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With the advent of DOTA2 using smarter and smarter AI bots and companies like OpenAI getting involved with Valve it only makes sense that AI controlled heroes/games would also come.
Lately one of the custom games made by an indie team Drodo (of Gem TD fame) in China has gained incredible traction as a an increasingly popular mod (consistently the top Twitch streams on DOTA2 and 4th or 5th streamed game on Twitch) that has those underground indie vibes in the same vein as DOTA1, Counter-Strike, and PUBG. Zero marketing and advertising in the West means basically zero mainstream and social media presence and interest outside the DOTA2 community but since it is a basically an original game with a fun concept I thought I'd make an OT since even Forsen has started streaming it. The game has basically been spread by word of mouth from China to the West because of it's incredibly deep gameplay, fast pace and addictive nature. Sadly Drodo chose a poor game title which doesn't accurately describe the game for Western markets and the DOTA2 engine, while powerful, is not exactly the platform of choice for most Western gamers. The game has not been fully translated or transcribed so a lot of learning has been taking place on reddit as people discover and share ideas and strategies.
So what's up with the name?
DOTA because it's a mod that uses in-game assets, engine, interface of DOTA2 (if you didn't know Valve uses DOTA2 as a gaming platform for mods and fully original games)
AUTO because it's automated AI combat reminiscent of setting Final Fantasy to Auto Battle
CHESS because you place your heroes strageically on a chessboard (Chess is also used in-game as the term for hero and player rank, but there are no chess rules)
In my opinion it's more like a multiplayer version of a strategy RPG in the vein of Ogre Battle, Fire Emblem, or Advance Wars with Disgaea with a hints of poker, mahjong, and Battle Royale. It was made for Chinese audiences but I think it translates very well for fans of turn-based Japanese tactics games and card games.
Games typically last 20-40 minutes (but you can quit at any time with no penalty).
Basic Premise
Make a team of up to 10 heroes to battle 7 other player teams and NPC's to earn gold and improve your team.
Heroes are required and can only be purchased between rounds
Gain EXP and Gold by killing other heroes and creeps to get more, bigger, and better heroes
5 heroes are randomly available from a list of 100 so games will rarely be the same
Each hero has it's own unique species, class, attack range, attack speed, movement, spells, and attack patterns which are reminiscint but do not exactly mirror DOTA2
Species and Classes give species and class specific buffs so it's important to synergize your team as best you can
Updated Mar 1, 2019
Basic Controls & Gameplay
You control a donkey as your player avatar with the interface/GUI is the standard RTS/MOBA/Starcraft topdown layout
The layout is quite intimidating because it is not efficient as it was not custom made for the game and it so large you can see your chessboard and all 7 of your opponents chessboards
During the Upkeep Phase you use your donkey to buy and place your heroes on your half of an 8x8 chessboard
After 30 seconds your chessboard is locked and your team will fight a random team of creeps or heroes positioned on the opposite half of the chessboard
This part is a little confusing as a random team of enemies just appear on the opposite side of your chessboard and you fight, but the original team is still on their "home" chessboard.
Combat is all automatic based on AI and positioning
If you get wiped out the enemy will damage your donkey, which if killed means you die/lose
If you win or kill any enemies you gain gold to upgrade your team
You have 30 seconds to upkeep - buy and place your team and the combat phase begins again
This continues until seven of the eight donkeys are dead and a winner declared
The battles are mostly PvP with limited PvE
The first three rounds are PvE battling easy creeps then human opponents for rounds 4-9.
You face human opponents except when creeps's appear at round 10 and every multiple of 10
Random item drops may or may not drop upon killing creeps
You have to manage your gold to buy heroes and upgrades - do you splurge early to get more powerful early heroes and win early or save for late game to get powerful late heroes?
Heroes are combinable - place 3 identical heroes together and they can level up
Basic combat rules apply - you can place melee up front to tank with ranged and casters in the backlines
Specialized units like assassins can leap to the backlines or a team of snipers can attack anywhere on the map
This is only dipping your toe into the shallow end. The game and strategy gets infinitely more complex see the Resources for more info.
If you want to try it out you need to download DOTA2 free in Steam and download DOTA AUTO CHESS as a free Custom game, also featured on the front page.
I know huge barrier to entry, you need a PC cabable of running DOTA2 (specs vary wildly as you can run DOTA on an old notebook with godawful shit performance or scale up to 4K on a beast machine), Steam client, and 40-50 GB of space for DOTA2, plus some more MB for the mod
Games generally take 20-40 minutes depending on how long you last. I would recommend muting all people as there is literally no reason to communicate.
Resources
FAQ: https://old.reddit.com/r/AutoChess/comments/awnhwt/faq_list_updated_on_03032019/
Wiki: https://dotaautochess.gamepedia.com
Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoChess/
Reddit Guide: https://old.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/af3dc4/my_quick_guide_to_dota_auto_chess_a_fantastic/
DAC Tier List: https://old.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/ah45if/dota_auto_chess_tier_list/
Hero Spreadsheet: https://old.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/ah47xm/auto_chess_spreadsheet/
Beginner and Advanced tips: https://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/ah94js/dota_auto_chess_advanced_tips_masterlist_for/
PC Gamer How to play/win: https://www.pcgamer.com/dota-auto-chess-guide-combos-tactics/
QIHL guides: https://qihl.gg/
Metabomb Basics FAQ
- Auto Chess Guide - How to get started with the game mode
- Auto Chess Tier List - A work in progress evaluation of the strongest units
- Auto Chess Item List - All the in-game items, with stats and combinations
- Auto Chess Controls - Our overview of all the control systems in the game
- Auto Chess Ranks - How the ranking system works in Dota Auto Chess
- Auto Chess Download / Install - Setting up for Auto Chess
Once you got the basics this fundamentals video really hammers home all the tips and tricks
https://youtu.be/5NMj8aF01Jo
QIHL discord (Inhouse League for people that are Bishop or higher)
https://discordapp.com/invite/VvUPPcf
Reddit autochess discord (many more people to chat with, basic questions etc)
https://discord.gg/32nNR4j
https://youtu.be/5NMj8aF01Jo
QIHL discord (Inhouse League for people that are Bishop or higher)
https://discordapp.com/invite/VvUPPcf
Reddit autochess discord (many more people to chat with, basic questions etc)
https://discord.gg/32nNR4j
Reception
No Western media outlets have reviewed this game so far, it's all word of mouth and some news pieces
https://www.metacritic.com/search/all/dota auto chess/results
https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/01/14/what-is-dota-auto-chess-and-why-is-everyone-playing-it
https://kotaku.com/dota-2-custom-mode-is-either-one-of-steams-top-games-or-1831749731
https://www.pcgamer.com/dota-auto-chess-the-joyful-deck-based-dota-2-game-that-artifact-isnt/
Giantbomb first look
Translated interview with the Dev team: https://old.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/ahstnw/auto_chess_developer_we_dont_care_about_that/
Many of the popular streamers in China have switched from streaming DOTA2 to DOTA AUTO CHESS and same with the DOTA2 Twitch streamers and non-DOTA2 streamers. The player count seems to have some inconsistencies in-game with known buggy numbers so it is hard to tell exactly how big a phenomenon it actually is without Valve making a statement.
Dota 2 Era discord
https://discordapp.com/invite/RYmeraH
I'm currently not sure what happens now for the DOTA2 community. DOTA1 was made in 2003 as a Warcraft III mod, the shift from Blizzard to Valve with DOTA2 was 2011 and this summer marks the 9th anniversary. DOTA2 remains the biggest esport only because it is funded by people who spend millions of dollars during The International, but DOTA2 as a game has been losing player base consistently with many of our own community shifting to esport spectator as opposed to game player. The game is great, but it is filled with trolls, smurfs, and griefers who ruin the experience for new and old players. This new game is so popular that it has completely dwarfed DOTA2 and Artifact combined in streaming with zero advertising. A non-advertised, non-promoted indie mod being consistently the 4th most streamed game on Twitch is pretty crazy. The developpers (Drodo) have mentioned that they would prefer to work with Valve as opposed to Blizzard, but they did not specifically mention Tencent or Epic which could outbid any Valve offer so the future of this game is not set in stone. We all know the Valve joke about not doing 3's, but the game is already primed and ready for esports and uses the same cosmetics system as DOTA2.
mobile heroes translator
https://www.dotahaven.com/en/guide/auto-chess-mobile/
- Bounty Hunter = Soul Breaker
- Clock = Sky Breaker
- Tinker = Heaven Bomber
- Timbersaw = Ripper
- Alchemist = Venomancer
- Techies = Devastator
- Tiny = Stone Spirit
- Morph = Water Spirit
- Razor = Thunder Spirit
- Enigma = Dark Spirit
- Slardar = Abyssal Guard
- Slark = Abyssalcrawler (aww…)
- Medusa = Siren
- Tide Hunter = Tsunami Stalker
- Drow = Egersis Ranger
- Abaddon = Evil Knight
- Necrophos = Soul Reaper
- Lich = Blight Sorcerer
- Sniper = Dwarf Sniper
- Gyrocopter = Helicopter
- Tusk = Tusk Champion
- Enchantress = Unicorn
- Sand King = Lord of Sand
- Venomancer = Poisonous Worm
- Lycan = Werewolf
- Lone Druid = Razorclaw
- Crystal Maiden = The Source
- Lycan = Werewolf
- Omni Knight = Argali Knight (the Argali are a type of Asian wild sheep (Ram))
- Lina = Flamming (Flaming) Wizard
- Kunkka = Priate (Pirate) Captain
- Dragon Knight = Dragon Knight
- Keeper of the Light = Tortola Elder
- Puck = Shining Dragon
- Viper = Venom
- Dragon Knight = Dragon Knight
- Axe = Redaxe Chief
- Jugger = Swordman (Swordsman)
- Beastmaster = Skull Hunter
- Disruptor = Storm Shaman
- Anti-Mage = Taboo Witcher (I hope his real name is Geralt)
- Puck = Shining Dragon
- Luna = Lightblade Knight
- Treant = Warpwood Sage
- Furion = Wisper Seer
- Windranger = Wind Ranger (creative)
- Phantom Assassin = Shadowcrawler
- Templar Assassin = Shining Assassin (it's probably hard to assassinate people when you're constantly shining)
- Batrider = Frost Knight
- Shadow Shaman = Defector
- Witch Doctor = Desperate Doctor (patients don't get better by the casks he throws at them)
- Troll Warlord = Berserker
- Chaos Knight = Hell Knight
- Queen of Pain = Phantom Queen
- Shadow Fiend = Shadow Devil
- Terrorblade = Fallen Witcher
- Doom = Doom Arbiter
- Ogre Magi = Ogre Mage
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