Siractionslacks’ Loregasm returns with the New Frontiers video

This isn't a drill: A new Loregasm has dropped! Siractionslacks' legendary series explaining the convoluted and complex lore for Dota 2 continues with the New Frontiers update. The New Frontiers update was one of the most significant to Dota in recent memory, so there was a lot to cover.

And with the help of two-time TI champs OG, Slacks was able to put out the hour long Loregasm: New Frontiers episode. So without further ado, lets break down Slack's video explaining the update.

Dota 2 lore is unique to say the least. Although each hero has their own biography and specific hero interactions, there's so much more to the world of Dota 2. But despite the massive world that exists, very little is actually explicitly known about it. The few Dota 2 lore aficionados dive deep into the game files to uncover this truth. Siractionslacks is the most prominent of these aficionados, and has created his Loregasm series to show the Dota 2 community the hidden lore of Dota 2.

Before addressing the implications of the Loregasm of the New Frontiers update, Slacks gave a big refresher on the current general knowledge of Dota 2's lore. In short, Radiant and Dire are two halves of a all powerful celestial consciousness. The two sides seem to always be in contention due to their ideologies. And like a parent who's tired of watching their kids fight, Arc Warden shuts them up for the time being by trapping them in moons.

However that didn't work out too well. Eventually, the two broke out of their planetary prisons and crashed towards the closest planet. The largest of each fragment that crashed became the Ancients we've come to know and love. Pretty quickly both being started to exert their influence on whoever or whatever was nearby.

Eventually, once both sides amassed their armies, the two clashed until one side was victorious. Once a ancient was destroyed, Arc Warden would swoop in and recapture both sides and ship them to another planet. Instead of giving Arc Warden the satisfaction, the two sides mutually agreed that at the moment one side wins to combine their power and rewind time to the moment when they crashed so they can repeat the process. So, each game of Dota 2 is a canon instance of when the Radiant and Dire reminded time.

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A couple years ago, Valve created a card game set in the Dota 2 universe called Artifact. Unfortunately, Artifact didn't last too long for one reason or another. But while Artifact didn't reach the same levels of popularity as Dota, Artifact made incredible strides in the lore and world building of the Dota universe. So, just like with recapping the Dota 2 lore, Slacks also recapped the Artifact lore.

Essentially, a powerful group of magic users realized that the planet was stuck in the time loop that the ancients created. What they've realized is that using a mystical artifact that they found, they can slightly twist fate. Make a coin flip heads instead of tails, left instead of right, etc. So the group of magic users divided and conquered, splitting up into four different factions with different ideologies to see how they can break out of the time loop.

But with the countless possibilities that come with changing the outcomes, the group had found a better way than hopping timelines. They created a card game to emulate the time traveling, thus, we have Artifact. Slacks makes a very important point in this section. That in Artifact alone, you can tie the game given the right circumstances. In that case, the entire board gets destroyed. The towers, the Ancients, the cards, everything gets destroyed, or in other words, the time loop breaks.

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And now, we can finally get into the bulk of the New Frontiers Loregasm video. Starting with the trailer for the New Frontiers update. In short, we see both ancients being broken at the exact same time, which as artifact suggests breaks the time loop. Both Ancients shoot out beams of light and the ground shatters, revealing new structures.

Now some of the new structures of the update have lore implications, which Slacks goes on to explain in the Loregasm video. Starting with the Roshan pits. According to the lore, Roshan made a deal with the Dire ancient that for siding with the Dire, once a year he would be able to leave his pit to roam the battlefield. In return, Roshan would side with the Dire over the Radiant. This one time a year was known as Diretide, where Rosh would roam the lands searching for one of his favorite snacks, Halloween candy. However in the new update, there's another Roshan pit on the Radiant side, which means that Radiant must of made a deal with Rosh at one point.

The Lotus pools are a unique addition to the Dota 2 map. Those who've watched Dota 2's Dragon's Blood animated series can easily recognize the lotus' as they are a key element to the plot of the series. However, what's unique is that the lotuses are exclusive to the Nightsilver Woods and nowhere else. But yet they are present. It's a fact that our Dota 2 map is not these Woods, so its quite the odd case that the lotuses are there.

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Way before the New Frontiers update, back when Monkey king was released, a comic came alongside his debut. The comic was mainly was about his Arcana but it also provided some nice world building for Dota. In the comic we get a quick glimpse of Dark Reef Prison and one of the prison cells. If the image from the comic looks at all familiar, it should as it closely resembles a Tormentor. You can check out the full comic here.

Inside each of the Tormentors are Aghanim's Shards. Aghanmin has always been a notable name in the Dota 2 universe. He's the strongest wizard in the Dota 2 universe and is known for two things. The first is that he travels alternate dimensions exploring. Second is that he likes bringing back strong creatures from these alternate dimensions and puts them in his labyrinth like a zoo. So, according to Slacks, the Tormentors are empty rooms for Aghanim's Labyrinth, waiting for Aghanim to find a beast to put inside.

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So, with all this information, Slacks has one theory. The lights that emerge from both Ancients being destroyed at the same time is the Ancients merging the timelines. Into the prime timeline. One universe has the battle of the Ancients happened in the Nightsilver woods, where the Lotus pools reside. In another Universe Radiant made a bargain with Roshan rather than Dire. In one Universe Watchers were created rather than wards.

Now in this merged timeline, all of these aspects have merged together. Which explains all the new map additions and their place. Although there are still unanswered questions regarding some aspects (specifically the Twin Gates), more lore will hopefully come out soon. Or Dota 2's loremasters will manage to find more nuggets of wisdom that connect them to something already hinted within the game...

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