Dark Rift update: Underlord arrives

After the tantalizing teaser in the TI6 All-Star Match, the long awaited Underlord makes his debut along with a higher level of post-game analysis tools for those looking to further their skills. 

Underlord

Underlord is being hailed as a Support from Valve, and with his strong kit with lockdown, AoE, Aura, and team mobility it is no surprise. Underlord's first skill is quite straight forward, however, it's the rest of his kit that perhaps makes the most impact.

His W, Pit of Malice, acts like a reverse Disruptor Kinetic Field, with enemies rooted to the ground on entering the castable zone, preventing any movement abilities such as Blink. His Atrophy Aura gives the Underlord some great late game utility as well. The aura reduces attack damage of nearby enemy units, going up to an almost 50% reduction at max level. In addition, should Underlord kill a unit under the effect of the aura, he will gain bonus damage for a period of time (5 per non-hero unit death, and up to 45 at max level for hero unit deaths).

Finally, his ultimate acts as a mass AoE Relocate, allowing Underlord and heroes within an AoE around him to teleport to a friendly unit anywhere on the map, making the gank potential for Underlord very potent. It will be interesting to see how he develops within the meta now that he is released, whether that be into a hard support or even a roaming offlaner.

Post-Game Analysis

Included with the Underlord release are a host of detailed post-game tools, allowing a new level of detail for players looking to breakdown their gameplay and above all, improve.

First, comes an initial Game Overview screen, which details a number of things, including the playstyle during the match, dictated by four parameters: Farming, Pushing, Supporting, and Fighting. Players are also able to compare between different players of the match to see differences or similarities, whether that be for the six-slotted Medusa or the 0-20 Support Sniper. Included as well is a comparison between the match performance and the players' averages for that hero. Finally as well after much request, item timings throughout the game will also be able to be viewed.

Second, is the scoreboard. While including the usual info of kills, deaths, GPM, XPM and last hits, the newly revamped post-game scoreboard includes skill order, specific hero kill scores (how many times you killed the Crystal Maiden for example), and some love for supports: what support items were purchased and how much gold was contributed to such a cause.

Lastly, the final tab of the post-game screen includes a number of graphs. From XPM, GPM, Networth, to levels and item timings, the graphs will also be able to filtered via specific players, allowing you to chart the course of you, or your enemies' demise. Included as well, are teammate stats, which allow you to see how you've been performing with a specific group of players or friends. 

With the high of TI wearing off and the upsets that happened at the prestigious tournament, DOTA2 has provided even more tools for players to push their game to the next level, and it will be interesting and exciting to see the new stars that develop with these enhanced analyses to further their game.

For a full list of what exactly is in the Dark Rift update visit the DOTA2 blog here.

6.88c

The Underlord release also comes hot on the heels of the mini 6.88c balance patch released a few days earlier. 6.88c included a number of changes, the most notable being nerfs to many heroes that saw great success in TI6 including Mirana, Faceless Void, Elder Titan, and Shadow Demon. Notably, lane creep denies were changed yet again, with the creeps giving 35% exp instead of the 20% when denied by neutral camps. You can find the full list of changes and specifics here. 

All images were taken from the DOTA2 blog.