Valve Teases New Dota 2 Hero: The Ringmaster
Valve has delighted Dota 2 fans with a Halloween-themed reveal of the game’s upcoming hero, The Ringmaster, just before the grand finals of The International 2023 between Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators.
The trailer for The Ringmaster starts with a haunting voice that talks about capturing and training heroes while eerie music plays in the background. It shows Axe being tricked into participating in a classic high striker carnival challenge, only for it to turn into a twisted device that sucks him inside.
The first glimpse of Ringmaster comes from a circus-style poster featuring a thin man with mechanical elements all over his body, giving him the appearance of a performing tamer. However, we don’t get to see him in action just yet.
The trailer sets the tone with a chilling narrative: “Out past the lanes, at the edge of the forest, there is a narrow path. You could swear it wasn’t there yesterday. You follow it into the smothering darkness… until there is a light. A small, glittering light dancing between the distant trees. You follow the light deeper into the forest. It’s getting colder now. You can see your breath. A branch snaps behind you. You look. Nothing. Then… Next year, no hero is safe… from the Ringmaster.”
According to the trailer, Ringmaster is set to be released in 2024. This indicates that players can expect an update featuring the new hero between February and May, which is typically the timeframe for Spring hero releases.
The reveal also strongly suggests that Ringmaster draws inspiration from Heroes of Newerth’s Puppet Master. The datamined files for the newest Dota hero have been using the codename Puppet Master since last year, and the name Ringmaster was also datamined after the Dota 2 summer update earlier this year.
If the similarities to Puppet Master hold true, Ringmaster will possess the ability to manipulate and potentially control other heroes against their will.
This news is breaking, and this article will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
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