Isnt that the case though? There are plenty of trash items, some really expensive ones and items inbetween.
No. Nothing made beyond 2014 has had any sort of predictability to its value. Things that should unique end up flooding the market by the thousands while items that find value only find it because of regionally-limited releases. There was a time when "Immortal" meant something and when some items only became available for a limited time only and remained hard to get. Pudge hooks, Void Timebreakers, Unusual couriers. Shit like that. Now? Every immortal is as likely to be worth $20 as it is to be worth $2 by the time the smoke clears. Nothing is logically rare anymore and almost everything sees the bottom drop out of its value. Things get re-released destroying what value some things may have temporarially had. Shit like that. It's just not a good look and one of the core reasons why a lot of people stopped trading in Dota2 and either moved back to TF2 or onto CSGo where better, more logical and predictable systems were still in place.
Thorin delivering the hit on RTZ that he deserves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWxFiIgYSLg
Had to look it up since you didn't like it.
And the church said, "amen." I feel like I just heard a 35 minute sermon and looked around to see when the collection plate was going to pass me. How long have I been saying the same shit in a far less verbose way? Not everything that glitters is gold, friends. And when you have a roster that was good enough to win it all, you don't fuck with that roster. Because not every "upgrade" on paper will be an upgrade in real life. Whether it's style, personality, ability to work well with others, etc...you have to understand why you are successful and you have to understand that the odds of
upgrading when you're already at or near the top already by changing out a part are slim...while the odds of fucking everything up are high.
The history of sports franchises are riddled with organizations that have made talent changes at essential positions thinking they were upgrading (say Andrew Luck for Peyton Manning, bringing in Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks, adding Carlos Boozer to the Jazz, Tiger Woods firing Butch Harmon) only to find out otherwise. Perhaps its a matter of age and maturity (which comes with experience). These sorts of things are obvious to me, but I'm probably the oldest person in the thread. I've seen all this same shit before across a lifetime of competitive experiences as an athlete and as a fan of better athletes in college and pros. I have to wonder who is advising these kids (and yea, many of you here are kids to me as well) at this level to ensure they don't just fall off a fucking cliff with roster changes. I wonder because Dota2 is high fucking stakes indeed. Gone are the days when $1000 winnings were something to look forward to as a good player on a good team. People are playing for millions of dollars and that can't be overstated. Win one of these tournaments and you can set your future family out for a couple of generations if you manage your money right. In light of such potential impact, it would seem to me that there would be value in having advisor staff that can help the players make intelligent decisions with their rosters and help squash personality issues and help bring the best out of these talented individuals. To date, I haven't seen much evidence of that for any of these teams.
Lastly, might I say how much the Jeff VanGundy quote he mentioned resonates with me:
Your best players have to unite and inspire the group
otherwise, theyll divide the group
Yes, they must. Whether we're talking about pro matches, queuing with friends or assembling IHL rosters, players have to be about the business of being good (with all the practice and effort that requires), but the leaders must be about the business of being the best while encouraging the best out of those around them so that their burden is easier and everyone can be successful. The best players on the team thus have a dual role. Failing to appreciate the additional burden creates failed teams that should otherwise be successful and a trail of broken dreams along the way.
I wish all these players and teams the best of luck but I do hope they find some proper guidance and a staff of advisors that can help them work out their individual and collective issues, many of which are not related to the mechanical and technical experience of playing dota2. For their sake and the future of the esport.
