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Huge Dota 2 update adds nod to Terry Pratchett

It was octarine, the colour of magic.

Valve just released a huge update to its phenomenally popular multiplayer online battle arena game Dota 2, and while players are still digging into the details and discussing their impact, the community has discovered a clear nod to author Terry Pratchett.

Dota 2 now has a new endgame item called the Octarine Core, formed from Mystic Staff and Soul Booster. According to the patch notes, it provides an impressive boost to Intelligence, HP, Mana, HP regeneration and Mana regeneration, and includes a passive reduction of 25 per cent on all cooldowns, as well as a passive Spell Lifesteal. It's pretty powerful for all mage type heroes.

Discworld fans will know octarine as the colour of magic in Pratchett's fantasy universe. The Colour of Magic is the name of the first Discworld novel, released in 1983. Here's a quote from it:

The video, below, shows off Dota 2's Octarine Core in action.

Dota 2 is the latest video game to add a tribute or reference to Terry Pratchett, who died aged 66 last month after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Frontier immortalised Sir Terry with a starport set within the Elite: Dangerous universe.

Cover image for YouTube videoDota 2 - Patch 6.84 : Octarine Core New Item!