Arjun may become the next Dota 2 hero — dataminers have found evidence

On the night of November 15, dataminers discovered a reference to a new hero named Arjun in a Dota 2 micro-update. This is not related to the previously found Bard Frog - a separate ID for the character appeared on the experimental server, indicating that a new hero is in development.

It is still unknown what Arjun will look like or what role he will take, but the community is already speculating that the game may receive two new heroes at once, similar to the release of Pangolier and Dark Willow in update 7.07. The hero has also appeared on the test server, but Valve has not issued any official comments.

The name Arjun references ancient Indian mythology, where Arjuna was a legendary archer. Because of this, fans speculate that the new character may be a ranged hero. Bard Frog previously appeared in the test client in a similar way, and players associate him with a potentially expanded ability panel like Invoker or Kez.

Team Spirit analyst Denis sikle Lerman commented on the find, noting that a hero with Indian roots fits naturally into Dota 2, which already includes many elements inspired by Indian culture.

Good morning, everyone. The most discussed news is the addition of npc_dota_hero_arjun to the experimental server under ID=159. Dota has always been Allstars, uniting characters from different cultures - Greek, Roman, Japanese, Indian. Indian motifs have long been present in the game: Mango, Shiva’s Guard, Khanda - none of that is accidental.

Lerman also noted that based on the image of Arjuna from the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, the new hero is likely to be a ranged character.

Arjuna is a hero of the Mahabharata, his name means “white, pure.” He is definitely a ranged hero because his main weapon is a celestial bow. The gap between Bard Frog’s ID and Arjun’s ID means nothing - these may be old versions of other heroes. The simultaneous release of two characters is possible, but unlikely.

The most recent hero added to Dota 2 was Kez, released on November 8, 2024, along with the fourth act of the Crownfall event. He was officially revealed during the finals of The International 2024. Kez became the 126th hero in the game, and more than a year has passed since then without any new hero announcements.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported the possible name and new details of an upcoming Dota 2 event.