MWEB hosts local 'Dota 2' server
2013-03-14 14:08
Cape Town – MWEB Gaming launched local Dota 2 servers into the test build with the Valve Corporation, an American video game development and digital distribution company.
MWEB is however still awaiting confirmation from Valve as to when it will be deployed into the full build.
A “South Africa” region will also be added to the game, putting the continent on the map alongside Europe, North America and Asia.
Dota 2 is one of the biggest online titles internationally, with occasions of up to 297 000 players online at the same time in spite of the fact that it is still in beta, or testing mode.
Proving it has an equally impressive South African following, 29 teams competed in the MWEB Dota 2 Inaugural Cup held last year in July. It is a highly team-oriented multiplayer online battle arena game, where players must coordinate with their teams in order to achieve victory. Reaction speed is a priority and the local servers will mean that finally South African gamers will be able to show off their agility and reflexes.
“This is another level reached in our ongoing mission to improve the online gaming experience for local players,” Desmond Kurz, Online Gaming Manager at MWEB, said.
“Local Dota 2 players will now have the opportunity to create new play strategies that are not apparent at the high pings that they are used to playing with on EU and US servers.”
“Conceptualising and executing on these strategies will increase the South African players’ competitive knowledge as to how international gamers play, which will add to their ability to compete against international teams,” Kurz noted.
“This will be particularly useful when a still-to-be-selected South African Protea Dota 2 Team picks up the gauntlet thrown by Romania later this year. MWEB is sponsoring this online tournament and all online tournaments with Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA).”
According to Kurz Dota was originally a custom map created for Warcraft 3 and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, a game by Blizzard.
"Dota 2 is a complete game created by Valve using the Source Engine," he said.
"Despite there being many differences due to copyright concerns and different game engines being used, Dota players should not struggle to adapt to Dota 2."
MWEB will also be sponsoring R5 000 in cash prizes for the big Dota 2 competition at the MSSA 30th Anniversary Annual Gauteng Championships on 30 and 31 March, which will provide the perfect opportunity for players to experience the local servers.
Dota 2 will be Free-to-Play once fully released. Currently in beta it is constantly being updated with new heroes and new features.
Gamers can purchase an Early Access Holiday Pack for $29.99 from Steam to get into the game and receive special in-game items.
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