Valve has announced details for the Dota 2 International Compendium and Battle Pass, and judging by their scale, the company hopes to dwarf the $18,429,613 raised last year for the International prize pool. The Battle Pass can be bought into at both level 1 and level 50 – for $9.99 and $26.99 respectively – and all purchasers get access to the compendium, three Immortal Treasures, an exclusive seasonal terrain, access to regular quests and… well, a ridiculous amount of other stuff.
Among the more important of that “stuff” are the Weekend Battle Cups, a series of tournaments which mirror the competitive edge found in professional play. “During scheduled, weekly events, participants can party up and battle through eight-team, single-elimination brackets,” the lengthy notes read. “Teams are placed in a skill tier against evenly-matched opponents competing in one of four geographic divisions.” Winning one of these tournaments – which kick off in June – rewards battle points and fancy proof of your victories.
No matter which of the many rewards excites you the most, there’s plenty of reasons to play Dota 2 during the event: raising battle level continues to unlock more and more awards such as a terrain, new taunts and more.
The full details are over on the Dota 2 website, and you’re well-advised to make a pot of tea before poring through the extensive documentation. Tickets for The International 2016 went on sale early last month. The main event kicks off at Seattle's KeyArena between August 8-13.
