Though Valve’s Gabe Newell had previously said Dota 2 will be a free-to-play game , today we finally have specifics about exactly what kind of microtransaction system will be included. In a post on the Dota 2 blog , Valve states that it “will not be a pay-to-win game,” and that “all the items in the store are cosmetic, and don’t affect gameplay.”

Additionally, Valve will not sell individual heroes -- all will be free -- which is a pretty big change from how competitors in the genre like League of Legends handle microtransactions. “We believe restricting player access to heroes could be destructive to game design, so it’s something we plan to avoid,” said the post.In terms of what you can pay for, Valve will allow for visual customization of heroes and other gameplay elements like the courier. Better still, like with Team Fortress 2, Valve is opening up the a Steam Workshop for Dota 2 so fans can submit designs and, if approved by Valve, will be cut into the profits when the designs go live on the store.A post on the official FAQ explained this decision in more detail. “We're acutely aware of the community's concerns around remaining true to the theme of the game, so much so that we think the community should be directly involved in the process of choosing what goes into it. The Steam Workshop allows you to submit your votes and thoughts on contributed items before we make any decision to put them into the game, so jump in and help us stay on the right track. We think the community at large is actually really good at making these kinds of decisions.”Paying for new items won’t be the only way to get new stuff. As you compete online in matchmaking battles, you’ll also earn Battle Points and Battle Levels, which will result in item unlocks.Now that Valve has detailed the microtransaction system, does that mean Dota 2 is pretty close to officially launching? In the FAQ, Valve states it doesn’t even really consider Dota 2 to be a beta test at this point, but “we've still got work to do before we can support the number of players who've shown interest in Dota 2. Right now we're working on expanding our server infrastructure, which is the primary bottleneck.”In an official press release, Valve stated Dota 2 will be released this year, but gave no specific time frame. If you’d like to get into the closed beta test before launch, you can sign up on the Dota 2 site