Dota 2 patch files tease microtransactions: masks, taunts and Dr. Kleiner included

Dota 2 player Cyborgmatt has been rummaging through the files of a Dota 2 test build, and has found evidence of dozens and dozens of items that we might be able to buy in the final release. They include new announcers, taunts, new couriers, new hero items, hero skins and more.

A number of new couriers are listed, including a "mini-Pudge," a sheep, a war yack, a giant badger and the "shitty wizard." New hero items include masks, beards, new weapons, horns, shoulderpads and chest plates.

"Souls" are also listed. It looks as though we'll be able to equip these to improve drop rate bonuses. There's also a "Repentant Soul" which will promote the player that equips it out of the "low priority punishment queue". This is interesting, because it suggests that players that have been reported for misbehaviour will be able to pay to avoid penalties.

This tallies with Gabe Newell's comments to Develop last year, when he talked about "charging customers based on how much fun they are to play with."

"Some people, when they join a server, a ton of people will run with them. Other people, when they join a server, will cause others to leave. We should have a way of capturing that. We should have a way of rewarding the people who are good for our community," he said.

"So, in practice, a really likable person in our community should get Dota 2 for free, because of past behaviour in Team Fortress 2. Now, a real jerk that annoys everyone, they can still play, but a game is full price and they have to pay an extra hundred dollars if they want voice."

The Dota 2 files also contain references to item bundles, a free trial upgrade and "treasure caches," which look as though they'll work in a similar way to Team Fortress 2's crates. The full list is available on Cyborgmatt's blog .

Masks are the new hats! Hats are so last season, why on earth were we spending money on putting things on our heads when we could have a regal beard instead? What do you think of these items? Here's a badger while you think.

POST-BADGER UPDATE: In the comments, SpiderNinja points out that the Dota 2 wiki has gathered together all of Dr. Kleiner's lines. He seems bemused by the whole concept of Dota. "Oh, I see. Are those little…little people down there? Wonderful what they can do these days."

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Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.