14 DAY TRIAL // Dota 2's Year Beast Brawl arrived inside the multiplayer game last week and it has already generated plenty of anguish amidst the fanbase due to its pay-to-win nature, the poor servers, and the disruption of the regular matchmaking system. However, it still brings nifty rewards, so here's a brief guide on how to ensure that you have a chance to win a Year Beast Brawl match without paying a single real-life cent on microtransactions.
Dota 2 is no stranger to in-game events and temporary game modes, as Valve has brought forth a wide variety of celebrations, from Diretide to Frostivus, not to mention experiences like Greeviling or the Year Beast.
However, the New Bloom Festival of 2015 brings an altered game mode in the form of the Year Beast Brawl that involves competing against an enemy team alongside an AI-controlled Year Beast. You can upgrade the abilities of the monster by spending Ability Points, but most of these points are locked behind microtransactions. You can buy the Crystal Maiden Arcana for a few thousand points, as well as actual lump sums of points from the in-game store.
You can still win without paying a single cent
However, you can still win a Year Beast Brawl without paying a single cent, provided you make a good hero draft, play around your strengths, and deal with the opposing Year Beast without losing your life.
The first step to winning a Year Beast Brawl is actually getting into a match. As such, you might want to keep checking back the Dota 2 game and visit its Play > Unranked Match section, in order to see if the countdown has started.
Pick early-game heroes
If you manage to get into a match, obtaining a good team composition is essential. The first Year Beast spawns at around the five-minute mark. As such, you need heroes that excel at early team fights.
Go with lane dominators like Viper or Zeus, tanky damage-dealers like Ursa, Undying, Bristleback, Troll Warlord, or Viper. Good support choices include Phoenix, the recently-added Winter Wyvern, Lich, Omniknight, or Dazzle.
Avoid picking late-game carries like Medusa or Anti-Mage as the Year Beast Brawls usually end in about 30-40 minutes.
Venture into battle in a smart way
After entering the game, you have to ensure that you have a good early laning stage and avoid giving away first blood or early kills. Before the first Year Beast spawns, make sure you have a teleport scroll and group up to ensure you cause the most damage on a specific lane.
Once you encounter enemies, you might want to activate some of your beast's major skills, such as Chakra Magic to replenish all your mana, Hand of God, to replenish your health, as well as Global Silence or Thundergod's Wrath to take out your foes more easily.
Focus on enemy heroes and structures and less on the enemy Year Beast, at least until you get a few pick offs or down a tower. Don't forget, it's Defense of the Ancients and objectives matter in the end.
When the Year Beast isn't active, play a regular game of Dota and you shouldn't lose unless the other team has a huge amount of points.
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