Dota Underlords releases Head to Head update

The latest update for Valve’s auto-battler has plenty for players to digest.

The patch adds Head to Head combat, ranked and casual matchmaking, visual updates to upgraded heroes, and other gameplay and balance tweaks.

Read on for a breakdown of changes.

Head to Head combat

The update’s titular feature will now have players paired off to fight directly against each other in every match, with each pair both taking part in the same shared combat.

This new feature will also be reflected on the match leaderboard so players know who they’re facing. If there are an odd number of players left in a match, then one of the players will be paired off with a clone of an actual player.

While this new combat feature may not look like much at first glance, it goes a long way towards giving Underlords a distinct flavor that separates it from the other Auto Battlers on the market.

Ranked and Casual matchmaking

The new update also implements Ranked and Casual matchmaking modes to the game, letting players choose between playing serious matches in Ranked or a more lax setting in Casual.

In Casual matchmaking, players are free to either experiment with their builds and strategies, or grind for the achievements from the game’s Daily Challenges. This mode also allows players to queue up for matches with friends.

Meanwhile, Ranked matchmaking will only allow players to queue up solo, with their rank determining who they will be matched up against. This mode is available after five Casual games for new players, while those already opted into the Underlords beta will have it available after one Casual match. While Ranked will certainly be the more serious and competitive game mode, Daily Challenges and Achievements are still accessible.

The new update also makes the ranking system more transparent, with changes determined by the player’s placement in a Ranked match.

Here’s the breakdown for the per match Rank point changes and Rank tier progression:

Visual updates

Most of the heroes in Underlords will now receive a new look once they have been upgraded, helping players get a sense of progression as they power their heroes up. Rank 1 heroes use the default models from Dota 2, and upgrading them bestows a new look from cosmetic item sets made by the Dota community for each respective hero.

Check them out on the gallery below:

Gameplay and Balance Tweaks

Round damage has been removed for Rounds 4 to 9, with Round damage starting at Round 11 with 2 damage, then proceeding as with the previous progression (3 starting at round 20, 4 at round 30, etc.).

This addresses the issue of matches ending too quickly in the previous update, with most players getting eliminated as early as Rounds 20 to 25. This new system should help keep things competitive and more players alive by even Round 30.

In addition, whenever a player loses a round against another player, the loser gains a non-stackable free reroll in the next round. Alongside the additional gold gain for lose streaks, this new mechanic will help losing players stay competitive in a match, or even stage a comeback.

Hero Changes:

Crystal Maiden

• Maximum Health changed from (450, 900, 1800) to (550, 1100, 2000)
  
• Gold Cost changed from 2 to 3

Eidolon

• Attack Damage Minimum changed from (40, 50) to (40, 80)
  
• Attack Damage Maximum changed from (60, 70) to (60, 120)
  
• Armor changed from 20 to (5, 10)
  
• Maximum Health changed from 300 to (300, 600)

Juggernaut

• Juggernaut will only cast Blade Fury when he’s surrounded by at least 2 enemies.

Lina

• Gold Cost changed from 3 to 2

Ogre Magi

• Bloodlust:
  
  • Self Bonus Attack Speed changed from (35, 55, 75) to (50, 90, 130)
    
  • Other Bonus Attack Speed changed from (30, 40, 50) to (30, 65, 100)

Shadow Fiend

• Attack Range changed from 4 to 3
  
• Requiem of Souls:
  
  • Projectile Start Width changed from 125 to 128
    
  • Projectile End Width changed from 425 to 256

Venomancer

• Plague Ward:
  
  • Number of Wards spawned changed from (1, 1, 3) to (1, 1, 1)
    
  • Maximum Health changed from (200, 200, 240) to (200, 220, 240)
    
  • Attack Damage Minimum changed from (50, 80, 120) to (50, 100, 150)
    
  • Attack Range changed from 6 to 8
    
  • Attack Damage Maximum changed from (55, 100, 140) to (55, 110, 170)

Witch Doctor

• Paralyzing Cask:
  
  • Cooldown changed from 10 to 15

Item changes:

Alliance items such as Unstoppable and Pocket Sand have been removed, with their effects being transferred to new items or the Alliance bonuses themselves.

New Items

• Helm of the Undying: Tier 2 Defensive Equipment: “+5 Armor. Equipped hero survives for an extra 4 seconds after receiving a killing blow.”
  
• Bracers of Desperation: Tier 3 Support Equipment: “Equipped hero resets their cooldown and gets full mana when below 30% health. Attack target’s magic resistance is reduced by 30%.”
  
• Poaching Knife: Tier 3 Offensive Equipment: “Equipped hero has a 30% chance of producing 1 gold when they kill an enemy. Attacks against units with less than 20% health crit for 200%.”
  
• Dawning of Ristul: Tier 3 Global Item: “Healing for both crews is reduced by 50%.”

In addition, Cloak, Recruiter, Vicious Intent, and Wicked Intent have also been removed.

Item Tweaks:

Big-Time Contract

• Changed from “Equipped unit is Blood-bound in addition to its other types.” to “+250 Health. Equipped unit is Blood-bound in addition to its other types.”

Brooch of the Martyr

• Changed from “+50% Mana gained from receiving damage.” to “+50% Mana gained from receiving damage. +50% debuff resistance.”

Chainmail

• Bonus Armor changed from +7 to +10

Claymore

• Attack Damage changed from +21 to +30

Gloves of Haste

• Attack Speed changed from +20 to +25

Hood of Defiance

• Tier changed from 3 to 1

Octarine Essence

• Tier changed from 2 to 3

Tranquil Boots

• Health Regen changed from +16 to +25

Force Staff

• Now pushes melee attackers away from the equipped hero when taking damage.

Alliance changes:

• Elusive: Level 3 Alliance (9 heroes) – changed from “Allied Elusive units gain +75% evasion” to “All units gain +75% evasion.”
  
• Warlock: Healing Link duration changed from 3 seconds to 2 seconds
  
• Brawny: Changed from “All Brawny units have their Maximum HP increased by 200/500” to “All Brawny units gain +30/60 maximum HP for each kill they have.”
  
• Savage: Changed from “Allies gain +10/25/45% Attack Damage” to “Allied Savage units apply a stackable 5/10/15 damage/s bleed on attack for 3s. Duration refreshes each attack.”
  
• Shaman: Changed from “Enemies affected by Hexes, Silences or Stuns will generate -200% mana” to “Units attacking a Shaman have a 17% chance of being turned into a chicken and hop 4 cells in a random direction.”
  
• Primordial: Changed from “Enemies attacking Primordial/Allied units have a 25% chance to have their attack speed slowed by 50% each attack. This effect is applied at the start of the attack and lasts for the duration of the attack.” to “Allied Primordial units spawn a rank 1/2 Eidolon on death. Eidolons are ranged Primordial units that don’t spawn Eidolons.”
  
• Inventor: Changed from “Allied Inventors get 15/40 HP regen” to “Allied Inventors explode on death dealing 15/30% of their Max Health to all enemies 1 cell away”
  
• Demon Hunter: In addition to the existing bonuses both levels now also have “All Demon Hunters gain 30% Pure Damage for each unique allied Demon unit.”
  
• Assassin: Level 3 Alliance (9 heroes) – In addition to the existing bonuses level 3 now also has “All Assassins also blind enemies 1 cell away from where they land for 2 seconds (50% miss chance and 50% less mana when attacked)”

For the full list of changes, check out the patch notes here.