The Dark Carnival arrives in Dota 2

After the disappearance of Axe a few days ago, Dota 2 players were abuzz with what Valve were cooking up. An event was on the horizon, and the theories were flying around, but most pointed to a Ringmaster-related event heading our way – specifically, Dark Carnival. Now, it has arrived, and it lands with a new lore-lovers story, a handful of Personas, and a trove of treasure sets too.

With the hype around The International 2026 now beginning to build, Dark Carnival sets us off on an interesting path, with only the first chapter revealed and more to come in the next few weeks.

Love, Dota 2, and Robots: the Dark Carnival is here

Dota 2’s Dark Carnival event centres its attention on Legion Commander and Hoodwink, as they find themselves imprisoned on Ringmaster’s train. Our mission is simple; guide the heroes to the front of the train and unravel the mysteries along the way.

Similar to the Crownfall events before, Dark Carnival has players collect tickets to progress the story forward and unlock rewards. This time, the tickets are akin to Tarot Cards – similar to The Quarry where you deliver the cards to a Fortune Teller. However, in Dota 2, we use them to unlock our path forward on the train.

Players are tasked with utilising different heroes to unlock the next step, as they make their way through a daunting journey along the train. Some stops offer small rewards such as Chat Wheel Messages, Emoticons, and Loading Screens, while others give us rare skin sets. These fully-circus themed sets are available by progressing the story, and are for Crystal Maiden, Phantom Assassin, Invoker, and Magnus.

Currently, only two train cars are open, “The Prison Car” and “The Smelting Car”, with Chapter 2 unlocking on July 10th, 2026, to further the story.

Automaton Personas in the store

The Dark Carnival Store has also come to town, and with it, are five hero Personas. Axe, Legion Commander, Oracle, Morphling, and Bristleback all get an Automaton Persona. Players can purchase these, as well as various other items within the store. This includes a pack with Dark Carnival themed creeps, Secret Room Keys, and various other items related to the event.

The Treasure of Wonders

It’s not a Dota 2 event without a treasure trove of fantastic sets, and the Dark Carnival comes with the Treasure of Wonders. Within this chest, players can find themselves with a chance of obtaining one of fifteen new themed sets, including two rare, a very rare, and an ultra rare set. The Treasure of Wonders chest can be purchased via the store but is also rewarded along the story path of the event.

The list of sets in the Treasure of Wonders is:

• Drow Ranger – Motley Marauder
• Undying – Court Fester
• Queen of Pain – Mistress of Ceremonies
• Arc Warden – Palms of Prophecy
• Troll Warlord – Lute and Pillager
• Death Prophet – Mademoiselle Macabaret
• Phantom Lancer – Flim-Flam Felidae
• Dawnbreaker – Bar Belle
• Templar Assassin – Vaudevillain
• Monkey King – Bonobo the Clown
• Pudge – The Woodcutter
• Primal Beast – Mane Attraction (Rare)
• Mirana – Selemene Showgirl (Rare)
• Dark Willow – Fairy Godmummer (Very Rare)
• IO – Madame Scrio (Ultra Rare)

The Dark Carnival event is out now, and players will possibly have quite some time to earn these cosmetics, unlock the story, and possibly obtain even more skins in the future. In their recent post, highlighting the event, Valve stated that they are “just getting started” – and with Hoodwink not getting any attention, while being a main character in the story, it’s a safe bet that they will receive some attention as the event unlocks.