Valve on Bug-Catching Duty: Naga Siren Affected by Bug on TI12 Day 2

As The International 2023 (TI12) steps into the next phase, Dota 2 enthusiasts and professionals were met with yet another bug-related hiccup during the tournament. On Day 2, the game between Tundra Esports and PSG Quest unveiled a peculiar issue: Tundra Esports’ Neta “33” Shapira, on the Doom, could tell the real Naga Siren, played by Aybek “TA2000” Tokayev, from her illusions. This comes after a game-breaking bug that disrupted the face-off between Azure Ray and Thunder Awaken on Day 1.

Now, two bugs have already been spotted in the opening two days of TI12, with many questions thrown at Valve. 

Rematch Offer Declined by PSG Quest

At the start of the match, PSG Quest faced hardware issues and paused the game, while Tundra Esports faced some connectivity problems. This resulted in the game being paused and unpaused multiple times. On top of this, the Doom hero had to disconnect and reconnect many times.

On one such occasion, after reconnecting to the game, 33 on Doom stated that he was able to distinguish the real Naga Siren from her illusions. In response to the Naga Siren bug, Tundra Esports, displaying sportsmanship and a commitment to fairness, offered to remake the game. PSG Quest, however, chose to continue the game despite the disadvantage it presented. 

English commentators theorized that this bug may have been triggered by Doom disconnecting and then reconnecting, leading the game to perceive Doom as a spectator rather than a player.

Naga Siren, known for her illusions, thrives on deceiving and confounding enemies, thus elongating her survival in team fights as adversaries mistakenly target her illusions instead of the real hero. However, this bug allowed Doom to consistently identify the real Naga Siren among her illusions, diminishing the usual deception.

Remarkably, PSG Quest’s Naga Siren, even while battling against this substantial disadvantage, managed to break a record for the highest Gold Per Minute ever achieved in the history of The International. The game remained fiercely competitive, enduring for an astonishing 87 minutes before concluding, with PSG Quest ultimately on the losing side.

At the 78th minute, the bug mysteriously disappeared, and Doom could no longer discern the actual Naga Siren from her illusions, marking a significant turning point in the game. 

“I don’t see illusion btw,” 33 remarked in the in-game chat.

TI12’s Start Marred by Bugs

Following the initial game-breaking bug’s discovery on Day 1, Valve promptly released an update aimed at resolving numerous bugs. However, there seem to be many bugs and glitches that have not been addressed by Valve so far that keep cropping up in the grandest stage of Dota 2 esports. Dota 2 teams and players are still unsure about what unknown bugs might unpredictably disrupt the fairness of matches. 

Before releasing the small bug-fix patch on 13th October, Valve was bombarded with complaints about server lags and DotaTV not functioning as expected. This also prevented fans from making in-game predictions for TI12 for their Compendium progression. These persistent challenges emphasize the need for ongoing vigilance and diligence in addressing bugs and ensuring the integrity of the competition at The International 2023.