Far less players than the previous TI Battle Pass have reached level 1000 and claimed the Aegis Replica reward in 2022.
The 2022 Battle Pass has seen fewer players reach its highest levels than the last TI Battle Pass. Half as many players reached level 1000+ in the Battle Pass in 2022 compared to the previous TI Battle Pass in 2020.
In a post on the Dota 2 subreddit by user mancko28, the Dota 2 community’s attention was drawn to the Stratz data on Battle Pass purchases. This data showed that this year’s Aegis Replica was claimed by just 48,181 players, compared to the 2020 TI Battle Pass Aegis Replica, which was claimed by 159,263 players — a huge drop-off.
The Aegis Replica is the traditional reward for a level 1000 Battle Pass. The 2022 Battle Pass is still active for three more days, but it's unlikely it will make up the 100,000 deficit. There was no TI Battle Pass in 2021.
Why the lack of level 1000+ Battle Pass users
Part of the reason for the fall-off in level 1000+ players is likely a perceived drop in quality. This year’s battle pass has seen a mixed reception. While it’s longer run-time, two parts, and the fact it was straight up given away earlier this year, it’s hard to argue with the seemingly reduced rewards elsewhere. Outside of Immortals, Personas, and Arcanas, there was an abundance of candy, balloons, disco balls, conga lines, and other rewards that really didn’t do much.
Couple this with a lack of FOMO thanks to just how long the pass was, the staccato way in which the rewards were released, and a lack of high-level Battle Pass players is understandable. We already looked into the question of whether the Battle Pass has fallen off, and many fans seemed to have answered “yes” with their wallets.
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A silver lining?
In 18 months, we’ve had 10 months of Battle Passes! It’s hard to make something special if it happens every other month.
However, while the drop-off is huge, there could be other reasons for the decrease. For one, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a disappointing lack of level 1000+ players. Stratz shows that in 2019 there were just 33,526 Aegis Replicas claimed, which itself was a massive decrease from 2018, where 162,223 replicas were claimed.
Additionally, there might just be a sense of general Battle Pass fatigue. In 2021-2022, we had three battle passes, with the Nemestice 2021 Battle Pass running from June 2021 to August 2021, the Aghanim’s Labyrinth Battle Pass running from December 2021 to late February 2022, and the 2022 Battle Pass running for four months, until 2023. In 18 months, we’ve had 10 months of Battle Passes! It’s hard to make something special if it happens every other month.
This, coupled with the fact only a portion of this mammoth Battle Pass was actually going to the esports scene and the initially underwhelming art for some of the releases (Razor Arcana getting a late glow-up didn’t help), means this is perhaps more of an anomaly than a trend. That is good news for Valve, but hopefully, they’ll still take a lesson from this Battle Pass going forward.
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