Dota 2 comic heralds New Bloom update

It's New Bloom time in Dota-land. What does that mean, specifically? In lore terms, something about the Year Beast. In Valve terms, it's a time of comics, trailers and cryptic teasers.

Today's New Bloom preamble is a comic starring bubbly ice-nuisance Crystal Maiden. It tells of an encounter with Winter Wyvern—who is sure to be this update's new hero—and of the acquisition of a powerful new cloak.

That cloak was also glimpsed in yesterday's New Bloom trailer. It seems as if Rylai has a new Arcana item on the way.

What of the Year Beast? Last year, players fought it. This year, the trailer suggests, we'll get to tame it. We'll see what that involves when the update is released later this week.

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Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.