Dark Moon

Dark Moon is an event that ran from January 26 to February 6, 2017. Players defended Selemene's temple from waves of invaders, and earned special event points that could be traded for rewards.

Gamemode

 * A team of 5 players defend against an onslaught of hordes for 15 rounds. Different enemies spawn each round with the spawns becoming harder every round.

Gameplay

 * 5 players defend the Temple at the very north against waves of enemies that spawn from four lanes, which are scattered in all other directions.
 * Almost each round has small units which come in masses and a few big units with special abilities.
 * Two of the rounds are bonus rounds meant to gain an economic advantage, while additional 2 are boss rounds.
 * Experience is gained by killing units (globally shared) and can be gained while dead.
 * Gold is gained by picking up gold bags which enemies can drop upon getting killed. Each round has its gold cap. The bags can be picked up by walking over them.
 * Enemies may also randomly drop instant health or mana restoring potions, which can be picked up by walking over them as well.
 * Between each rounds, players have 30 seconds time to regroup and buy items before the next round starts.
 * The game ends prematurely if the Ancient is destroyed, or if all five players die before round 15.

Buildings

 * 'For the details about the buildings, see here''.
 * The Temple is located towards the north of the map. It is part of the objective and must be kept alive.
 * Eight towers defend the Temple, four external ones and four internal ones.
 * Towers that survive until the end of a round earn the team extra gold.
 * Three shrines are found on the map, each with a 180 second cooldown.
 * All towers and shrines respawn at the end of each round.
 * Two shops are located on the map. One in the middle, and one near the top, next to the Temple.

Reviving

 * On death, a tombstone is left where the player died. Living teammates can right click on the tombstone to revive the player. This takes a channel time of six seconds.
 * The more players that channel on the same tombstone, the quicker it will go.
 * Buyback can be used, but it has a cooldown.
 * All players are revived with full health and mana at the end of each round.

Available heroes

 * Only a few heroes can be picked for this event.
 * Some heroes have altered abilities made specifically for this event.
 * Click on a hero's icon to view its stats, modified/unique abilities and mechanics for this event.

Rounds

 * There is a 30 second intermission in between every round.
 * For the details of the units and their abilities, see here.

Items
Dark Moon uses the default Dota 2 items, with a few tweaks. A couple of items are completly disabled while a very few received modifications. 3 new items are added as drop-only items.

Disabled items
The following items cannot be bought in Dark Moon.

Modified items
These items have been modified.

Item drops
There are 4 different items that can be dropped by enemies, from which 3 are new. Dropped items last for 15 seconds on the ground before they despawn.

The most common drop are gold bags. Picking up a gold back grants the entire team based on which round it is. A gold bag is automatically picked up when getting within 100 range of it. However, while spell immune, they have to be picked up manually by right-clicking on them.

Enemies also occasinoally drop health potions and mana potions. They have a % drop chance. Health potion instantly restore a portion of the hero's maximum health and mana potion instantly restore a portion of the hero's maximum mana upon getting picked up. Jus like gold bags, health and mana potions are automatically picked up when getting within 100 range of them. However, while spell immune, they have to be picked up manually by right-clicking on them.

Enemies may also drop s, with a drop chance. Unlike the other 3 drops, the scrolls can only be picked up by directly right-clicking them. They also land in the inventory, instead of being instantly activated.

Heroes
Click on the hero names to view their Dark Moon ability and hero stats details.


 * is very strong at dealing with early level mobs. Simply kiting enemies around its AoE will be able to deal with massive groups in the early game.
 * 's damage reduction can be very useful, and helps you and your team soak up more damage.
 * is particularly useful on Underlord, as well as a later on in the game.
 * is useful in taking out big enemies from a distance. It also have the ability to scatter its damage to the enemies behind targeted enemy.
 * can be used to block off choke points, and help aggro enemies away from buildings.
 * deals a great amount of damage to the Bonus Chicken in Round 5, especially when it is cornered.
 * can be used on Bonus Chicken in Round 5
 * holds large groups of enemies together for effective nuking. Also effective against Bonus Chicken in Round 5, Baby Roshans in Round 10.
 * Taking cooldown reduction talent and purchasing can allow  to almost permanently hold enemies in place.
 * Medusa acts as an aoe killer and a great tank the longer the game goes.
 * works as a on the enemies it hits. The mana steal of it is also buffed for the event.
 * works multiple times depending on level.
 * has counterattack if a physical attack is evaded, either with a physical attack against melee enemies, or a dagger against ranged enemies.
 * is useful in taking out large number or enemies in an area. While its damage diminishes its deadliness overtime, it can still apply slow debuffs to large crowds of enemies, and its range can let the player lure the enemies away from an area while using to safely navigate through terrain if the player gets cornered.
 * can help your team last longer from larger creep waves. Note however that this will render the target immobile, leaving them helpless from magical damage or skills done by the enemy hero creeps and siege tanks.
 * can be cast on your teammates and can help them get out any creep waves that have trapped them from every side. The spell also increases the attack range of any ranged hero as well as letting them apply frost burn.
 * is a great crowd control skill that can help kill any special enemies of the player's choice. This spell's stun however does not work on the chicken of Round 5.
 * None of Gyro's abilities have been modified for this mode making him a very weak pick.
 * Techies' high defensive ability can often carry the team through a round.
 * Lay down mines as early as possible to keep Towers defended.
 * Can plant a lot of mines and use, dealing a lot of damage to The Dark Magus.
 * Easily clears wave of high HP creeps with his passive, as well with.
 * The Dark Magus has 0% Magic Resistance, so can be useful.
 * Can unleash huge AoE DPS, as well heal his teammates.
 * does take damage from the creeps, but takes much more attacks to get destroyed. Therefore, it needs some planning to cast, as a mob of creeps can easily take it out.
 * Consider getting a to take an ally with you.
 * The attack speed reduction from greatly diminishes their damage dealt.
 * has 25% Spell Lifesteal.
 * or are perfect choices for  in combination with.
 * is replaced by, an active ability, which gives bonus movement speed and ability to stun and damage enemies that Tiny move through. The damage is based on his attack damage.
 * can be useful in Round 6 against Warlocks.
 * can be used on buildings.
 * 's protective layers have been increased tremendously for this map setting, having a maximum of 25 instances at skill level 4. Be wary that although it grants a lot more instances, the huge number of creeps in every wave can still chew through it very quickly.
 * fully affects the chickens that spawn on Round 5 and 10. Be sure to cast the spell whenever you can to buy a few seconds worth of additional hits.
 * Berserker's Call works on bonus rounds, giving your team precious seconds to farm more gold.
 * has been reworked for this gamemode, giving a percentage of lifesteal base on skill level on targeted allies hero.
 * has the ability to leap forward and deal damage in a small area of effect.
 * Only her ultimate has been changed.
 * is great in the first few rounds. It will instantly kill groups of cluttered mobs. The move speed boost is also helpful to collect gold bags left lying around.
 * is a good heal and damage per second boost. It also helps to hit faster in round 10 (baby roshlings).
 * scales well as Legion gains damage. Because there are a lot of mobs, it triggers often and provides significant regeneration.
 * Duel has been replaced with an ability that temporarily sets up an arena inside which every hero deals increased damage. The more heroes inside the arena, the more damage for allied heroes.
 * Information needed.
 * Information needed.
 * radius is increased from 250 to 350, cooldown reduced from 10 to 10/9/8/7, and mana cost from 90 to 50/55/60/65.
 * All of Nevermore's other abilities are unchanged. He is overall regarded as a weak pick for this mode.
 * collects 1 soul per creep, but half of the souls are lost on death. Regaining them may be problematic due to other heroes' higher damage outputs and higher frequency of boss rounds in the late stages of the game.
 * is not particularly effective due to mobs and bosses' high armor.
 * now grants evasion of 20%/40%/60%/80%.
 * is now named as Secret Blade, creating image in front of the hero and slash toward it, dealing damage including items effect.
 * Information needed.
 * Nature's Call summons powerful tanks that allows the team to focus on heroes or other lanes.
 * Big enemies don't use their spells on Treants. This makes them perfect for tanking enemies with disables while carries pick them off from afar.
 * Wrath of Nature has been buffed and hits a lot more enemies. Buying Aghanim's Scepter gives Nature's Prophet a map full of treants that can take care of lanes on their own.
 * Intelligent gain increased to 5 per level
 * is great in the first few rounds. It will instantly kill groups of cluttered mobs. The move speed boost is also helpful to collect gold bags left lying around.
 * is a good heal and damage per second boost. It also helps to hit faster in round 10 (baby roshlings).
 * scales well as Legion gains damage. Because there are a lot of mobs, it triggers often and provides significant regeneration.
 * Duel has been replaced with an ability that temporarily sets up an arena inside which every hero deals increased damage. The more heroes inside the arena, the more damage for allied heroes.
 * Information needed.
 * Information needed.
 * radius is increased from 250 to 350, cooldown reduced from 10 to 10/9/8/7, and mana cost from 90 to 50/55/60/65.
 * All of Nevermore's other abilities are unchanged. He is overall regarded as a weak pick for this mode.
 * collects 1 soul per creep, but half of the souls are lost on death. Regaining them may be problematic due to other heroes' higher damage outputs and higher frequency of boss rounds in the late stages of the game.
 * is not particularly effective due to mobs and bosses' high armor.
 * now grants evasion of 20%/40%/60%/80%.
 * is now named as Secret Blade, creating image in front of the hero and slash toward it, dealing damage including items effect.
 * Information needed.
 * Nature's Call summons powerful tanks that allows the team to focus on heroes or other lanes.
 * Big enemies don't use their spells on Treants. This makes them perfect for tanking enemies with disables while carries pick them off from afar.
 * Wrath of Nature has been buffed and hits a lot more enemies. Buying Aghanim's Scepter gives Nature's Prophet a map full of treants that can take care of lanes on their own.
 * Intelligent gain increased to 5 per level
 * Information needed.
 * Nature's Call summons powerful tanks that allows the team to focus on heroes or other lanes.
 * Big enemies don't use their spells on Treants. This makes them perfect for tanking enemies with disables while carries pick them off from afar.
 * Wrath of Nature has been buffed and hits a lot more enemies. Buying Aghanim's Scepter gives Nature's Prophet a map full of treants that can take care of lanes on their own.
 * Intelligent gain increased to 5 per level
 * Intelligent gain increased to 5 per level
 * Intelligent gain increased to 5 per level


 * All abilities are unchanged for Dark Moon. Contrary to other generally unchanged heroes, however, Lesh's massive magic damage output makes him an excellent pick.
 * Leshrac consumes large amounts of mana and is not too resilient. Therefore, players will usually include items that make up for this, such as or.
 * and quench Lesh's glutton mana pool while providing helpful disables for alchemist and invoker rounds.
 * is highly effective. It quickly tears through mobs. When facing the final boss, it is a perfect quell for the large number of fire minions.
 * works on round 10 roshlings. The fact Leshrac can move while it is active is an advantage when compared to.
 * His 3rd skill still can deal a lot of damage to big enemies.
 * His 3rd skill still can deal a lot of damage to big enemies.

Items

 * An early can help keep heroes alive, as many charges are gained from enemy abilities.
 * and are highly beneficial in early levels when you urge life or mana during the fight.
 * Aura based items such as, , , and  will benefit your team a lot more than single target / burst items.
 * is the best single target item against wave bosses. The crit is distributed to the whole team and grants true strike.
 * and are good for clearing large waves on physical attack heroes which lack area damage otherwise.
 * Mobility items such as, and  play only a minor role. Nonetheless they can be useful to regroup and help out at other fighting fronts.
 * is very useful item on tanks like or

Others

 * Sacrificing Towers may be acceptable, as all Towers respawn at the end of each round.
 * This also means that whenever an outer tower is destroyed, it refreshes glyph.
 * Regeneration and Lifesteal items are crucial in sustaining your team.
 * Remember to use to quickly intercept oncoming waves across the map. Buy extra scrolls if necessary.
 * charges cannot be refilled.
 * All enemies are considered creeps.
 * This means regeneration items like and  will not be interrupted.
 * Subsequently, items such as and  do not gain any charges.

Points

 * Points are acquired by playing.
 * Daily bonuses are given for the first game played each day. Every daily bonus gives players 35,000 points plus 6 times the points they earned in the game.
 * Daily bonuses are only given if players pass beyond Round 5.

Rewards

 * A special Dark Moon Emoticon is awarded to players who beat all rounds of the event.
 * 35,000 points can be spent to spin the reward wheel once.
 * A random cosmetic item is rewarded from the wheel.
 * For a full list of possible rewards, see the Dark Moon drop list.
 * The Dark Moon Baby Roshan is unique to this event, and can be obtained from the wheel at a very low chance.

Recycling

 * Treasures can be recycled in the Armory for 20,000 Dark Moon points.
 * Items received from opened chests cannot be recycled.

Lore
''For millennia, the warriors of the Nightsilver Woods have stood vigilant against vile forces intent on the advent of a Dark Moon, earning both title and divine charge in sacred defense of the Goddess Selemene. But now, as the night of the new moon falls, Selemene’s chosen lie helpless behind her temple walls, victims of an arcane slumber that has left the temple grounds undefended.'' ''With Selemene’s influence at its weakest, and twisted shades of the familiar creeping across her domain, the Moon Goddess beckons five new protectors to stand in the stead of her champions against the corruption of the Dark Moon Horde. Will you be one to answer the hallowed call?''

Trivia

 * This event is categorized as New Bloom 2017 in the game files.
 * The title for Round 4 is play on "It's Morphin' Time", a phrase uttered by the main characters on the Might Morphin Power Rangers franchise.
 * The title for Round 9, "Numerous Launches Detected", is possibly a play on "Nuclear Launch Detected", a phrase spoken whenever a Ghost unit launches a nuclear strike in Blizzard Entertainment's Starcraft series.
 * The title for Round 14, "It's a Techies Convention" is a play on the Star Trek fandom, where the fans are commonly known as 'Trekkies', who are known to hold conventions dedicated to the series.
 * ,, , , , and , who were added to the Dark Moon hero pool on the January 31, 2017 Patch, appeared in the same form in Frostivus 2013/Heroes with the same modified spells. All other heroes in this event were not present in Frostivus 2013.