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How Do Roster Changes Impact the Dota 2 Competitive Scene?

After the International ended in August, we knew the worse part of the Dota 2 industry was coming — the inevitable roster changes. Every year, without fail, organizations critically examine their team’s performance at the International with the intent of determining whether or not the current roster “works”. Too often, we see entire teams drop their players to create a “new” team or drop several players because they “aren’t working out.”

So what impact do roster swaps have on the Dota 2 competitive scene? And are these roster shuffles healthy?

Long-Term Investment versus Short-Term Gains

Dota 2 teams can be constructed with the intent of being either a long-term investment or a short-term gain. Long-term investment teams are created with the intent of developing the players so they grow and learn together. Players then are able to make in-game decisions knowing how their teammates will react appropriately without the need for explanation or communication.

An example of a long-term investment team would be Team Liquid. Team Liquid has remained pretty consistent with their team composition from about 2015 onward with only a couple of changes in two years (JerAx and FATA – left the team in 2016 and were replaced by Miracle – and BuLba. Dota 2 solomid tournament challenge Then GH replaced BuLba in 2017). In that time, they also won TI7! Liquid has adopted the mentality that investing in their players’ growth wins them the title of world champions.

Photo courtesy of Valve

Short-term gain teams are generally constructed like an all-star team — all five players are dominant solo players but their ability to work with their teammates isn’t consistent. These types of teams generally last only a season and are dropped or shuffled immediately following an unsuccessful tournament. Examples of these types of teams are Team Secret and Fnatic. These types of teams don’t focus on growth or development but instead hope for team synergy and unity by adding and subtracting players as soon as they don’t perform well.

The Impact of the Individual Player

Some teams like to focus on investing in the team as a whole, other teams create all-star teams, but a select few teams like to draft around a central player. Examples of this can be seen with organizations like Natus Vincere (Pre-TI8), Evil Geniuses and Team Secret. Certain players will become the focal point of the team and managers will attempt to find players that pair well with the play style of their focal player.

Na’Vi’s Dendi and Evil Geniuses’s SumaiL are two superstar players who have become the team’s focal point. Natus Vincere and Evil Geniuses will not only draft the team around these two superstar players but their in-game strategies will revolve around them too.

Photo courtesy of Valve

How Much Change Is Too Much?

It’s hard to see our favorite teams roster transfer or lose several players. Losing two or three players is a major change for a team of only five players. Drastically changing 50 percent of a team is a huge gamble for teams. OG, the winners of this year’s International, won against all odds as they were forced to pick up two players last minute after fly and s4 left to EG halfway through the season. But the question isn’t whether a newly changed team can succeed in the face of adversity, but rather is such a change healthy?