Why Meepo is removed from Dota 2 at a $5 million event

Luke Warr Published July 3, 2024

Plenty of Dota 2 players wish Meepo was just removed from the game, but Valve has actually done it just a day before the year’s most lucrative tournament.

Few heroes are as iconic as Meepo. The micro-intensive pick splits one hero into several each with their own abilities and cooldowns, which makes him one of the hardest characters to play in any MOBA. This makes him frustrating to play as and against, but Valve has done the unthinkable by removing the hero just a day before the start of the $5 million Dota 2 tournament at Riyadh Masters.

Here’s a breakdown of the insane bugs that caused Valve to remove Meepo before the year’s most lucrative tournament.

The insane bugs that got Meepo removed from Dota 2

Meepo is involved with several bugs involving neutral and sellable items, and Valve has chosen to remove him rather than fix the bugs before Riyadh Masters.

In the week before the event, Dota 2 players reported multiple bugs involving Meepo and items. The most prominent involve neutral items that are part of other hero’s facets. Players discovered ways to duplicate Warlock’s Black Grimoire and Witch Doctor’s Gris-Gris on allied heroes, which Meepo could take the most advantage of. Even after these bugs were patched, players discovered ways to sell items on Manta Style illusions. This second bug is exclusive to Meepo and cannot be replicated by any other illusions.

It should be noted that Meepo is not removed for power reasons outside of these bugs. Meepo is much easier to deal with in a tournament environment compared to pubs due to captain’s mode draft and player awareness. Pro players would be barred from abusing these bugs in tournaments. However, there’s nothing stopping players in pub games from taking advantage of these bugs before Valve can fix them. The developer has chosen to simply ban the hero in all games while it works on a fix.