Simple hero controls, last-hitting and tower mechanics, item crafting, and the difference between active and passive items, as well as area-of-effect, targeted, and non-targeted skills.
All of these basic concepts were broken down by Lucas into bite-sized, two-to-three-minute lessons.
He basically spoon-fed the information to players, piece by piece. Anyone who seriously went through the tutorial would understand the basic gameplay and rules of "DOTA".
After completing each task, players received a special treasure chest. From these chests, players could get cosmetic items for different heroes.
After spending some time completing the simple basic content, Zack only had the bot challenge task left.
However, he had received quite a few treasure chests.
And Zack noticed that the names of these treasure chests were all different.
Zack clicked on one of them, a golden one that looked different from the others. A row of set items appeared on the screen and spun rapidly before settling on just one.
Dragonhold Davian
"Holy crap, that's the Dragon Knight's look from the animated series!" Zack exclaimed, unable to sit still as he looked at the familiar character on the screen.
He had previously remarked on how different the Dragon Knight, Mirana, and the others looked in the game compared to the animated series. Clearly, these were game skins.
"They gave out so many good things! I've got this Rubick set called 'Golden Roc's Fortune,' and it sells for over two hundred in the shop," Hannah said cheerfully, having just finished the tutorial.
"Hey, my Dragon Knight doesn't seem to be available for purchase in the shop yet!" Zack, following her advice, went into the shop to check the value of his Dragon Knight.
Then he discovered that while this Dragon Knight had a name, it was in an unreleased state.
"That's normal; the game is still in beta, after all. But at least it's a beta where progress isn't wiped," Hannah said happily. Besides the Immortals, she had also obtained other items, including two Ancients.
"They've given out way too much stuff at the start! And a lot of these things don't seem to be available for purchase right now. I wonder if they'll be added later," Zack mused.
"And this game has a community market where players can trade freely. Some items might become unavailable later," Hannah speculated, looking at the store interface.
"So, if people keep making new accounts, they can just farm indefinitely, right? A path to riches!?" Zack had an idea.
"Do you think Nebula Games wouldn't have thought of what you're thinking? Look at the items you got; they're all untradeable," Hannah rolled her eyes.
"But Nebula Games is being so generous," Zack said, a bit touched.
He was realistic about his own luck.
He was generally considered unlucky, only slightly better off than Ben.
Even though he didn't know the quality of these "Dota" cosmetic items, he could tell by looking.
The sets in the shop that cost thirty to forty, or even dozens of dollars, looked cool, but they didn't have special effects.
His Dragon Knight and Ancient items not only changed his appearance but also had unique particle lighting and skill effects, clearly setting them apart from ordinary items.
It was obvious that the drop rate for treasure chests in "Dota," at least for the chests from the tutorial, wasn't low.
Of course, Zack didn't know that this was all a strategy.
In reality, Lucas had already planned everything regarding the game's cosmetic items.
The items dropped during the tutorial were account-bound and untradeable, essentially preventing them from disrupting the game's market.
And regarding the initial drop direction, while it seemed random, there was actually a drop pool.
Most of the dropped items were for heroes suitable for new players, such as Dragon Knight, Tidehunter, Abaddon, Rubick, Necrophos, and Spirit Breaker.
These heroes shared a common characteristic: without delving into advanced mechanics.
Their gameplay wasn't complicated, their abilities were mostly targeted, and they were very durable, able to take a lot of damage.
The inclusion of cosmetic items was also meant to encourage players to use heroes that had them.
Beyond that, it was similar to how most mobile games give away a lot of diamonds or seemingly good cards at the start.
This also implicitly increased players' virtual assets. After all, "Dota" was a free-to-play game. So, how could they retain players?
It relied on sunk costs. Time investment couldn't be counted on at the early stage, so the game had to rely on economic cost.
Looking at the Immortal and Ancient tier cosmetics in their inventory, players might sometimes reconsider their decision to quit and think about playing again.
In addition, Lucas had added new drops to the game's regular matches.
In "Dota" in his previous life, players had a chance to get item drops in regular matches.
This could be common sets, individual items, or Immortals.
However, Valve had repeatedly changed this system, removing it in one update and adding it back in another.
Lucas intended to keep the item drop system, but only for regular sets and Immortals. The drop rate would serve to identify lucky players.
Besides that, there was the game's leveling system. In his previous life, the trophy level system in "Dota" was largely cosmetic and didn't have much practical significance.
Considering the time investment players put into their accounts, Lucas made some modifications. Players would gain experience points by playing in ranked, normal, or co-op bot matches, which would increase their in-game level.
For each level gained, players would receive a treasure chest. Additionally, there would be a guaranteed drop mechanism in the backend, ensuring that after playing for a certain amount of time and reaching a certain level, players would inevitably receive an Immortal or an Immortal item. Of course, whether it was good or for their desired hero was another matter.
Furthermore, after a normal game ended, players could also drop fragments. These fragments could be used to exchange for special cosmetic sets, map skins, courier skins, ward skins, and announcer packs in a dedicated store.
This was another form of progression. In his previous life, "Dota" also had a similar trend, like the fragments available through the Plus subscription. However, Lucas expanded what could be bought with fragments to include better cosmetic items.
As for whether this would affect the game's profitability, Lucas wasn't worried at all.
These concessions to players required either extreme luck or a huge amount of effort.
And most importantly, these items were like a drop in the ocean compared to the depth of "Dota's" cosmetic system.
Not to mention that with ongoing operations, there would surely be more cosmetic items added later.
There was also a significant point: it's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.
Having experienced the coolness of cosmetic items and the splendor of Immortals.
When you see your favorite and frequently played hero still in its default initial appearance, can you really resist?
And once you break down, there's a first time for everything. As players continue to experience the game, they will inevitably make secondary and tertiary purchases.
Was the mysterious merchant, Boss Lucas, just playing around?
(End of Chapter)
---
Read +100 advanced chapters on my patre*n
patr eon.com/GustinaKamiya
---