Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yi and Wang Han enjoyed trying DOTA’s heroes and cosmetics, then played a harder bot match that ended in victory despite a teammate abandoning the game. As open beta players explored DOTA, Chen Xu monitored the launch data and recognized that the game would not appeal to everyone.

• Wang Han celebrated her Ogre Magi performance and chose Crystal Maiden for another bot match, while Zhang Yi decided to try a different hero.
• Zhang Yi browsed cosmetics, became interested in Nessaj’s Arcana, and used the hero skill videos to learn about Shadow Fiend.
• Zhang Yi and Wang Han queued together in the same lane on Normal difficulty, where two teammates played recklessly and their mid player quit to pick up his son.
• Zhang Yi built an equipment advantage on Shadow Fiend and helped the team defeat the Normal bots.
• Zhang Yi and Wang Han concluded that bad teammates were DOTA’s biggest threat, while Chen Xu watched the open beta data and noted that players had varied reactions.

As DOTA’s open beta drew heated comparisons with Warcraft, Chen Xu played a match using bots modeled on professional teams and invited Yang Xin to try them. Yang Xin expected an easy game, but the bots’ unusual behavior left her wondering why her creeps had advanced onto the enemy high ground.

• Players debated whether DOTA was less competitive than Warcraft, while Chen Xu expected those comparisons to fade as players learned the game.
• Chen Xu won a match as Phantom Lancer, and Yang Xin discovered he had been playing against bots.
• Chen Xu invited Yang Xin to play against bots whose names carried professional team tags, explaining that DOTA would eventually promote professional competitions.
• Yang Xin chose Monkey King and watched her bot teammates use Smoke of Deceit and place an Observer Ward near mid.
• Yang Xin noticed that the creeps had run onto the enemy high ground and grew confused.

Yang Xin discovered that the Shadow Fiend AI Chen Xu had created was far stronger than the development team and eventually lost the match. As Chen Xu explained that the AI was for testing strategies and might later become a player challenge, DOTA’s trial drew growing crowds and positive reviews.

• Yang Xin struggled to last-hit against the Shadow Fiend AI, which denied creeps, harassed her Monkey King, and gained a commanding level lead.
• Yang Xin paused the match and asked Chen Xu why the AI was so strong, and he confirmed it outmatched the developers.
• The AI teams fought a fierce mid-lane battle, but Yang Xin’s team lost with her as its only human player.
• Chen Xu explained that the AI was testing game mechanics and strategies, and that he planned to make a more accessible version for players to challenge.
• As DOTA’s non-wipe trial continued, more players joined, gaming cafés filled with groups playing it, and the game’s popularity and positive reviews steadily rose.

DOTA’s popularity surged as players discovered its progression, teamwork, and match-to-match variety, while online guides helped skilled players develop quickly. After reviewing the game’s growth and the fiercely competitive support players, Chen Xu prepared to release a new version with events and Ranked Mode.

• DOTA’s promotion and short matches drew in players, who found familiar MMORPG rewards in farming, teamwork, and unpredictable games.
• Players shared newly discovered techniques online, and skill differences grew quickly as DOTA spread across video and livestreaming platforms.
• Chen Xu noticed that skilled players had yet to develop strong support strategies, though supports were already buying Healing Salves and Little Blue for their carries.
• Yang Xin reviewed DOTA’s data while Ruan Ningxue complained that she stole last hits and never bought her Healing Salves.
• Chen Xu told the team to prepare the new version, which would add benefit events and Ranked Mode without numerical changes.

DOTA’s new version introduced the Demolisher Engineer, an AI challenge event, and Ranked Mode, exciting players eager to test the updates. Zhang Yi, Song Ren, and Wang Han decided to try the AI challenge before risking ranked matches.

• DOTA’s update launched with a new CG introducing Demolisher Engineer, also known as Techies.
• Chen Xu added the new hero, Arcana skins, and a cooperative AI challenge with rewards and player buffs.
• The update opened Ranked Mode with tiered ranks, role selection, hero bans, and a requirement of one hundred normal matches.
• At the internet cafe, Song Ren wanted to play ranked, but Wang Han warned that skilled players and unfamiliar picks would make early matches risky.
• Zhang Yi, Song Ren, and Wang Han agreed to try the AI challenge instead.

Song Ren tried to prove that Sven could beat Shadow Fiend in the new version, but the opposing AI Nessaj repeatedly outplayed him in mid. After dying twice, Song Ren was left questioning how Shadow Wave had hit him again.

• Zhang Yi, Song Ren, and Wang Han entered a match against AI opponents modeled after WINGS GAMING, and Song Ren chose Sven after the AI took Shadow Fiend.
• Song Ren traded attacks with Nessaj, but Nessaj used Shadow Wave to kill him and claim First Blood.
• Song Ren returned to mid behind in levels and farm while Zhang Yi and Wang Han struggled against the AI in the bottom lane.
• At level 5, Song Ren attacked Nessaj again, hoping Sven’s low-health passive would let him trade kills.
• Nessaj used a sidestep and his superior movement speed to land another Shadow Wave, killing Song Ren and crushing his comeback hopes.

Song Ren and his friends were overwhelmed by DOTA’s powerful AI opponents, but learned new techniques before losing their match. As players explored the AI and shared strategies, DOTA’s popularity surged, and Chen Xu prepared to move on to the game’s next stage.

• Song Ren, Zhang Yi, Wang Han, and their teammates struggled against the AI’s precise laning, item use, and teamfighting, while picking up techniques such as pulling creeps and switching Power Treads attributes.
• The team lost their AI match 7–27, and Zhang Yi teased Song Ren about his Sven before they decided to play another match with stronger tower defenders.
• Players tried the new modes and discovered that AI-versus-AI matches showcased coordinated tactics, powerful combinations, and advanced strategies.
• DOTA’s active player count surpassed seventeen million as the game’s popularity continued to grow.
• Chen Xu concluded that DOTA’s early content had put the game on track and turned to its next stage of development.

Grayson reluctantly took charge of FOW’s VR game Olympus, which aimed to capitalize on DOTA’s success, while Chen Xu dismissed it as no real competitor. Chen Xu then planned to develop the Greek God of War trilogy as his next game, laying the groundwork for players to understand Kratos’s story.

• Grayson studied DOTA extensively and considered how its gameplay might work in VR as he prepared to lead FOW’s new project.
• FOW announced Olympus, a VR game featuring Greek Gods as player-controlled heroes, and DOTA players asked Chen Xu why he had not made a VR version.
• Chen Xu decided that DOTA’s top-down perspective and established player habits made a VR version unnecessary, and he was confident DOTA would retain its PC audience.
• Chen Xu planned to make a genuinely satisfying game after DOTA and chose the original Greek God of War trilogy, incorporating selected elements from God of War: Ascension.
• Chen Xu decided to release the Greek trilogy before the Norse-set God of War so players could understand Kratos’s past and his later emotions and choices.

Chen Xu outlined DOTA’s future content and explained how Nebula Games would adapt God of War’s story and gameplay for VR. The team questioned the game’s difficulty and ending, and Chen Xu promised an exhilarating challenge that would culminate in the Valkyries.

• Chen Xu planned holiday events, new heroes, and later additions such as Talent Mode, neutral items, and optional DOTA modes for casual players.
• Chen Xu described expanding God of War’s Greek settings for VR, making QTEs more physical, and filling in missing parts of Kratos’s backstory.
• Yang Xin, Qin Yi, Ruan Ningxue, and the project team reacted with surprise to God of War’s difficulty options and Kratos’s survival at the end.
• Chen Xu told the team to stop imagining the game as an unfair ordeal and said the Valkyries in Odin’s Hidden Chamber would provide a serious challenge.

FOW’s Olympus drew players with its DOTA-inspired VR action gameplay as Nebula Games announced a trial for God of War. Zhang Yi began the game on Story difficulty and watched Kratos leap from Greece’s highest peak, wondering why the protagonist had that name instead of Ares.

• FOW promoted Olympus as a VR game combining DOTA-style tactics with FPS and action combat, and opened it for testing.
• Chen Xu announced that God of War would soon release a trial version on the Nebula Game Platform.
• After losing five DOTA matches, Song Ren chose to play Olympus while Zhang Yi decided to try God of War first.
• Zhang Yi entered God of War, selected Story difficulty, and saw the muscular, tattooed Kratos begin falling from a cliff.
• A narrator said Kratos had leaped from Greece’s highest peak after ten years of suffering, leaving Zhang Yi confused about why the God of War was named Kratos rather than Ares.

Zhang Yi began playing "God of War" and delighted in mowing down monsters with Kratos on easy difficulty. He looked forward to unlocking more combos and facing the game's colossal bosses.

• Zhang Yi entered the game as Kratos plunged into the sea, then arrived on a ship in the Aegean Sea three weeks earlier.
• Zhang Yi followed the prompts and used Kratos's chained blades to slaughter the monsters attacking the ship.
• Zhang Yi enjoyed the game's brutal executions and chose to keep playing on easy difficulty.
• Zhang Yi reflected on how the game centered on Kratos's satisfying combat, combos, and battles against enormous bosses.

Zhang Yi guided Kratos through a brutal battle against Hydra, using QTEs and Poseidon's magic to kill the monster. After Kratos retrieved the golden key from the captain Hydra had swallowed, he let the man fall back into the creature's stomach, leaving Zhang Yi shocked by Kratos's ruthless behavior.

• Zhang Yi led Kratos into the ship's flooded cabin, where Hydra attacked and triggered a boss battle.
• Zhang Yi completed a QTE that let Kratos injure Hydra, pierce its eye, and drive it back across the ship.
• Kratos fought Hydra's remaining heads, pinned them with the ship's anchors, and used Poseidon's magic and the mast to kill the monster.
• Kratos found the swallowed captain alive inside Hydra and tore the golden key from his chest.
• Kratos let the captain fall back into Hydra's stomach, shocking Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi played the God of War demo, learned that Kratos had been ordered by Athena to stop Ares from destroying Athens, and eagerly preordered the trilogy after the demo ended. The surprise release sparked widespread excitement and discussion among players as they waited for the full game.

• Kratos abandoned the captain, slaughtered monsters, and demanded that Athena free him from the nightmares haunting him after ten years of service to the gods.
• Athena assigned Kratos a final task: defeat her brother Ares, who was attacking Athens, and promised that his past sins would be forgiven if he succeeded.
• The demo ended before Zhang Yi could continue, so he preordered the God of War trilogy collection and started the demo again at a higher difficulty.
• Players across the community praised the demo’s combat, spectacle, and violent impact, while discussing Kratos’s morality and complaining about the wait for the full release.

Players experienced the story of God of War 1, following Kratos from Ares’s betrayal and the deaths of his family to his victory over Ares. The gods refused to erase Kratos’s guilt, and Athena offered him Ares’s vacant throne, leaving Zhang Yi angry at their word games.

• Kratos’s past revealed that he had bargained with Ares for victory, then unknowingly killed his wife and daughter under the god’s scheme.
• Kratos served the Olympian gods for ten years before Athena sent him to defeat Ares and promised relief from his nightmares.
• Kratos found Pandora’s Box after surviving trials and climbing back from Hell, then used its power to kill Ares.
• The Olympian gods told Kratos they could not erase his guilt, and despair drove him to leap from a cliff.
• Athena saved Kratos and offered him the vacant throne of the God of War, which he accepted.
• Zhang Yi watched Athena explain the gods’ decision and complained that they were deceiving Kratos with a word game.

Zhang Yi experienced God of War’s escalating battles and story as Kratos pursued revenge against Zeus and Olympus. The chapter left Kratos and the Titans poised to face the gathered Olympian Gods.

• Zhang Yi reflected on Kratos’s past, his family losses, and his growing hatred of the gods.
• Kratos was betrayed and killed by Zeus, then rescued by Gaia, who told him to seek The Three Fates to rewrite history.
• Kratos defeated The Three Fates and returned to the moment Zeus betrayed him, but Athena sacrificed herself to save Zeus and revealed that Kratos was Zeus’s son.
• Kratos joined Gaia and the other giants, and they returned to the Holy War Era to take revenge on Zeus and Olympus.
• Zhang Yi reached the game’s final chapter and was stunned by the increasingly brutal battles against the Olympian Gods.

Zhang Yi played through Kratos’s revenge against the Greek gods, ending with Kratos giving humanity the power of hope after defeating Zeus. Though Kratos stabbed himself with the Divine Sword, his body vanished and his blood formed a Phoenix symbol, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Kratos killed Helios and other gods and Titans as their deaths brought floods, darkness, and destruction to the Greek world.
• Zhang Yi defeated Zeus, then discovered that the final beating continued until he stopped punching.
• Athena revealed that the power of hope had passed into Kratos and asked him to give it to her so she could reshape the world.
• Kratos refused Athena and stabbed himself with the Divine Sword, releasing the power of hope to humanity.
• Athena pulled the sword from Kratos’s chest, but his body disappeared, leaving only blood in the shape of a Phoenix.

After God of War 3 left Kratos’s fate uncertain, players debated whether the series would continue. Nebula Games released a short video confirming Kratos survived and teasing a sequel, but his aged appearance raised new questions.

• Zhang Yi wondered whether Kratos had survived and whether a sequel could continue after he killed the Greek gods.
• Players argued online over whether Kratos had died and whether God of War could have another installment.
• Nebula Games and Chen Xu’s Official Blog released a video showing an older Kratos chopping down a tree with an axe.
• Players recognized Kratos and questioned why he looked aged and whether he was still the same man.

Players reacted to the reveal and launch of New God of War, which featured an older, calmer Kratos and a new direction for the series. Zhang Yi began playing and saw Kratos travel by boat with a boy named Atreus, leaving players wondering who the child was and what had changed in Kratos’s life.

• A short promotional video confirmed Kratos was alive and showed him as an older, calmer man, exciting players and raising questions about the sequel.
• Chen Xu’s God of War was revealed as a distinct sequel rather than God of War IV, with Norse setting, RPG elements, and a stronger focus on storytelling.
• FOW worried that New God of War’s publicity had disrupted its plans to promote Olympus during its public beta.
• New God of War launched on the Nebula Game Platform in mid-June, and players were surprised by how much Kratos had changed.
• Zhang Yi watched Kratos cut down a Big Tree, hide his bandaged left hand, and take a boy named Atreus with him in a boat.

Zhang Yi played the new God of War and was surprised by Kratos’s older, more restrained life with his son, Atreus. After their hunt began badly and they fought Undead Soldiers, Zhang Yi wondered whether the story would eventually lead Kratos to battle the gods of Norse Mythology.

• Zhang Yi noticed that Kratos had grown older and had a son, and he reflected on how the game’s slower pace differed from the Greek trilogy.
• Kratos took Atreus hunting, then controlled his anger and taught him to wait for the right moment to shoot after Atreus scared away an elk.
• Zhang Yi criticized Atreus as timid and impulsive while following the elk’s trail with Kratos.
• Undead Soldiers attacked, and Atreus supported Kratos with arrows as Kratos fought with a battle axe.
• Zhang Yi struggled with the axe’s combat style but enjoyed throwing it and calling it back, then speculated that Kratos might eventually fight the gods of Norse Mythology.

As Zhang Yi played, Kratos helped Atreus kill a deer and then fought the Mountain Troll, showing Zhang Yi how much the father had changed. After the battle, Zhang Yi mocked Atreus as a deadweight and upgraded Kratos's axe while ignoring his son's bow.

• Kratos guided Atreus in killing the wounded deer after Atreus could not bring himself to stab it alone.
• A Mountain Troll emerged and began the first boss battle, with Atreus assisting Kratos by shooting arrows.
• Zhang Yi focused on Kratos's attacks and defeated the troll with a brutal finishing move.
• Atreus stabbed the dead troll while claiming he was not afraid, then pulled a muscle, prompting Zhang Yi to mock his weakness.
• Zhang Yi collected the boss's drops, upgraded Kratos's axe skill, and ignored the option to improve Atreus's bow.