Is this really what we want in Dota? Diretide 2022 Collector’s Cache is all anyone can talk about

Remember back when Dota 2 item sets were the pinnacle of creativity? Well, that’s not entirely the case anymore apparently. Each year, Valve releases a bunch of custom-created sets by users that are handpicked for their creativity and are set up for a vote during the Battle Pass season. Depending on which sets get the most votes, they will be added to the coming year’s Battle Pass as part of their Collector’s Cache, which is exclusive to Battle Pass users.

During the past few years, Collector Cache sets have been the best that the community had to offer. Some sets were amazingly creative, adding to a hero’s mystique or modifying them in ways you wouldn’t think imaginable. That tradition carried on this year as well, but only to an extent. Some of the new skins in the Diretide 2022 Collector’s Cache vote choices are absolutely not what we have come to expect from the community creators.

A perfect example of a skin choice that has fans divided is this Marci set that was included in the Collector’s Cache voting choice.

As you can see, the design choice for the skin is debatable at best. With what we know of Marci’s relatively dark and serious backstory along with her being a mute character, this skin neither exemplifies that sentiment nor supports it. The design choice here was purely aesthetic and based on the creator’s perspective regarding how they view Marci, which is basically 2B from Nier: Automata crossed with a maid.

While a portion of the fans were in favor of such out-of-the-box design choices, many others were left wondering “Is this what we really want in Dota?” Many fans of both League of Legends and Dota 2 have noticed the similarities between the current Collector’s Cache sets and “anime-style League waifu skins” as they describe it. This aesthetic choice might not be everyone’s cup of tea but the supporters are out in full swing, defending the creators on various platforms like Reddit and Twitter.

Many other creators have defended the artistic choices of these creators, claiming they should enjoy the freedom that Valve has provided them by expressing it through these sets. When it comes to questionable sets, the creators have argued that a lot of sets in the past few years have been met with mixed responses, such as the Queen of Pain Arcana in the 2020 Battle Pass.

While there is no disputing that Dota 2 has its fair share of wacky sets, most of them support the darker lore that we have become used to, with some of the sets in this Collector’s Cache being outstanding in their own way. The sudden culture shock is what seems to be jarring for most players and only time will tell which of the sets do get accepted by the general public.