Dota 2 updates with new tutorials, Twitch.tv account link

Dota 2 continues to send out wave after wave of update, as part of Valve's plan to knock over the big fiery tower between them and an official release. I'm assured that's how game development works. The latest patch bolsters the beta's previously lackluster tutorial - giving newbies a chance to play Sniper in a round-up of more advanced lessons. But this week isn't just focused on players in their first hour: a new deal with Twitch.tv will let you watch tournaments through the streaming service while still accruing those precious Dota 2 rewards.

Six new tutorial missions have been added - a welcome addition to Dragon Knight's basic, and arguably counter-productive opener. These will take new players through the basics of towers, the courier, and seemingly all the other peculiarities of the genre. After this, a new Limited Heroes mode will let players loose on the world with a reduced selection of 20 characters - giving a smaller, more understandable base pool to learn before stepping up to the full roster.

Valve also struck a deal with streaming giant Twitch.tv this week. Twitch users can now link their account to their Steam profile, allowing them to earn tournament drops while viewing streams through the site, instead of just inside the in-game client. As Twitch point out : "No longer will you have to to choose between watching events on either DotaTV or Twitch, and risk missing out on your in-game rewards."

"We realize that people have different reasons why they prefer to watch in game or via streams and wanted to bridge the gap of features they were missing out on by choosing the service that works for them the most," write Valve .

If new tutorials were the push you needed to jump into a lane, you can ask this lovely robot for a key.