Dota Underlords

A blog post about Dota Underlords!


Long ago, it was determined I would probably never play Dota 2. Just as sure as we were that I probably would never play HoN.





Now, this caused an unintended consequence. I try to tune in to Breaky's streams and casts, which are primarily Dota 2, and for years had been HoN. Other than understanding the basics of who is winning(ish) and by how much (ish), I didn't understand anything.

I made some progress when we went to TI 7 in 2017 (while I was pregnant, I might add). Breaky explained so much of the game and those that were around us were super awesome in explaining things too, it almost made up for the reputation that sometimes clouds these MOBA games. Not so much as I would actually PLAY, but still. It was a great experience, and I would go again in a heart-beat.

Despite going to and enjoying a TI, I still don't understand Dota 2 the game. I now know some characters and the basic idea of what has to be done to win and I understand the scene so much better. I still go back to my trope of "when Breaky gets loud and starts talking super fast and there are lots of lights and sounds that means a big fight is happening." which, yes makes me seem like the ditsy wife, but it's true!





When Auto Chess came out, Breaky was trying to explain the game and how it came to be. He said he thought I may be interested, based on my love of Hearthstone. At the time, the only way you could play is if you actually owned and downloaded Dota 2, which I wasn't going to do as my computer is dangerously low on space (yay too many games!)

When it was announced that the makers of Auto Chess were creating a mobile version, I decided to give it a whirl. Knowing full well that this game was not from Valve or Dota, I still felt like this was a step in the right direction as far as being able to connect with Breaky on something Dota-ish.


Well, it was a little more than that. I started playing it quite a bit and became pretty decent at it, all things considered. Breaky commented that he hadn't seen me so obsessed with a game since Hearthstone.

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Once Dota Underlords came out, I definitely downloaded it on mobile and on my PC. I've pretty much been playing every day since. Now I am not at the level of Breaky (Mr. Boss rank person) and I still do have a lot to learn, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.

One of the great things is that it allows me to be so much more involved and understanding of something that Breaky is involved in as well. He's started casting and hosting Underlords tournaments, which if you play, you should totally sign up for. You can follow him on twitter at @breakycpk for updates and tournament information and/or follow and subscribe to his Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/breakycpk



So long blog short, I love the game, and I am so excited to finally be involved in a game that Breaky both enjoys, plays AND casts. AND I can understand what he's talking about when he does cast these professionally. I feel like this is going to be good for our marriage. Right?

Pregnant at TI

So, if you haven't heard, click here.

That's right. We are expecting.

One of the many reasons why I have not been updating my blog is because, outside of being pregnant, there really wasn't much to write about. This is big news, and for 3 months, outside of immediate family, we really didn't announce it to anyone.

Another reason I haven't been updating my blog is because I've just been exhausted.

Exhaustion during pregnancy is real my friends. I have been blessed in the fact that my morning sickness has just been occasional nausea, but the exhaustion is real. There are many other pregnancy symptoms, but we do not have all week to rant about all of them. Yet.


Now, many of you may not yet have put two-and-two together to figure out: Yes, I was just about 3 months pregnant at TI7.

Now let me tell you..... uff. The only person there (that I know of) that knew I was pregnant was my dear husband, Breaky. Now, pregnancy in and of itself normally has some challenges. I was super surprised at the amount of things that were "off my plate" so to speak, when it comes to what I can eat. I never was a picky eater, but now I have to be careful. Not to mention the no drinking, the exhaustion, lack of caffeine, occasional nausea etc... Traveling to an event like this just makes all of those things so much worse.

There was a meet and great scheduled for after the matches pretty late one night and this one gentleman, who I'm sure meant well, commented on how "bored" I looked. I was on my phone, waiting for Breaky to wrap up, but I was also completely exhausted, to the point where if it wasn't for my phone, I would have taken a nap in the booth right then and there. My hormones wanted to lash out at the guy and say "well that's because I'm 12 weeks pregnant, exhausted, watching other people drink, been up for over 16 hours, waiting for my husband to finish up doing his podcast so we can go home and I can sleep on my left side so my heartburn I am experiencing doesn't burn a hole through my throat." I instead decided on "oh, it's been a long day, I'm tired, and my husband is doing the live podcast up there."

So if you saw me at TI and I was either tired, cranky, confused, or exhausted, now you know why. Hope you didn't take it personally. Lord knows my husband has learned not to.

TI7 Recap

Just got back from Seattle where Breaky and I attended The International Dota 2 Championships. And by "just got back" I guess I mean I've been back for like, three days, but only now have the energy to actually write anything.

While this wasn't my first video game tournament I have attended. I went to the Heroes of Newerth Grand Finals in Las Vegas, but let's be honest, I spent quite a lot of time by the pool during that time. I also attended Blizzcon, but that whole convention was a little different.

Full disclaimer, I have never actually played Dota 2 (or HoN or Heroes of the Storm or any other MOBA) but obviously the game and the scene is super important to Breaky, my husband. Therefore, it is a huge part of our family. So when it came about that we would have the opportunity to go to The International (or TI) in Seattle in August, I decided it would be good for both of us to go.

Because I work full-time, we decided I should just come to Seattle for the second half of the week, and Breaky would fly in Monday morning and I would fly in Wednesday and just take off 3 days of work.

The set up around the Key Arena where the event was actually held was really nifty. There was the Beer Garden, which was open to the public, as long as you were over 21. They had a bunch of screens showing the games, and they had beer, water and cider for sale also. Within viewing distance of the Beer Garden was an huge screen and a huge field area for people to sit and watch. Note: we were extremely lucky with the weather. No rain and hardly and clouds that I knew of.

Big screen showing the game

Breaky and I split a lot of our time between going in the Key Arena to watch the matches (shout out to those who helped Breaky and I get passes, you know who you are!) to going outside to the Beer Garden and around the park in general.

We met up with a lot of people whose names I recognized from what Breaky tells me about how his stuff is going. Speaking of which, huge shout out to the BTS, Pvgna, and DotP guys and gals! Lots of fun meeting you all.

DotP meet up

Proud spouse time: On top of meeting up with people he knew, Breaky would be approached about, on average, 6-8 times a day by a fan. I played the ever-proud spouse with a huge grin on my face as many talked about how Breaky was the reason they got into the MOBA scene in the first place and how they have followed him since Honcast. Breaky was always so very gracious, always asking for their names, taking pictures (I helped with a few of those!) all the while being super humble as always.

Breaky is the best teacher a wife could ask for. I knew very, very little about Dota 2.

Let me put into words what I knew about Dota 2 before TI7.

• I knew towers had to be destroyed. I figured this was the goal of the game. Little more complicated than that I guess
• There were creeps. No context to what they were. For all I knew they were equivalent to trolls. 
• When a caster like Breaky would get loud and shout fast and a bunch of colorful sh*t was happening on screen, a big fight was happening, although this rarely means the game is over. 
• Because I am the household keeper of all things appointments and calendars, I knew that a game could last as long as 5 minutes (someone cancelled or postponed a game) to as long as an hour and 15 minutes, but on average was about 45 minutes. 
• I knew where the kill count was, which usually gave me a good idea if someone was really winning and the game could be over soon (again, mostly so I could plan our lives around when the games started/ended)

After learning more of the basics, I do have to say, I have mad respect for anyone who plays and enjoys Dota. It is a grind, but I can see now why people enjoy it so much. 

Without prompt, Breaky would explain things that went on with the game, from why a pick in the beginning of the game was good or bad or even different, to what creeps actually are, to the whole net worth thing and touched briefly on some items. If I tried to list everything Breaky taught me about Dota 2 during TI I would still be typing this into next month. Let's just say, I now understand the basics, but definitely couldn't pick up the game and play.

By the end of TI, I do have to say, I really enjoyed watching the games now that I knew more than just "loud noises and bright colors=fight". I was able to cheer along with everyone else because I recognized that things were happening. Super cool to be able to appreciate the game so much more.

As a wife, I found this experience to be absolutely helpful in understanding what my husband does everyday for a living and the environment he deals with. I think this brought us together as a couple and I hope to continue to learn about the game and interact with the wonderful community (most of them at least) that I experienced this past week.

What did I do when I got back from TI? Bubble bath of course. We did a lot of walking and talking and all that, and I was sore and exhausted. This geek wife needed her R&R.

Thanks again to everyone we hung out with, and thanks to those who helped hook us up with passes and swag and stuff! I look forward to attending more events, and tuning in and understanding more and more Dota matches!