Finally. After 4 years of beta model files being found in the DotA 2 files, the last character to fill the DotA 1 roster has been revealed at this year’s The International All Stars match. In the 10 v 10 All Stars match which saw fans and pro DotA 2 players come together to play against each other to celebrate The International, Underlord (otherwise known as Pit Lord in DotA 1) was showcased by Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein.
The All Stars followed the same format from 2015, with two team leaders enlisting the help of 5 fans and 5 professional DotA 2 players at the event. The leaders this year were DotA 2 personalities Jake ‘SirActionSlacks’ Kanner and news anchor and TI host Kaci Aitchison.
After teams were drafted, the match was underway. As first blood occurred, Kanner requested an immediate pause, where he stopped N0tail and forced his hero to change from Sand King to the heavily anticipated ‘Vrogros, the Underlord’. Shenanigans ensued from there with the usual All Stars antics, with exhilarating multi-man Echo Slams from Dendi‘s Earth Shaker, true-to-form rat tactics by Admiral Bulldog‘s Nature’s Prophet and a rampaging QO Outworld Devourer. In the end, Team Slacks, who had the Underlord lost to an extremely close base trade with Kaci’s ancients having only 17 health left.
Vrogros, the Underlord is a strength melee hero with an interesting kit. His first ability is ‘Firestorm‘ which casts waves of fireballs from the sky to strike an area. With 6 waves, the target takes at least 2 seconds of burn damage, with each wave refreshing the 2 seconds duration.
The second ability is ‘Pit of Malice‘ which roots enemies in an area of effect for 7 seconds. Enemies who step into this area are rooted for at most 2.5 seconds. It is an insanely high lockdown ability that stops enemies from blinking away or reveals invisible enemies. It will also do a base 100 damage. Because it is a ranged ability with low cast delay, it can easily be used to take down an Anti-Mage, Riki or Queen of Pain who are painfully mobile.
The third ability is a passive called ‘Atrophy Aura‘ which weakens the base damage of all enemy units in a 900 radius around the Underlord. As an extra ability, if an enemy dies under the effect of the aura, Underlord receives bonus damage that lasts for a set duration. As you could imagine in the 10 v 10 match, with a dense amount of players in an area, this aura stacks up to an incredibly high damage buff.
The final and most heavily anticipated ability is the ultimate ‘Dark Rift’ which allows Underlord to channel a rift between his location and a target allied unit or building. Any allied hero nearby the Underlord after the channel is complete will be teleported to the location. This channel can be cancelled at any time by either killing the target, Underlord or actively using the side ability ‘Cancel Dark Rift’.
The International 6 is looking to the best event in DotA 2 history with incredible production value and insane plays from every single team in the Main Stage. Look forward to our complete write up of the Main Stages after the Grand Finals in two days. Underlord will be available, along with a new post-game UI screen on the 23rd of August.