Dota is an ensemble cast, but keen observers looking through the collection of rogues, wizards, druids, and knights (not to mention two characters named "ranger") may have noticed the absence of that most maligned of hero classes: the bard. At least, up until now.

Introducing Dota's newest hero: Largo, the bard.

Unlike bards with your traditional bard powers (singing about current events and chord changes), Largo is the shamanic head of the bardmonk order. He tailors every song to his exact circumstances, raising his allies' spirits or, if necessary, their foot speed as they run toward battle (or away). As a frog, his prehensile tongue has, shall we say, all kinds of tricks. You can read a little about his past, or you can help explore his future in Dota right now.

Today's update also includes gameplay patch 7.40. (As is tradition, the patch notes are too long to fit in this blog, so we made a whole site to hold them and show some highlights.)

Largo is taking over the main menu in Dota for a bit, but the Monster Hunter event is still ongoing and there's plenty of time left to craft whatever you're working towards. Since it's the holidays, we're putting the Dota 2 x Monster Hunter Expedition Pack on sale and granting everyone who owned it already a special early-purchase voucher material bundle. On top of that, we're giving everyone who logs in over the holidays a free bundle of crafting materials. Happy hunting!

Speaking of holiday festivities, some of the usual shenanigans have made their reappearance, reminding us all of the true spirit of the holidays: pelting your enemies in the face with snowballs.

We hope everybody in the Dota community has a safe and happy holiday, and we'll see you next year.