DOTA fans rejoice as Valve has announced that the beta phase is now over for DOTA 2. Everybody can now play the game for free but there will be a queuing system in place so as not to overwhelm the servers as they gradually increase the capacity over time.
To get in the queue, simply go to the Dota 2 Steam page and click the ‘Get Dota 2’ button. You will be added to the launch queue and you’ll have to wait for an e-mail telling that you can start playing.
Since the game has been officially released, those who were able to play during beta will have to fall in line as well. The Early Access Pass has been discontinued and existing ones will just go away.
If you’re new to the game, there will be a tutorial to help you get your feet wet. Afterwards, you can play with AI controlled bots in different skill levels to further help you polish your game before you start climbing the ladder ranks. Or you can simply team up with friends to duke it out with the bots. A party system is also in place so that you can always play with your preferred set of friends on a single team.
For Mac and Linux users, the build is already in testing and will be available soon.
[DOTA 2]