Valve should make it clear if editing config files in Dota 2 is considered an illegal action, scripting, an action that gives an unfair advantage, or none of the above.
A clip that shows Tundra Esports’ offlane player, Neta "33" Shapira, micro ability on Broodmother during the OGA Dota PIT Europe & CIS Season 5 grand finals against Team Spirit has sparked quite the debate among the professional scene members and not only.
Mid December, Tundra became the first team to defeat the TI10 champions. They did it by making a comeback in the best-of-five series with a classic 33 Broodmother game. Neta is known for his insane micro-skills, his Broodmother being often taken off the draft in official matches when facing his team. DOTA Pit Season 5 grand finals showcased once again why his competitors prefer not to take their chances with him on the hero. The grand finals were held on the 20th of December, but only about two weeks later, people in the professional scene have started to point out that even his micromanagement looks too good not to be “helped” by some sort of a script.
Team Tickles coach and in-game guides creator, Daniel “ImmortalFaith” Moza, was first to raise a question to Valve via Twitter, regarding the possibility of editing config files in competitive matches. He shared a clip of 33 sending several Broodmother spiders individually across the map for vision.
His actions look suspicious to any Broodmother player as the commands he gives should take a couple of seconds more. On top of that, because of the way Broodmother is designed, it shouldn’t allow the players to give commands to individual spiderlings so fast. Normally, the process forces the player to select all of the spiderlings, and then by tabbing through each group of spiderlings you can decide what to do with them.
What 33 appears to be using is a modified config file that allows him to directly micro each individual spider.
According to Chicken Fighters player Andreas Per "Xibbe" Ragnemalm, all it needs to be done is to alter the npc_unit.txt file.
With the discussion developing on Reddit as well, the user named Hajadlo further explained: “you gotta remove a line in npc_units.txt that groups all spiders into a single selection group (big and little spiders have their own group), this makes it possible to send out individual spiders when clicking TAB and holding CTRL (without the line removed you would be switching between big spiders, small spiders and your hero). You can also allow the "Auto-repeat Right Mouse" and just keep tabbing to send out a shit ton of spiders to scout (can also be clicked on the minimap).”
Kyle Freedman witnessed the same behavior firsthand in a public game (ID: 6323491233) streamed on Twitch, where he was matched against Neta’s Broodmother.
GosuGamers reached out to Tundra Esports for a comment on the matter, but they declined to make any “at this moment.”
Editing config files equals exploit or not?
Macros and third party programs which run scripts that overwrite the game files have been deemed by Valve as cheats and those found using one have been punished by the game developer. Scripts that allow Armlet toggle, or instant hexes, macros binds on the keyboard or mouse, generally used for Meepo have got players banned from the professional scene or disqualified from tournaments.
However, editing config files is a very grey area. The rule book for OGA Dota PIT Season 5 as well as for the Eastern Europe DPC hosted by ESL are available and none of them have a clear mention for this kind of action.
Under the “Harmful Conduct/Misbehaviour” in OGA Dota PIT Season 5 rulebook, it is mentioned only that “any violation of the rules or any conduct that harms the integrity of Valve’s or OGA business will not be tolerated and could result in disciplinary actions.”
ESL’s rulebook for the Eastern Europe DPC regional leagues has a more detailed section regarding macros and scripts and it also mentions editing game files through console commands: ”The use of scripts and macros via console commands, config binds, or third-party tools is prohibited. Whenever more than one command is issued with a single bind, it is considered illegitimate."
Nonetheless, to avoid any kind of misinterpretation and/or to avoid situations like the one that sparked this debate, Valve should release a general rulebook and state clearly where they draw the line when it comes to console commands and config files editing in official games.
Update: In a small game update from January 5, 2022, Valve added a new console command which changes the standard behavior for controlling summoned units.
- Command dota_selection_groups is by default set to true
- Command can be set to dota_selection_groups false to allow microing the units separately
