Dota 2’s ‘meta-defining’ New Frontiers update makes the map 40 percent bigger

Dota 2, one of the world’s most popular esports titles serving over 300,000 concurrent players on Steam as I write these words, has just dropped a massive update called New Frontiers that will likely change the free-to-play game forever. And the biggest difference by far is real estate: the game’s entire map is now 40 percent larger, letting you explore around the edges.

“The core objective of the game remains the same,” assures Valve — “your lanes aren’t further away from each other, and everything you need to win is still in the center of the map.”

But Valve goes on to describe “meta-defining new features,” new locations, new Tormentor mini-bosses, vision-granting neutral units called Watchers, Lotus Pools that generate fruit, new items, matchmaking changes, UI tweaks to the health bars, and a host of hero rebalances that will touch every character in the game.