DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) March 12, 2018

Dota Plus has many features incorporated in it and I am quite sure there will be additions to it as the season goes on. Like every other thing, Dota Plus got extreme reviews, with some being really positive to others deeming it a feature that makes the game pay-to-win. However, from what we’ve seen till now, Dota Plus is so much more than a Battle Pass. It can actually serve as a tool to make you a better Dota 2 player! Let’s take a look how.

The Dota Plus Assistant

One of the big factors that decides a games outcome is the item choices made by players. There are times while playing a hero that you tend to blank out on what item to go for. It isn’t necessarily the same hero should go for the same set of items in all games. A small example: If you’re playing Dazzle and the opposition has a lot of physical damage, Solar Crest is the item of choice. If majority of the opposition damage is magical, a Pipe of Insight or Glimmer Cape should be on your mind. Dota Plus assists a player in making these choices.

Looking at Dazzle’s suggested item build lists, list #2 is the one to look to when dealing with a physical damage lineup while #3 is the one to look at when dealing with a magic damage lineup. Of course, no need to follow it to the book. You have brains for that (you do, right?). But it does help remind you of the possibilities when the mind is in a state of chaos. It’s just the like the roadside billboards, only with stuff you like!

Stats and Talents for a Hero for a Particular Rank

Most of us like to pretend that we are Divine, but the fact of the matter is, we aren’t. And there is a reason for that which is many other players are better than us. Dota Plus gives a chance to take a sneak peak into their thought processes! The ‘TRENDS’ tab for a hero allows you to look at the stats for any hero at any rank. The numbers show the win rate of the hero in that bracket, the average stats for a game and most importantly, I would say, the pick rate and win rate of talents. Changing ranks shows you the difference in mentalities of players while picking talents and the win rates behind the picks suggest which idea is better! Taking cognizance of this fact for heroes you have been having bad streaks on can definitely help make a change to the way things are being perceived. The only part missing here is Dota Plus does not mention the duration for these stats, whether they are for a particular week or a particular patch.

What skill should I pick?

How much does the skill build matter? Enough to change the meta! Earlier, Phoenix was only played in the offlane and Sun Ray was never maxed out. That was until Tal ‘Fly’ Aizak realized its potential. Everyone started doing it in professional games with a support Phoenix. That is the difference skill build can make and the D0ta Plus assistant can help you make the tough decisions when your mind isn’t made up!

Who are Your Friends and Foes?

A new addition to the ‘STATS’ tab lets a player how he/she fares whilst playing alongside a hero and playing against that hero. This may not be the most useful of things, but could come in handy while banning heroes.

Net Worth

Dota Plus lets you track your net worth throughout the game and I believe that is one of the best tools while playing a core.

Just looking at the number give you an idea of whether you are on track with the farm or are lagging behind. For most carries, a net worth of around 12.5k around the 25 minute mark suggests a GPM of 500, which is at least where you should be (should be much higher for an Alchemist!). It isn’t a rule of thumb that the net worth has to be up there as every game unwinds differently, but it is a good indication of how well you are doing. There is also a ‘Goal’ section for comparison, but having seen the numbers on it, I will say it might not be the best basis for comparison.

For all the people mad at Dota Plus claiming that it makes Dota 2 a pay-to-win game, this might be a point in their favor. Having such an easy track of net worth definitely gives a player an edge over someone who doesn’t subscribe to Dota Plus. However, it’s definitely not an automatic game winner.

Damage

This is probably the coolest post-game analysis tool: DAMAGE. The ‘DAMAGE’ tab at the end of a game lets you know how much damage a certain skill or spell did to an opposition player. And the chart literally has everything, from right click damage to damage from temporary abilities. It also sheds light on which hero was most targeted by a certain ability. Like the image below says Invoker was the second most targeted by Doom, but Doom could not get a single Infernal Blade onto him. And the cool part is, it can be done for all heroes in the game! So the next time you lose a Battle Cup game because your Doom is using his ultimate on a Dragon Knight already in Dragon Form, this can be used to set him straight!

Looking at all this, I fail to see how Dota 2 has become pay-to-win. Valve is trying to make it better and considering the game is free of cost, the community should not frown upon their attempts to make some money off it while adding value.

Admittedely I dont know every feature from Dota Plus yet, but so many redditors whining over it being "pay to win" amazes me. If it can contribute to improving players game knowledge over time, why not? I bet its the same people complaining over "noob teammates" holding you back. — Rasmus Blomdin (@ChessieDota) March 12, 2018

Peter ‘PPD’ Dager of Optic Gaming actually did a small video on the benefits of Dota Plus.

Besides all the statistics, there still are the in-game challenges and prizes to claim from it. Additionally, there will be a Battle Cup every week with Dota Plus subscribers getting to play for free. All in all, Dota Plus seems like an interesting addition to the game. Like Rasmus ‘Chessie’ Blomdin said, people should stop whining and start using it to improve their game!