New Dota 2 hero Kez brings two full skill sets to the Valve MOBA

Valve launches new Dota 2 hero Kez alongside the conclusive Crownfall act four, bringing the free Steam game’s story campaign to an end.

A new Dota 2 hero has arrived in an update that developer Valve says “is as big as it gets.” The new patch for Steam’s second most-popular free game adds the fourth and final act of the Dota 2 Crownfall story mode, and in doing so sees the debut of Kez, the mysterious Skywrath exile first seen during act three. With two weapons each offering unique abilities, he promises to be a very versatile addition to the roster.

New Dota 2 hero Kez, Hero of the Flightless is a flexible melee carry with some powerful tools to help disrupt the enemy team. He brings two separate weapon sets to the MOBA – a katana and a pair of sai – each boasting a completely distinct set of basic attacks and skills. While you can switch between them on the fly, his abilities are tied together in their respective pairs. This means if you use his Q in katana form, it’ll also go on cooldown on the sai side.

First up we have his Kazurai Katana. In this mode, his Q is Echo Slash, which sends a pair of damaging waves forward that briefly slow targets. His W is Grappling Claw, which fires out a hook that pulls Kez towards the target unit or tree, giving him bonus lifesteal upon arrival. His E is a passive that causes the katana to apply a stacking damage-over-time debuff. Finally, his R is Raptor Dance, which channels for one second with debuff immunity and full magic resistance, before dealing deadly slashes that heal Kez for a percentage of all damage dealt.

In Shodo Sai mode, Kez’s Q becomes Falcon Rush, darting him towards enemies with phasing and delivering echoing attacks. His W, Talon Toss, throws a sai that detonates on hit, dealing damage and silencing enemies in the area. The weapon’s E passive has a chance to mark enemies, slowing them and causing the next hit to deal a critical hit true strike with stun.

Kez can also activate this E, which disarms him and locks his orientation in place for two seconds, with the option to manually cancel it. Any attacks and effects that come at him from the front during that time are parried, stunning and marking the enemy hero that delivered them. Finally, his Sai R is Raven’s Veil, which releases a wave of smoke marking nearby enemies and limiting their vision, while making Kez invisible with bonus move speed until he attacks or casts a spell.

With the concluding fourth act of Dota 2 Crownfall finally making its appearance, you’ll now be able to play through the story in full. Valve notes that while all four acts are now available, they will only remain so until the Crownfall event comes to an end on Wednesday January 15, 2025. You’ll also need to spend the coins and candy earned during the mode by that date too.

If you’re tempted to jump in and experience Crownfall for yourself, take a look through the best Dota 2 heroes for beginners. Alternatively, try another of the best free Steam games.

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