Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yi defeated Genichiro Ashina in the reeds, but Genichiro sacrificed himself with the Immortal Blade to summon Isshin Ashina from the underworld. Zhang Yi began fighting Isshin, the legendary Blademaster, but died in their first encounter as Isshin returned toward Ashina Castle.

• Zhang Yi recognized Genichiro’s Immortal Blade as Open Gate and focused on defeating him in the reeds.
• Zhang Yi overcame Genichiro’s faster attacks and filled his Posture Bar, defeating him after a hard fight.
• Genichiro used Open Gate to sacrifice himself and summon Isshin Ashina from the underworld.
• Isshin declared that he would kill Sekiro and challenged Zhang Yi to a final battle.
• Zhang Yi struggled against Isshin’s swift, varied techniques and died as Isshin turned toward Ashina Castle.

Zhang Yi repeatedly challenged Isshin Ashina, learning his first-phase attacks and finally defeating him, only to discover that Isshin's second phase brought a halberd and a rapid-fire musket. The fight continued to overwhelm him as he wondered how the legendary Blademaster had changed with the times.

• Zhang Yi struggled against Isshin Ashina, dying repeatedly as he tried to build Isshin's Posture Bar through deflections and aggressive attacks.
• Zhang Yi decided Isshin required relentless offense and kept retrying while easily defeating Genichiro with Tomo's style.
• Zhang Yi mastered Isshin's first phase and filled his Posture Bar, then pierced him with Kusabimaru.
• Isshin Ashina entered his second phase, wielding a halberd and firing a five-shot musket volley that stunned Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi struggled against Isshin Ashina, whose concealed firearm and relentless combat style made the Blademaster a punishing final test. After repeated attempts, Zhang Yi reached Isshin’s third stage and watched him summon lightning, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Zhang Yi died to Isshin Ashina’s concealed firearm and complained that the Blademaster’s gunfight tactics were unfair.
• Zhang Yi compared Isshin’s underhanded methods with Genichiro Ashina’s flashy, outdated attacks and Owl’s arsenal of tricks.
• Zhang Yi defeated Genichiro Ashina but repeatedly fell to Isshin, eventually reaching the Blademaster’s second form with little healing left.
• Zhang Yi reflected on how Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice forced players to master its combat without online help or easy builds.
• After many deaths, Zhang Yi improved his counters and strikes until Kusabimaru pierced Isshin and triggered his third stage.
• Isshin called down golden lightning, surprising Zhang Yi because he recognized the move as another form of Gratis Lightning.

Zhang Yi defeated Isshin Ashina and chose an ending in which Wolf severed Kuro’s immortality by killing him, then took his own life. Convinced that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice had a more satisfying hidden ending, Zhang Yi searched the forums for clues and spotted a promising post.

• Zhang Yi mastered Isshin Ashina’s moves and defeated him with a deathblow.
• Isshin Ashina accepted his death, and Zhang Yi beheaded him with the Immortal Blade.
• Zhang Yi chose to give Kuro both the Cherry Dragon’s Tears and the Everblossom Flower, and Wolf killed Kuro to end his immortality.
• Wolf later told Emma and Kuro that he would live as a human and then die as his shinobi had, leaving Zhang Yi stunned by the ending.
• Zhang Yi stayed in New Game Plus to pursue the Hatred Demon and searched the forums for a hidden ending.
• Zhang Yi noticed a forum post that caught his attention.

Zhang Yi read about the difficult requirements for Sekiro’s hidden Return to the Dragon’s Home ending as players debated which of the game’s endings was the true resolution. As guides spread, players continued struggling with mandatory bosses, while the hopeful ending won broad approval for leaving Sekiro, Kuro, Emma, and the Divine Child alive.

• Zhang Yi read a post detailing the items and steps needed to unlock Return to the Dragon’s Home, including obtaining persimmons and the white snake’s heart.
• Players who cleared Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice argued over whether severing immortality, severing the Dragon’s Heritage, or returning it home was the true ending, while many avoided the Shura route.
• Players shared guides to the endings as others struggled against mandatory bosses and found that grinding could not make up for weak combat skills.
• Players welcomed Return to the Dragon’s Home because it left Sekiro, Kuro, Emma, and the Child of Rejuvenation alive and offered them hope.

Chen Xu prepared Despair Mode for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with tougher enemies, altered moves and a speedrun leaderboard, while Qin Yi struggled to test it. Before the mode was released, Song Ren found his second playthrough punishing enough and reclaimed Kuro’s Charm after repeatedly dying to Lady Butterfly.

• Chen Xu explained that Despair Mode would enhance enemy stats, moves and AI, remove danger warnings, and remain active through the story and gauntlets.
• Qin Yi failed to beat the Red Demon during a Despair Mode test and asked Chen Xu if the mode was too difficult.
• Chen Xu ordered the difficulty increased, arguing that players expected a challenge from a mode called Despair Mode.
• Song Ren began a second playthrough and found that tougher enemies and health-draining imperfect deflections made the game far harder than his earlier runs of Bloodborne and Dark Souls.
• After dying to Lady Butterfly’s Phantom Orbs, Song Ren returned to the Sculptor and took Kuro’s Charm back.

Players struggled with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s newly released Despair Mode while Chen Xu considered Nebula Games’ next projects. After spotting a Warcraft editor map being tested by his employees, he learned its creator worked at Atari and asked Qin Yi to contact him about joining Nebula Games.

• Despair Mode transformed familiar enemy patterns and removed Danger warnings, leaving even veteran players struggling as top players competed for clear times.
• Chen Xu reviewed Nebula Games’ World of Warcraft update plans and decided players could use a lighter experience after Sekiro.
• Chen Xu found Yang Xin, Ruan Ningxue, Qin Yi, Meng Zuo, and Hutu playing a rudimentary 5v5 Warcraft editor map.
• Qin Yi explained that his friend at Atari had created the unreleased map, and Chen Xu asked Qin Yi to invite him to work at Nebula Games.

Chen Xu analyzed the existing hero-control maps and decided Nebula Games should develop DOTA, believing its comeback potential and Warcraft-compatible mechanics made it a better next step than releasing a similar game alongside it. He began considering how to shape the game, especially how to avoid leaving support players with little to do or enjoy.

• Chen Xu learned that the existing 5v5 map grew out of earlier custom maps and focused on controlling a single hero with skills and items.
• Chen Xu concluded that balance mattered less than giving players the chance to feel indispensable and turn a losing match around.
• Chen Xu compared DOTA and League of Legends and judged DOTA’s content support and beginner tutorial to be weak despite its strategic depth and strong battle-pass legacy.
• Chen Xu chose DOTA as Nebula Games’ next direction because Warcraft already supported mechanics such as denying and high-ground play, and releasing both games would make them compete with each other.
• Chen Xu considered how to design DOTA, noting that early support gameplay often left players under-equipped and easily killed after using their skills.

Chen Xu drafted DOTA’s design, weighing balance, map changes, monetization, and systems for helping new players learn. He settled on an early version focused on familiar mechanics, separate matchmaking and ranked modes, and beginner-friendly tutorials and heroes.

• Chen Xu considered how changes to rewards, towers, skills, and items could reshape DOTA’s pace and hero popularity.
• Chen Xu decided to retain Attribute Points and postpone the Talent System and Neutral Items, while giving Town Portal Scrolls their own slot and adding individual couriers that could become flying couriers.
• Chen Xu planned to add support-friendly changes but save items such as Shimmering Cloak, Lotus Orb, and Eternal Disk for later versions, and he chose an early map layout with Roshan’s lair in the Scourge’s Night Elves Ancient area.
• Chen Xu drafted separate ranked and matchmaking modes, requiring players to complete the Tutorial and a Co-op Bot Match before entering matchmaking.
• Chen Xu planned tutorial rewards, guaranteed early Immortal or Arcana chests, Item Build Guides, and a beginner matchmaking pool of accessible heroes.

Chen Xu brought Ismael and two other designers to Nebula Games to develop DOTA: Guardians of the Ancient Ruins, explaining why its variety and progression could sustain a standalone game. He then assigned Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin to make an animated series introducing DOTA’s world and supporting its promotion.

• Game designers debated whether VR would overtake PCs and other platforms as the main direction for gaming.
• Chen Xu welcomed Ismael and two other creators of the RPG map to Nebula Games and assigned them to Guardians of the Ancient Ruins.
• The new team reviewed Chen Xu’s DOTA concept draft and wondered whether the gameplay could support a standalone game.
• Chen Xu explained that DOTA’s appeal came from variety and progression rather than traditional RTS gameplay.
• Chen Xu assigned Ruan Ningxue and Yang Xin to coordinate an animation project for DOTA.

Chen Xu finalized the core direction for Nebula Games’ DOTA project, including its setting, promotional animation, and gameplay systems. As Sekiro’s popularity waned, Nebula Games announced a free Dragon’s Blood animated series, leaving players and the industry astonished.

• Chen Xu planned to use a Dragon’s Blood animation starring Davion to introduce DOTA’s world and promote the game, while casting himself as the Secret Shopkeeper.
• Chen Xu and the DOTA team settled on early-style mechanics and began intensive development, leaving balance and hero adjustments for testing and player feedback.
• As Sekiro’s popularity faded, FOW announced its PvP game Glory Warrior, Atari announced the thirty-versus-thirty Battlefield, and other developers revealed VR action games.
• Chen Xu announced that Nebula Games and WIS Studio would release the first season of Dragon’s Blood online for free, alongside images of Luna, Mirana, Davion, Slaark, Invoker Karl, and Terrorblade.
• Players and industry observers were stunned that Nebula Games was producing an animation with WIS Studio.

Nebula Games released the first season of Dragon's Blood, drawing viewers into its fantasy world and prompting speculation that it promoted a major new game. As DOTA neared completion, Chen Xu prepared its launch around the Spring Festival while FOW's Grayson remained unsure whether to risk competing with Nebula Games.

• WIS released Nebula Games-funded Dragon's Blood, whose expanded first season attracted viewers with its polished visuals and story.
• Viewers debated the characters and suspected that Dragon's Blood promoted a new game featuring characters such as Invoker Karl, Davion, and Mirana.
• Players and industry companies reacted with confusion after learning DOTA was a PC multiplayer competitive game derived from a Warcraft RPG map, though its world and characters were separate from Warcraft.
• Grayson studied DOTA's maps and creative ideas but hesitated to compete with Nebula Games because he doubted whether players would embrace its gameplay.
• Chen Xu oversaw DOTA's smooth development and finalized promotional plans featuring Monkey King, the Tinker Brothers, Pudge, Dwarf Sniper, Karl, and Storm Spirit.

The DOTA team tested the nearly finished game during breaks, and Yang Xin discovered how much she enjoyed playing Techies after earning a triple kill with a mine trap. The opposing players bought detection to counter her, but she adapted by hiding mines in new locations as Chen Xu watched the chaos.

• The developers played DOTA and argued over tactics while using the game’s recommended roles and beginner tutorials.
• Yang Xin complained that Techies was a boring support hero, but Chen Xu warned her that enemies were approaching their mid lane.
• Yang Xin detonated her mines beneath three enemies, earning a triple kill and deciding that Techies was really interesting.
• Yang Xin kept ambushing enemies with hidden mines, while the opposing developers bought Observer Wards and a Gem of True Sight to find them.
• Yang Xin shifted to planting mines on high ground and in the enemy jungle, and Chen Xu prepared to leave after Qin Yi was blown up by her mines.

Nebula Games promoted DOTA as a free-to-play PC game before launching its open beta, while players debated whether its apparent simplicity could live up to the hype. Zhang Yi and Wang Han began playing together ahead of their friends, plotting to take the carry roles and make the others contribute resources.

• Nebula Games announced that DOTA would be free to play and PC-only, prompting Atari and FOW to resume promoting their own games.
• Nebula Games released promotional CGs for Monkey King and Techies as players argued about DOTA's heroes, controls, and apparent lack of complexity.
• DOTA began a ten-day open beta with the store closed so Chen Xu and his team could gather data and adjust the multiplayer game.
• Zhang Yi and Wang Han started playing DOTA together before their friends arrived, planning to become the carries and have the others supply resources.

Zhang Yi and Wang Han explored DOTA’s hero roster and started its mandatory tutorial, which introduced the game’s basic controls and objectives. Zhang Yi finished the lesson, while Chen Xu’s tutorial design accounted for both experienced Warcraft players and newcomers.

• Zhang Yi and Wang Han opened DOTA and examined its interface and broad roster of heroes.
• Zhang Yi and Wang Han read the hero categories and speculated that the game involved controlling a hero, earning money, and buying equipment.
• Zhang Yi and Wang Han began a game and completed the mandatory tutorial, which explained the Radiant and Dire, the Ancients, and camera controls.
• Chen Xu had divided the tutorial into sections and designed fixed and movable camera options to help players with different levels of experience.

Zhang Yi and Wang Han completed DOTA’s Tutorial and opened account-bound cosmetic rewards, including rare Dragon Knight and Ogre Magi items. Chen Xu’s plans for tutorial drops, matchmaking rewards, leveling, and fragments were revealed as he aimed to retain players and encourage future purchases.

• Zhang Yi completed all but the final bot challenge in the Tutorial and opened a treasure bottle containing the Dragon Knight Persona Davion of Dragon Hold.
• Wang Han showed Zhang Yi her Ogre Magi Arcana and other valuable cosmetics, and they discussed how many rewards were unavailable for purchase or trade.
• Chen Xu had designed Tutorial drops to favor durable, beginner-friendly heroes and bind the items to accounts so they would not affect the market.
• Chen Xu planned cosmetic drops in matchmaking, treasure bottles from account leveling, and fragments that players could exchange for cosmetic items.
• Chen Xu expected the rewards and cosmetic effects to keep players engaged and eventually motivate them to make purchases.

Zhang Yi and Wang Han started an Easy bot match in DOTA, where their team explored hero roles and abilities while heading to lane. Zhang Yi questioned whether Ogre Magi belonged in the intelligence class after seeing the hero’s exceptional strength and durability.

• Zhang Yi and Wang Han queued for an Easy bot match, choosing Dragon Knight and Ogre Magi while three other players picked Terrorblade, Mirana, and Invoker Karl.
• The players bought starting items and headed to their lanes, with Zhang Yi and Wang Han going top and Wang Han placing both Observer Wards there.
• Karl’s player struggled to understand Invoker’s orbs and Invoke skill, so Zhang Yi suggested treating him as an attack-focused hero instead of switching spells.
• The Terrorblade and Mirana players praised their heroes’ stats and criticized Dragon Knight as weak, prompting Zhang Yi to inspect Ogre Magi’s attributes.
• Zhang Yi saw that Ogre Magi had more strength, armor, and health than Dragon Knight despite being an intelligence hero, and wondered which of them was really the support.

Zhang Yi and Wang Han tried a DOTA match, learning their heroes while marveling at the AI’s elaborate cosmetics. Their easy-lane start went smoothly, but another pair of players gave up First Blood to Timbersaw on the bottom lane.

• Zhang Yi chose Dragon Bloodline for Dragon Knight, then met Sven and Windranger and admired their cosmetics alongside Wang Han.
• Zhang Yi focused on last-hitting and denying while Wang Han’s tanky Ogre Magi harassed nearby enemies.
• Mirana and Terrorblade fought Timbersaw and Crystal Maiden on the bottom lane, where Timbersaw and Crystal Maiden killed Terrorblade for First Blood as Mirana escaped.
• Terrorblade stayed confident about his late-game build despite having little gold, while Zhang Yi bought two Strength Bracers and studied the item recommendations.

Zhang Yi and Wang Han reached level six in DOTA and teamed up to kill Sven and Windranger. Wang Han’s Ogre Magi outdamaged Zhang Yi’s Dragon Knight and gained a level, leaving Zhang Yi wondering which of them was really the support.

• Zhang Yi and Wang Han shared lane experience because Wang Han stayed beside him rather than roaming or yielding experience.
• Zhang Yi transformed his Dragon Knight and stunned Sven, then Wang Han used Ogre Magi’s spells to help kill him.
• Ogre Magi’s Multicast Flamebreak killed Sven, and Ignite burned Windranger to death, giving Wang Han a double kill.
• Wang Han reached level seven, bought Gloves of Haste, and enjoyed Ogre Magi’s kill announcements and the feeling of supporting her core.
• Zhang Yi continued last-hitting while questioning whether Dragon Knight or Ogre Magi was supposed to be the core.

Wang Han’s Ogre Magi outleveled and outfarmed Zhang Yi’s Dragon Knight, using Multicast to dominate the match. After their team defeated the bots, the players praised their heroes and Zhang Yi reviewed the detailed match statistics.

• Zhang Yi noticed Wang Han’s Ogre Magi had reached Level 18 and acquired far better equipment than his Dragon Knight.
• Wang Han’s Ogre Magi triggered a four-times Multicast on Flamebreak and killed Windranger, then used Hand of Midas to transmute four creeps and reach Level 19.
• Wang Han told Zhang Yi she was setting up last hits when she repeatedly cast Bloodlust, then pointed out that she was higher level than he was.
• The five players stayed in their lanes until their levels and equipment let them overwhelm the bots, and the match ended with Zhang Yi’s Dragon Knight at 7-0-21 and Wang Han’s Ogre Magi at 13-0-13.
• The Karl and Terrorblade players praised their heroes after the enemy base exploded, while Zhang Yi inspected the comprehensive post-match statistics.