Dark Moon

Dark Moon was 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 completely disabled, while a very few received modifications. Three 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 bag 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. Just 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 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.
 * 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 Rooster in Round 5, especially when it is cornered. It also does great work against the chickens in round 10.
 * pulling effect ignores disable immunity, so it can disable and pull the Rooster on round 5 and the chikens on round 10.
 * pulling effect ignores disable immunity, so it can disable and pull the Rooster on round 5 and the chikens on round 10.


 * holds large groups of enemies together for effective nuking. Also effective against Rooster in Round 5, chickens in Round 10.
 * Taking cooldown reduction talent and purchasing can allow  to almost permanently hold enemies in place. It also reduces Static Storm's cooldown, so that it's on the same level as Tiny's Avalanche.
 * Taking cooldown reduction talent and purchasing can allow  to almost permanently hold enemies in place. It also reduces Static Storm's cooldown, so that it's on the same level as Tiny's Avalanche.


 * Medusa acts as a great scaling AoE damage dealer, thanks to and a great tank the longer the game goes, thanks to.
 * petrifies enemies just like, but lasting longer than Stone Gaze's petrify (as a trade-off, it has maximum targets while Stone Gaze does not).
 * However, since the petrify effect turns enemies immune to magical damage, it should be used with caution when having allies who try to nuke enemies down, as it will completely negate their damage.
 * However, since the petrify effect turns enemies immune to magical damage, it should be used with caution when having allies who try to nuke enemies down, as it will completely negate their damage.


 * launches a flurry of daggers. It can be used to kill multiple targets at once from save distance, or kill or heavily damage a big target by concentrating them all on it by standing close enough.
 * increases Phantom Assassin's survivability, due to the added evasion, and damage output, due to the chance of counter-attacks she can do.
 * increases Phantom Assassin's survivability, due to the added evasion, and damage output, due to the chance of counter-attacks she can do.


 * 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 creep-heroes 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * has 25% Spell Lifesteal.


 * or are perfect choices for  in combination with.
 * 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.
 * 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 Demon Charmers and Enthralled Golems, as it spreads the golems around, potentially putting them out of the Demon Charmer's health aura range.
 * can be useful in Round 6 against Demon Charmers and Enthralled Golems, as it spreads the golems around, potentially putting them out of the Demon Charmer's health aura range.


 * 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.
 * 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.


 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.


 * Venomancer's range of abilities can help lessen the burden for the carries of your team to finish off large groups of enemies without fear of getting completely overwhelmed.
 * 's range can slow down a line of enemies, making escaping and luring easier despite his low base movement speed.
 * by you and your wards can severely cripple the movement speed of high-ranking creep-heroes.
 * Venomancer in this mode is given two warding skills, featuring the regular s and the Scourge Wards. These Scourge Wards can use their own at a lower range and without the slow debuff. These gales can stack with your own Venomous Gale, allowing the enemies to suffer twice the poison. Note however that multiple Venomous Gales from different Scourge Wards will not stack, and will simply refresh the poison timer.
 * is a devastating AoE skill that can slowly lay waste to enemies from every direction. Note that enemies suffering from the Nova cannot die from it alone as it will stop damaging the units once they reach 1 HP.
 * Using s, and  on chicken levels will maximize the gold drop rate as the poison effect will be very effective in triggering it.
 * Despite the poisonous advantage, Venomancer's skills diminish in effect against creep-heroes with HP regeneration, especially those regenerating for more than +30 HP/S, making his skills near-useless against Alchemist and Invoker.
 * Also take note of Venomancer's early disadvantage of being soft, slow and mana-reliant.
 * Also take note of Venomancer's early disadvantage of being soft, slow and mana-reliant.


 * The s are cheap AoE nukes which can quickly clear waves. All razes combined can even take down the bigger enemies of the waves.
 * Since there are so many enemy units in Dark Moon, is basically guaranteed to be always at maximum souls, granting Shadow Fiend a great attack damage boost throughout.
 * is basically a free Assault Cuirass effect on enemies. Stacking armor reduction effects is very effective against big enemies like the Chemists and the 4 Invoker. Together with Desolator, Solar Crest and Assault Cuirass, enemies lose a huge amount of armor.
 * is basically a free Assault Cuirass effect on enemies. Stacking armor reduction effects is very effective against big enemies like the Chemists and the 4 Invoker. Together with Desolator, Solar Crest and Assault Cuirass, enemies lose a huge amount of armor.


 * is a very strong wave clearer on the early rounds thanks to its high damage, and a great survivability booster on later waves, as it grants Juggernaut high evasion.
 * An early level significantly boosts Blade Fury's damage, as its damage can crit based on Blade Dance's level. In the lategame, Blade Dance greatly bosts Juggernaut's attack damage.
 * is a very powerful heal. Since it comes from a ward, enemies usually do not attack it as long as a hero is within range. Its heal is also percentage-based, so that it scales very well as the game goes on.
 * , which replaces Omnislash, allows Juggernaut to position himself while also dealing damage to enemies in a line. The invulnerability of it can be used to dodge enemy attacks and spells.
 * , which replaces Omnislash, allows Juggernaut to position himself while also dealing damage to enemies in a line. The invulnerability of it can be used to dodge enemy attacks and spells.


 * Storm Spirit has a lot of magical damage burst with which allows him to clear early waves quite fast. The biggest advantage Static Remnant has is that it can be cast on the run, Storm Spirit neither needs to turn, nor to stop to cast it
 * grants Storm Spirit a second area damage spell, which also heavily slows enemies for a short while. On top of that, Overload's effects are applied to Static Remnant, hitting all enemies hit by the Remnant's damage, meaning the remnant effectively deals more damage and slows enemies.
 * is a very strong AoE disable which ignores enemy disable immunity. This means it can stop and pull Roosters and Chickens.
 * Since Electric Vortex pulls enemies towards the center, it can serve as a poor man's Black Hole, creating combos with allied spells. Especially on the 10th round, it can pull and disable multiple chickens.
 * is the best mobility spell available in Dark Moon. It allows Storm Spirit to quickly travel the map, while also dealing area damage around him. With the right items, he can roll over enemies and instantly kill smaller mobs while also damaging the bigger ones. Due to its lack of cooldown, he can avoid damage quite easily even when standing between enemy masses.
 * Storm Spirit's items should include high intelligence items, like, and . Scythe grants an additional disable which is always useful, while Octarine Core allows Storm Spirit to cast Electric Vortex more often, on top of healing him from the damage his spells deal.
 * is great on Storm Spirit for the same reason why it is great on him in default Dota. On top of this, Bloodthorn is extremely powerful in Dark Moon, making it the best item pick-up for Storm Spirit.
 * is great on Storm Spirit for the same reason why it is great on him in default Dota. On top of this, Bloodthorn is extremely powerful in Dark Moon, making it the best item pick-up for Storm Spirit.


 * summons very tanky treants which can take care of a lane on their own, although they cannot usually kill the waves, they can lure them for long enough to keep the tower alive
 * The treants are ignored by spell-casting enemies, they only cast them on heroes. This makes them perfect for tanking enemies with disables while carries pick them off from afar.
 * Since does not technically disable enemies, but traps them so they cannot move, it one of the very few abilities able to stop Roosters and chickens.
 * The typical self-sprout + combo allows Nature's Prophet to escape sticky situations in which other heroes most likely would have died.
 * Moving right on top of an allied grave and casting Sprout on self allows Nature's Prophet to safely resurect allies.
 * hits many enemies and deals decent damage, but is still a rather weaker nuke as compared to other spells. However, once having, it becomes very powerful as it pumps the map full with treants. Greater Treants do not spawn though, since none of the enemies are considered heroes.
 * hits many enemies and deals decent damage, but is still a rather weaker nuke as compared to other spells. However, once having, it becomes very powerful as it pumps the map full with treants. Greater Treants do not spawn though, since none of the enemies are considered heroes.


 * Leshrac's massive area magic damage output makes him an excellent pick, as he can effectively damage an enormous amount of enemies, and also can deal with single big enemies on his own.
 * 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.
 * works on round 10 roshlings. The fact Leshrac can move while it is active is an advantage when compared to.


 * has a low cooldown, so it can be spammed quite a bit. It aloso has a long stun duration against the smaller enemies, making it a decent gap creator for Witch Doctor, allowing him to resurrect allies more safely.
 * is a potent heal, which can be kept active permanently with the right items.
 * can potentially deal insane amounts of damage, especially against bigger targets. Since its damage scales exponentially and is based on how much damage the target took, it can quickly kill big enemies like Whale-eaters.
 * Against the Dark Magus, Maledict has to be timed right. The best time to use it is immediately as the fight begins, and always directly after his tornado/sunstrike meteor spams end. If timed wrongly, Maledict may lose ticks due to the invulnerability the Dark Magus gets while spamming tornadoes/sun strikes and meteors.
 * has very high dps and is able to attack multiple targets. Positioning is very important to cast this, since it is a channeled ability. Combined with Maledict, Witch Doctor can quickly kill big single targets even on his own.
 * Since Witch Doctor soley relies on his spells, he needs mana regeneration. is very strong on him, as it allows him to keep Voodoo Restoration active during whole rounds, and allows him to cast his other spells more often. Maledict and Death Ward have an above average cooldown time, so that Octarine Core has a greater effect.
 * In order to be able to safely channel Death Ward, a may be required.
 * In order to be able to safely channel Death Ward, a may be required.

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
The Dark Moon is a cataclysmic event of unknown consequences. This apocalyptic events appears to inspire two factions. The first is the Dark Moon Order, a group of warriors sworn to the service and protection of Selemene, of which is a member. The second is the Dark Moon Horde, who seek to attack Selemene and bring about the Dark Moon. In the conflict between these two factions, outside champions are sometimes recruited to defend against the Dark Moon Horde. The latest battle took place at the steps of the Temple of Mene, after the order's defenders were lulled to sleep by some unknown arcane power.

Trivia

 * This event is categorized as New Bloom 2017 in the game files.
 * The title for Round 4 is a 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.