Dota 2 New Frontiers is basically a full sequel, and that’s awesome

pcgamesn.com:

Dota 2 is dead; long live Dota 2. Gameplay update 7.33, called Dota 2 New Frontiers, is a full sequel to the long-standing MOBA game in everything but name. With a new map, a fourth hero type, and vast gameplay balance changes made across all heroes and items, reading Valve’s latest set of Dota 2 patch notes might keep you busy through the whole weekend. Fortunately, we’ve pulled out the key takeaways right here.

The absolutely gargantuan Dota 2 patch 7.33 is such a complete overhaul that even Valve suggests reading the patch notes “slowly, over the course of the next few weeks, so you don’t get overstimulated.” Given what a big game Dota 2 already is, patch notes are inherently large by necessity. But this goes beyond that; any one of the individual gameplay updates by itself would be a game-altering change, yet Valve’s dropped them all at once.

Up front is the introduction of a complete Dota 2 map rework that makes the playable area 40% bigger, with vast changes to jungles and mobs. To help you get around, two gates have been placed by the front safe lane towers, allowing you to instantly jump from bottom lane to top. Nearby, on the brink of the river, you’ll find Lotus Pools – fountains that periodically spawn fruit that can be eaten for a mana and HP boost, or combined to make increasingly bigger fruit with more potent effects.

Dota 2’s biggest, beefiest monster, Roshan, has sold up his river home and now owns two new properties squeezed right in the northwest and southeast corners of the map. He’s also been working out, and will be tougher to take down than before. His rewards have been reworked, too; Cheese will drop on his second death rather than third, while the third is dependent on which pit he’s currently in,