How to Install and Play Dota Auto Chess

Dota Auto Chess is Drodo Studio's original auto-battler custom game for Dota 2. Up to eight players recruit Dota heroes as pieces, combine duplicates, activate species and class synergies, and position a team on an 8-by-8 board. Battles run automatically; the player's decisions happen in the shop, economy, lineup, and positioning phases.

The original custom game requires the free 64-bit version of Dota 2 and Steam. Drodo also publishes a separate game called Auto Chess, so check which version your friends use before installing.

Install Dota Auto Chess through Dota 2

1. Install Dota 2 from Steam, launch it, and allow all current game files to finish downloading.
2. Open the Arcade or custom-games section in Dota 2.
3. Search for DOTA AUTO CHESS and confirm that the creator is Drodo Studio. The official Steam Workshop listing identifies the map and creator.
4. Subscribe to or install the custom game, then select Play. Choose a region with acceptable latency and join or create a lobby.
5. Open the in-game beginner guide, usually marked with a question-mark icon, because controls and piece values can change with the map's updates.

If the workshop item is hidden, incompatible, or missing from Arcade, do not install a copied map from an unverified file site. Use Drodo's standalone Auto Chess release on Steam instead, understanding that it has its own pieces, balance, interface, and account progression.

How a match works

A match alternates between preparation and combat rounds. During preparation, spend gold to buy pieces, move them between the bench and board, and arrange the active lineup. When combat begins, the pieces fight automatically.

• Player level: normally limits how many pieces can be deployed.
• Shop: offers a rotating selection drawn from a shared pool.
• Bench: stores pieces that are not currently fighting.
• Health: falls after a lost round; reaching zero eliminates the player.
• Gold: comes from rounds and can be affected by streaks or savings, depending on the current rules.

Early neutral rounds teach the interface and can award items. Later rounds primarily compare player armies, with occasional neutral encounters depending on the map version.

Buy and upgrade pieces

Most auto-battler upgrades combine multiple copies of the same piece. In classic Dota Auto Chess, three identical one-star pieces typically form a two-star piece, and three identical two-star pieces form a three-star piece. Check the current in-game rules before committing bench space, because custom-game updates can change mechanics.

Upgrading a durable frontline or an important damage dealer is usually more valuable than buying many unrelated one-star pieces. Do not fill the bench so completely that the next useful pair cannot be purchased.

Build around synergies, not isolated heroes

Each piece belongs to a species and class. Deploying enough distinct qualifying pieces activates bonuses. A strong board normally combines:

• a frontline that survives long enough for abilities to charge;
• reliable physical or magical damage;
• control, healing, or protection where the lineup needs it;
• two or three compatible synergies rather than every available bonus.

Do not force the same composition every match. The shared pool means other players can reduce the copies available to you. Use the first shops to identify several possible directions, then commit after you find upgrades or important pieces.

Manage gold and experience

Gold can buy pieces, reroll the shop, or purchase experience. The key tension is immediate strength versus future economy.

• Reroll only when an upgrade or survival breakpoint is worth the cost.
• Save when the board is stable and the rules reward banked gold.
• Buy experience when an extra deployed piece or synergy will materially improve the next fights.
• Spend aggressively when low health makes long-term savings irrelevant.

Exact interest thresholds, streak rewards, and leveling costs can change. Read the gold and experience tooltips in the live custom game instead of relying on an old fixed table.

Position the board deliberately

• Put tanks and disposable summons where they absorb the first attacks.
• Keep fragile ranged pieces behind protection, but avoid clustering every unit against area damage.
• Place an important caster where it can gain mana without being eliminated immediately.
• Scout other boards between rounds and move a carry away from common assassins or targeted control.
• Reposition before combat ends its preparation timer; the pieces cannot be moved during the fight.

Beginner mistakes to avoid

• Buying every pair and ending with no coherent synergy
• Rerolling heavily at a low level when the desired piece is unlikely to appear
• Holding weak bench pieces while passing a needed upgrade
• Ignoring opponents who are contesting the same shared pool
• Equipping every item immediately without considering the best long-term carrier
• Following a 2019 tier list after the roster and balance have changed

If the custom game fails to launch

1. Restart Steam and Dota 2, then verify Dota 2's installed files.
2. Unsubscribe from the map, restart Dota 2, and subscribe again through the official listing.
3. Make sure the 64-bit client is running and that Dota 2 is fully updated.
4. Try a different lobby or region if matchmaking stalls.
5. Check the Workshop page for a current incompatibility or removal notice.

TipsMake's Dota 2 system-requirements guide can help diagnose performance problems. If Steam itself is missing, follow its guide to setting up and using Steam; Dota 2 and the custom game do not require a game purchase.