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In the office, Chen Xu also drafted a simple design concept document for DOTA.

This concept document was the most complex one so far, because it had to take different versions and the addition of items into account.

For a game like DOTA, any minor adjustment could create an entirely different pace. It truly was a case of one change affecting everything.

For example, increasing bounty rewards for kills would shift the entire game's pace toward ganking.

Heroes such as Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit, Gyrocopter, and Troll Warlord, who focused on fighting during the early and mid-game, would inevitably see more play.

Meanwhile, traditional hard carries like Medusa and Morphling would see their pick rates drop dramatically.

Likewise, weakening tower mechanics would determine whether pushing-oriented heroes such as Death Prophet, Shadow Shaman, Chen, and Nature's Prophet saw higher or lower pick rates.

Combined with adjustments to hero skills and items, such as increased prices or mana costs, these seemingly insignificant changes could make an item wildly popular or completely ignored. The Mekansm Shadow Fiend from his previous life was a classic example.

As for monetization, Chen Xu did not intend to make many changes.

DOTA's monetization model itself was already quite mature.

There were cosmetic parts of different rarities, such as Immortals and Arcanas, as well as Battle Passes tied to league events. DOTA's payment rate was definitely not low.

What truly concerned Chen Xu was where to place the emphasis between the game's competitive nature and its balance.

DOTA had gone through countless version changes, and every major overhaul had players saying, "This isn't the DOTA I wanted."

For instance, adding a Buyback Cooldown and a Seventh Slot, introducing Neutral Items, removing Attribute Points and adding the Talent System, giving TP its own dedicated slot to prevent situations