What is Overplus in Dota 2

Dota 2

7 Feb

Harrison Htet

Dota 2 is one of the most popular MOBAs out there. Thus, many third-party applications are available to mod the game to the player’s content. Some applications allow players who use them to have certain in-game advantages. The action is known as hacking and is frowned upon, as it degrades the integrity of the game. Over recent months, one third-party application, Overplus, has been making waves in the Dota 2 community for its perks.

A picture showing how many heroes there are in Dota 2.
Image Source: Reddit & OG (From Against The Odds Documentary)

The application is a love child of an independent developer, passionate about Dota 2. It provides a competitive edge to its users. The application also enables their users to change the in-game skins. Thus, this article will explore what Overplus is and its services. We will also reflect on the professional players’ opinions about the application.

What’s OverPlus?

A screen capture of Overplus's homepage.
Image Source: Overplus

Let’s explore the first option Overwatch offers for Dota 2. The selling point of this service is that it allows players to change the skin of any hero they want in Dota 2 clients. However, it is not a free-to-use service, but it is relatively cheap. A month's subscription to the service only costs around two euros.

Although the service offers a skin-changer, it also provides additional services. One of these services, the draft assistant, has gained a notorious reputation in the Dota 2 community in recent months.

Overplus feature

In the past, Valve had banned a certain third-party application, Overwolf, which also gives a similar service to its users. However, Overplus overcome Valve’s ban meanwhile giving a better service. Thus, it can be considered better than its ancestor.

Overwolf is the first third-party application to implement the feature.
Image Source: Overwolf

Overplus provides its users with information on their opponents' strongest Dota 2 heroes at the start of the match, before the drafting phase even begins. As a result, their users can steal or ban the opponent’s strongest hero. Additionally, with this information, their users have the chance to counter-pick the opponent’s hero during the drafting phase before the Dota 2 in-game client shows what hero got picked.

The Reason for the Outcry

The application's small advantage may seem insignificant in low-level pubs. However, for high-level pubs, even a minute advantage can significantly impact the match’s results.

A picture showing how Overplus gives a competitive advantage to its users.
Image Source: Reddit

Having information about which heroes to pick or ban during the drafting stage is a treasure in high-level pubs. In those level pubs, there are hero spammers and meta-pickers. Thus, banning the heroes they usually play puts many players in an uncomfortable spot, ensuring an easy win.

Moreover, there is no way to know if a player uses Overplus. The only way to know is if a player’s most-played or successful hero got banned in a game. In such cases, there is a possibility that OverPlus likely provided the information, leading a player to ban that hero.

How OverPlus Works

A really cool picture of Lina from Valve at the New Frontiers update
Credits: Valve

When a Dota 2 match begins, OverPlus can identify each player’s account. Additionally, it searches through Dota API to find their most played heroes in recent matches. The application then displayed the information it found to its users for them to make an impactful decision.

Players can turn off third-party sites from having access to their in-game data. However, in doing so, they would also be blocking it for useful sites like Dotabuff. Thus, after careful consideration, most players are hesitant to do so because they would also be stopping themselves from becoming better players.

Pro Players’ Thoughts

Loda holding the Aegis after Alliance's win at The International 2013.
Left to right: Loda, Kuroky, Akke.
Credits: Valve

The advantage Overplus provides has the most impact in pro-level Dota 2 matches. It is because Overplus undermines the two main pillars of the game - fair play and integrity.

Recently, Jonathan "Loda" Berg, the co-founder of Alliance and The International 2013 champion, shared his thoughts on the matter. The former champion strongly believes the third-party application should be banned from Dota 2.

During one of his recent Twitch streams, Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski, a well-known Dota 2 streamer, shared his opinion on the matter of Overplus. According to Gorgc, it is unfair that users of this app have access to information such as identifying who is an account buyer, who is smurfing, and who is on a winning streak. The information is extremely valuable, especially in the Immortal draft. The former OG streamer considers Overplus a serious issue and agrees it must go.

Unfortunately, the third-party application issue is just the tip of the iceberg in Dota 2. As Valve cracks down on the smurfs in Dota 2, many scripters and hacks users have been showing up in the game. We can only hope Valve takes affirmative action soon as there are more high-profile tournaments on the horizon.

Featured Image Source: Overplus & Overwolf