Dota 2 Ringmaster is here!

One thing is certain, Valve and I have very different ideas on what “early 2024” is. But that matters no more as the new Dota 2 Ringmaster hero is finally here. After first being announced at last year’s TI, he has been added into the game. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new support hero join the legions, so here’s everything you need to know about Ringmaster.

Dota 2 Ringmaster abilities

Ringmaster is primarily a support hero, but also a nuker and escaper. He has 5 abilities, including one unlike anything we’ve really seen in Dota before. Every other hero still has their patch 7.37b effect at the time of his release.

Tame the Beasts

This Q is pretty simple but will require a little time getting used to. It’s a channelled ability where Ringmaster winds up his whip for 1 second and the deals damage in an AoE, also affecting units with Fear. The longer the ability is channelled, the more damage and longer the Fear status is.

Escape Act

Pretty easy to see how he earned the escaper tag. This ability works in a similar way as Undying’s Shard. But instead of heroes hiding away in the Tombstone, Ringmaster can move both himself and an ally into a box, gaining phased movement, slow resistance, bonus magic resistance, and bonus movement speed in the process.

Impalement Arts

This is a skill shot that will definitely take some practice to land reliably. If you manage to hit an enemy, you’ll deal damage over time and briefly slow the enemy. If you don’t manage to hit an enemy, hey at least you’ll get a little more vision.

Wheel of Wonder

I’m not too sure about this as an ultimate, it currently doesn’t feel as powerful as it could be although the theory makes it seem like Ringmaster could be one of the best heroes to play in 7.37.

Ringmaster rolls a wheel to a chosen location, dealing DoT and slowing where it lands. Enemies who look at it for more than 0.5 seconds are drawn towards it and trigger an explosion timer. If no one looks at it, it explodes after 8 seconds. In theory, this is a really cool idea and yes, I’ve only played 1 pub where someone else picked Ringmaster before me, but it didn’t have much impact on the game at all.

Dark Carnival Souvenirs

Since Ringmaster doesn’t have a facet yet, so this innate ability works quite nicely as a way to mix up your Ringmaster gameplay.

If an enemy dies near Ringmaster, he gains a charge of a 1 use ability with 3 different effects.

Funhouse Mirror: Creates an illusion of Ringmaster that last 18 seconds
Strongman Tonic: When used on an ally, it increases their strength by 5 + 1.5x Ringmaster’s level
Whoopee Cushion: Essentially a firesnap cookie that slows instead of stuns.

Will Ringmaster be at The International?

It’s going to be some time until we get to see Ringmaster at a TI. Valve doesn’t release new heroes into Captain’s Mode until much later in their lives. So while this is the perfect time to try him out in pubs, we won’t be seeing him on the mainstage  or The International any time soon.