Dota 2 News

Primal Beast is the new Dota 2 hero - here are his abilities

After much anticipation, Dota 2's 7.31 patch has gone live, with a new hero called Primal Beast. In addition to the previously-announced Techies Demolitions rework, the patch notes include a host of more general balance changes, including a big update to the jungle introducing several new creeps to battle.

Primal Beast is a strength hero rated for disabler, durable, and initiator roles. His first ability is Onslaught, a charge which knocks back anyone - enemy or ally - in range, and will damage and stun enemies caught in the effect. Charging the charge will let Primal Beast charge further. Trample creates an AoE damage effect around Primal Beast, which will damage all enemies for 140 units traveled.

Uproar is a passive buff to base bonus damage, and Primal Beast gains additional stacks of the ability each time an enemy hero deals 35 damage or more. You can activate those stacks for a roar that'll slow nearby enemies and grant bonus attack damage and armour. Pulverize will grab an enemy target, slamming them back to the ground for AoE damage.

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The Primal Beast & 7.31 Gameplay Update

Freed from captivity by the unknowable machinations of the Continuum Device, an ageless hunger now stalks the lanes — as the new hero Primal Beast stomps his way into action along with the 7.31 Gameplay patch in today's update.

Following on the Beast’s savage trail, the jungle has awoken. A horde of new and updated creeps are ready to inflict retribution on heroes that have terrorized them for so long. To meet these upstart dangers, new items of power have been discovered, and others have been reworked. The multiverse ripples from within the Continuum Vault have wrought shocking changes to Techies and ample alterations to other heroes. With so much made anew, there are powder kegs full of things to investigate and explore.

Get started by smashing the list of changes directly into your brain over at The Primal Beast Update page. From there, it's just a short tromp into battle to discover all the possible things you can now pulverize with joy.

Dota 2 games are being interrupted and fans think Primal Beast is on the way

Valve is gearing up for the next major Dota 2 update - patch 7.31 - and there's evidence building to suggest that Primal Beast, a boss from Aghanim's Labyrinth, is going to be introduced as the next playable hero. Players have been speculating about this for a while and it looks like an official announcement is on the way.

Earlier today, in preparation for the release of patch 7.31 on February 23, Valve deployed a minor title update for Dota 2. The update itself appeared normal, but players are witnessing an abnormal in-game event following its release - and it only builds on the rumours that Primal Beast is going to be officially announced and introduced to Dota 2's roster soon.

In the opening stages of Dota 2 games following the minor update, roughly at the 1:20 mark of the pre-match countdown, a global event is occurring that stuns all players - Radiant and Dire. As they're being stunned, a strange roar sounds off across the battlefield. The stun doesn't actually affect gameplay and only lasts a few moments, but it's raising eyebrows and players are taking this strange occurrence as a sign that Primal Beast is on the way.

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Dota 2 7.31 patch release date - Techies Demolitions rework coming soon

Valve has announced that the Dota 2 7.31 patch is due out this week, and the highlight will apparently be a redo of everyone's least favourite trio of goblins - the Techies Demolitions pack. A lot of players will be happy to hear that the popular MOBA game is getting a Techies rework at last, but Valve still hasn't revealed what form it will take.

Arguably the best MOBA game on PC, the arrival of the Techies goblins into Dota 2 was both long-awaited and celebrated when it happened all the way back in 2014 - in fact, the Techies were met with massive cheers and literal explosions when they were first revealed.

Since then, the Techies have fallen into either the love-them-or-hate-them camp, with even Valve's own tweet about the new update referring to the group as "contentious". They're almost entirely trap-based, and they can make matches go on for a long time as opponents are forced to avoid or disable them. As of this week, however, they're getting a rework.

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Dota 2 fan creates huge bug lists for Valve to help "perfect" the game

We all want our favourite games to be perfect - especially when we spend hundreds of hours playing them each year. While, for the most part, that desire is often a wish - and one that we as players can rarely act upon - there are a few out there who do everything they can to iron out the kinks in games. And Russian Redditor 'Astiberon' is one of those players.

Over the last couple of months, Astiberon has been painstakingly combing through Dota 2, looking at each and every character, item, skin, and relic he can get his hands on. After a quick inspection, he puts together a report detailing any incorrect descriptions, missing particles, and broken animations. Why? Because he wants to help Valve with the upcoming Dota 2 patch.

"Why am I doing this? I just really love this game and I want it to be perfect," Astiberon tells The Loadout. "I started playing Dota 2 in 2016 - I have played about 11,000 hours since then. I play Turbo a lot, but I know almost all the game features and mechanics - thanks to this, I can easily find various bugs in the game."

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