- Acting for Two: Despite having well over a hundred different heroes, there are scarcely more than ten or twenty voice actors to give them all voices. While some of these are fairly obvious (Anti-Mage, Beastmaster, Necrophos and Warlock are all voiced by Sam A. Mowry, and sound like the same person at different ages), quite a few are very surprising (Crystal Maiden, Drow Ranger, Enchantress, Mirana, Phantom Assassin, Spectre, and Vengeful Spirit are all voiced by Gin Hammond). This can reach its peak when certain Heroes give responses after killing others.Nature's Prophet (voiced by Eric Newsome), after killing Leshrac (also voiced by Eric Newsome): Leshrac, now the earth splits you.
- With the addition of Earth Spirit, it is now possible to play a match where all 10 heroes are voiced by Nolan North (and as the cherry on top, one of those ten is Ogre Magi, who has two different voices that talk to each other regularly); if that wasn't enough, Meepo also got an announcer pack, meaning you can have a game where Nolan North provides commentary over two teams of Nolan North. And with the addition of Underlord, you can have a team (Abaddon, Bristleback, Skywrath Mage, Timbersaw, and Underlord) voiced by TJ Ramini.
- Techies is composed of three characters. All of them are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker with varying voice levels.
- Actor Allusion:
- Tinker is voiced by Harry S. Robins, who has done numerous voices for Valve's hit First-Person Shooter series, Half-Life. Many of his lines make reference to, if not direct quotations from, the series.
- Lich has a particularly specific line when casting Sacrifice:
- Similarly to Tinker in the above example, Oracle quotes the G-Man in Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Both are voiced by Micheal Shapiro.
- The Monkey King in the trailer is voiced by Matthew Mercer, who also voiced the same character for Heroes of Newerth, though he used his usual Baritone of Strength with no funny monkey noises to differentiate.
- The voice actor for the Monkey King in the Chinese language version of Dota 2 is Li Shihong, who is one of the many voice actors for Sun Wukong in the 1986 Journey to the West television series, considered to be one of the finest Journey to the West adaptations in the Chinese-language area.
- Tinker is voiced by Harry S. Robins, who has done numerous voices for Valve's hit First-Person Shooter series, Half-Life. Many of his lines
- Ascended Fanfic: It's a stand-alone remake to a Warcraft III mod. Many of the characters are Warcraft III characters or units with the Serial Numbers Filed Off.
- Dueling Works: The rivalry between Dota 2 fans and League of Legends fans is possibly the bloodiest and most-hateful in gaming history.
- Dummied Out: The Stalker and Drakken (originally Jungle Stalker and Dragonspawn) Ancient creep camps, which were removed in the transition from DotA to Dota 2, were all modelled and had their abilities coded, but were never actually allowed to spawn in the game itself.
- Fountain of Expies: It's difficult to deny Pudge's influence in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena community. He is by far the most copied hero for many MOBA games thanks to his iconic, dreaded skill combo of 'hook your enemy to your side and then pin them down in place while beating the crap out of them'. Other games' heroes and champions like Blitzcrank, Devourer, Stitches, Zhong Kui (not the one from Smite), Grakk, Franco, and many others with their chain hook skills owe their existence to Pudge.
- Official Fan-Submitted Content:
- Puck was the winning submission of a contest to create a hero based on the Faerie Dragon unit in Warcraft III.
- Most of the cosmetic item sets for heroes are created by the community. Creators submit their sets to the Steam Workshop, and if Valve approves them they are added to the game. A portion of the items' sales goes to the creator.
- The Other Darrin:
- Dota 2 is actually the last work done by David Scully, while he isn't dead, he hasn't been seen ever since he voiced the heroes at 2013. Hence, in other works like Dota Underlords and in case of Arcana, his roles were replaced by others (Bane has no replacement by the virtue of having no Arcana or appearing in other works):
- Juggernaut is inherited by WWE wrestler Samoa Joe, who also provides his new Arcana voiceover.
- Sven is inherited by Fred Tatasciore (also the voices of Disruptor, Spirit Breaker, Treant Protector, Undying and Ursa)
- Sand King and Morphling are inherited by Jack Daniel
- Dazzle is inherited by Darin De Paul
- Weaver is inherited by Jason Spisak
- Zig-zagged with Barry Dennen (Phantom Lancer, Chaos Knight and Rubick) who passed away in 2017. While Phantom Lancer hasn't reappeared or gotten an Arcana, Rubick got an Arcana but Valve decided to just use his old voicelines with added extra effect to respect Barry's passing. However, Valve still reassigned Chaos Knight to Darin De Paul for Dota Underlords due to the need for new voice lines.
- Dota 2 is actually the last work done by David Scully, while he isn't dead, he hasn't been seen ever since he voiced the heroes at 2013. Hence, in other works like Dota Underlords and in case of Arcana, his roles were replaced by others (Bane has no replacement by the virtue of having no Arcana or appearing in other works):
- The Other Marty: Monkey King was voiced by Matthew Mercer during his trailer and Bill Millsap in the actual game.
- Serial Numbers Filed Off: Many Heroes have had their names changed from their initial iterations since they bear similarities to characters from Blizzard franchises (the main issue coming from the Blizzard-Activision merger making lawsuits a very real possibility):
- Brewmaster was previously Pandaren Brewmaster. Due to the Pandarens being a World of Warcraft race, the "Pandaren" was removed and his design was shifted to resemble the red panda.
- Similar to the above, the three Spirits (Storm, Ember and Earth) used Pandaren models in the original DotA, and had their designs changed to more closely resemble humans. In the case of Earth Spirit, who was created long after Dota 2 became its own game, his DotA model was still a Pandaren for the sake of consistency.
- Lich was originally Kel'Thuzad, the arch-lich from the Warcraft series. Three of his spells were taken from the eponymous Warcraft III hero, and all received name changes: Frost Nova became Frost Blast, Frost Armor became Ice Armor, and Dark Ritual became Sacrifice.
- Magnus is referred to as Magnataur in the game files. The Magnataur are a race in the Warcraft universe, so the Magnoceros race was created in its place.
- Nature's Prophet had the name "Furion" in DotA, being a shortened version of "Malfurion Stormrage," a prominent Warcraft character.
- Necrophos was originally known as Necrolyte (and is still referred to as such in the game files).
- Outworld Devourer's original name was Obsidian Destroyer, based on a Warcraft III unit, so his initial Dota 2 name was Outworld Destroyer. It was very briefly changed to Outworld Demolisher, and then again changed to Outworld Devourer before going back to Outworld Destroyer. Some fans jokingly refer to him as Ongoing Developer due to this.
- Windranger was originally known as Windrunner. The change came due to Windrunner being the surname of a prominent family of heroes in the Warcraft universe. In DotA, Windranger was actually Alleria Windrunner, but used Sylvanas Windrunner's in-game model.
- Wraith King was originally Skeleton King, who was based on the Diablo character King Leoric. The entire Frostivus 2013 event was created around the complete change in his appearance.
- Cairne Bloodhoof the Tauren Chieftain was changed completely in character concept and became Elder Titan.
- Thrall, the protagonist of the Orc campaign from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, was simply named after his title, Disruptor.
- Rounding off the Horde trio, Rexxar the Beastmaster became Karroch the Beastmaster. Rexxar was the main protagonist for the Orc campaign of the Warcraft III expansion pack, The Frozen Throne.
- Brewmaster was previously Pandaren Brewmaster. Due to the Pandarens being a World of Warcraft race, the "Pandaren" was removed and his design was shifted to resemble the red panda
- What Could Have Been: Tiny was, at one point, slated to have a bird companion named "Little Roc." However, this was left on the cutting room floor and all voicelines referencing Little Roc were Dummied Out.
List of Hero Release Order: The Original DOTA Allstars
- Original release set:
- Crystal Maiden
- Drow Ranger
- Lich
- Lina
- Lion
- Razor
- Shadow Shaman
- Sven
- Vengeful Spirit
- Slardar
- Faceless Void
- Viper
- Venomancer
- Nature's Prophet (Furion/Prophet)
- Pugna
- Doom
- Chen
- Riki (Rikimaru)
- Queen of Pain
- Wraith King (Skeleton King)
- Death Prophet
- Silencer
- Nyx Assassin (Nerubian Assassin)
- Visage
- Magnus
- Released in the year 2004 (simultaneous release is in one bullet together)
- Terrorblade
- Anti-Mage, Sniper, Omniknight, Dragon Knight, Clinkz, Lycan, Chaos Knight, Phantom Assassin, Luna
- Medusa
- Zeus, Leshrac, Juggernaut, Lifestealer, Bounty Hunter, Naga Siren, Techies (Goblin Techies)
- Morphling
- Pudge, Night Stalker, Brewmaster (Pandaren Brewmaster)
- Troll Warlord, Centaur Warrunner (Centaur Warchief)
- Broodmother, Lone Druid
- Treant Protector
- Tidehunter
- Ursa, Bane
- Necrophos (Necrolyte), Sand King, Tinker, Ogre Magi, Keeper of the Light
- Released in 2005
- Axe, Dazzle, Earthshaker, Enigma, Tiny, Enchantress, Shadow Fiend, Weaver (Nerubian Weaver), Bloodseeker, Phantom Lancer
- Spirit Breaker, Bristleback
- Invoker
- Abaddon
- Released in 2006
- Witch Doctor, Spectre
- Beastmaster, Jakiro, Outworld Destroyer (Obsidian Destroyer)
- Warlock, Alchemist
- Mirana
- Released in 2007
- Meepo
- Storm Spirit, Dark Seer, Huskar, Undying, Templar Assassin, Underlord (Pit Lord)
- Puck
- Released in 2008
- Clockwerk
- Windranger (Alleria/Windrunner), Kunkka
- Released in 2009
- Batrider, Elder Titan (Cairne/Tauren Chieftain)
- Ancient Apparition, Slark
- Released in 2010
- Shadow Demon, Gyrocopter, Io, Disruptor (Thrall)
- Tusk (Tuskarr), Phoenix
- Released in 2011
- Rubick
- Timbersaw (Goblin Shredder), Skywrath Mage, Ember Spirit, Legion Commander
- Released in 2012
- Winter Wyvern, Arc Warden
- Released in 2013
- Earth Spirit, Oracle
List of Hero Release Order: Dota 2
- Original release set:
- Crystal Maiden
- Drow Ranger
- Lich
- Lina
- Lion
- Razor
- Shadow Shaman
- Sven
- Vengeful Spirit
- Anti-Mage
- Zeus
- Morphling
- Pudge
- Tidehunter
- Necrophos
- Sand King
- Axe
- Dazzle
- Earthshaker
- Witch Doctor
- Mirana
- Storm Spirit
- Puck
- Windranger
- Released in 2011:
- Slardar
- Enigma
- Faceless Void, Viper, Tiny
- Venomancer
- Nature's Prophet, Clockwerk
- Sniper, Dark Seer
- Pugna, Beastmaster
- Leshrac, Enchantress, Shadow Fiend
- Tinker
- Weaver
- Night Stalker
- Spectre, Ancient Apparition
- Doom
- Chen
- Juggernaut
- Bloodseeker, Kunkka
- Riki
- Queen of Pain, Wraith King, Broodmother
- Jakiro, Huskar, Batrider
- Omniknight, Dragon Knight
- Warlock
- Alchemist
- Lifestealer
- Death Prophet
- Ursa
- Bounty Hunter
- Released in 2012:
- Silencer, Spirit Breaker
- Invoker
- Clinkz
- Outworld Devourer
- Bane
- Shadow Demon
- Lycan
- Lone Druid
- Brewmaster
- Phantom Lancer
- Treant Protector
- Ogre Magi
- Chaos Knight, Phantom Assassin
- Gyrocopter
- Rubick
- Luna, Io
- Undying, Disruptor
- Templar Assassin
- Naga Siren
- Nyx Assassin, Visage, Keeper of the Light
- Meepo
- Magnus
- Centaur Warrunner
- Slark
- Timbersaw
- Released in 2013:
- Medusa
- Troll Warlord
- Tusk
- Bristleback
- Skywrath Mage
- Elder Titan
- Abaddon
- Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit
- Legion Commander
- Released in 2014:
- Terrorblade, Phoenix
- Techies
- Oracle
- Released in 2015:
- Winter Wyvern
- Arc Warden
- Released in 2016:
- Underlord
- Monkey King
- Released in 2017:
- Pangolier, Dark Willow
- Released in 2018:
- Grimstroke
- Released in 2019:
- Mars
- Snapfire, Void Spirit
- Released in 2020:
- Hoodwink
- Released in 2021:
- Dawnbreaker
- Marci
- Released in 2022:
- Primal Beast
- Released in 2023:
- Muerta
