It’s been a little over 5 months since the new Dota hero was announced at the International. Currently, we still don’t have a Dota 2 Ringmaster release date, only vague promises from Valve in their blog updates about the Crownfall patch. So when can we expect Ringmaster to enter the game?
Credit: Dota 2 / Valve
Patch updates revealed in blogs
Periodically, Valve releases blogs on their official website to update us about the general state of the game, upcoming patches and the professional Dota scene.
October 29th – Ringmaster is revealed during The International grand finals opening ceremony and pegged for release in early 2024.
February 13th – A Reddit datamine found hints that Ringmaster would be released with the already delayed Crownfall patch.
March 6th – New updates, including Dota Labs, are introduced into the game with no reference to Crownfall or Ringmaster.
March 21st – New banning and matchmaking fixes are introduced with patch 7.35d. Valve confirmed Crownfall is set for release in mid April.
So as things stands, the Dota 2 ringmaster release date is currently mid April.
That’s a little vague to say the least. If we’re working on Valve time, fans can probably expect to see patch well after the ESL One Birmingham Major.
Pro Dota and patches
If Ringmaster is indeed set for release in mid April, it’s worth noting that he won’t immediately be available in Captain’s Mode. A new hero is usually in tested in pubs for 6 months – 1 year before the pros are able to get their hands on them in official games.
Valve does have a bit of a track record with dropping patches immediately before or even during tournaments. This time though, it doesn’t seem like Crownfall will have much impact on the state of play in Birmingham. The 7.35d letter patch was only released with a month before the Major. It seems unlikely there will be a gameplay patch alongside this in game event.
Last year, Valve announced that there would be no more battle passes. This was in order to make the year less TI-centric and attract new players to the game. Dropping the Crownfall patch in line with the ESL One Birmingham Major would certainly provide the same vibe of an in game event running alongside a significant tournament.
Fingers crossed we won’t be waiting much longer. Mid April might be ambiguous, but it’s just around the corner.
This article was originally published here
