What is Pay-to-Win and Pay-to-Lose, if it's in Dota 2?
The terms Pay-to-Win(PtW) and Pay-to-Lose(PtL) are often used to describe different monetization models and their impact on gameplay.
Pay-to-Win is a model where players can gain a significant advantage in the game by investing real money.
Pay-to-Lose is more of a joking term used to describe cases where in-game items or bonuses purchased with real money are ineffective or even harmful.
In Dota 2, monetization is based only on cosmetic items, which do not directly affect gameplay, but only improve the visual component. However, among the endless variety of cosmetics that have appeared in Dota 2 for more than 10 years, there are items that give the player an advantage, or vice versa - put him at a disadvantage. In most cases, this is due to the audio-visual effects of the items or the features of the redesigned models.
Pay-to-Lose in Dota 2
Frost Avalanche (Arcana set for Crystal Maiden) - perhaps the most striking example of PtL in Dota 2, as Arcana CM has two disadvantages at once and both are quite significant:
- The CM's pet is sometimes visible when she herself is in Fog of War.
- When CM uses a paired portal, the wolf does not teleport with her, but runs across the map. This can be easily spotted by the enemy team.
Sullen Shrine (Immortal item for Necrophos) - If you wear this item, Heartstopper Aura will have an extremely noticeable visual effect on enemies that are within range of the ability. Now it is only visible if Necrophos is not in Fog of War or invisability, but when the item first appeared in Dota 2, Necrophos could be easily detected in Smoke of Deceit, for example.
Compass of the Rising Gale (Arcana set for Windranger) - also had an animation bug that has been fixed: Windranger would not rotate under the effect of Eul's Scepter of Divinity, making it unable to break Dream Coil Puck.
Almond the Frondillo (Immortal pet. Can be used on Axe, Bristleback, Centaur Warrunner, Earthshaker, Juggernaut, Legion Commander, Riki, Slark and Sven) - just like Arcana CM's pet, sometimes visible even if the hero is in the Fog of War.
Honor of the Temple of the Fallen Sun (Mythical item for Phoenix) - replaces the standard Supernova model with a pyramid, the top of which drops sharply before the explosion, making it much easier to dodge stun, or to realize that you will not have time to destroy the “egg” and press, for example, Black King Bar, so that you are not killed during the stun.
The Magus Cypher (Arcana set for Rubick) - will allow you to understand what ability Rubick has stolen without clicking on it, as his cloak will change color to match it. In addition, with Arcana all animations and modeling of skills stolen by Rubick have been significantly reworked and can be easily distinguished from allied skills.
Feast of Abscession (Arcana set for Pudge) - the clinking of chains can be heard much better when walking.
A few more items make the animation of the ability more noticeable, which can play into the enemy's hands:
- Crescent Bow (Mythical item for Mirana)
- Deepshock Destroyer (Immortal item for Tidehunter)
- Edict of Shadows (Immortal item for Riki)
- Benevolent Companion (Arcana item for Io)
We can also mention Unusual quality items, which left a trail of coins, candies and other small things behind the hero when used. They were visible even if the hero was in the fog of war, but this bug has also been fixed.
A number of sets that have additional styles did not display the selected style on created illusions, for some time after release, although it remained on the main hero, which will allow it to be easily detected:
- Kin of the Sangstrath Fold - Ursa
- Treasure of the Deep - Naga Siren
- Violent Precipitate - Bristleback
- Desolate Conquest - Legion Commander
- Vigil of the Penitent Scholar - Skywrath Mage
- Relics of the Lost Vigil - Sven
- Fervent Conscript - Anti-Mage
- Bark of the Ageless Witness - Treant Protector
- Compact of the Guardian Construct - Razor
- Kit of the First Hunt - Bounty Hunter
- The Serakund Tyrant - Lich
- Regime of the Enthaleen Dragon - Lina
- Legacy of the Eldwurm Crest - Dragon Knight
- Tellurian Trespass - Slark
- Shoreline Sapper - Ogre Magi
- Sunken Gaoler - Slardar
- Bearing of the King Restored - Zeus
- Immortal Golden Shadow of the Dark Age - Night Stalker
Pay-to-Win in Dota 2
Voidstorm Asylum (Arcana set for Razor) - gives ranged Razor the melee advantage and will allow him to attack heroes in Arena of Blood Mars from outside the arena if Razor is attacking the hero are near the arena walls. This is due to a redesigned attack animation: when using Arcana, Razor's whip transforms into a sword if the victim is a short distance away.
Hunter`s Hoard (Immortal item for Bounty Hunter) - when dispelling Track, its effect disappears slower with this Immortal item. So, after using, for example, Manta Style, you can easily see where the real hero is.
Bloodmayne Avenger (Immortal item for Lycan) - as well as Immortal item for BH has a more visible Howl animation, the effect of which disappears slower when dispelling.
Planetfall (Arcana item for Earthshaker) - has a combo counter that will allow you to determine, when applying Fissure to Fog of War, if there are heroes there and how many. This bug has now been fixed.
Stinger (Rare item for Windranger) - changes the animation of Powershot. because of which it is unclear whether Windranger casts it and, if so, in what direction. It is noteworthy that when using this item in combination with Arcana, there is no unique animation, which can already be attributed to PtL.
The Toy Butcher (Alternate Personality for Pudge) - With it, Meet Hook is much less visible and moves on a slightly curved trajectory, making it harder to dodge.
There are also items that make the display of AoE skills clearer, which will allow the owner to get a better understanding for the radius of their abilities:
- Magus Apex (Immortal item for Invoker)
- Wyrmwrought Flare (Immortal item for Lina)
- Mandate of the Stormborn (Immortal item for Storm Spirit)
- Crucible of Rile/Rampant Outrage (Immortal item for Axe)
- Vigil Triumph (Immortal item for Sven)
Not without items that gave an advantage not because of unique effects, but because of an outright bug: Lycan in Winter Lineage Form of the Grey Ghost, Eimer Hillburrow Courier, and Frosty the North Ward could not be attacked or targeted.
Eimer Hillburrow and Frosty the North Ward are not the only environment items that can be attributed to PtW. The Immortal Gardens terrain makes the passageways between the trees more visible, and when using the second style of Shifty Minnow ward, Observer will be blue, as will Sentry. If it weren't for the detected warp icon on the mini-map. it would be extremely difficult to tell them apart.
The paid Dota Plus subscription, which gives a lot of additional information to the user (which can already be attributed to PtW), also has one feature that affects gameplay directly. Increasing the level of a relic during the game will allow you to determine if there is an enemy nearby (such as the rare Necrophos relic, which tracks Heartstopper damage).
Controversial items
In addition to all of the above, the community has also taken notice of cosmetic items that significantly alter the attack animation or the character's weapon itself. These are categorized as both PtW and PtL, depending on preference. Among them:
- The Disciple`s Path (Alternate personality for Anti Mage) - attack animations feel faster.
- Acolyte of the Lost Arts (Alternate personality for Invoker) - the attack animation feels slower.
- Bitter Lineage (Immortal item for Troll Warlord) - axes are noticeably larger than standard axes.
- Weapon of the Ardalan Interdictor (Immortal item for Sniper) - bullet flight is more visible.
- Jagged Honor Blade (Mythical item for Juggernaut) - the sword is bigger and brighter than the standard one.
The impact of Pay-to-Win and Pay-to-Lose on win rate in Dota 2
Cosmetic items in Dota 2 have little impact on win rate — their effect is usually less than 1%. However, in rare cases, they can provide a slight advantage or, conversely, make the game more difficult. Nevertheless, the primary factor for success remains player skill.
by CyberScore