I’m still not fortunate enough to count myself among the DotA 2 beta community, but it seems my chances are growing day by day. Since the initial batch of beta invites went out, Valve’s DotA 2 server list has grown in leaps and bounds, up to the current 5,000+. That number may seem meaningless, but that number has grown from just over 200 servers in a matter of 10 days.

Still, it seems the number of actual beta participants is relatively low compared to the number of interested parties. This is pure speculation, of course, but a quick scout of some major DotA fansites suggests invites are out to 2-3 percent of the interested population. Those numbers are certainly lower than I expected when Valve said it would be ramping up invites every few days.

I am still excited for DotA 2, but I wonder when we’ll see a full-fledged open beta. Any later this year and we’re dipping into some major multiplayer release territory. SWTOR hits shelves in December and Diablo 3 is looming in 2012. I don’t know about you, but I won’t have time for all 3 games. I might not even have time for 2.

I hope you are a luckier person than I am. The first wave of DotA 2 beta invites went out sometime this evening, each player receiving two additional invites to share with friends. If you haven’t checked your email I would highly recommend you do so as soon as possible. If you made it into the first wave, congrats!

Of course it goes without saying that I would owe anyone willing to share an extra friend key my firstborn child. Being that I’ve been asked for the same favor roughly 40 times in the past day, I’d imagine most keys are spoken for. My Steam is “TheWuggler” just in case – feel free to add me for other games as well.

With Gamescom up and running, the DotA 2 International tournament is in full swing, with teams competing for the first place purse of $1,000,000. This is also the first time the world at large has seen DotA 2, a game that, in my opinion, looks fantastic. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed DotA on a very visceral level. It was somewhere in the back of my mind, but as soon as I saw Valve’s take on some of my favorite champions – Windrunner, Beastmaster, Dark Seer, Night Stalker – I felt the excitement of playing the game again.

I think Valve has done a really nice job with the graphics. Honestly, with as good as DotA 2 looks, I don’t think HoN really stands a chance. HoN’s big selling point up to this point was that it was DotA with “better” graphics. For some reason, though, they changed the names of the items and the champions and made the graphics look all sorts of crazy. DotA 2 actually is DotA with better graphics and, from the looks of things, everything is still the same. I can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing on the whole, but I’m willing to say it’s a bad thing for HoN

I think the key to quick success is for Valve to release at the right time and the right price. No doubt there will be plenty of current DotA players making the switch. According to the livestreams today, some 1.5 million people were watching the International tournament. But I would like to see a vibrant DotA 2 community, including newplayers. I know a few friends who will be playing DotA for the first time in DotA 2, and it is a very different game. Without a fresh community, those newer players will have a frustrating time getting acclimated to the game.

With the beta just getting started, I could see a DotA 2 launch as late as the end of November. As for price, I’m hoping it’s free-ninety-free, but I also wouldn’t mind seeing a buy-in price. It would hopefully keep smurfs from being too much of an issue and encourage players to be a bit more careful with their accounts. I’m also not sure if Valve is planning any sort of skin system or microtransaction model. If interest is high enough around the game, it makes plenty of sense to do a box cost and then follow it up with microtransactions down the road. Valve could easily make back development costs and then look for more ways to turn the game into a mint.

Did you watch any of the footage? Are you excited for DotA 2 or content to chug along in LoL? Think you’ll be playing both? Let me know in the comments.