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Quartero, Dota 2’s new dealer of free hats, is a nice chap who surely won’t kill me and sell my skin

Valve, perhaps newly wary of financial transactions after being put over a barrel by Steam’s payment processors, have elected to give away a bunch of Dota 2 cosmetics for free – and are employing the kindliest, definitely non-murderiest of fellas to handle the goods. Sharply dressed satyr Quartero was added to Dotes yesterday alongside the 7.39d balance update, and now that he’s stuffed a Witch Doctor bauble into my hands for nothing, I can safely say that the chances of my burgled body being found behind the remains of his hastily abandoned shop are almost zero.


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Quartero's Curios



[p]In addition to gameplay patch 7.39d, today we're shipping a new dashboard feature in Dota. For years now, outside of events, the dashboard's mostly just shown the results of your last match. We crunched the math on this, and it turns out that means for half of all players, every time you boot up the game all you're rewarded with is a sad reminder of your last loss. We're optimistic we can do better.[/p][p]So we sifted through mountains of feedback until a clear pattern stood out: players like hero cosmetics. We sifted still further: What kinds of hero cosmetics? It turns out: free ones.[/p][p]We can work with that.[/p][p]Today we're introducing Quartero, a completely trustworthy new character who wants nothing more than to sit on the main menu of Dota and give you free cosmetics while you play games. [/p][p]The only catch is that there is no catch: It's all free. Dota matches are already full of triumphant highs and devastating lows. Think how much more fun they'll be now that every game gets you that much closer to brand new content, helped along by a brand new character with a brand new tragic backstory that, trust us, he's more than happy to tell you all about. (Try and get him to shut up about it.)[/p][p]And of course, Quartero's Curios isn't meant to replace the big Dota events we're working on—it's a smaller, free feature designed to run alongside them. When things are quiet, you might see more of Quartero on the dashboard. But when the next major event rolls in, he'll happily slide aside to make room.[/p]

Dota 2 system requirements

Dota 2, or Defense of the Ancients 2 if you're a long-time fan, is one of the oldest MOBA games still alive and kicking today, thanks to e-sports events and an active player base. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Dota 2 system requirements are incredibly low on account of the game's age, despite numerous updates over the years.


You won't need to buy the best gaming PC from our buying guide to get Dota 2 running, and you won't need any more power than you'd find in any modern entry-level laptop or PC. The only factor that might hold you back is storage space, as the game has a surprisingly large footprint for a 2013 title.


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The Dota 2 7.39 patch brings hero reworks and a serious quality-of-life upgrade

New Dota 2 hero Kez brings two full skill sets to the Valve MOBA

LoL, Legends of Runeterra, and Dota 2 voice actor Sam Mowry has died

7.39c Gameplay Patch

[p]Patch 7.39c is out now and you can check out the patch notes here.

In addition, over the last few days we've addressed the following issues:

[/p]
  • [p]Allow items which are locked for combining to be delivered by the courier[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Abaddon's Mist Coil not dealing self damage when cast on enemies with The Quickening facet[/p]
  • [p]Fixed several bugs where changing styles in the armory didn't update your model's appearance in demo mode.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a bug where changing styles while previewing an item in demo mode would not update the large preview in the armory.[/p]
  • [p]Added a new setting hero specific setting for Rubick to allow players to configure what quickcast mode should be used by stolen spells.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Ghost Walk's duration being refreshed every time Aghanim's Scepter was dropped or picked up.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Elder Titan being able to repeatedly get the same Damage and Debuff Immunity buffs by alt casting stomp without casting Astral Spirit[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Lich's Level 25 "Frost Shield Provides +50 HP Regen" working on units with pip-based health (Undying Tombstone, Shadow Shaman Mass Serpent Wards, etc)[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Exorcism spirits not respecting the equipped cosmetic[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a bug where items could not be dragged from a courier's inventory to the stash, but could instead only be put in the stash via the Return Items ability[/p]
  • [p]Fixed not showing an error message when requesting delivery and the courier is dead[/p]
  • [p]Fixed courier preserving its orders through death and respawn[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Queen of Pain's Sonic Wave dealing infinite damage and healing when cast on a unit with very high status resistance[/p]
  • [p]Fixed units forever being stuck at 1hp as a knock on effect of something doing infinite healing[/p]
  • [p]Fixed "Owned By:" tag showing up on items used while in fog of war on dire side only[/p]
  • [p]Fixed Undying level 20 talent not spawning Tombstone on death[/p]
  • [p]Fixed being able to activate a watcher when two allies decapture the same watcher[/p][p][/p]

7.39b Gameplay Patch

Patch 7.39b is out now and you can check out the patch notes here.

In addition, over the last few days we've addressed the following issues:

  • Fixed a number of miscellaneous client and server crashes
  • Fixed various crashes related to the new Settings menu
  • Fixed an issue with moving whole items in quickbuy
  • Fixed the Quickcast Dropdown not showing if in Direct Cast Bindings and in the quickcast selection
  • Fixed an issue where units other than the hero, Spirit Bear, or courier could purchase items in quickbuy
  • Fixed an issue where courier could grab from stash when at the secret shop
  • Fixed keys being bound to the Alt Modifier triggering other unintentional actions
  • Fixed setting of Network Quality not applying
  • Readded missing settings such as enabling the Query Panel, enabling Queued Orders on the HUD, and enabling ability videos within tooltips
  • Introduced a new setting to disable per unit hotkeys while in custom games
  • Fixed being unable to bind TP Scroll and Neutral Item with Direct Cast Binds
  • Fixed an issue where the Transfer Items courier ability would grab from stash if the courier was in shop range
  • Fixed courier not respecting queued orders after transfer
  • Fixed crashing the game client when an item from your inventory is dragged into your current item Guide when it's set to edit mode
  • Fixed Fullscreen Brightness slider being inverted
  • Fixed the MMR Recalibration button not functioning
  • Fixed an issue where heroes could sometimes be permanently stuck in a death transition state if death occured while affected by Vhoul Assassin's Envenomed Weapon debuff and other sources of negative health restoration
  • Fixed the Settings keybinder blocking input if the Settings is closed while in the middle of binding a key.
  • Fixed courier not grabbing stash when ordered to transfer items when leaving the fountain
  • Renamed "Structures Require Hold/Stop to Cancel" to "Capturing Structures Require Hold/Stop to Cancel"
  • "Capturing Structures Require Hold/Stop to Cancel" now only affect capturing Watchers and Outposts. Channel cancel behavior of Twin Gates and Underlord's Fiend's Gate has moved back to "Teleports Require Hold/Stop to Cancel"
  • Now courier will continue to execute its last order when switching to Auto-Deliver mode
  • Courier HUD panel now has distinct states for waiting at Secret Shop and for generic moving (vs. going to a shop or delivering to a hero). Fixed a ? showing up when the courier is moving without a hero destination.
  • Fixed custom games crashing if a team had more than 7 players
  • Fixed Show Team Items toggle state in the shop not persisting
  • Fixed being unable to bind the following abilities
    • Centaur Warrunner's Work Horse
    • Disruptor's Electromagnetic Repulsion
    • Dawnbreaker's Solar Guardian
    • Timbersaw's Twisted Chakram
    • Elder Titan's Move Astral Spirit
    • Io's Spirits in and out abilities
    • Pangolier's Roll Up
    • Tinker's Keen Conveyance
    • Keeper of the Light's Solar Bind/Recall
  • Fixed Roshan's Roar not playing the fx/animation
  • Fixed Helm of the Undying applying it's duration bonus multiple times if more attacks landed on an already dead target
  • Fixed Helm of the Undying counting near lethal damage as a hero kill, resulting in granting too much additional time
  • Fixed Serrated Shiv's hit particle effect playing when the attack starts rather than lands
  • Fixed Book of the Dead not playing a sound on cast
  • Fixed Bloodseeker's Bloodrage bypassing Linken's Sphere when cast on enemies
  • Fixed Bloodseeker's Bloodrage silence piercing debuff immunity on enemies
  • Fixed "Select Hero" during Dazzle's Nothl Projection selecting Dazzle instead of the Projection
  • Fixed Disruptor's Electromagnetic Repulsion with Transferrence not being affected by cooldown reduction when manually cast
  • Fixed Elder Titan's spirit not automatically returning if using Echo Stomp when Titan has the shard
  • Fixed Hoodwink and Ogre Magi's ultimate abilities not being levelable via hotkey
  • Fixed Invoker's Vector Targeted Ice Wall not casting directly perpendicular to Invoker when the vector end point distance was below a certain threshold
  • Fixed units tethered to IO appearing in Fog of War if they had a cosmetic with ambient particles equipped
  • Fixed Kez' Flutter Katana dealing less damage than intended
  • Fixed Kez' Flutter Katana damage being consumed for no effect in some scenarios
  • Fixed Kez' Raven's Veil going on cooldown if Raptor Dance was interrupted
  • Fixed Kez' Grappling Claw slow still being removed when the attack landed
  • Fixed Kez' Grappling Claw not slowing long enough
  • Fixed Kez' Raven's Veil going on cooldown if Raptor Dance was interrupted
  • Fixed Kez Flutter being consumed by Talon Toss, Falcon Rush, and Katana Impale's fake attack
  • Fixed Lone Druid's Spirit Bear not being able to purchase secret shop items from quickbuy
  • Fixed stash not showing up when Lone Druid's Spirit Bear is selected
  • Fixed Magnus' Reverse Polarity not playing stun animations on enemies
  • Fixed Monkey King's Changing of the Guard sub-ability being stealable
  • Fixed Monkey King Demon Trickster cosmetic issues when casting Changing of the Guard
  • Fixed Muerta's Quick Draw sometimes causing Gunslinger to proc more often than intended
  • Fixed Muerta playing incorrect VO when hitting with Deadshot enhanced with Aghanim's Scepter
  • Fixed Necrophos' Ghost Shroud not increased incoming healing
  • Oracle's Prognosticate in-world rune timers are now alt-pingable.
  • Fixed Sand King Aghanim's Scepter Stinger attacks radius being lower than intended
  • Fixed Shadow Fiend Requiem of Souls not fearing enemies if Shadow Fiend died right after the cast was complete
  • Fixed Timbersaw's Whirling Death healing more on Strength and Universal heroes than expected
  • Fixed Void Spirit's Sanctuary not increasing the barrier amount
  • Ability Draft: Fixed toggling autocast on Quill Spray in Ability Draft won't do the Hairball swap until you have shard.
  • Ability Draft: Fixed Ogre Magi's Learning Curve Facet to work with all abilities (requires Ogre Magi hero model drafted)
  • Ability Draft: Fixed many cases of missing or incorrectly added talents
  • Fixed the Spring 2025 Heroes' Hoard initially having incorrect trading and gifting settings.
  • Made it less likely that the Dota+ item suggestor would run out of late-game items to suggest
  • Fixed quick-buying Dota+ suggested items to not buy multiples when clicking quickly