An early standalone version of the very famous Dota Auto Chess is now available on Steam. Every Dota 2 player has received an in-game notification to add Dota Underlords to their Steam Library. There’s only one condition to it, and that is having the Dota 2 Battle Pass in possession. An intriguing 8 player battle is on the verge, and as such, you may want to delve into the fun.
Dota Underlords is a standalone version of Dota Auto Chess, which first became popular as a Mod in Dota 2 with almost 9 million subscribers. This surely reminds of Dota during its early days when it first became a thing, for later to grow into a standalone and versatile MOBA. Nowadays, millions of players are in love with this MOBA for a reason, and most of them have poured into the latest mod addition.
Dota Underlords is basically the same game, with a couple of renames of abilities, races, classes, etc. Buffs and everything else that classes and races offers are the same, except for the new Global Items that are eligible to loot after each “Loot Round”.
New Heroes have also developed, such as Bloodseeker (Human, Assassin), Sand King (Savage, Assassin), Warlock (Blood-Bound, Warlock), Ogre Magi (Blood-Bound, Mage), Pudge (Heartless, Warrior). Overall their main buffs serve the same as in the modded version, which allows the players to understand the game a lot easier.
What’s Changed in Dota Underlords
Every experienced player already knows how the buffs are reacting with the current lineup, taking into consideration the knowledge gained from the Auto Chess mod. Being relatively new, there are some heroes missing, and there are some new as well. More heroes are most likely to come alive throughout the course of development.
However, let’s take a look at Race names and how they differ from the mod version of the game.
- Elf -> Elusive
- Beast -> Savage
- Goblin -> Scrappy
- Undead -> Heartless
- Elemental -> Primordial
- Naga -> Scaled
- Dwarf -> Deadeye
- Lich King is brought back to Tier 5.
Most of the other and core mechanics remain the same. You basically have the chess board in front of your screen in which you manage your lineup. There are some improved features that enhance the tracking of the current lineup, what you need, improved DPS meter and more. You no longer need to sell the hero to unequip his item, but just transfer it. You are now limited to only 1 bag slot per hero, which means only 1 item can be equipped at a time. That being said, players can swap the items between heroes whenever they feel the need, without the necessity of selling the designated hero and causing a flaw in their lineup.
This creates somewhat a versatile gameplay experience, allowing players to optimize their Auto Chess lineup a lot better.
New Global Items
Global items allow you to gain a variety of benefits across the whole board. They are stashed in your loot bag and remain permanently there. Global items can connect with certain races and classes, but also can elevate the item or gold gain. It is very vital to play around these global items or acquire them according to your hero lineup as they can be a huge decider in the late game. Similar to the already existing equipable items, there are 4 tiers of global items, and you can find them below:
Tier 1
- Embarrassment of Riches (Neutral rounds offer one additional item choice.)
- Soul Sucking Syphon (Allied units 1 cell away from Warlocks heal for 25% of all damage caused by abilities and items.)
- Strange Bedfellows (Demon Hunters gain +30% Pure Damage for each unique allied Demon unit.)
- Unstable Reactor (Allied Inventors explode on death dealing 20% of their Max Health to all enemies 1 cell away.)
Tier 2
- Aegis of the Immortal (Prevent your next loss of life and destroy Aegis. Win streaks are preserved.)
- Age of Chivalry (Non-Knight units gain +10% damage reduction for each allied Knight unit 1 cell away.)
- Completing the Cycle (When a Druid dies, it heals allies 1 cell away over time for 30% of its total health for 6 seconds.)
- Coordinated Assault (Troll units give +25 Attack Speed to allies 1 cell away.)
- Fall From Grace (Human units count as Heartless when counting Alliances.)
- Forged in Battle (Brawny units start the round with +50 Max Health for every unit they have killed.)
- Indomitable Will (Debuffs last 50% as long on Human units.)
- Silver Lining (Get 1 gold when you lose a fight.)
- Smuggler (Quality of items from neutral rounds are offered from 1 wave higher.)
- Summoning Stone (Allied summoned units have +150 Health and +30 Attack Speed.)
- Tooth and Claw (Savage units apply a stackable 10 damage/s bleed on attack.)
- Unstoppable (Warriors survive for an extra 2 seconds after receiving a killing blow.)
Tier 3
- A Higher Class of Criminal (Units in shop offered as if you were 1 level higher.)
- Check the Bodies (Scrappy units have a 20% chance of producing 1 gold when they kill an enemy.)
- Dragon’s Hoard (Dragon units gain 1% Attack Damage fro every gold you own at the beginning of combat.)
- Elusive Targets (Elusive units are invisible for the first 3 seconds of a fight.)
- Final Flash (Mages reset their cooldown and get full mana when below 30% health.)
- Font of Creation (Primordial units spawn Eidolons on death. Eidolons are wek ranged Primirdial units that don’t spawn Eidolons.)
- Hunter’s Focus (Hunters deal 10% extra Attack Damage for each other Hunters attacking the same target.)
- Pocket Sand (Assassins blind enemies 1 cell away from where they land for 2 seconds (50% miss chance).)
- Retaliate (Units attacking Scaled units take 80 damage/sec for 3 seconds. This timer resets each time the Scaled unit is attacked.)
- Shaman Pluck (Units attacking a Shaman have a 5% chance of being turned into a chicken.)
- Wicked Intent (Opponent’s healing is reduced by 25% per unique Heartless unit you have.)
Tier 4
- Friends and Family Discount (All units are 1 gold cheaper.)
- Vicious Intent (Each of your surviving units, including summons, deals 1 additional damage to opponents if they lose to you.)
Tier 5:
- Desperate Measures (Your units gain +1% Attack Damage per 5 points of damage your Underlord has taken.)
- Expanded Roster (+1 Unit cap.)
- Recruiter (The first reroll each round is free.)
New Animations
There are new animations for literally every hero, as for every single ability they own. It definitely makes the game look more sophisticated, As we’re talking about a video game and not just an ordinary chess game. You will no longer be able to combine items dropped from loot rounds, as the creeps drop items that players can choose from after the round ends. Some global items also elevate the item choice and grant huge advantage for the owners. If combined properly, you will pretty much be 1 step ahead of your enemies.
General conclusion
There are people that find the new standalone version a bit complicated when actually it isn’t complicated at all. It is actually simpler, it’s just the transition that induces pain. Nevertheless, we’re definitely loving it so far, as Dota Underlords offers a pleasant gameplay experience. Without a certain reason, the game feels like it’s more balanced than the mod. Simply because there is a bigger variety of items that may bolster towards a player comeback fairly easier.
We’re most probably going to work on Dota Underlords guides that have a strong relationship between Races, Classes and Global items. It will take some time until we discover the best Meta so the guides may arrive a bit later. Knowing that Dota Underlords will be a self-evolving and changing game, having a guides section may also help. Until the next time, take care.
