Do not let him fool you. All’s fair in love and war.
The lead-up to The International 12 (TI12) – with the release of the Compendium – disappointed some Dota 2 fans, but Valve might have just redeemed themselves.
Right before the TI12 grand finals, they revealed their new hero, Ringmaster, with a teaser trailer.
Besides giving us a glimpse of his lore, the video did not reveal much – such as his abilities. Seemingly running a circus, the Ringmaster appears to play on deceit and deception, using traps to recruit other heroes.
Axe was his first victim, falling prey to an odd high striker game in the middle of the forest. He gets stuck and the machine then opens and pulls him in.
When can we expect Ringmaster’s official addition to the game? The trailer ends with “No hero is safe: 2024” so we can look forward to the new hero dropping any time next year, maybe even with a big celebration event.
It may be a long run-up to then though. But fans are already hyped and are theorising abilities. Some have applauded the design and voicing, and some have said they will come back to the game just to play Ringmaster.
On YouTube, @omegalul8466 commented: “One thing that I like about Dota’s hero design is that they’re unpredictable. I love (that) the design of Muerta and her abilities are completely unique from the other heroes. And I think this one is no exception.”
What do you think of Ringmaster? Will he be as impressive as he looks now? Or is he fooling us like he did to Axe?
There is only one way to find out. We will check back in 2024!
