“Essentially, we’ve gotten a seasonal Battle Pass, which Dota has been sorely lacking”—the community on “Dark Carnival”

Professional players and streamers have shared their thoughts on “The Dark Carnival”—a story-driven event with rewards.
Quotes are reproduced with the original spelling and punctuation from the sources
Commentator Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov suggested lowering expectations and viewing the event as a seasonal Battle Pass:
In fact, we’ve gotten a seasonal battle pass, which Dota has been sorely lacking. A ton of paid and unlockable items—and pretty cool ones at that. All of this wrapped up in lore.
10/10
Overall, I didn’t expect you to take this update well, but I think it’s all about expectations.
This update is a seasonal battle pass. And for a seasonal battle pass, it’s actually pretty good. The problem is that initial expectations for it went through the roof for some reason. I’m not entirely sure why.
Caster Daria “Eiritel” Morozova pointed out the robotic Morphling:
For some reason, they messed up with Morphling. They gave the lowest-poly model a toy-like appearance made of wooden blocks :D
Staying true to the spirit of the original
Team Yandex offlaner Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin:
A few words about the event. Overall, it’s just another event. Basically, Crownfall or Dark Carnival—it makes no difference. The sets are a matter of personal taste, so check them out for yourselves. Personally, I won’t be spending anything on this because there’s nothing interesting at all.
What can I say—they’d be better off nerfing Lone Druid already than releasing this. Although it’s fine for regular grinders.
Support player PARIVISION Andrei “Dukalis” Kuropatkin immediately compared the event to “Fallen Crown”:
The event is *** [good], just like Crownfall; the Whisp had already been defeated
Commentator Gleb “y0nd” Vainov gave the update high marks:
Alright, I watched the whole thing.
It’s JUST *** [awesome]
Host Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner was pleased with the story element:
I, for one, welcome “The Fallen Crown” and am ready for new lore.
Dark Carnival takes place in three stages; the second will begin on July 10, and the final stage will start two weeks after the previous one. Players are awarded special tickets for participating in regular matches, which can be spent to progress through the event’s storyline.
Photo by Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov.

![Photo of No[o]ne at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 — DOTA](/img/d24a6df70b97f94cd94afce97-e1782462619253.jpg.webp)
