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Valve recently released patch 7.33 in Dota 2, which brings about significant changes to the game, including a larger map, new objectives, two Roshan pits, and various hero changes. With major patches like this, it is common to see players discover bugs as they explore and play on the new patch. However, one particular bug was discovered by a user on the /r/DotA2 subreddit, that had the potential to be game-breaking. This bug involved the destruction of a team’s fountain, which is one of the most important buildings in the game.
Bug Destroys Fountain and Removes Healing Abilities
The bug involved the Tormentor objective, which is a new addition to the game introduced in patch 7.33. The bug occurred when players selected both Primal Beast and Io on the same team. The Primal Beast used its ultimate, Pulverize, on the Tormentor, and then the Io relocated the Primal Beast to a team’s base. Because the Primal Beast and Tormentor were considered as one unit while using the ultimate, the Tormentor got relocated with the Primal Beast as well. The fountain tower then attacked the Tormentor, which reflected the damage back to the fountain, ultimately destroying it.
As a result of the bug, players lost the ability to heal in the fountain, which is a critical element for sustaining a team's health during the game. Additionally, the invulnerability buff to couriers inside the fountain was also removed, and it prevented teams from gathering neutral items.
Valve Hotfixed the Bug
The bug had the potential to be game-breaking, as the loss of the fountain affected the gameplay of one team significantly. However, at the time of writing, Valve has hot-fixed the bug, preventing its replication in future games. This is especially crucial considering that the Berlin Major 2023 is ongoing. The hotfix now ensures that teams can no longer replicate the bug and gain an unfair advantage in competitive play.
The bug in Dota 2 was a significant issue that could have impacted gameplay significantly. However, it is not the first time that such bugs have been discovered in the game. In the past, there have been infamous bugs such as Pudge hooking teammates to the fountain using Chen's old Test of Faith ability, which was famously used by Danil "Dendi" Ishutin and Clement "Puppey" Ivanov from Navi against TongFu. While these bugs can be game-breaking, the community and developers have always worked to quickly identify and fix them to ensure fair gameplay.
