The release of new characters in Dota 2 is always an important event. This is mainly due to the high-quality selection and processing of all the original characters - their skills are unique in many ways, the story is perfectly written, and the models look good, even despite the old game engine. They come out slowly, but are always worth the wait.

Valve's last ranged hero, Muerta , was released in patch 7.32, March 2023. A lot of time has passed since then, and therefore, when the announcement of a new Dota 2 hero - Ringmaster - took place at The International 2023, the community warmly received this news. Here is all that is known about this hero at the moment.

Basic information about the new hero of Dota 2 - the Ringmaster

Ringmaster is a new hero in Dota 2023-2024. His theme is circus - the hero is a ringmaster (hence the name Ringmaster), manipulative and crazy. The exact release date of Ringmaster is not yet known, but given some previous releases, you can safely expect it in the first half of the new year.

Ringmaster has every chance to become one of the most unique characters in Dota 2 in recent times. An interesting appearance, ample opportunities to delve into the world of already existing characters, excellent voice acting and potentially one of the most original skill sets make him a welcome update to the list of available heroes.

What was shown in the trailer of the hero Ringmaster?

A new character in Dota was introduced with the help of a small teaser trailer. In it, one of the old characters of the game, the berserker Ax, falls into the trap of a terrible circus robot puppeteer - this is the long-awaited Ringmaster, which has been in development for so long.

The teaser for The International 2023 did not show gameplay or even a playable model of the hero - only a poster that presented players with his finished design for the first time. While there isn't much information about the hero, the Dota client datamine and numerous hints from the developers make it clear that the Ringmaster will specialize in control spells and bending opponents to his will.

Ringmaster character design

As a concept, the Ringmaster appeared a long time ago - he was expected since 2020, although in the form of Puppet Master, the hero of the now closed Heroes of Newerth mob. According to rumors, already then Valve bought the rights to the characters of the game and started processing them for integration into Dota. This was hinted at both by new files in the game client and by work that is suspiciously similar to the characters of the same HoN.

The Puppet Master looked like a creepy old man, with disproportionately long limbs and a gaunt body. The Ringmaster took on his body shape and psychopathic personality, but in a new, more polished form – gone are the hoodie and bald head, replaced by a bright circus camisole and well-kept gray hair. The Ringmaster's fingers now look very mechanical or puppet-like, completing his monstrous image.

Skills and role of the Ringmaster hero in Dota 2

At the moment, not much information is known about the future replenishment of the Dota 2 heroes from the gameplay side. But we can draw some conclusions from the history of previous hero additions, the trailer, and RingMaster's inspiration, as well as speculate about the potential role of the Ringmaster on the battlefields of Dota 2.

Since his prototype is Puppet Master, similar abilities are expected. It is assumed that the new dota 2 hero Ringmaster may have an updated version of one of these skills:

• limited telekinesis ( Puppeteer's Hold ) - the ability to constantly attract the opponent to one point, thereby opening him to the attack of allies and providing a view around;

• target control ( Puppet Show ) is one of the highlights of Puppet Master, which forces the selected enemy hero to attack his allies;

• voodoo magic ( Voodoo Puppet ) – summoning an enemy doll, the damage of which is transferred to the target;

• increased critical damage - the Puppet Master had a stack ability in his arsenal, the hero starts with 4 stacks, which decrease with attacks, as soon as one is left, the next attack crits with a 100% chance.

If the skills are really similar, you can expect the Ringmaster as a good support. He has enough control for that, as well as overall benefit to the team.

Another quite likely option is folding it into a mider or even a carry. With good scales, the set of skills from Puppet Master, even reworked, is able to give good numbers both for tanks and squashes. In any case, he will be able to cause a lot of trouble for the opposing team.

You should wait for more specific information closer to the release - in December or January, Valve should share at least a model of the hero. Skills and roles should be expected by the end of the first or the beginning of the second quarter of 2024.