We now know when Valve is bringing the next new hero to Dota 2

After previously teasing a pair of new Dota 2 heroes, Valve has given some more concrete information. In a short blog post, Valve game some details on the next hero to be added to the game as well as when the long-awaited Dota 2 update 7.28 will finally arrive.

Valve announces Dota 2 hero, update 7.28 release date

While no exact release date was given, Valve stated in the blog post that the new Dota 2 hero will arrive in mid-December. Given how Valve typically launches major updates on Tuesdays, the most likely landing spot is December 15. The new Dota 2 hero will arrive alongside Dota 2 update 7.28. 

“Our original plan for the new hero was November 30th, however she needs a bit more time to cozy up for the winter. We will be releasing her, along with the 7.28 gameplay update, in mid December,” Valve stated.

No new details were given on the hero beyond the fact that she is a woman. That’s an important tidbit of information because it does tie into a previous story about hidden files in the Dota 2 client that could shed light on how the new hero will play.

Who is the new Dota 2 hero? Is it Valkyrie?

Judging from hidden files in Dota 2, odds are that the new hero will be Valkyrie. Back in August, a data miner dug down into Dota 2 and unearthed files for 19 different unreleased heroes. Many of them were largely incomplete, and some of them seemed to have been repurposed into other Dota 2 heroes, but there were three in particular that seemed nearly complete. 

The three heroes were codenamed Valkyrie, Puppet Master, and Vampire. Though any of those three could be women, the fact Valve specifically cited the character as a “she” makes Valkyrie the most probable.

Valkyrie in the Dota 2 files had a long list of possible spells including Luminous Blade, Safeguard, and Healing Touch. Valve had clearly done a great deal of experimenting with the hero and her final kit could see her become either a core or a support.