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The long-awaited Outlanders update, initially announced earlier this year during The International, is finally out. Not to miss out on some cross-promotion, both Dota 2 and Dota Underlords have updates today but the Dota 2 changes are much more significant and is clearly the focus of the update. Snapfire and Void Spirit are the two marquee heroes for the patch and are making their appearance in both games, but that's pretty much where the similarities end.
Void Spirit joins his brothers: Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, and Earth Spirit as the fourth spirit hero. Similarly to his brothers, Void Spirit's toolkit focuses on the ability to lay remnants which can "pull in and damage enemies that cross [their] gaze".
Snapfire, the second new hero, is a feisty grandma goblin riding a dragon named Mortimer. At first glance she is most likely to fit in well to the support role due to all of the slows available in her toolkit.
Additionally, Dota 2 received a ton of balance updates that will significantly change the way the game is played. Everybody now gets their own individual courier. Couriers ferry items from the fountain to players on the map and were previously limited to 1 per team that had to be shared. Giving all players their own courier might help reduce some early-game conflict between players trying to get access to the shared courier.
Probably the biggest change though, is that neutral creeps now have a chance to drop items. Some of the items seem, at first glance, to be quite powerful. The items can't be sold for gold but they can be traded between teammates so players can make the best use of them. It will be interesting to see how players end up utilizing these items.
For a full breakdown of Dota 2 changes, check out the official Dota 2 patchnotes.
Like I said earlier, Dota Underlords also had some changes. A new game mode called Knockout was added. In Knockout, instead of playing until you lose all your HP, you get 4 lives before conceding defeat. You'll also start out with a "crew of heroes" so you don't get knocked out during the early game. Dota Underlords games can last quite a while so it's nice to have an option to play shorter games.
Check out the Dota Underlords patchnotes for more info.
