Dota 2‘s 125th hero is finally available to play after Valve launched a (not so surprising) surprise update ahead of The International 2024, and he’s as spooky as it gets.
Valve first revealed Ringmaster on Oct. 29, 2023, right before Dota 2’s The International 2023 grand finals were played. Though the Dota developers never actually announced a release date, the teaser confirmed Ringmaster would be coming in 2024. Most fans assumed this meant the character would ship with the Crownfall updates, but Valve does things on its own time—we’re now just 12 days out from The International 2024.
Cogliostro Kettle, a.k.a. Ringmaster, is an Intelligence support hero who offers five abilities without any of Aghanim’s upgrades. A puppet turned mass murderer, Ringmaster’s abilities offer impressive crowd control and a quick escape for him or his teammates, with each ability flaunting the character’s showmanship. The hero’s Innate ability unlocks his fifth spell, Dark Carnival Souvenir, which gets a charge when an enemy unit dies near Ringmaster. You can choose between three unique Souvenir options for every charge.
At launch, Ringmaster doesn’t have a Facet or an Aghanim Scepter upgrade, however, you can get his Shard to shine a spotlight over an area. This Spotlight seems particularly powerful for team fights as it reveals invisible enemies in the area, makes enemies miss their attacks (30 percent chance), and damages any illusions spawned by opponents.
Many Dota 2 players already feel Ringmaster is underwhelming, especially because most fans speculated from the original reveal that he would control enemy heroes. However, other players think Ringmaster offers incredible support because of his AoE disable, save for allies, and an ultimate that mimics fear debuffs.
Whether Ringmaster disrupts the meta remains to be seen, but he’s undoubtedly an exciting support. With only a few days to go for Dota 2’s The International 2024, teams will have to quickly theorycraft the hero’s viability.
