Innovations in DotA: Capture Point mode announced

Up until recently, Capture Point-style gameplay was almost exclusive to first person shooters - IceFrog intends to change that!

The announced mode, Capture Point, is probably known to the players of Valve's Team Fortress 2 and other, similar shooters. The basics: get the tactical points around the map before the other team does, or fight 'em for it! According to IceFrog's update, the new DotA mode will act similarly.

What we know so far, is that there will be 6 points, that will spawn around the map after the tenth minute. We can guess that this is to ensure that the lane-phase isn't completely out of the game while this mode is played. However, the farming expected in the mode is probably way smaller than what the current game calls for.

Another interesting feature, possibly inspired by the mentioned game TF2 (or a result of the partnership of our favorite developer and Valve, but this is just a guess) is that the 6 points will be captured faster if more heroes are nearby. By having to stand on them, and having more points than there are heroes in a team, this opens up endless possibilities for rushing, turtling and completely new strategies as well. Captured points will also provide auras that give boosts to damage, armor, gold(bye to farming), regeneration or movement speed, so holding them actually gives a big advantage.

The new mode took the spotlight, but now that we're mentioning that word, there's good news for those behind it as well: spectators will be able to zoom in and out, making the game more practical to watch. IceFrog notes that none of these ideas are final, and promises to keep working on the balance and other features with equal regard. 6.67 is sure to bring a whole new level of fun to the game.