FAQ — how to play

A collectible game inspired by Dota 2: you collect hero and creep cards, open packs, power up the deck in the forge, burn spare copies into ash, and fight on the arena.

Open Training in the comms dock for First Steps: claim the starter pack (10 cards: 3 creeps + 7 uncommon heroes, guaranteed support), build a 5-card arena deck, play a bot match, and collect quest rewards. You start with 180 shards and 6 gems — enough for basic packs or one uncommon; a rare pack is a goal for several days. Finish every step for a bonus of 120 shards.

Cards with the same face stack together. A separate tile appears if the hero, attribute, rarity, stats (ATK/ARM/HP), level, upgrade level, stars, roles, “Counters” list, or skin/art differs.

The card has not been viewed yet. The mark disappears when you hover or open it. The “new” counter in the menu and filters drops only after viewing.

On the collection page, above the filters, there is a “Mark as viewed” button (with the new-card count).

Shards are the main currency for packs, everyday rewards, and the card-upgrade catalyst. Gems are a rare currency for stronger packs and tournament prizes. Ash is the dust of cards burned in the Crucible; it is spent in the Ash Shop on profile cosmetics and on the final upgrade rank, never to buy combat power in the shop.

180 shards, 6 gems, and 0 ash. After that, shards and gems come from quests, the arena, tournaments, and achievements; ash comes only from the Crucible.

On the Market page, pick a pack and buy it with shards and gems at the same time (the price is on the card). A purchased pack opens immediately. The starter pack is granted once for free and is not sold in the shop.

The bracelet is your MMR status on the arena page (bronze → platinum). The market is not locked by bracelet: packs are available for currency. The higher the gem share in a pack’s price, the stronger the rare-card focus.

On the events calendar (Moscow time): Monday — rare, Tuesday — epic, Thursday — legendary, Friday — mythic. The boost lasts all day for any pack open and stacks with inventory boosts.

1) Pick a deck scheme (Balance / Attack / Defense). 2) Pick a format: casual or ranked. 3) Build a 5-card deck (tank, carry, support) with role combos in mind. 4) Press “Find match”. Bot training is available in casual only.

The first 3 arena fights are a tutorial: a fast start with an auto-deck, a bot match, and hints. Ranked unlocks after the third finished match.

Each scheme has its own limits (level, rarity, level sum). Each scheme stores a separate 5-card deck. Tournaments use a separate 10-card entry.

MMR changes: +2 for a win, −1 for a loss. The reward is shards (more for a win). After a loss streak you get extra shards. Cards are not stolen in ranked — a “play for a card” mode will come later.

Rating does not change and cards are not transferred. A win grants arena XP (and shards from the reward table). Bot training is available.

Arena MMR is only from ranked PvP (+2/−1). Collection ranking is a separate table of unique-card progress. They are not linked.

Starting MMR is 1,000. Rank and bracelet rise or fall with it.

Only in ranked PvP: win +2, loss −1, draw unchanged. Bot fights and casual matches do not change rating.

Combat has three phases: tanks → carries → supports. In each duel, cards deal damage points to the opponent’s HP. A point comes from: attribute advantage (Int beats Str, Str beats Agi, Agi beats Int), higher level, higher ATK, higher ARM, a noticeable rarity gap (not neighboring tiers), and a bonus if the attacker’s “Counters” list includes the defender’s hero. A card with HP ≤ 0 is out. The full log is on the battle page.

In the forge you merge cards by rarity recipes — 10 cards of one rarity become one card of the next. That is not the same as upgrading a single card.

Open Upgrade next to the forge: five fully identical copies (same skin, roles, and counters) are sacrificed to raise the best card of that line by +1. A level-2 Pudge plus five matching level-1 copies become level 3. Cap is 5. Each level grants +1 to damage, armor, or health on a fixed role plan: carries stack attack, tanks gain HP/armor, supports put every bonus into damage. You can preview the path before confirming. The rim from level 1: hoarfrost, three sparks at 2, pastel at 3, a rainbow comet at 4, CMY jewels at 5. On top of the copies you pay a catalyst: 35 / 60 / 95 / 145 shards for ranks 1–4, and 24 ash for the finale (5).

Open the Crucible in the forge — spare cards burn into ash. You cannot burn the last copy of a hero: the collection is never wiped. Ash is spent in the Ash Shop on profile cosmetics (frames, badges, titles, name style) and a pinch on the final card upgrade. Combat power cannot be bought with ash in the shop.

In Trades, create an offer, pick cards and a player. The deal completes after both sides accept.

Every day — 4 random goals with small rewards. Once a week (reset on Monday) — 3 larger goals: chests, forge, and arena fights. All quests live on the Quests page.

Claim all dailies for 80 shards and a currency boost. Close all three weeklies to open the weekly contract: until Monday you choose a unique Night Market pack, a 2-hour drop boost, or the Night Seal frame. Miss it and the slot burns.

When an achievement is complete, open Achievements and press Claim. Rewards are not granted automatically — you confirm them by hand.

You start with courier avatars and Io, plus the default cover. A hero avatar unlocks when you collect every skin of that hero. The hero minimap badge is for upgrading that hero to level 5. The Arcana title is for taking every skin of that hero to level 5. Frames, name styles, and other cosmetics come from achievements, account levels, tournaments, and the Ash Shop; Studio shows what each item needs.

Copy the link from the Hall (Friends block) or Settings → Invites. A new player gets 5,000 shards and 100 gems at sign-up — enough for about five rare packs together with the starter wallet. When they reach account level 20, you automatically receive rewards from the ladder: packs (rare → mythic), shards, unique badges, frames, titles, and a cursor.

DOTA CARDS is a non-commercial fan project with no ads and no pay-to-win. Transfers go to servers, development, and content. A donation does not buy combat power — it only helps the project grow.

Once per calendar month you can claim a symbolic shard and gem bonus. No transfer screenshot is needed — we ask you to answer honestly whether you supported the project. The bonus does not give a PvP edge.

After donating, write to support (the footer button or the donate page). We can add your nick to the season sponsor list if you want — anonymous is fine too.

Open Tournaments or the Events modal, pick a tournament, and press Register. You need a 10-card deck matching the current mode. Registration opens in advance — watch the timer on the event card.

Rewards depend on bracket place: gems, an arena rating bonus, medals, and profile cosmetics (frames, badges, titles). The exact list for each place is in the Tournament event and on the tournament page.