The Dota 2 Halloween-themed Diretide event was a successful one. This makes expectations for Dota 2's upcoming Winter-themed event high. For Dota 2 fans, we won't have to wait for much longer. Valve has just announced that the Dota 2 Mistwood Update will be coming this Thursday.

As expected, reactions to the upcoming update have been positive and enthusiastic. There's nothing more exciting than a new update for a game you love. This is especially true when fans are expecting a new hero coming for the next patch. But so far, Valve has been mum about the specifics of the Dota 2 Mistwood Update. We'll have to wait for its launch before we find out what's in store for us.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DOTA 2 MISTWOOD UPDATE

Based on Valve's previous Dota 2 Blog post from last month, fans can expect a new hero to come out this coming Thursday.

Valve / Dota 2

“On the gameplay front, our original plan for the new hero was November 30th, however she needs a bit more time to cozy up for the winter. We will be releasing her, along with the 7.28 gameplay update, in mid December.”

Who the new character will be, no one can tell. As far as speculations go, we can expect someone from the Artifact universe to finally make a debut. One of the top candidates is Sorla Khan of the Oglodi tribe, an acquaintance of Axe who is hunting him for his transgressions towards the Red Army.

Aside from the new hero, we expect major balance changes to the heroes when the new update rolls out. Some heroes who have been dominant from the previous patch such as Sven and Phoenix might receive nerfs. Meanwhile, heroes who haven't seen much competitive play recently like Tinker might receive some much-needed boosts. The game's slow pace might also change when Thursday comes around, and we can probably return to a faster-paced game.