Diretide returns, with a new winter flavor!

Another year another Diretide! With the release of Part Two of this summer's battle pass, players can now jump into the newest iteration of this fan favorite seasonal mode. Though much of the general idea of the game mode is the same, we wanted to to write this beginner's guide for the changes, and how we think you might best approach playing the game mode!

For those of you new to Dota, or maybe returning after a long hiatus, Diretide is a seasonal gamemode that resolves around the fall season, this year more focusing on winter. Last year, it was focused on Roshan's crippling candy addiction, and this year is not that much different.

Traditionally, the game mode revolves around collecting candy from various creeps around the map, usually to get more candy than your opponents, all while dodging Roshan. There are no towers, but there are defenses for your teams' and your opponents' goals.

The core of the game mode is still there. You have to run around collecting candy. But this year, the way this is done is a little different. Instead of skeletons marching down all the lanes, there are waves of Greevils that march towards the center of the map, where Roshan's pit is.

You have to kill them to get candy. Once you get the candy, you have to deposit it in one of four cauldrons on the enemy team's side of the map. These are guarded by a Taffy Guardian, the is not easy to kill, but is easier than the guardian from last Diretide.

Players also have their own individual mounts to get around the map fast. There are 4 different kinds.

This is probably where the biggest change is. Roshan doesn't try to attack one particular player anymore. Instead, when he spawns, he goes on a bit of a rampage, eating Greevils, and then spitting out various things.

He can spit out a pit of fire that does damage, basically a glob of Mortimer's Kisses. Often he spits out little spiders that run around and attack you. Plus Roshan can spit out candy, and also neutral items.

Roshan is also how you win the game. After a certain period of time, Roshan will go attack the well that has the most candy in it. Thus, the idea is to have more candy in your opponents' well so that Roshan will destroy it. You win the game when all four of your opponent's wells are destroyed. These open up as you or your opponent destroy more wells.

Like last year's Diretide, heroes with lot's of AoE damage are incredibly useful for killing Greevils and thus getting more candy. Heroes like Leshrac and Gyrocopter are very good. Although in some instances, using so much AoE can have a negative impact on your framerate.

It's also a good idea to have some stuns on your team to prevent enemies from escaping through the twists and turns of the map. All it takes to stop an opponent from turning in is just doing damage to them, so keep this in mind.

And that's the basics of the new Diretide mode! For more updates on all things Dota, follow us at esports.gg!