Do you know the origin of the names of heroes and items in Dota 2?

Dota 2 has so far had a very long history, and it goes on even longer if you think of the original Defense of the Ancients name. With such a long time, the game has many different designs from two different game publishers.

A lot of people have left their own mark in Dota 2. That is evident in the names of heroes and items. Here are a few examples of their origins.

Where did the name Sheep Stick come from?

Originally named Guinsoo’s Scythe of Vyte, the must-have item for carry intellgence has long been called the Sheep Stick. But in Dota 2, this item turns opponents into pigs, not sheep. In the original DotA, Hex actually turned his opponent into a sheep.

Currently in Dota 2, we can still turn enemy heroes into sheep. While the Shadow Shaman usually turns enemies into chickens when using Hex, the Lamb to the Slaughter decoration will turn opponents into sheep.

Why is Shadow Blade called Lothar’s Edge?

One of the most memorable names in Dota is Lothar’s Edge. This is a rather strange name because most new players to Dota 2 call the item Shadow Blade.

So where does the name Lothar’s Edge come from? Defense of the Ancients of course. This item was originally named Lothar’s Edge in memory of a Warcraft character named Anduin Lothar, the supreme leader of the Alliance faction. So why is the item named Lothar when the character itself is not invisible? This is a very good question that is still unanswered.

Outworld Devourer has changed its name many times

In the first DotA, the Obsidian Destroy mob was revised and transformed into the playable hero of the same name. Although the general shape remained the same when moving to Dota 2, Vavel had difficulty naming a new name so as not to coincide with this Warcraft 3 monster.

Initially, the OD was changed to Outworld Destroyer. But for some reason, Valve decided to change it again to Outworld Demolisher. Fans voiced dissatisfaction forcing Valve to change its name again and now Outworld Devourer. Hero has had four different names during his lifetime.

Why is Brewmaster called Panda?

Brewmaster in Dota 2 is also called “Panda” by many early gamers. However, the name of the character in the Warcraft storyline is Mangix and there is no clue that the hero is named Panda. Instead, the name Panda comes from the character’s category.

In Defense of the Ancients, Mangix is ​​Pandaren. The Pandaren are a race with the appearance of a panda in Warcraft. Although not very present in Warcraft 3, this race is very popular in World of Warcraft and is considered the disciples of the Shaolin. The brewmasters in Warcraft 3 are the same, using the martial art of Tuy Quyen, which is derived from Shaolin martial arts.

Why did Valve change the name Windranger?

Windranger has always been a popular hero in pubs, but this character didn’t have that name before. From 2011 to 2013, this intelligence hero was named Windrunner, with the entire set of voices referring to this name. Everything changed in 2013 when the hero changed his name to Windranger and Necrolyte changed to Necrophos.

In both cases, the two heroes were renamed because they are directly related to the Warcraft characters. Windrunner shares the same name as Alleria Windrunner and Sylvanas Windruner, two famous characters in the Warcraft storyline. Meanwhile, Necrolyte is the name of the orc mage in Warcraft 1.

Wraith King, the Earthshaker originated from Diablo

It’s no secret that Dota 2 was heavily influenced by Warcraft 3, as many heroes have the same name and appearance as many in Blizzard’s real-time strategy game. However, this is not the only game under Blizzard to have several characters appear in Dota. Diablo also has a connection in Dota.

While the Wraith King is known as Ostarion in Dota 2, the character is best known as Leoric, an NPC in Diablo 2. Pudge is also known as “the butcher”, which is Diablo 1’s Butcher – the game’s first boss. . Earthshaker is named after a special item in Diablo 2 that has the ability to create cracks.

In addition to the hero naming ideas, many DotA items are also named after Diablo items and are considered to be early names for Dota 2 items. These include Cranium Basher, Eaglehorn, and Messerschmidt’s Reaver.

The Phantasy Star game series is the source of many Dota 2 items

In addition to Blizzard, many Dota 2 items also get name ideas from other games. The original Defense of the Ancients development team was clearly a big fan of the Phantasy Star game series. Many of the random names of Dota 2 items are derived from SEGA’s classic RPG series.

The best example is Monkey King Bar. This is the same item in Phantasy Star with the shape of a red cane and gold-covered ends. The Monkey King Bar in Phantasy Star is also upgraded to the Black King Bar, but the item in Phantasy Star is not as resistant to magic as Dota 2.

And yet, the game also has a pair of swords Sange and Yasha. More specifically, DotA still retains the mechanism in Phantasy Star that allows two swords to be combined into a more powerful weapon.

Where did Leshrac come from?

Warcraft 3, Diablo, Phantasy Star. Next up is Magic: The Gathering. This popular card game has a lot of storylines revolving around the game’s cards. And like the games mentioned above, it is also related to Dota 2.

There are many black cards called Leshrac, the Walker of the Night. The real Leshrac character doesn’t look like Leshrac Dota 2 at all, but the game uses the skill name Diablo Edict which is derived from a card in MTG.

The most typical name is a green card named Morphling. Although Morphling (MTG) does not have the water attribute like the hero of the same name in Dota 2, the MTG character has the ability to transform – this is considered the idea for the ultimate to transform into another hero of Morphling Dota 2.

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