Bottle Crow Reborn

Bottle Crow’s been rolling for over a year now. With Emily out on podcast sick leave, I think it’s a good time to get reflective, and considerate. What drives people away from the game we’re all so passionate about? One guy who never got over the initial hump, and one guy who just can’t get into the game like he used to. This great game of ours ain’t perfect, and it&#...

This Winter, give battle a pass. The Shanghai Major is coming up, but whoooo cares when we’ve got so much to talk about? Player report cards, tip your servers and supports, why is League, Hightower the Phantom Thief. Hey, guys- we’re all pretty good at Dota. Hang in there. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there , and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Te...

This week, Emily and I are in a little deep on the dark side of the support life. Supporting buffoons is a hard life. There will never be enough wards, you will never have enough mana. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll have enough patience. The Shanghai Major, the ESPN of eSports, TWO fanfics… take your bottle from the courier, and have a seat. We’ve got a cast for ya. We’re on...

And with strange aeons, even years may die. 2015’s gone. The Shanghai Major approaches. And we’re well into the life of 6.86. Ranked Random Draft is the greatest, Death Prophet’s pretty dope these days, and KotL and Night Stalker make pretty good cops. Bottle Crow- you already know what it is. What’s good. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there , and leave a re...

Patch 6.86 arrives, and host emeritus Johnny comes out of retirement once again to tell you what’s what! …Hey, I just now realized that every single one of the Spirits has a “____ Remnant” ability. Well, that’s neither here nor there. Arc Warden! The death of Winter Wyvern! And, of course, the most balanced hero of all finally comes to Captain’s Mode. “An...

I get why Icefrog is so enamored with them, but the Spirit heroes have some of the most frustrating abilities in Dota. Ember Spirit especially just needs a fundamental redesign, in my opinion. He’s rad! He’s mega cool. I like his four word line poetry business. But for god’s sake make him not so insanely maddening to fight. Dazzle Aghanim’s, the Summit 4, and Sir Action Sla...

No, seriously. A second person fanfic. I knew from the moment I heard that, that I would not like what I was going to hear. It could have been worse? But that’s almost worse in and of itself. “Commit! Or don’t.” The Frankfurt Major, the surprising lack of team shakeups, and Everybody Loves Notail. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there , and leave a review if you li...

How about that Mineski, huh?! It’s weird, I write these descriptions right before I post the podcast, so it’s been a few days since we recorded. Our predictions for the Major are hit-and-miss so far. We also discuss level 25 perks, a particularly venomous fanfic, and much more. In fact, we didn’t have time for Ags of the week or lore of the week! If you ask me, it’s not suc...

I really think this might be the most painful Fanfiction Corner yet. Certainly, it was a test of will for me to survive it. I love the enthusiasm, I love the passion, I hate hate hate this fanfic. Life is hard. Get spooked this Halloween by creepy fanfic, I guess. -_- We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there , and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota frie...

This week, a bonus episode for you! This podcast isn’t about League of Legends, but they’ve done something interesting enough to get our attention. Colin and old host Johnny bring you a discussion of League’s new system for punishing players, other systems that have been used in the past, and what their implications are. A little serious, but we hope you enjoy the conversation! W...

So much stuff happened on Friday! Na’vi breaking up, a new compendium chest… well, I guess that’s it. Still, it’s more than enough to make the fact that we recorded this the day before frustrating. ESL One New York, the Fall Compendium, Erno the Mysterious Boy, and Magnus- episode 15 has what you need! Whether you knew you needed it or not. We’re on iTunes! You can su...

This week, hot on the heels of 6.85, we record the first ever Bottle Crow with our hosts in the same room! Turns out this leads to more sass and snark- who knew? This podcast was recorded before the Fall Compendium’s release- TRUST ME, we will have things to say about that next time. My goodness. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there , and leave a review if you like! That would real...

Patch 6.85 is here! Johnny is here! Batrider didn’t get buffed enough! Gosh, it’s a real blast from the past on this special patch notes episode of Bottle Crow. Somehow, despite this patch being way less content, we talk just as much as the last time we did a patch special. Are we getting better at this, or worse? See you guys on Saturday for the regularly scheduled episode! We’r...

This podcast, unlike Dota 2 Reborn, is guaranteed bug free! Unless you count the part where I talk about this being the longest patch in Dota 2 and that’s just completely 100% wrong by quite a lot. Eheheheh. Listen. It’s been a hard few weeks. Last game my courier was just the word “ERROR” floating in the sky. Don’t worry- Bloodseeker found a way to snipe it all the s...

Digital Chaos. Monkey Business. Monkey Freedom Fighters. It occurs to me that we give the East flak for names like “Vici,” “CDEC,” and “LGD,” but at least those are just boring and not -painfully bad-. Maybe that’s worse, though? Maybe it’s better to have a bad flavor than no flavor at all? In any case… Burning God with VG, and I am pretty dang...

(Note: Massive, massive apologies- the wrong file went up! This should now be the actual, proper, edited episode 11.) The darkness has won, folks. A shadow falls over the Dota scene, and the podcasts that cover it. All the good players are leaving their teams. Chaos reigns in the roster realm. And our new host has made a move in the guise of altruism that proves to be more dangerous than any could...

An Empire falls. Those Born to Win meet their fate of failure. The seekers of nirvana find themselves not on Cloud9, but cold, hard earth. With favorites falling left and right, The International 5 is proving more tumultuous than any of us could have predicted. Here at home, the future seems strange as well, with longtime co-host Johnny bidding the podcast a farewell as he goes on a journey of Dot...

What were the Ancients called when they were first born? Were they called Ancients then, as well, but the word meant nothing? Did they perhaps come to define the word? Personally, I like to imagine they had other names. Maybe they were just Dire and Radiant. Or maybe they were like Michelle and Angela. In this special guest episode of Bottle Crow, friend Ethan joins us for a test of his patience a...

Beat back the scouring light of day… embrace the shadow. Sink deep into the darkness of our podcast, brought to you by Shadow Demon, Shadow Fiend, Doom, and the letter R. Out here, in the shadows, there are many dark visions to behold- pro Techies, mild disappointment with Dota 2 Reborn, and the absence of the golden Immortal 3s that will  never light our land of shade. Grab a ghost and...

In the world of the hatless, the beret’d man is king. Are you crazy for Drow’s Mask of Madness? Are you pumped for Chaos Knight’s Armlet of Mordiggan? Do you wish I’d stop with this clumsy wordplay? Come in, friend. Come in, brother. There are so many things we can show you on this special episode of Bottle Crow. Infinite wonders to behold. Most of them are hats. Big thanks...

I am Colin. I speak for the lore. I speak for the lore, for the lore has no tongue. Except that it never shuts up. As Dota 2 is Reborn from the ashes of bad UI like its strength-based Phoenix, we look at custom games, the influx of League players, and experience our first ever major technical difficulty. Unreliable internet is the only thing more frustrating than Craggy Exterior, if you ask  ...

With the International 5 qualifiers behind us, we turn our eyes skyward. But lo, what is that among the clouds? It is words, written in fire, delivered by a divine hand! “You have 322 games remaining in the low priority matchmaking pool due to abandoning games.” You weep, and the only one that hears your tears is the queen of low priority- the Queen of Pain. Beg for forgiveness, though...

Sports! This week, special guest Emily Dalton joins us to explain why we sound like idiots every time we try to talk about hockey. We talk about why players associations will never happen, why draws would be a good thing, and the benefits of stability and branding. Oh, and why Legion Commander should have an entourage of ghosts. Because it’s us. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there...

It is a sudden thing, the death of a hero. Once, he was unstoppable. Nations bowed before him, and his face shone like the sun on all who gazed upon it. His enemies fled before him, and his allies knelt at his altar, praying for his justice to rain down. Now, there is nothing left. A mere man, a mere mortal, toiling as hard as any. Some, they laugh. They mock him for his past glory, and his fall d...

Dota 2’s latest 6.84 content patch is eminent, and Valve has released its patch notes  for public consumption. Naturally, this was cause for Johnny and I to read them together and repeatedly exclaim how nuts they are. Expert patch analysis, in podcast form! We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there , and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Bottle Crow is also avai...