Dota 2 Ringmaster is finally here 

Dota 2 Ringmaster dropped earlier today (August 23, 2024) without much fanfare or a buildup. After almost a year's wait since he was teased, the newest hero addition is finally here and his abilities are quite crafty. True to his name, Ringmaster's arsenal includes whips, magical boxes, daggers, and a circus wheel.

Apart from quite a few tricks up his sleeves, Dota 2's new hero brought along this year's TI Compendium. With Crownfall Act 4 still left in the cards, this year's Road to The International is quickly heating up—as it should since we only have two weeks left before the teams lock horns for the Aegis of Champions.

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Ringmaster and TI 2024 Compendium arrive in Dota 2

Let's have a quick look at Ringmaster's abilities:

• Tame The Beasts [Q] - You channel a whip and land it on the chosen spot. Enemies in that area are damaged and made to flee.
• Escape Act [W] - You pack yourself or an ally into a magician's extradimensional box with swords sticking out of it. The hero inside will have phased movement, slow resistance, extra magic resistance, and bonus movement speed. They also can't be targeted and are muted, silenced, and disarmed. When the effect expires or the hero leaves the radius, the box will pop off.
• Impailment Arts [E] - What would be a circus master without throwing knives? You get to throw these pesky daggers in a straight line. If you hit an enemy they will be slowed while they are stabbed multiple times for a few seconds for a percentage of the enemy's max health.
• Wheel of Wonder [R] - You roll a wheel down a straight line to a spot where it pops off and starts drawing in enemies who are facing it for more than .5 seconds. Finally, it explodes dealing damage.

Ringmaster is here (Image via Valve)

Valve cheekily gave him the Center Stage facet, stating:

"Ringmaster is still new to the spotlight. This facet doesn't do anything... yet."

His innate ability provides him with souvenirs (three possible choices). The hero gets one souvenir per enemy death within 925 units or if he doesn't have one when he respawns.

To learn more in detail, check out our Dota 2 Ringmaster overview guide.

Dota 2 TI 2024 Compendium

The shift away from the iconic TI Battle Passes will keep dividing the community as soon as TI Compendiums arrive. We saw the same when the change began last year and this year too reactions have been divided.

TI 2024 Compendium (Image via Valve)

In 2024, Valve has provided loading screens, teleport animations, custom versus screen, Effigy Block, bingo tokens, player capsules, legacy chat wheels, and the 2024's Collector Aegis as rewards. The standard one costs $7.49 (six levels and six boosters) while the upgraded one costs $29.99 (50 levels and 28 boosters).

While many might point at missing Immortal cosmetic items and the other usual frills that accompanied past Dota 2 Battle Passes, we know that Valve has decided to focus more on the competitive side of the TI than the cosmetic. Nevertheless, the Compendium overall being the same as last year can be a bummer.

Crownfall and its acts for the past few months, which were free to all, have been a delightful affair for the community. Act 4 is still to be released and we might just get it before TI 2024 begins. Till then, we have Ringmaster to tinker with.