Dota 2 community reaches Valve, caster’s voice lines are safe from gacha mechanics

Just over 24 hours after adding yet another new cosmetic set to Dota 2, Valve is now backtracking to a previous distribution method because fans and talent alike were not willing to deal with yet another poor attempt to gamify the unlocking method.

This new update revolved around Talent Stickers, an addition to the previous Team and Player Autograph Sticker Capsules that specifically pertain to the talent hosting and casting The International 2022 throughout October. Each Sticker comes in one of four different variants and contains voice lines from each talent, with a portion of each capsule purchase supporting them too. 

Unlike in previous years, where an autograph was made available to purchase on its own, these Talent Stickers were only available as random drops via the capsules, meaning you had to essentially gamble your money in hopes of getting the stickers and voice lines they wanted. Oh, and only Holo or Gold quality stickers gave the voice lines, meaning you have less than a two percent shot at grabbing the ones you want.

Valve noted that the mass backlash and “unhappiness with the product” drove the quick decision to pivot back to a direct purchasing model. That change was heavily questioned by fans and the talent themselves with many expressing just how upset they were on social media and to Valve directly, along with sharing memes. 

Valve noted that the mass backlash and “unhappiness with the product” drove the quick decision to pivot back to a direct purchasing model.

“Our intention was to create a compelling system that allowed fans to connect with their favorite talent in a different way than in previous years, and we fell short of that goal. We are sorry for that and we intend to correct it,” Valve said. 

The capsules for Stickers will remain available in the in-game shop, however, after discussions with the talent surrounding the poor implementation, a direct purchase option is also being made available for voice lines.

Through that direct purchase, 50 percent of the total amount will go exclusively to that talent rather than a pool. All these voice lines will be permanently usable whether they were obtained via stickers or directly purchased.

This option is now available in the Talent section of the battle pass, though this entire debacle only further exemplifies an ongoing problem with this year’s offerings and decision-making.