After months of anticipation, The International 10 Battle Pass is finally here. It brings back some old features, and it has plenty of new ones too.
The International Battle Pass is here! https://t.co/ccUPd5UBzb
— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) May 25, 2020
New Features in The International 10 Battle Pass
Guilds
Players who own The International 10 Battle Pass can create guilds. But anyone can join them, regardless of whether they own the battle pass or not.
Guild members can work together to level up their guild by completing daily contracts and guild challenges. They will also earn rewards for themselves and their fellow members.
A Special Summer Event
The International 10 Battle Pass introduces a new special summer event, which Valve describes as “a labyrinth of trials and horrors.” It’s a four-player “maze of madness and mayhem” where you need to work as a team to choose a path and escape the labyrinth.
It seems to be procedurally-generated, since “behind every door awaits a new surprise” and “no two adventures will go the same.” The best part is that players will receive Battle Pass rewards every time they finish it.
New Cavern Crawl: Nightsilver and Foulfell
Cavern Crawl was a mode first introduced in The International 8 Battle Pass. Players explore a network of rooms where they battle against different heroes. Reaching the end unlocks an equipment set.
It was popular among fans. Now it’s back again in The International 10 Battle Pass. It has two new maps filled with additional content, and it sounds like they are a good challenge.
New Battle Gauntlet
Battle Gauntlet is an entirely new mode introduced in The International 10 Battle Pass. It’s a player-versus-player mode where players need to try and win three games before they lose two. Those who are victorious will earn Battle Pass rewards and can climb into different tiers based on skill.
The Sideshop
The sideshop hasn’t been a part of Dota 2 for quite some time. But it’s been re-introduced as a part of The International 10 Battle Pass, and it serves a different purpose.
Now, players can use gold earnt from their Battle Pass to buy, upgrade, and sell heroes to earn exclusive rewards. It’s a bit like a collectible card game on the side.
Bounty Killing
The International 10 Battle Pass introduces a new item called Bounty Tokens. Players receive them every week and can use them to place a bounty on an enemy hero.
If teammates kill that enemy before the timer runs out, they’ll earn 200 Battle Points. But there’s a catch. The player who sets the bounty can’t complete it themselves. That would be too easy.
The Gifts of Giving
Players have always been able to send The International 10 Battle Pass to a friend as a gift. But now they’ll receive a special reward for doing so.
Gifting a single battle pass will give a player a title, “The Selfless”. Gifting three will provide them with an even better title, “The Benevolent.” And gifting five will give them the best title of all, “The Wise”.
These titles will be visible in player profiles as well as the versus screen before a match.
Community Match Predictions
Every day, players who own The International 10 Battle Pass will be able to see and vote on a random community match selected by Valve. They’ll see all available details about the heroes, lanes and skill brackets of the players involved, and can predict who will win.
If a player predicts correctly, they will receive a decent amount of Battle Points. The best part is that there’s nothing to lose. It doesn’t cost anything to make a prediction. So there’s no reason not to try and become the next Nostradamus.
Revamped MVP
Once upon a time, players were able to vote for the most valuable player in any given game. Now, that system is back, and it’s even better. This time, the most valuable player is selected automatically based on algorithms and performance metrics.
Not only that, but two honourable mentions will be made on the same metrics too. Now everyone has a better chance to feel good about themselves after a game.
Updated Interactive Versus Screen
The screen that shows up while loading each game has always been a bit stale. Thankfully, The International 10 Battle Pass fixes that problem. Now, players will be able to express themselves by choosing different animations and chatlines.
It’s only a small change, but it’s a welcome one. Dota 2 players love being able to express themselves in comical ways, for better and for worse.
Pause-Screen Playground
Pausing is an integral part of the Dota 2 experience. It sucks when a teammate disconnects or drops out, and you’re left wondering if or when they’ll be back.
Dota 2’s pause system is arguably the best in any competitive game, and the etiquette is generally quite good. But sometimes that means waiting for anywhere up to five minutes, sometimes more.
Luckily, The International 10 Battle Pass introduces a cool new feature that fixes that problem. It’s called the Pause-Screen Playground, and it comes in the form of three different mini-games; whack-a-meepo, musical chairs, and hero hunt. They pop up anytime the game is paused and give players something else to do while they wait.
Updated Wagering
The wagering system has been a part of the battle pass experience for a while. But The International 10 Battle Pass adds another layer to it in the form of a streak system.
Players receive ten Wager Tokens each week, and they’ll earn even more as they level up their battle pass. Wage Tokens return a base amount of Battle Points per token, which increases with an unbeaten streak.
New Assistant Features
Dota 2 is a complex game, and sometimes it’s hard to know what you could have done better. The International 10 Battle Pass introduces new assistant features including a post-game healing chart, a post-game gold source table, a post-game experience source table, bounty rune and outpost stats, outgoing damage summary, and a new pull timer.
These features won’t turn you into Topson overnight. But they’ll help players from all skill-brackets better understand how and why a game ended up the way it did, and whether their performance was up to scratch.
Returning Features in The International 10 Battle Pass
Of course, it’s not all about the new features. The International 10 Battle Pass brings back some of the old favourites, including rank double-down, collector’s cache voting, high-fives, in-game tipping, arcana voting, evolving chat lines, recycling treatures, and trivia.
Rewards
Dota 2’s battle pass system has always been about the rewards. Naturally, that means The International 10 Battle Pass has plenty of them.
It includes new treasures and arcanas, a new terrain, living towers, kill streak effects, ping cosmetics, consumables, portals, sprays, taunts, and emoticons.
It also includes chat-wheel sounds, caster packs, sound packs, couriers, music packs, announcer packs, special-effects, wards, river vials, and collector words.
Everyone is particularly excited about the new personas and arcanas. Pudge, Anti-Mage, Wraith King, Queen of Pain, and Windranger are the five lucky heroes who will receive a badass new look.
They’re some of the best skins ever released. But the one that stands out the most is The One True King arcana for Wraith King. It’s quickly becoming a fan-favourite. Here’s a closer look:
How much does it cost?
Players have three different options to buy the battle pass. The cheapest option is the Level One Bundle, which is $9.99. You’ll get the bare minimum. But it’s cheap and easy.
The middle-range option is the Level 50 Bundle, which is reasonably priced at $29.35. As the name suggests, you’ll unlock the first fifty levels. Think of it as a nice headstart.
The most expensive option is the Level 100 Bundle, which is a hefty $44.99. But the more you spend, the more you save. It works out around fifteen-dollars cheaper than buying fifty levels on their own, and you’ll save a lot of time.
Still, no matter which option you choose, you’ll need to play a lot of Dota 2 to unlock all the goodies.
