The Spring Cleaning 2016 update for Dota 2 is packed with improvements

Once every few thousand years, Valve get around to releasing a meaty patch for their MOBA, Dota 2. The planets usually need to align for this momentous occasion to take place.

This time though, all that was needed was a change of seasons. Winter is on its way out (in places that are NOT South Africa), and spring is in the air. As a result, Valve have decided to do some cleaning to welcome the warmer climate.

The Spring Cleaning 2016 update has arrived. With a host of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements, Spring Cleaning is an opportune time to address issues that sometimes get lost in the tournament and balance-update shuffle.

So what’s changed? If you were hoping for some big meta-changing update, this, I’m sorry to say, isn’t it. The Spring Cleaning 2016 update does come packed with some pretty awesome improvements however. Here’s an overview:

• Neutral spawn indicators: You can now view Neutral Creep spawn boxes when selecting Observer and Sentry Wards to place on the map, helping you to block and unblock creep camps more effectively. You can also toggle an option to display these boxes when ALT is pressed.
• Camera control group hotkeys: Use the new Camera Control Group Hotkeys to bind specific map locations to a single keystroke. Hold Control and tap the key of your choice to set a map position. Once set, tap the key to move the camera to that location. Tap the key again to move the camera back to your hero.
• Streamlined settings menu: To help make the Settings Menu easier to navigate, we have reorganized the layout of multiple settings, and relocated several others to Advanced Options and Advanced Hotkeys.
• Armoury organisation: The Armory has been updated with a new section to view recently acquired items, along with a couple of other minor improvements to increase usability.
• Armoury expansion: The number of base Armory slots has been increased from 1080 to 10000, and the maximum number of slots has been increased from 24000 to 34000.
• Hero-specific ability hotkeys: You can now set hero-specific ability key bindings in the Settings > Hotkeys menu. Perhaps you want to pounce with Q, throw Meat Hooks with T, or Ravage with Y. Create unique bindings for all of your favorite heroes to meet the needs of your playstyle.
• Browse the full store: The in-client Store tab has been updated with the Browse feature. Search for seasonal treasures, tournament tickets, pro gear, and more. Browse the entire Dota 2 Store collection, all without leaving the client.
• Minimap icon update: To better indicate which direction an enemy unit (or Dire unit if spectating) is facing, the classic X minimap unit icons have been changed to arrows.
• Tower attack range and target indicator: Selecting a tower will now display the tower’s attack range and its current target. Additionally, you can click a toggle in the Options > Interface settings to add this tower information to your ALT-press indicators.
• Independent voice & chat muting: There are now separate options to mute a player’s voice and text communication. Open the scoreboard and click on the Voice or Text icon next to a player’s name to toggle mute options.

Holy smoke – a neutral spawn indicator? That sort of thing would’ve been handy for me back when I still played Dota 2. I never could quite understand how those damn boxes worked. Also, a tower attack range and target indicator? That too, is damn awesome. I was always the idiot who dived a little too much. Having some visual aid in that department sounds incredibly helpful!

Other than the above, there is a very extensive list of bug fixes. I cannot list them all, so if you’re keen to see them all in detail, you can do so right here. Seriously, there’s a bunch to read, so go grab yourself a cup of coffee and get cracking.

Now, when is the next hero due? We’re only missing Pit Lord, correct? I wonder when he will make his way to the MOBA!

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Last Updated: March 23, 2016