Dota Underlords battles will become one-vs-one matchups

The way players fight one another in Dota Underlords matches is changing next week, a Valve developer has confirmed.

Players will start attacking and defending on a single board matchup in a one-vs-one instead of defending against an opponent while a copy of their board attacks a second opponent. That means attack and defense matchups will be the same, and players who successfully defend against an opponent will deal damage to them instead of only protecting themselves.

This means every player-vs-player round will have four winners and four losers, if there are no draws.

Related: Dota Underlords ranked system will be overhauled, Valve says

One-vs-one matchups already exist in Underlords in a different way. Players can defend against an opponent while their board’s copy attacks the same person, but both matchups are independent of each other. That means random effects, like critical hits from Assassins and additional attacks from Hunters, will be different between both matchups, which may result in both players losing or winning. When the new system is implemented, both players will watch the same matchup and the possible results will only be one winner and one loser, or a draw.

Valve has yet to comment on why it intends to implement such a change in next week’s patch, and players will have to adapt to a new game pace as a consequence.

These matchups will work like the ones in Riot Games’ Teamfight Tactics, where players’ units either move to an opponent’s board to fight them or host a fight on their own board.

Further details about this new matchup system in Underlords are still unclear. Players should expect everything to be explained when it’s released in next week’s patch, most likely on July 18.