Daniel "ImmortalFaith" Moza, the coach of Team Tickles, has expressed concern over pro players possibly altering Dota 2’s game files to gain an advantage. Earlier today, on Twitter, ImmortalFaith posted a video of Tundra Esports' offlaner, Neta "33" Shapira, managing the Spiderlings one by one to send them all across the map in rapid succession. This is a move that is supposedly only possible after the alteration of the game’s files. ImmortalFaith asked DreamHack, (organizer of the European DPC 2021-22) and Valve if this was legal. He also posted on Reddit to spread awareness about the matter, saying that he had nothing against any player, but he did not want Valve to allow this mechanic to be used in any Dota 2 competition, particularly the DPC (Dota Pro Circuit).
ImmortalFaith raises the issue of changing game files to micro hero units individually and quickly
After posting the video of the suspicious game mechanic on Twitter and noting that Spiderlings could be moved individually and quickly by changing a configuration file, ImmortalFaith questioned its legality, and compared it to using scripts.
As a rule, Spiderlings are considered a group, and clicking the Tab key will always select a group of Spiderlings. This means that moving each Spiderling separately is a tedious task since players must select each Spiderling individually, and then right click to the location where they want to move them.
As is being claimed, the change in the game files allows the mechanic to change, and you can select individual Spiderlings instead of the default group by clicking on the Tab button. In this way, it is similar to how players can select individual illusions of heroes like Phantom Lancer and Naga Siren to micro them to various locations by pressing Tab.
In response to ImmortailFaith's tweet, HellRaisers' sports director, Maria Gunina, stated that they had also contacted Valve to learn more about the situation.
The clip that ImmortalFaith has used is from game three of the grand final of the OGA Dota PIT S5: Europe/CIS where Tundra Esports had defeated Team Spirit with 33's surprise Broodmother. The fact that 33 had sent individual Spiderlings across the map so quickly had raised eyebrows. Broodmother began to be picked a lot in pubs after this game, and spreading the spiderlings in a similar fashion to 33’s gameplay became more common. The vision advantage that this provides is overwhelming.
In response to ImmortalFaith's tweet, Chicken Fighters' player Andreas Per "Xibbe" Ragnemalm explained the steps for altering the game files in order to allow players to micro these units so effectively. Additionally, he noted that this mechanic would also work for Nature's Prophet's Treants and Enigma's Eidolons.
Despite claims that moving hero units like Spiderlings individually in such a quick manner can only be accomplished through modifying game files, more transparency is still needed in this matter. A response from one of the DPC's organizers, such as DreamHack or Valve, will likely clear things up.
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