The 2016 Summer Battle Cup is now ready, and it's time to party up with your strongest allies to sound the horns of war in an eight-team, single-elimination, Captains Mode tournament bracket. With the first matches set to start this Saturday night, the Battle Cup offers the chance to fight through a tournament bracket and experience the same competitive thrills found at the highest levels of Dota.

The four regional tournament divisions will occur each Saturday at the following times:

Southeast Asia:
Saturday 11:00 UTC / 18:00 Bangkok / 19:00 Singapore / 20:00 Tokyo / 21:00 Sydney

China:
Saturday 12:00 UTC / 20:00 Shanghai

Europe:
Saturday 18:00 UTC / 19:00 London / 20:00 CEST / 21:00 Moscow

Americas:
Saturday 0:00 UTC / 17:00 Seattle / 20:00 New York / 21:00 Sao Paulo

Click on the Play Dota button or the Battle Cup section of your Battle Pass when a tournament is scheduled to start to join the queue.

Apart from the well-deserved bragging rights, each player on a Battle Cup Champion team will receive 15 Battle Levels. Plus, for the week following a tournament victory, you'll receive Champion Prestige effects for your profile and a special set of Champion Emoticons to help announce the glory of your recent triumphs to the world. Head over to the Rewards and FAQ page for a complete list of in-game prizes and other details.

To mark the start of this inaugural Battle Cup, we are also extending the deadline to complete The International Battle Pass activities from August 13 until August 31, 2016. The Battle Cup will recur every Saturday night for the duration the Battle Pass season. How many battles can you win?

Announcing The International 2016 Cosplay Competition, featuring a $15,000 prize pool up for grabs during the year's premiere Dota 2 tournament at KeyArena.

For the first time ever, the dedicated cosplayers of Dota 2 are invited to craft their best Dota-themed costumes to display their talents at the Main Event of The International.

Contestants do not need to be event ticket holders—all cosplayers who register to participate will be admitted to a Prejudging Phase at KeyArena on Wednesday, August 10. The Performance Finals will then take place the following day on Thursday, August 11 to determine who will walk away with the winner's share of the cash prize.

Please first read over the competition guidelines, then head to the registration page to sign up.

For those cosplayers who may not seek the limelight of the competitive stage, all fans wearing cosplay in attendance at The International 2016 will receive this year's Dota 2 Cosplay Pin, available while supplies last.

Announcing The International 2016 Cosplay Competition, featuring a $15,000 prize pool up for grabs during the year's premiere Dota 2 tournament at KeyArena.

For the first time ever, the dedicated cosplayers of Dota 2 are invited to craft their best Dota-themed costumes to display their talents at the Main Event of The International.

Contestants do not need to be event ticket holders—all cosplayers who register to participate will be admitted to a Prejudging Phase at KeyArena on Wednesday, August 10. The Performance Finals will then take place the following day on Thursday, August 11 to determine who will walk away with the winner's share of the cash prize.

Please first read over the competition guidelines, then head to the registration page to sign up.

For those cosplayers who may not seek the limelight of the competitive stage, all fans wearing cosplay in attendance at The International 2016 will receive this year's Dota 2 Cosplay Pin, available while supplies last.

Today marks the release of the exclusive 'Legacy of the Fallen Legion' Legion Commander Prestige item and Quest Path, available to all Battle Pass owners with a Battle Level of 225 or higher. Players who complete the Quest Path will also receive an alternate style unlock for the Prestige item.

Plus, available to everyone, check in on the last exploits of the famed Bronze Legion in the all-new Dota 2 comic Tip of the Spear.

We have also released the 6.88b game update. Just follow the link to read up on the changes.

Today marks the release of the exclusive 'Legacy of the Fallen Legion' Legion Commander Prestige item and Quest Path, available to all Battle Pass owners with a Battle Level of 225 or higher. Players who complete the Quest Path will also receive an alternate style unlock for the Prestige item.

Plus, available to everyone, check in on the last exploits of the famed Bronze Legion in the all-new Dota 2 comic Tip of the Spear.

We have also released the 6.88b game update. Just follow the link to read up on the changes.

6.88b:
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* Timbersaw strength gain reduced from 2.1 to 1.8
* Death Prophet base strength reduced by 1
* Spirit Siphon base health drain reduced from 16 to 14
* Metamorphosis manacost increased from 50 to 100
* Metamorphosis no longer lingers after reincarnation/death
* Time Dilation manacost increased from 50 to 75
* Astral Spirit vision reduced from 450 to 400
* Beastmaster Boar XP bounty increased from 59 to 60/70/80/90
* Riki's Blink Strike damage reduced from 60/80/100/120 to 55/70/85/100
* Lane Creeps now give 20% of XP when denied by neutrals rather than 0% (normal player denies give 50% XP)
* Astral Imprisonment damage increased from 75/150/225/300 to 100/175/250/325
* Arcane Orb intelligence duration increased from 60 to 80
* Bloodlust manacost reduced from 75 to 50
* Meepo agility growth increased from 1.9 to 2.2
* Stone Form cooldown reduced from 26 to 20
* Arcane Curse damage increased from 14/21/28/35 to 14/22/30/38
* Brewmaster Boulder damage increased from 50 to 50/100/150
* Brewmaster Dispel Magic damage to illusions and summoned units increased from 500 to 850
* Press the Attack's attack speed bonus increased from 60/80/100/120 to 65/90/115/140
* Sniper turn rate improved from 0.6 to 0.7
* Sniper night vision increased from 1000 to 1100
* Warlock Golems HP increased from 900/1350/1800 to 1000/1500/2000
* Thirst bonus rescaled from 10/20/30/40% to 16/24/32/40%
* Lightning Bolt ministun increased from 0.1 to 0.2
* Stampede slow duration increased from 1.5 to 1.8
* Shadow Fiend movement speed increased from 310 to 315
* Living Armor cooldown reduced from 32/26/20/14 to 30/24/18/12
* Dismember strength based damage increased from 30/40/50 to 30/45/60%
* Sand Storm cooldown reduced from 40/30/20/10 to 34/26/18/10
* Epicenter manacost reduced from 175/250/325 to 150/225/300
* Empower cleave AoE increased from 225 to 240

- Fixed an IME bug when binding keys in the settings panel.
- Fixed a bug where Hammer would crash when loading certain map files.

- DirectX 11 is now the default on 64-bit Windows systems.
- Fixed a visual bug with Earth Spirit's Stone Remnants failing to move during Boulder Smash.

Fixed a bug with the auto-select summoned units option, when resummoning Lone Druid's Spirit Bear and Arc Warden's Tempest Double.
Fixed a bug with Rubick's Spell Steal and stealing abilities with multiple states (for example, Timbersaw's Chakram).
Fixed a bug with channeled abilities not ending correctly when Rubick's Spell Steal duration expires and when Arc Warden's Tempest Double is resummoned.

- Fixed various issues with purchasing the Battle Level Bundle (if your item is missing it will appear in your armory throughout the day)
- Fixed Scan not working on Spell Immune heroes
- When Rubick steals Arc Warden's Tempest Double, Rubick's double can no longer steal spells.
- Arc Warden's Tempest Double can no longer consume moon shards. The double will still get the benefits if Arc Warden has consumed a moon shard.