A lot of debates are circulating about just what Dota Plus is. Anytime a free game begins offering a ‘premium’ paid position, players begin to worry, but because of Dota 2’s popularity, it has sent waves much farther. Offering up quests, analytics, skins, and training modes, Dota Plus has many feeling like the paid service is designed to give paying players an edge over their free-playing counterparts. The truth is a little more complicated.

To understand Dota Plus, gamers first need to understand what the Majors Battle Pass was as it will be replacing this item. The Battle Passes were designed to make Dota 2 tournaments more inclusive of the fans while also helping out the professional players and providing fun options for the game. 25% of all Battle Pass sales went directly into the prize pools for the events they supported. This is one of the reasons why Dota 2 prize pools consistently dwarf even League of Legends prizes for Worlds. It’s uncertain if this particular trait will be carrying over to Dota Plus though.

Battle Passes, like Compendiums – another Dota 2 offering – came with a pile of extra content users paid for. They included things like exclusive quests, skins, and even campaigns. The 2017 Battle Pass, for example, included the SiltBreaker campaign, which was a cooperative quest line separate from the traditional gaming experience. Battle Passes also featured trivia games, team rankings, and even an option to bet your MMR, either doubling your wins or your losses.

In a way, Battle Passes have already dramatically altered the gaming experience for those that bought into them. It offered tons of exclusive content that could not be otherwise accessed as well as contributions into the tournaments. Arguably, it could also be used to boost a player’s rank higher than without it. However, none of these entered into the territory of making the game easier to play for Battle Pass holders.

In some ways, Dota Plus is a simpler system than the Battle Passes. Instead of content gated behind individual Battle Passes, users will be able to access everything from a subscription fee. It’s the same content but in a different format, one which might allow more access. However, Plus Assistant is certainly designed to create better players by helping “make build decisions by utilizing real-time item and ability suggestions.”

Players are correct if they think anyone using this will be gaining experience that they aren’t, but that experience is in the form of training. It wouldn’t really be any different than a player hiring a coach to help brush up their skills or putting in more games to become better. Dota Plus offers a service, not an item, that could make the game easier, but it would only make the game easier if a player grew and became better at Dota 2.

Arguably, Dota Plus is paying for a more advanced version of the quests/achievements available in League of Legends. Much of what the Dota Assistant does are also features found in standard LoL, such as suggested item paths. However, the Dota Assistant goes a few steps further with ability and hero suggestions as well as more advanced analytics. This is the crux of what Dota Plus really is. It is simply a more advanced version of the game, but only an advanced version in that it allows more options in design and approach to the game.

It would be hard to argue that this truly represents a Pay2Win model or a cash grab, but that is unlikely to stop people from making the claim.