Dota 2 players think Crownfall trumps Battle Passes despite ‘disappointing’ lack of balance patch

Initial disappointment over Dota 2‘s recent Crownfall update has melted away over the weekend, with most players more than happy with the Cavern Crawl-like event and the smorgasbord of cosmetic items that can be earned without paying a cent.

Crownfall dropped on April 19 after what felt like an agonizing wait with multiple teases, but before diving into the new story and event, many players took the update at face value. Without the release of the supposed new hero Ringmaster or a balance patch, fans immediately dismissed Crownfall as a waste. Well, after just two days of exploring the event, many have backtracked from their early observations and are coming to love Crownfall.

“I want to highlight that I think that this feels much better to me than the last few battle passes felt,” one player said on the Dota 2 subreddit this weekend. They added that while they were disappointed the update didn’t include a hero or balance patch, they appreciated players had more control over the rewards they received by playing as opposed to opening the wallet to earn everything.

Most are overjoyed that Valve is committing to further updates to Crownfall, with multiple acts already confirmed to be arriving for the year. Each act is spaced out over six months and delves into more of the game’s lore while providing plenty of rewards for playing. The post’s author described Crownfall as a “dramatic improvement” compared to the similar Cavern Crawl events of the past.

“I really like that unlike Cavern Crawl and such, losing still gives you some amount of progress, just less,” another player said. While some still felt a little upset that their expectations weren’t met, when those same expectations are sky-high, you’re bound to be left disappointed no matter what you get.

Dota 2 player counts skyrocketed after the release of Crownfall according to stats site SteamDB. Peaks hovered around the mid-650,000s for the past month or so, but already many fans of the MOBA have returned; 869,350 players logged into and played Dota 2 yesterday as the long-running title received a fresh coat of paint.

We’ll see whether Valve’s remaining Crownfall episodes keep building on this momentum over the coming months. Act Two kicks off in mid-May, but those who missed out on Act One’s launch, fear not: You’ll be able to earn all the rewards retroactively throughout the Crownfall “season.”