Bottle Crow Reborn

With the Dota pro shuffle in full effect, we call in Jesse Cox to tell it how it is. OG, DC, the future of the pro scene? Lofty aspirations and dirty realities collide in this discussion of competitive gaming’s bad habits. Not really, I guess, but that sentence sounded cool, so I wrote it. Mostly we just talk about how much we like MoonMeander. Colin recovers from a long session of tilt, Jesse’s MMR climb continues, and Underlord is out. That’s a thing. Plus, Lore of the Week returns! We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! Big thank you to Jesse Cox for guesting on this episode. You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Boy. Well, at least we got it out the door. This is the most technologically messy episode we’ve put out, by far. It just… the things didn’t work like they should have. There’s some good conversation here! We hope you enjoy it! But there’s a lot more good conversation on the cutting room floor, because of the number of devices that broke in the production of this episode. It’s truly staggering. I hope I never have to Frankenstein together an episode like this again T.T We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, Emily’s @hob_vooshvazool,  and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

This week on Bottle Crow, we travel back… way back. Watching pro Dota 2 from TI1-TI2 era, we’ve come to some realizations about commentary, pro player insight, and what needs to be done with Pudge. The solo queue life is getting Colin down, and Valve’s negligence is getting on everyone’s nerves. Sorry for the bummer episode, but in times like these, what else can we offer? Also, since Starladder ended since we recorded this: NAVI’S BACK, YO! We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

On this Bottle Crow Special Colin interviews Michael Capps, a longtime friend of his, about his gradual fallout with Dota, slide into more casual play, and how Overwatch got him interested in the concept of competitive gaming again. It’s just a little thing, but I didn’t want the RSS feed to go… unfed just because Emily wasn’t feeling up to it. Regular Bottle Crow coming soon! We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Big thanks to Mike for helping out this week- appreciate it, man. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Emily’s gonna be pretty upset with me when she sees what I did with the title of this one. The Manila Major is over, and the International 6 has begun! At least, its open qualifiers have. EG and Secret exploded and reformed again, Aui got screwed again, we were right to be OG fans again. What a weird time for Dota. As we study the 6.88 meta, we realize that while it’s fun to see Lifestealer kick ass in pro, Naix has nothing to do with the life-sucking nature of the pub life these days. Oh, and guess what? Skywrath is a right proper prick. It’s fun to be back on the Bottle Crow train, I tell ya. It’s my favorite thing I make. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

When did it become “Arteezy” instead of “RTZ?” It was definitely RTZ when I first got into Dota. Oh, gotta apologize up front- I checked my Dotabuff, and this was technically my SECOND longest game of Dota ever, by about five minutes. Still- quite the endeavor. The Manila Major approaches, the Battle Pass beckons, and Axe sings Scarborough Fair. Join us! We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Nobody blink, Bottle Crow is back! Listen, I’m gonna be honest. I’m not really sure what I meant by that. It sounded better in my head. Moscow’s Epicenter LAN is over, with perhaps a hint of what the Manila Major will bring. We’ve played some 6.87, and maybe it’s not the WORST thing that’s ever happened to us. Bounty Hunter needs himself an Aghanim’s, the Great Blink Dagger Debate, and don’t hold birthday parties inside sandstorms. It’s good to be back. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Be careful what you wish for- you just might get it. A day after we posted a podcast joking about how 6.87 was never coming, it came. And we’re… mixed on it? Lame Ags upgrades, a crazy new recon ability for the whole team, nerfs, buffs, weird items… it’s been a few days since we recorded this, and my emotional progression with this patch has been =O =) =| =\. We’ll see where it goes from here. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!  

Icefrog, plz. We want some excitement in our lives. Too long has the Learned One ruled us from a throne of ten spells. Too long has our intelligence been stolen and our sanity shattered. Deliver us to the next patch, to the next compendium, to the next horizon. Help us, Icefrog. You’re our only hope. Also, Na’vi is back. The hell? We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

It’s been a year now. How is the hat scene in Dota? It’s… a mixed bag. Emily and Colin dive deep into the wild world of cosmetics for their heroes. Come on guys, playing dress-up in your video game isn’t enough, let’s play critic of dress-up in the video game. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! Special thanks to Ben and Johnny for helping out this week. You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

The Dota 2 pro scene has exploded. Spring Cleaning has spawned a shower of bugs. The MMR climb is endless. This week, I’m joined by listener Jesse Cox to talk about clawing your way out of the trenches with good mental attitudes, smart planning, and knowing your own weaknesses. Dota 2’s March came in like Lion, but it’s going out like a lamb. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! Big thanks to Jesse Cox for joining me this week! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Hey, man. How’s it going? How was your day? Sit down. Take a deep breath, and relax. The Shanghai Major’s stunning conclusion’s here for us to discuss. Did Colin throw in one of the games he and Emily played together? A fanfic imbued with the spirit of brevity. So, so much more. May this Dota Nightmare never end. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

The Shanghai Major rolls on, and the games have been as good as the production has been bad. We make some predictions that are already wrong by the time this comes out, we get super hyped about a team that then got knocked out in the first round, and we talk mid heroes, and why it’s so haaaaard. Also we talk fanfic, and jesus god this one is some super super NSFW nonsense. Serious listener advisement for the last 15 minutes- it’s… somethin’, I tell you what. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Bottle Crow’s been rolling for over a year now. With Emily out on podcast sick leave, I think it’s a good time to get reflective, and considerate. What drives people away from the game we’re all so passionate about? One guy who never got over the initial hump, and one guy who just can’t get into the game like he used to. This great game of ours ain’t perfect, and it’s done us all wrong at times. Let’s think about that for a while. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! Special thanks to Ben and Johnny for helping out this week. You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

This Winter, give battle a pass. The Shanghai Major is coming up, but whoooo cares when we’ve got so much to talk about? Player report cards, tip your servers and supports, why is League, Hightower the Phantom Thief. Hey, guys- we’re all pretty good at Dota. Hang in there. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

This week, Emily and I are in a little deep on the dark side of the support life. Supporting buffoons is a hard life. There will never be enough wards, you will never have enough mana. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll have enough patience. The Shanghai Major, the ESPN of eSports, TWO fanfics… take your bottle from the courier, and have a seat. We’ve got a cast for ya. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

And with strange aeons, even years may die. 2015’s gone. The Shanghai Major approaches. And we’re well into the life of 6.86. Ranked Random Draft is the greatest, Death Prophet’s pretty dope these days, and KotL and Night Stalker make pretty good cops. Bottle Crow- you already know what it is. What’s good. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

Patch 6.86 arrives, and host emeritus Johnny comes out of retirement once again to tell you what’s what! …Hey, I just now realized that every single one of the Spirits has a “____ Remnant” ability. Well, that’s neither here nor there. Arc Warden! The death of Winter Wyvern! And, of course, the most balanced hero of all finally comes to Captain’s Mode. “An even better spot.” Get HYPE. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. You can find Johnny on Twitter at @JohnnyWarpzone, Colin is @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. You can email questions or comments to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

I get why Icefrog is so enamored with them, but the Spirit heroes have some of the most frustrating abilities in Dota. Ember Spirit especially just needs a fundamental redesign, in my opinion. He’s rad! He’s mega cool. I like his four word line poetry business. But for god’s sake make him not so insanely maddening to fight. Dazzle Aghanim’s, the Summit 4, and Sir Action Slacks appreciation. We got it all for ya! We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!

No, seriously. A second person fanfic. I knew from the moment I heard that, that I would not like what I was going to hear. It could have been worse? But that’s almost worse in and of itself. “Commit! Or don’t.” The Frankfurt Major, the surprising lack of team shakeups, and Everybody Loves Notail. We’re on iTunes! You can subscribe there, and leave a review if you like! That would really help us out. Tell your Dota friends about us, help spread the word! You can find Colin on Twitter at @SixTwoSixFour, and the official Bottle Crow twitter is @BottleCrow. Email your questions to bottlecrowpodcast@gmail.com! See again in two weeks!