Dota 2's Dark Carnival has begun, with a huge story chapter and five automaton hero personas

At last, weeks of speculation and mystery can finally be put to bed: the Dota 2 Dark Carnival has begun. Valve's latest big event is here, and as many were hoping (myself included), it's a full-scale story campaign in a similar format to 2024's Crownfall. This time, the tale opens with Legion Commander and Hoodwink trapped on board a clanking circus train, imprisoned by the dastardly Ringmaster.

The first chapter of the Dota 2 Dark Carnival is 'Midnight Run,' which follows our unfortunate duo as they attempt to work their way along the spider-legged convoy to reach the very front. It comes with a comic to set things up, and full voice acting across the entire event. From there, you'll track a pathway from the rear of the train across multiple rooms in each carriage, earning rewards and learning more about the Ringmaster's plans as you progress.

At given stages along the route, you'll need to insert particular ticket types to progress. These are earned by actually playing the MOBA, with the hero you choose determining the tickets you'll get. Every character is tied to three of the possible options (some guarantee three different ones, while others include duplicates - Tiny offers two Stars and a Fool, while Chaos Knight fittingly brandishes a trio of Wheel of Fortune tickets).

Win a regular match and you'll earn all three of their tickets. Lose, and you'll instead receive just one of them, selected at random. Play a round of Turbo Dota 2 instead and you'll get two tickets for a win, but none if you lose. There's also a trade feature, which allows you to turn in either a set of three matching spares, or four different ones, in an attempt to pick up those that might be assigned to characters you're less fond of.

Along your journey, you'll earn Discount Coins, Candy, and Treasures of Wonder. Once you've collected ten Discount Coins, you can trade these in for a real-money saving on items in the Dark Carnival store. The exact value of this varies by region, but the US amount is $7.99, while the UK one is £5.89. The item or bundle you buy must cost at least that much in order to be eligible for the deal - but if it's priced at exactly that, you'll get it for free.

Crack open a Treasures of Wonder chest and you'll get one of 15 new hero cosmetic sets. Among the full collection, you'll find Drow Ranger's harlequin-style 'Motley Marauder,' Queen of Pain as the 'Mistress of Ceremonies,' Monkey King's 'Bonobo the Clown' outfit, the lion-like 'Mane Attraction' for Primal Beast, Io as a 'Madame Scrio' crystal ball, and a 'Fairy Godmummer' design for Dark Willow. There's even a clockwork 'Woodcutter' look for the Toy Pudge persona (which you'll get thrown in as a bonus if you don't have it).

Speaking of personas, there are five new automaton-themed overhauls for Axe (which you may have seen yesterday), Oracle, Legion Commander, Morphling, and Bristleback. These come complete with a full set of custom animations, effects, and ability icons, along with re-processed voice lines to capture their unfortunate fates. They'll set you back $14.99 / £11.09 per character, although they are therefore each eligible for the Discount Coins offer.

There are four more themed sets that you won't find in the store - instead, you can get your hands on the outfits for Phantom Assassin, Crystal Maiden, Invoker, and Magnus by discovering them hidden throughout Ringmaster's train as you progress the Dark Carnival storyline. Expect plenty of other showcase decorations, loading screens, sprays, and emoticons to collect as well. The familiar Candyworks is back too, with the ability to grab a variety of rewards from hero sets to wards and couriers.

Last but not least in the Dark Carnival shop is the Secret Rooms Pack, priced at $14.99 / £11.09. "All Dota players are free to explore the main story event," Valve notes, "but there are hidden areas to explore as well, filled with secrets and side quests." Grab this and you'll get immediate access to themed creeps and an event music pack, along with a selection of Secret Room Tickets granting you passage into these bonus sections of the map.

The Dota 2 Dark Carnival is live now. The first two carriages are already open for business, with another pair becoming available two weeks from now, and the final duo two weeks after that.