Puppet Master and Valkyrie: Which Characters May Appear in Dota 2

This year, Dota 2 fans have lost not only the spectacular The International but also all the goodies that Valve usually treats us in August, coinciding with the tournament of the year. One of the most anticipated annual events introduces new characters into the game. This year, everything is different. Valve has just released a letter, where they share news about Dota Plus and Wykrhm Reddy told us that there will be a newbie soon.

But Team Secret are all about what we are going to do next:

Let's sort out the hottest theories there are!

New Dota 2 Heroes

Some of the most meticulous researchers post their observations on the game's code changes on Reddit. It is in this way that new names of heroes most often come up. Although SirBelvedere mentioned that there are many inactive placeholder names in Dota 2, this method is quite useful. For example, here's a post revealing some unused code lines in Dota 2 game client.

Freya, the Valkyrie 

Skauzers, a Reddit user and dataminer, found mentions of a hero that had not been previously seen in the game code. The name of the new character is Freya, the Valkyrie. In support of his guesses, he attached lines in which Mars addresses the female character:

• "Together again. This time it will be different, I promise!"
• “Where does the time go, my dear? You have been away for too long..."

Of course, these phrases do not give a 100% guarantee that we are talking about Freya, the Valkyrie. But there is an interesting angle to look at this. At a past The International, Void Spirit, originated from Chinese mythology, was added to the game since TI took place in Shanghai. Yes, there was also Snapfire, but let's be honest, it didn't become the cherry on top. According to the same principle, Valve could probably prepare a hero from Scandinavian mythology to be shown at TI in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

The name Valkyrie can mean a formidable warrior on a winged horse, who, according to the legends of German-Scandinavian mythology, determined which of the warriors who fell in battle should go to Valhalla. She was a guide to the kingdom of the dead for brave warriors. If the Valkyrie really becomes the prototype of the new character, then outwardly she may remind us of Queen of Pain or Skywrath Mage. But definitely not Keeper of the Light, although also on a horse. She may well refer to the goddess of love and war Freya, a resident of Asgard, which resembles Mars' lines above.

Trivia: Since Valkyries have wings, they have hollow bones, and Wraith King's unused line says: “Hollow bones? Why I'd kill you again if you weren't already dead.“

Puppet Master or Puppeteer? New Dota 2 Character

In addition to Valkyrie, another character actively appears in the Dota 2 files. Puppet Master or "Puppeteer", interestingly, a character with a similar name already exists in another well-known game Heroes of Newerth.

Rumors: Some say that Valve has signed ex-HoN developers and acquired all the papers needed to add new heroes to Dota 2 from HoN.

Dataminers report that the name Puppet Master has been in the game client for a very long time. Therefore, it is unknown whether this is a new character, ability, or something else. Perhaps this is an unused code for past events. SirActionSlacks added fuel to the fire. About 4 months ago, during a podcast, he confidently announced the imminent release of a character who would control the minds of enemies. No official confirmation of this guess has yet been found. By the way, the HoN character Puppet Master really controls the will of his puppets.

Other New Dota 2 Possible Characters

There are also possibilities of other Dota 2 characters that might come to the game. The most talked-about are Bruiser, someone from Greek mythology, a melee warrior; Vampire, a hero similar to LoL's Yasuo whose name says it all; Sea Mystic and Rat King.

The datamined list expanded to 19 personalities. Reddit user UnnamedUser found more data in the game files, which may refer to new characters in Dota 2. In addition to the list of 19 new names, there are also mentions of new abilities.

Full list of character names:

• Puppet Master
• Valkyrie
• Vampire
• Bruiser
• Corpse Mother
• Grendel
• Hoplite
• Mouse
• Rat King (alias Mouse)
• Peddler
• Primal Beast
• Sea Mystic
• Engineer
• Fairy
• Fighter Monk
• Squirrel
• Staging Viking
• Toad
• Zephyrus

We probably won't see a Valkyrie release soon with Puppet Master coming first this November. But in a few months, as Valve says "in 2021's first quarter", there definitely will bo another one. 

But remember: it all might not be true, sadly:

Bonus! Danko the Dolpin!

Do you remember Danko? No? Go and read! Since Valve are now communicating with the community (excuse us), maybe we should ask them?

Danko the Dolphin — new Dota 2 character!

With almost a 100% confidence, we can tell that the closest heroes to be released are Valkyrie or Puppet Master, since they were planned to be out there at TI10 in August. 

Valve, we are waiting!