Hiring a crew in White Spire
Dota Underlords is a strategy battler set in the world of Dota where you hire a crew and destroy your rivals. Strategic decisions matter more than twitch reflexes, so you spend your time recruiting heroes, upgrading them into more powerful versions of themselves, and building alliances. Each hero you recruit can form unique alliances, and stacking your team with allied heroes unlocks powerful bonuses that can crush your rivals. You also pick from four Underlords to lead your crew; they are powerful units who fight on the field alongside your crew, and each brings its own playstyle, perks, and abilities.
Playing together with your group
Your group can pick from several different game modes and play on your own or with friends. A Standard game is the strategic option, a Knockout match is the quick one, and a co-op Duos match lets you team up with a friend. Ranked matchmaking lets you climb through the ranks against other Underlords. For a private session, you can create your own private lobbies and matches, then invite spectators to watch 8 Underlords duke it out. Crossplay works across PC and mobile, so you can start a match on your PC and finish it on your mobile device, or the other way around. Your profile is shared across all devices, so your progress follows you.
What to know before starting
Season One is out of Early Access and brings a City Crawl campaign where you take back White Spire neighborhood by neighborhood, Underlord by Underlord. You complete puzzle challenges, win quick street-fights, and complete in-game challenges to clear paths and take over the city, unlocking rewards like new outfits for your Underlords, new wanted poster artwork, victory dances, and titles. The Battle Pass offers over 100 rewards, including new boards, weather effects, profile customization, skins, and other gameplay cosmetics; many are earned for free simply by playing, and the paid Battle Pass is not required to play nor does it give any gameplay advantage. Offline play runs on a sophisticated AI with 4 levels of difficulty and lets you pause and resume games at your leisure, which is a good place to hone your skills. Each season says goodbye to certain Heroes, Items, and Alliances to make room for new additions, so the roster changes over time.