Author Topic: DotA 2 announces Free-to-Play with all heroes and gameplay elements unlocked!  (Read 37399 times)

Offline Wingflier

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As I said earlier in this thread, I would take a competent AI over most DotA players.  And from my experience, the quality of DotA players is significantly higher than that of other ARTS games.  I think that speaks volumes about my opinion of the average MOBA player ;p
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Offline eRe4s3r

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I would take a competent AI over all DOTA players... I don't really like playing this game mode online either.. there is an odd competitive edge to these communities for some reason that make it not feel like fun at all. On the other hand, playing against the AI can be fun, but often the AI is not only incompetent but broken. I hear in DOTA2 it is not the case... if it is at least somewhat random I guess I could live with that.. I mean.. it's free right? ;p
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Offline Mánagarmr

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As someone who is actually involved in a F2P game (Tribes Ascend) I feel that the DotA2 way is way (hah) better than the "unlock stuff as you go or with cash"-way that Tribes uses. It just feels better. I like it, nice step from Valve there!

As for community, I don't think I've ever seen something so abusive and downright arsehole-ish as the MOBA-genre community. Counterstrike comes close in cesspoolness, but MOBA just took it one step further. Which is why I won't touch either of them with a ten foot pole. I tried LoL, but quit within a few weeks. (Pretty much when they removed the ability to play offline games with friends and force me to play with the cesspit-spewing raving madmen)
« Last Edit: June 06, 2012, 07:23:30 am by Moonshine Fox »
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Offline keith.lamothe

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I tried LoL, but quit within a few weeks. (Pretty much when they removed the ability to play offline games with friends and force me to play with the cesspit-spewing raving madmen)
When was that?  I haven't played it in a couple months, iirc, but the last time I played it was still possible to start a custom game with a password so my friends and I could play vs the AI (4 of us, one bot on our team, 5 bots on the AI team).  They were even expanding it by making some of the new and improved AIs from the Co-op Vs AI (which does insist on a 5-person human team, but even there you could play with your specifically-chosen friends if you had 4 of them ready to play) available for Custom games.

The AI still wasn't all that great, but only two of us were really much good at the game (the other two being quite happy to admit the fact, it was just for fun) so it worked out pretty well :)
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Offline Mánagarmr

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This was probably over a year ago. Maybe even more. Not sure, honestly, but me and my friends ended up getting Demigod instead (we liked the game mechanics and gameplay more) and played it over Hamachi. Also, it's prettier :P
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Offline Wingflier

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I wasn't aware of this, but apparently, in the game's "Find Co-Op Bot Match" feature, which assigns you a random team of human ally players, then pits you against a team of bots (I guess LoL has this as well), there are 5 difficulty settings to choose from.



This is a pretty neat feature that gives you a lot more room for different player skill-levels than the other ARTS games I've seen.

Also, if there are people in your party before you queue, it will put them on your team first, then fill in any empty slots with random players.

edit:  After playing a game against unfair bots, I can safely say you will have a challenge ;p
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Offline eRe4s3r

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Can we play a game like this in DOTA2?

Bot vs Bot
Bot vs Bot
Human vs Bot
Bot vs Bot
Bot vs Bot

so.. SP ? ;p Because if not, I won't even bother to download it.
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Offline Wingflier

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Yes you can
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Offline eRe4s3r

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The sign-up procedure is pretty funny for the beta invite stuff... what do they even consider DOTA? The official WC3 map? Because I played like 5 dozens off-shoots of that and couldn't remember a damn thing about any of them ;p Just choose stuff at random and put skill level at 0 ;p

Just wanna play SP to be honest.
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Offline Volatar

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The sign-up procedure is pretty funny for the beta invite stuff... what do they even consider DOTA? The official WC3 map? Because I played like 5 dozens off-shoots of that and couldn't remember a damn thing about any of them ;p Just choose stuff at random and put skill level at 0 ;p

Just wanna play SP to be honest.

That's what a lot of people did.

Offline eRe4s3r

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Well showing that you can always sink lower than humanly imaginable Valve now *sells* beta access for 30€.

http://www.dota2.com/store/itemdetails/57939587?appid=570

Ok, they also give you pointless gimmicks as extra. But that's some gall. Asking 30€ for beta access to a F2P game?

also a quick read of the forums there makes it clear what to expect of that community ;)
« Last Edit: June 14, 2012, 03:50:48 pm by eRe4s3r »
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Offline Wingflier

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First of all, it's not free to play yet, because it hasn't been released.

Secondly, the price of admission (to the beta) includes a lot more than just the invite.  There are 8 popular cosmetic items which you can trade with friends or use on your favorite characters.

Thirdly, if you don't want to pay it - then wait (or sign up for the beta/get one from a friend)!

Path of Exile, a cool upcoming free-to-play RPG is selling beta invites as well.  It's a way to show support for the company while also gaining instant access to the beta.

https://www.pathofexile.com/

You forget that DotA 2, while it will be free-to-play on launch, is probably going to be the most polished and highest quality free-to-play game ever released.  It's worth the $40.  In fact, I know several people who have paid the $40 just to support Valve.
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Offline eRe4s3r

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It's clear path of exile does this sale so they can actually FUND development, so that is fine with me. Dota 2 on the other hand, is just selling beta invites to make some extra cash and pretty transparently at that (given that this spam email comes to people who are waiting for an *free* invite).

Why would anyone pay money just to get access to a F2P games beta?
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Offline Wingflier

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I don't know?  Why would they?

Nobody is forcing you to pay.  If you want to wait until the game is released, or until you get a free beta invite, you're certainly welcome to do so.

If you personally are waiting for a beta invite you could ask on the dota forums and probably get one almost immediately.  I could get you one if you wanted.
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Offline BobTheJanitor

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I think that Valve's sale of beta access isn't as evil as it seems. Bear in mind that there's been a pretty huge black market of people selling beta access already. Valve is doing an end-run around them. And what you're really paying for is all the cosmetic gubbins from the DOTA equivalent of the TF2 hat shop. You can think of the beta access as coming free with that, if it makes it any more palatable. And of course the released game itself will be entirely free, so anyone that doesn't want to pay doesn't have to. They just have to wait.