Here is a full breakdown of the reactions toward the controversial TI11 Battle Pass. We also measured the success of this BP through the TI prize pool growth and spike in player base.
"Battle pass battle pass battle pass battle pass," the community chanted alongside Robson "TeaGuvnor" Merrittor, who was doing a stream of him repeating 'Battle Pass' until it drops. After 5 hours and 35 minutes, the highly anticipated TI11 Battle Pass was finally out.. but as anti-climatic as it sounds, it was lackluster to many.
On September 2nd, the red, fiery themed Battle Pass was finally released. However, after one look through the perks, hero sets, treasures, and more, the Battle Pass feels quite empty.
Half a Battle Pass and tons of "Coming Soons"
This Battle Pass is starkly different from the previous ones, mainly because it is stretched until after TI and it is separated into two parts. Due to this system, tons of the rewards and features would only be available in Battle Pass Part II which is not going to release until November 3rd. This is quite dampening to many players as they cannot taste the full Battle Pass experience just yet.
There are also players pointing out the absence of a third Treasure. In the previous Battle Passes, there are usually Treasures I, II, and III. However, this iteration only see Treasure I and II.
Players also have a love-hate relationship with the introduced Arcanas. The Faceless Void and Razor Arcana bring tons of old-school Dota 1 players down the nostalgic path. The sets are a familiar look as they reflect a revamped style of the Dota 1 versions.
Source: Reddit
Many players love them, but some also think they are lacking. One of the reasons is due to no sound effects like we see in previous Arcanas. There is also no new terrain and new creep skins introduced.
On a positive note, Valve also introduced Regional Pricings for Level 1 of the Battle Pass. This can help many players from countries with lower currencies to get their hands on the newest BP. Various users on Reddit shared the prices in their region. In the Phillippines, it is $6-7 USD, in Thailand and Malaysia it costs $5 USD, and in Australia it is $13.75 USD.
Only half of the BP contributes to TI11
With the Battle Pass being divided into a pre-TI and post-TI part, it is clear that only the first part would contribute to TI11's prize pool. This begs the question - where will the rest of the Battle Pass money go to?
Initially, some theorized that Part II of the Battle Pass will fund the next season's pro circuit in 2023. However, a tweet by Ben "Noxville" Steenhuisen turned down that ideal scenario. He referenced insider information stating that the "income received from the prize pool will not go to regional leagues or majors."
This is particularly disappointing because for Dota 2 Majors, only the top 8 earn prize money. Meanwhile, the rest return home without any earnings. The community had long hoped to see an increase in prize money for regional leagues as well as an improved prize pool distribution for the Majors. But if this leaked info is true, then it will be a huge disappointment for fans and even competitive players.
Pros react to the Battle Pass
OG's Tommy "Taiga" Le also expressed his thoughts regarding the prize money distribution for the entire competitive season. He suggested that 5-10% of the Battle Pass sales go to the next 3 Majors. This can improve the prize money distribution and build a healthier Tier 2 scene.
Source: Twitter
Captain of Wildcard, Samuel "Sammyboy" Anderson also expressed his disappointment in the Battle Pass as well as the overall state of Dota 2. He urged the community, including talents and pros to speak up.
Source: Twitter
But at least Fly is happy with the new Tiny Airlines sticker.
Source: Twitter
The Battle Pass sales suffer a slow start
The best way to measure the success of this Battle Pass is definitely through its sales which is reflected in the growth of the TI11 prize pool. As per usual, 25% of Battle Pass sales go to the prize pool of TI. And it seems like the community is keeping their wallets back in their pockets for this BP.
After 1 day and 12 hours, TI9 had $8 million and TI10 had $8.7 million. This year, it only made $7.6 million - the first time ever in TI history that the graph is not higher than its previous iteration.
Source: Dota 2 Prize Pool Tracker
But there could be varying reasons as to why it is growing slower. The different BP systems and timing compared to previous years is a major change. With it being divided into 2 parts, players might not commit fully and wait for the 2nd part to come out. The Regional Pricing might also play a part in the slow growth of TI11 Battle Pass sales.
However, it's still very early. The graph can change and it can cross over the previous milestones at any time.
A huge player spike in Dota 2 after 4 years
Despite BP sales growing slowly, there is a huge influx in players logging into the game after BP's release. This is quite normal during special events like a Major, TI season, or the Battle Pass season. But the peak players in Dota 2 this month reached 826K players, the highest we have seen in 4 years. The last time it reached around the same mark was due to the explosion of Dota Auto Chess in early 2019.
Source: Steam Charts
Nevertheless, the TI11 Battle Pass has only been out for roughly 2 days. We have yet to see how things take off from here and hopefully, good things await.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates!