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Marci from DOTA: Dragon's Blood is now a playable Dota 2 hero

Marci from DOTA: Dragon's Blood has finally entered Dota 2 and joined the Battle of the Ancients as a full-fledged hero on Friday (29 October) as part of the game's 7.30e balance patch.

Dota 2 developer Valve Software first revealed that Marci will be joining the game on 16 October, a day before the grand finals of The International 10 (TI10), this year's iteration of the game's annual world championship tournament that was won by Eastern European underdogs Team Spirit.

In DOTA: Dragon's Blood, Marci is the loyal servant of Mirana, Princess of the Moon, among the most iconic Dota 2 heroes and one of the principal characters of its animated series.

Marci has been quite the favourite among fans of both Dota 2 and DOTA: Dragon's Blood due to her expressive and bubbly demeanour — which shines through despite her being mute — that belies her fierce loyalty and proficiency in hand-to-hand combat.

In Dota 2, Marci is a strength melee hero that can provide a damage and lifesteal buff for herself and her allies while also having great disable and mobility options. Her skillset lends itself well to being her team's carry, making her the first dedicated carry hero to join Dota 2's roster since Monkey King in late 2016.

Read on to learn about Marci's abilities:

Dispose

Marci's first ability, Dispose, allows her to grab either an allied or enemy unit and throw it behind her. Enemies in the area where the thrown unit lands will be damaged and stunned, with the thrown target also being damaged and stunned if it's also an enemy.

Dispose has a constant 90 manacost and 10-second cooldown at max level. It will throw the target unit 350 units behind Marci, with affected enemy units receiving 280 damage and getting stunned for 2.1 seconds at max level.

Rebound

Marci's second ability, Rebound, is a vector-targeted skill that will serve as the hero's primary mobility tool. Marci will leap onto a targeted unit and will spring towards a direction and distance of her choosing, damaging and slowing any enemy units in the area where she lands.

Rebound has a max jump range of 850 as well as a 100 manacost and 9-second cooldown at max level. Enemy units caught in the area where Marci lands will receive 300 damage and get their movement speed slowed by 60% at max level for three seconds. If the unit Marci leaps onto is an ally, it will also receive 35% bonus movement speed for five seconds.

Sidekick

Marci's third ability, Sidekick, will be her bread and butter as a carry as it allows her to give herself or her allies a damage and lifesteal buff. Sidekick grants the target 65 bonus damage and 50% lifesteal at max level for six seconds, with the ability also being spammable once fully learned with a 30 manacost and 12-second cooldown.

Unleash

Marci's ultimate, Unleash, makes her a beast during fights by granting her 'Fury' charges to deliver a rapid sequence of strikes that damages and slows both her initial target and nearby enemies.

Here's a breakdown of Marci's talent tree:

Level 10: +2 Mana Regen or +5 Armor

Level 15: +250 cast and jump range for Rebound or +0.75 second stun duration for Dispose

Level 20: +30 Movement Speed or +1.75 second spell immunity for Sidekick target

Level 25: +50% Sidekick Lifesteal or 1.5 second Silence for the last strike in Unleash's Fury combo

Unleash lasts for a constant 18 seconds and each of its Fury combos allow Marci to quickly strike a target for a specific number of times, with the final strike in each combo damaging and slowing other enemies in an area around her target. However, Marci cannot attack for 1.5 seconds after unleashing a Fury combo.

At max level, Unleash allows Marci to strike an enemy 5 times per Fury combo, with the final strike dealing 220 damage in a 800 radius around her initial target while also slowing affected enemies' movement and attack speed by 30% and 100 respectively. Once fully learned, Unleash has a 150 manacost and 60-second cooldown.

Thanks to Sidekick and Unleash, Marci can both deal a ton of damage and take a lot of punishment herself during team fights if given enough farm and levels as the team's carry or mid. Since she has specific windows of opportunity to dish out damage during Unleash, she should start fights away from the action and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Once you find an opening, leap into the fray with Rebound then disable your target with Dispose. After that, pop Sidekick and Unleash to burst down your quarry and wreak havoc on the enemy lines. She can then reposition or use her other abilities in between Fury combos, demolishing the enemy team one by one en route to victory.

Look out for a guide on how to properly play Marci from us soon.

Alongside Marci's release in Dota 2, DOTA: Dragon's Blood will also be premiering its second season in January next year. The series premiered in Netflix back in March, with its first season having eight episodes.

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