Blizzard DOTA is a new official custom game for StarCraft II, inspired by the Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) custom map for Warcraft III. It is the first map in the Dota genre created by Blizzard Entertainment.

While the basic gameplay of the MOBA style stays similar (minions moving up and down lanes) there are some changes in the other mechanics, items, last-hitting minions for gold-that give the game a bit more dynamic player control. In the game the heroes level up, collect gold, equip items, and try to kill the enemy team's heroes. Along the way they must destroy enemy turrets and, ultimately, the enemy's keep, thereby ending the game.

Blizzard DOTA is very familiar: Heroes have four roles clearly defined: tank, DPS, support, and a new archetype: siege. Tank characters have crowd control and lots of health, as you would expect. The warcraft characters, Arthas, Muradin Bronzebeard, and Stitches the abomination are the playable tanks. DPS roles are fulfilled by StarCraft characters Kerrigan, Zeratul, and Nova. Support characters heal and buff and are represented by Uther and Thrall from WarCraft and Tassadar from StarCraft. Siege characters are a new archetype, with Warfield the siege tank, the Diablo Witch Doctor, and the symbiotic Za'gara playing the long-range game.

And in true Blizzard fashion, a release date isn't set but you can expect news of a beta in the coming months.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 24th, 2011 at 1:52 pm and is filed under MMO News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.