Whether you need a break from playing and just want to watch some Dota or you're tuning into the latest event, Dota Spectator mode is the way to do it. All of this is available right from within the Dota 2 client, suing what is officially called Dota 2 TV. From there you can search for any live matches and tune in, monitor all the games stats, and even give gifts to the players or other spectators.

Events and Tournaments

To get to Dota 2 TV, load up your client and select "Watch" from the upper menu bar. The first thing you'll see after pulling it up is the events page. The events page contains a calendar of all the upcoming tournaments, be they official or hosted by a third party.

One tab over is the tournaments tab. This tab contains the latest tournaments and a lengthy description for each. If a tournament is live, a red button will be visible to the right of the tournament description. By expanding a tournament using the arrow tab on the right, you can see all of the individual games of a tournament. There you can choose to view the recent games and their outcomes, or any live games that may be going on. If there are live games happening, you can select "watch" to join the broadcast in progress.

Results of recent games that have ended can be expanded with the "details" button. There you can choose to download a full replay of the game, or a highlights package with some of the games major events.

Premium Tournaments - As you may have noticed, some tournaments are classified as premium. These tournaments cannot be viewed without first having purchased a pass from the Dota 2 store. Once you purchase a ticket you will need to activate it. This is done by loading up your Dota 2 client and heading to the armory. There you will see your purchased ticket which you must right click on and select "Use". Confirm it's use and you will now be able to return to Dota 2 Tv and watch the tournament.

 Live Games

The live games page if full of, you guessed it, games being played right at that moment. It's important to note that only player games will show up here and not any tournaments or events. In addition to the number of spectators watching each game, you can see the heroes being played as well as the player's names. The list can be filtered by hero meaning you can search for matches containing a certain hero/ heroes. You can also check the "Team Games" filter to show only games that are being played by players who queued as a team. Select "Watch" to join any of these games in progress.

Recent Games & Downloaded

The next two tabs in the menu bar are recent games and downloaded games. Recent games looks a lot like the live games page except that it contains games that have recently ended. Like the recent tournaments, you can view the details of the recently ended games and download replays.

The downloaded tab is fairly self explanatory. All replays you have downloaded will appear in the downloads page. Here you can view or delete replays you don't want to store locally anymore.

Viewing a Match

Broadcasters - If you happen to be viewing a match with one or more Broadcasters you will be promoted to select one immediately after the broadcast loads. If you do not want any broadcaster at all, you can also select no broadcaster from the bottom of the options pane. If you want to change a broadcaster later in the game, it can be done using the drop down selector in the top menu bar.

Camera Modes - There are several camera modes to choose from for your viewing pleasure.

• Directed Camera - Automatically controlled by the game. Will go where the action is (usually).
• Player Perspective - Allows you to see through the eyes of the player, including all of their mouse selections and camera movements. Select the hero of your choice from the top menu.
• Broadcaster Camera - Shows you what the broadcaster is viewing. Good to use if you're listening to a broadcaster.
• Free Camera - Just like playing a game. You can control the camera and move it where you will.
• Hero Chase - Choose a hero and the camera will follow that hero wherever they go.

Fog of War - The fog of war drop down allows you to choose which fog of war you see, whether it be dire, radiant, or both.

Notifications - During a game you can receive a couple different forms of notifications. The first are the in game notifications which will display whenever a player makes a major purchase. You will receive an prompt displaying the player who made the purchase and whatever item it is they bought.

The second variety are broadcaster notifications. These appear as the broadcaster creates them, and they will show up to any that are following their broadcast of the game.

Stats - During the game you have access to all the in game statistics you could want. These are brought up via the drop down in the top left of the screen. Using this interface you can view player items, the amount of xp earned per player, gold earned, kills, deaths, assists and more.

Team Pennants - The team pennants are a way to show your support for your favorite team. You can purchase pennants from the store and then equip them before you join a broadcast. The total tally of each teams pennants held by the spectating players is shown at the top of the screen.

Tournament Drops - Another bonus for tuning in to tournaments is the chance to receive special items that sometimes drop after big events happen in a match such as first blood or a Roshan kill.