I haven't played in over a week, mostly due to being out of town, but the Dota 2 Halloween Diretide has me drawn in at the moment too (lots of extra items!)
Not too fussed though since I'm not obligated to be on the cutting edge with no raid group relying on me or anything. I find that the game starts to lose its draw if I'm away for a bit. When I next boot it up, I'm sure the hooks will grab me back again.
Free items?