Valve is gearing up for the next major Dota 2 update – patch 7.31 – and there’s evidence building to suggest that Primal Beast, a boss from Aghanim’s Labyrinth, is going to be introduced as the next playable hero. Players have been speculating about this for a while and it looks like an official announcement is on the way.
Earlier today, in preparation for the release of patch 7.31 on February 23, Valve deployed a minor title update for Dota 2. The update itself appeared normal, but players are witnessing an abnormal in-game event following its release – and it only builds on the rumours that Primal Beast is going to be officially announced and introduced to Dota 2’s roster soon.
In the opening stages of Dota 2 games following the minor update, roughly at the 1:20 mark of the pre-match countdown, a global event is occurring that stuns all players – Radiant and Dire. As they’re being stunned, a strange roar sounds off across the battlefield. The stun doesn’t actually affect gameplay and only lasts a few moments, but it’s raising eyebrows and players are taking this strange occurrence as a sign that Primal Beast is on the way.
Reddit user ‘n3cooling’ has spotted a file named ‘dota_731_teaser_force_enabled’ in Dota 2 following the update and it seems to be behind this event. You can listen to the roar here – it’s clear to see why players are attributing this to Primal Beast.
Rumours that Primal Beast is being introduced as the next Dota 2 hero aren’t unfounded, though. Evidence suggesting his addition to the roster was found earlier this year.
WIN reports that dataminers uncovered an update to Dota 2’s hero minimap icon file and Primal Beast’s was added to the selection. The same data-mined file correctly leaked the release of the Drow Ranger arcana and Mirana persona variants.
In addition to this, Primal Beast’s character model has recently been updated and improved. With a level of detail matching other Dota 2 heroes and the addition of numerous facial expressions, players believe Valve has been preparing the release of Primal Beast for a while now.
Dota 2’s patch 7.31 is due to release at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm GMT on February 23. If we’re going to see an official announcement from Valve regarding Primal Beast, it will be around then. We’ll keep you posted with the latest news when it becomes available.