What the hell is Dota Auto Chess?

Introduced just a few months ago, a personalized card created for Dota 2 is attracting a lot of attention. Dota Auto Chess is the most thrilling sensation for Dota 2 players, who engage in a clash with seven other players online. The game has already reached 90,000 simultaneous players, which represents almost 20% of the total player base of Dota 2 at a given time. This is an important achievement, given the short time since its introduction. This is the highest number of players ever reached by a custom game card since the original DOTA.

Dota Auto Chess comes from Drodo Studio in China and acts as a mix between Dota 2 mechanics and custom map scenarios. You can not call it exactly Dota 2, nor a game of chess. This is an advantage because players can enjoy something unique. We saw defense tower style cards in Dota 2 like Custom Hero Survival and others. The underlying idea may have been great, but their actual implementation lacked the ability to replay, which is critical to the success of such cards.

Above: Choosing a hero

To start

In Dota Auto Chess, players start the game by choosing a chess piece in the form of one of the five heroes. The gameplay is based on a turn-based survival card in which players face successive waves of chess pieces from random players, as well as various NPCs.

Above: beginning of the waves

Starting waves are composed of NPCs who have a chance to drop objects that can work effectively with different heroes based on their skills and types of attacks. These NPCs then appear every five waves, starting from the 10th wave until the end of the game. Once the initial waves have passed, you have to face a random player with each wave among the seven opponents participating in the same game and at the same arena as you.

Above: the mail

To place chess pieces, you need to control your mail (the little guy selected in the illustration above), whose appearance can be changed through candy to spend, obtained by finishing in the top three once each match ended. You can also buy candies using the actual currency stored in your Steam wallet. Note that the change of appearance is strictly aesthetic and does not affect the gameplay. You can consider it as a trophy for players who have multiple wins under their belt, so that they can show themselves in front of the community. This also gives you a mood change, as is the case with various other cosmetic products in Dota 2.

The options among the parts you choose – and the numbers allowed – grow gradually as you improve your messaging service. This upgrade requires gold in play, which is earned by surviving towers, killing units, as well as in the form of dividend distributions based on the amount of gold in play that you currently own.

Above: Selection of parts

The units differ from each other according to their rarity and the amount of gold they cost. Each piece of chess rises level by combining three similar pieces of the same character. For example, to reach level two, three level one rarity pieces must be placed on the board. This results in a new unique unit with better attributes. Similarly, the combination of three level two rarity coins results in a level three coin, the highest level. It is essential to upgrade the pieces, because at higher levels, the character has improved stats (health, attack damage, spell efficiency).

Above: Capacity utilization

Power play

Each character has a distinct ability, which usually requires mana to be cast. For example, Ax, of the Orc Warrior faction, launches "The Call of the Berserker," which forces all units of a certain melee to attack the hero for a specified amount of time. This ability also increases his physical armor for the same duration. The more expensive parts have stronger capabilities, and these are priceless. Technicians from the Gobelin Mech faction place an "Explosive Bomb" in the battle arena that inflicts massive damage to the magic areas. In the picture above, we can see several pieces of chess unveil their abilities during a live match. Characters can gain mana by attacking other pieces of chess or taking damage from other characters. Each spell launched has an innate recovery that prevents spam from having various abilities.

The creation of synergies is the major asset of the strategic aspect of the game. Different classes and races offer unique bonuses, essential to victory. A certain set of units is needed to build these synergies. Players may choose to counter the synergies created by other players or focus on theirs, whichever suits them best.

Above: Creating synergies

As you can see in the picture above, the claw mark above the units represents the beast's synergy bonus, which adds additional physical damage to all your pieces of chess. Likewise, the shield symbol represents the bonus of the Warrior Faction, which adds bonus armor to all "Warrior" units on the chessboard. For each enemy unit that remains on the board once the battle is over, the players lose a certain percentage of HP until exhaustion.

It is important that players keep an eye on their funds because it is crucial. You have the opportunity to re-read the five pieces displayed at the price of two gold coins, as many times as necessary. However, continual raises will deplete the funds, which will benefit the other players, as they could use the same funds to increase their level (which means more coins for the board as well as more money). a better chance of getting very rare pieces).

Keep in mind that each draft is timed and it takes about 20 seconds before each turn to make any changes, whether upgrades or changes to parts, so it is essential to use the time wisely. Losing a few rounds early in order to save money and succeed in the end game scenario is a strategy that many players choose and that often works well.

All factors being taken into account, Dota Auto Chess is really something to look forward to and could well be one of the most popular games of 2019. Do not forget that Dota 2 is a result of a game created on a series of custom maps of Warcraft 3. Who knows if this new addictive custom game exceeds expectations and eventually becomes a game and a genre in itself. Only time will tell and we have our eyes fixed on its future progress.

Robert James is an MMA fighter and a gaming enthusiast with a special talent for the latest developments. He also writes on Xfinity Internet packages.