Dota 2 Ringmaster Release Date: We May Finally Know When

Luke Warr Published May 9, 2024

Ringmaster’s announcement at The International 2023 riled up Dota 2 fans, and his release date may finally be around the corner.

New heroes are a rarity in Dota 2, with Muerta launching just over a year ago. Valve promised a hero pool update at The International last year, but the Crownfall update has arrived without a new hero. Fans are disappointed, but there are a few signs that Ringmaster will arrive during the update.

In fact, Valve may have already revealed Ringmasters’s release date in the first leg of Crownfall. Here’s when we think the clown will arrive at the circus and everything we know about him before launch.

Ringmaster release date could be in May 2024

Ringmaster’s release date is not confirmed, but we predict it will be within the release window of mid-May 2024.

Our guess is based on the update schedule for the second part of Crownfall. Valve has already confirmed that the second leg of the event will come out in mid-May.

Historically, Valve has followed a pattern for hero releases, and by analyzing previous heroes, we can make educated guesses about the potential release timeframe for Ringmaster. The developer promised a similar timing for the first part of Crownfall, specifying mid-April. That patch came out on April 18, 2024, the Thursday closest to the middle of the month. Crownfall is expected to last four months with major updates at roughly the same time each month. May 16 is the closest Thursday to the middle of May. That makes it an ideal time to drop the new content along with a new hero.

However, there’s no guarantee that Ringmaster will come out with the second Crownfall act. Valve has only promised a release sometime in 2024. For reference, Valve finally added Muerta five months after her announcement in 2022. Considering the seven-month gap since the announcement, the developer likely already has a planned release date for Ringmaster. 

Ringmaster’s abilities are still unknown

Predictions are all we have for Ringmaster’s release date, but we have some more educated guesses about his abilities.

The most obvious hint is from his reveal trailer. Ringmaster tempts Axe with a test of strength before sucking him into the machine. During the short, he monologues about how easy it is to capture and train heroes, remaking how they are “natural performers.” This indicates that he will have some kind of extended control over an enemy hero, possibly controlling them with his ultimate.

Puppet Master’s ability, Puppet Show, allows him to control an enemy hero, making them attack their allies, similar to what we might expect from Ringmaster.

Ever since his reveal, fans have drawn comparisons between Ringmaster and the Heroes of Newerth character Puppet Master. Puppet Master’s ultimate, Voodoo Puppet, creates a puppet linked to an enemy hero, transferring damage to the real hero, which could inspire a similar mechanic for Ringmaster.

That hero could restrain enemy movement similar to Dream Coil and force them to attack allies like Winter’s Curse. His ultimate creates a copy of an enemy hero that allies can attack, transferring damage to the real one. Ringmaster is unlikely to be an exact copy, but he could take inspiration from Puppet Master.

Note that while we predict May 16 as his release date, Valve could drop Ringmaster or the second chapter of Crownfall on a different date. Fans will have to wait for an official announcement to know for sure.