Dota 2 announces two new heroes, one playable now

Valve’s MOBA Dota 2 is having a busy couple of weeks. The finals of its esports championship The International are tonight, and as part of the celebration they’ve announced two new heroes, one of whom is playable now.

Grimstroke, named for the fact that uses ink from his runebinding brush to “channel vile forces,” is currently available, while Mars, who appears to be very much based on his Roman god namesake, will be arriving in the coming months. You can see both characters in the announcement video below:

Grimstroke has an appropriately tragic backstory, having lost his family and the people he was sworn to protect. But don’t worry! Valve says that “the sacrifice infused Grimstroke with great power, and he considers it a price well paid.” So that’s alright then.

He can use these powers from the vantage of a ranged support, mainly focusing on slowing and silencing enemies. You can see a deep dive into how his various abilities work below, courtesy of DotaCinema:

Mars’ abilities and playstyle haven’t yet been announced, but Valve says he’ll be coming to the game “this winter.” You can watch the finals of the International on Twitch or Valve's new streaming site, SteamTV The losers' bracket to determine the third place finisher will kick off the action at 6pm BST, with the grand finals beginning at 10pm.