Dota is an ensemble cast, but keen observers looking through the collection of rogues, wizards, druids, and knights (not to mention two characters named "ranger") may have noticed the absence of that most maligned of hero classes: the bard. At least, up until now. Introducing Dota's newest hero: Largo, the bard. Unlike bards with your traditional bard powers (singing about current events and chord changes), Largo is the shamanic head of the bardmonk order. He tailors every song to his exact circumstances, raising his allies' spirits or, if necessary, their foot speed as they run toward battle (or away). As a frog, his prehensile tongue has, shall we say, all kinds of tricks. You can read a little about his past, or you can help explore his future in Dota right now. Today's update also includes gameplay patch 7.40. (As is tradition, the patch notes are too long to fit in this blog, so we made a whole site to hold them and show some highlights.) Largo is taking over the main menu in Dota for a bit, but the Monster Hunter event is still ongoing and there's plenty of time left to craft whatever you're working towards. Since it's the holidays, we're putting the Dota 2 x Monster Hunter Expedition Pack on sale and granting everyone who owned it already a special early-purchase voucher material bundle. On top of that, we're giving everyone who logs in over the holidays a free bundle of crafting materials. Happy hunting! Speaking of holiday festivities, some of the usual shenanigans have made their reappearance, reminding us all of the true spirit of the holidays: pelting your enemies in the face with snowballs. We hope everybody in the Dota community has a safe and happy holiday, and we'll see you next year.

The International returns to Shanghai, China in August 2026, and we’d like to invite all companies interested in producing and distributing regional language broadcasts of The International 2026 to apply now. For the Live Event Broadcast Production of this year's show, we’ll be accepting proposals for Russian and Spanish language broadcast partners. The RFP (Request For Proposal) documentation and instructions for submissions can be found here. For those seeking additional licenses and feeds, please fill out the form below that pertains to the correct request:

• Production companies seeking a commercial license to produce a regional language broadcast of The International 2026 without additional access to the event can apply here.
• Streaming platforms interested in restreaming the official broadcast feeds to their platform can apply here.

Fans interested in trying their own hands at casting are welcome to create strictly noncommercial casts from DotaTV that follow the Dota 2 Community Streaming License, and do not need to make an official request. Please reach out to theinternationalrfp@valvesoftware.com with any additional questions. Thanks in advance to everyone interested in working with us to bring The International 2026 to life.

[p]It's open season on the world's most dangerous heroes, and you're just the hero we need to track them all down. We're happy to announce a massive Dota/Monster Hunter crossover with new sets, new pets, a new in-game hunt and crafting system, and of course monsters. (For everyone who thinks Dragon Knight turning into a dragon is awesome but would be more awesome if he turned into Rathalos instead, great news: Capcom was just as excited as we were to make this happen).[/p] [p]There are six Monster Hunter-themed item sets to collect in all, each bringing a classic Monster Hunter armor set into the Dota world, and each with three craftable alternate versions. There's also a new Palico courier with craftable costumes, and even your very own pet Poogie with craftable outfits. Your Poogie will hang out in your base, waiting to give you love whenever you return (and, assuming he is house trained, not pooping on your base).[/p] [p]The core version of each hero set is available to all Dota players for free, and can be crafted once you've harvested the necessary materials from hero hunts. In addition, the Hero Atlas will help you track your progress, explore hero lore, and gather dispatches from the farthest realms, penned by Axe's loyal scribe Goodkind.[/p] [p]For those that want more, the Expedition Pack includes more of everything: usable Monster Hunter monsters (Rathalos for Dragon Knight and the Bullfango for Beastmaster), a Monster Hunter music pack and seasonal spray collection, and a bundle of crafting materials to get you started. Expedition Pack holders can also craft exclusive Poogie, Palico, and hero set variants with custom ambient and Immortal effects.[/p] [p]The hunt is on, and will run for the next three months. Get in the game, vanquish your enemies, and transform your victories into new items. Oh, and look out for monsters.[/p]