Community Outcry Scuttles The International's Custom 'Dota 2' Map Skin

There's a storm brewing in Seattle. Two days into The International, Dota 2's premiere event, the game's community has found itself divided over Reef's Edge, the underwater-themed terrain Valve designed specifically for the tournament.

Some background: in 2015, Valve began creating differently-styled maps to replace the Dota 2's standard Tolkienesque skin. Initially, these new terrains were modest, like a trio of seasonally-themed maps. Over time, though, the designs become more elaborate, none more so than Reef's Edge, which was included as a reward in this year's International Battle Pass. The maps are identical as far as Dota 2's mechanics are concerned—even the trees (or, in this case, seaweed) are all in the same place—but they completely overhaul the appearance of Dota 2, breathing new life into a familiar game.

You'd think that would be a good thing, but, yesterday, a petition asking Valve to use Dota 2's default terrain for the remainder of The International garnered over 9,000 upvotes on the Dota 2 subreddit. Its signatories argue that the underwater terrain creates a difficult viewing experience, especially for those new to the game. Consider: The art direction of Dota 2's standard terrain helps spectators orient themselves by dividing the map into two distinctly styled halves, Radiant (lush forests, cute critters, etc.) and Dire (snakes 'n shit).

While Reef's Edge preserves this distinction to some degree, it's nowhere near as pronounced, and many have suggested that using an elaborate new map is antithetical to Valve's hope that The International will introduce Dota 2 to a new generation of players. Still others hold that using the "standard" terrain is necessary for the same reasons that traditional sports league limit on-field designs: to minimize variation between matches. (In fact, earlier this week, the English Premier League, following the UEFA, banned elaborate pitch designs altogether on exactly this logic).

Those aren't entirely unreasonable points, even if they are a little overblown. Is changing the terrain really going to make an immensely complex game like Dota 2 that much harder to understand? And is there really any evidence that the terrain affects the quality of play? Though some have suggested that Reef's Edge makes certain hero abilities like Broodmother's "Spin Web" harder to see, professional players don't seem to think the map has any appreciable affect on gameplay. If they did, they'd be raising hell, which they aren't exactly shy about doing.

Defenders of Reef's Edge, meanwhile, suggest that abandoning the underwater terrain denies some of what makes this International this International. Different iterations of the tournament are themed in only the loosest sense possible (last year's theme, for example, is probably best described as "red"), but this year's underwater trappings are marginally more ambitious. Without The International 7's distinctive aquatic terrain, however, the Biggest Tournament Ever is just another championship.

What's more, for regular viewers, the underwater map really is a refreshing change from the standard high fantasy one, which has been around since Dota 2's debut in 2011. Reef's Edge is a beautifully detailed piece of work from the Valve's artists—tiny bubbles rise like angels, and distant whale song conjures a lonely majesty—and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

In the end, though, Valve caved to public pressure and settled on the lowest common denominator: the rest of The International 7 will be played on Dota 2's standard terrain. Of course, there are now multitudinous complaints about the ruling alongside with proliferating complaints about the complaints (and, for good measure, some complaints about those too). Dota 2 fans are nothing if not implacable (take it from one), but, hopefully now, we can just shut up and watch.