Benevolent Evil

(Chapter 1) The End of Me - part2

Everything changed, reality itself blinked for a moment, I failed to notice when. Afterlife was strange at times, more than one would expect.
Myself now standing in front of a large stone table. Around me endless arrays of stone columns, spreading as far as the eye could see. There was no noticeable light source, but I saw everything as clearly as if I was camping outside on a summer day.
To my surprise, the familiar white screen blinked into existence.
–---------------------------------------------------------
Name: Niilo Novak
Race: Human
Status: Dead
Dark Karma: 13 476 003 501
–---------------------------------------------------------
“Wow! He was not lying!”- a single utterly ecstatic female voice came from seemingly everywhere.-“A Human with dark karma in the damn BILLIONS!”
I do not know what I had expected, but this definitely was not it.
“You are sharp! What damn thing have you done to score this high?”- the same female voice expressed its thoughts, visibly excited.
Yet, I was too shocked to answer, the sudden change of atmosphere more than too heavy on my mortal mind. What could I possibly say to someone excited about the death of billions?
“Hey, do you hear me?!”
A few seconds passed before I gathered the mental fortitude to reply.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Excellent! Can’t wait to start your reincarnation. This is so sharp! Sick sharp!” -I could not understand ‘her’ tone of voice. Who the hell could be happy to deal with a man in my circumstances.
“Sharp?”- was the first question I asked. Now when I think about it, I should have started with something better.
“Oh, it’s just a phrase I use when something is...”- she paused for a bit-” brutally awesome!”
“Many would fail to see anything ‘sharp’ about thirteen billion dark karma.”- my voice as cold and emotionless as it gets. I was psychologically too drained to act otherwise.
She only chuckled at my words.
“Aren’t you a bad-ass, ahahahha”- her laugh seemed genuine, and I understood nothing. The last ‘God’ was unlike her, I presumed she was something similar. But hell, he seemed to have been hurt by my actions more than it dared to show.
“Well, well...”- her voice continuing- “…by these numbers I surely do not need an answer to that, hhihi... ” - she giggled.
The table in front of me unchanging, no chair in sight, the endless stone columns unmoving also.
“So, here is the deal”-she spoke, finally in a more serious tone.-” You shall serve me, it’s that simple.”
Yeah, I will need more than that, was what I thought. But I was met with silence, she did not seem to sense my thoughts as the God from before. To understand me as he was and give an immediate answer.
“You will have to be more specific.”- my emotions still shattered, but my curiosity was genuine.
“What is there to be specific about?”-her words made it truly sound like something every child should know-” You will worship me as your deity, build temples and cathedrals in my glory, offer me worthy sacrifices, convert others to my faith and so on.”
She differed greatly from the last ‘God’. While he was worried about me, or at least had radiated such aura, her motives were obviously personal by nature.
“Sacrifices?”- My subconsciousness was screaming, from the moment she spoke that word. I could only imagine what she meant by it. Yet strangely, none of my worries radiated from my voice.
“Indeed... they are what feeds me. And judging by your dark karma, you will have no problems with providing them...”-something in those words froze my nerves. Their subtone truly inhuman.
“AHAHAHHAHAAH!”-followed by laughter, cripplingly ecstatic. She... she was absolutely thrilled about it.
Yet, I… I needed to be careful with her. I could sense it now, somehow, instinctively I already knew it from the second she first giggled.
I had to know more, tread lightly.
“Is this amount of dark karma that unusual?”- Was the best I was able to come up with.
Silence, it was all around me. Still, I could feel someone observing me, a confused look all over her face. At least that was how I internally interpreted the lack of a timely answer.
“Are you kidding?”-now it was she who sounded genuinely interested.
I took a large breath, though it seemed I actually did not need to breathe. Well, I was dead, so that made sense.
“Do I look like somebody who is often kidding?”- I went on full bad-ass mode, bluff to be sure, but it was obvious from the start she had a very different picture about me from the one which was true.
Now I was playing on my ‘dark karma’ card.
“It’s the record here”- the color of her voice was different now, calmer-” Nobody ever had the dark karma in billions. Let alone over thirteen billion.”-again she giggled.
Now I understood why she was so excited, partially anyway.
“Ahem… any special requests or advice?”-I said those words as coldly as I could. Still trying to pull out as much information as possible while not overdoing it with questions.
“Hmmm…” there was a noticeable pause in her words - ” No specific request yet per se. But I have plenty of advice I wanted to give you anyhow.”
Well, that was at least something. Though I had hoped to find out more about the ‘sacrifices’ without being too direct. If she expected me to be ripping out beating hearts for her glory, she would be in for a hell of a surprise.
But I was not stupid enough to tell her that.
She continued-” Show no mercy...”-I did not like the sound of it “- they might seem nice at first because trust me, they will not spare you. In the best case you will burn alive like a sweet heretic of mine you are… ahahhahahaha”- damn, her laughter was creepy as hell.
“As you can guess, my religion is not that well accepted, but I reckon you will be able to valiantly defend it. Unlike many other of my servants.”
“I’ll do my best”-the short answer seemed like the right one here.
“I am positive you will. Something tells me we will get along, heheheeheh”- She seemed sure of it, I did not.
The entire area around me ‘shook’, like there was a short earthquake. Yet I knew it could be nothing so mundane.
“Now we just need to wisely spend your dark karma”- again, I had no fricking idea what she was referring to, yet I did not dare to ask any more questions. At least not too suddenly.
The same familiar window appeared in front of me: Yet this time, there was more to it.
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Niilo Novak
Race: Human
Status: Dead
Dark Karma: 13 476 003 501
Accept the servitude to the Goddess of Darkness.
YES? NO?
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was silent like a dead man… well I was actually dead, but you get what I mean.
However, inside my mind I was screaming!
“Goddess of Darkness?!! This for real?! Servitude????!!... Fricking reincarnation.”
I know one should not judge a book by its cover but this was as obvious as it gets. What my common sense had been telling me ever since she first spoke to me was true. Somebody who understands what thirteen billion of dark karma means and calls it ‘sharp’ is undoubtedly a fricking murderous monster.
I was simply lucky she suspected nothing. Like ofc, she too has common sense, and the God which sent me here obviously did not tell her much, trying to protect me or something. So she too followed the only possible logical conclusion, the one which dictated I would be a perfect follower of hers.
I took another deep breath, despite the fact I was dead. My psyche warranted it.
“Oh, you need to say 'Yes'. It does not react to mental commands.”-she clarified, and then I realized something. It fully dawned on me.
She really can’t read my thoughts! I noticed it the moment she did not answer the first question I pondered inside my head, and further down the line when she failed to mind-read how disturbed I felt about her erratic laughter. But now I had direct confirmation.
Unlike the previous God I talked to. But why was it so?
In general she seemed much ‘weaker’ than him. I could really feel it, somehow.
“Yes.”- One might be ‘surprised’ I answered that quickly. But I did not want to give her ANY impression I was having second thoughts. Because I was positively sure negative things waited for those who had this much dark karma. If they did not reincarnate as a servant of some Goddess that is.
The screen changed instantly.
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Niilo Novak
Race: Human
Status: In servitude to the Goddess of Darkness
Dark Karma: 13 476 003 501
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“AAHAHAAHAHAH!!!! AAAAhhhhh!!! Hhhhhh!!!!”- It was her, and I cringed inside. That laughtesound did not seem human at all!.
“You beautiful being, to think a human would make me scream hard like this.”-she giggled, this time somehow notoriously, more than usual.
For my part, I prayed to God (the first one) that she would not figure me out. I was not sure about everything, that was a fact. But currently it took an idiot to think her and my moral views were the same.
“Now it’s time we go shopping, sharp. Heheheh...”
I interrupted her-” Shopping?”- the question slipping out of my mouth. It’s fricking hard to control your thoughts when you are dead. I will tell you that much.
“Tdaaaaaa! We are now billionaires after all. ”- I could not see her, but the way she said it made me sure she had a wicked smile on her face.
A similar-sized screen appeared again in front of me. However, the information displayed was very different.
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Method of payment?

Karma
Souls
Blood
Dark Karma

–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah… I did not like what I saw. I really did not.
“You need to say Dark Karma… naturally”- her voice brimming with happiness.
I spoke the words and an array of lists flew all over my view. Options, statistics, numbered bars, names I have never seen before. The screen was everything but simplistic; I could read what it said, but the amount of data was overwhelming.
But not to her!
Certainly not her! To this day, I still do not know how was I able to keep my nerves calm. She was screaming like a child in an all-you-can-eat ice cream shop.
“Look at all those unlocked options! There is not a single thing out of our reach hihihihi. You will... serve me well, hahaha”- Those last words were everything but child-like.
To my defense, I tried to keep my mouth shut and focus. To observe and learn.
“Now... what is your preferred style of combat?” -for some reason, I never imagined she would ask that. I really didn’t, so it’s no small wonder I was slow to come up with anything. Instead of answering to someone who was now likely my overlord I just stood there, staring into the screen like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Hellooo? Your Goddess is speaking to you.”-luckily she did not seem agitated.
But even with the obvious lack of hostility coming from her words, I panicked.
“Fists… bare hands.” -well, it’s not like I had any other ‘combat experience’.
“Oh... seriously?”-again, there was no ill-intent radiating from her words. Thus I tried to rectify the situation I had tossed myself into.
“I am actually not that bad of a brawler. But I prefer to use my brain.”- well, I was totally 100% honest there. Hell, I killed a few billion people that way, so… Ehhhh, no, it’s too soon for that joke.
“Intelligence-based build? But a fighter?”-she said it as if I knew what she was talking about. Yet, I could not let her see the depths of my ignorance.
“Yeah, absolutely...”-again, the short answer is the best answer. I am pretty sure that logic is flawless whenever you are talking to the actual fricking Goddess of Darkness.
There was so much I wanted to ask, for her to explain me the world I was to reincarnate inside of. What level of technology they had. The political situation, history, etc. Yet I was careful here. Betting on the common-sense conclusion that the act of spending those thirteen billion of dark karma will keep me safe.
“ Magic or Leadership oriented?”- another question about something I knew nothing about.
“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuucckkk!”-my mind was screaming. I felt like a student who did not even know the name of the class he was attending, being questioned by the professor.
“Leadership… obviously.” - I filled those words with as much confidence as I possibly could. While shocked that she mentioned ‘magic’. Damn, I should have figured something like that would pop out from somewhere.
“Okay! I can work with that. It actually makes sense when I think about it!”- that excitement-riddled reply gave me more relief than I would have thought possible. She had bought it, and it actually ‘made sense’!
In hindsight, it was pretty damn obvious she would believe the judgment of somebody who has over thirteen billion dark karma. For all I knew, that gigantic number made me the foremost expert in whatever she was doing.
And when Einstein is sitting there explaining physics to you, you frickin listen to him!
“Ehhh… quantity oriented... right?”- She was now asking me for direction? My ‘show of confidence’ really made her think my word held the weight of an expert?
I had to take advantage of it, to assert myself even more. Make her trust me that way.
“Absolutely not! The quality is a quantity of its own, when properly deployed.”- level of my ‘badassery’ overwhelming even me. What the hell was I even saying?
“Oh… wow! Never heard of such a build...”-I feared she might have become a bit suspicious there, luckily I was wrong -”...then again with this amount of dark karma you can sharply afford some unheard-of things.”
Oooo… she was eating my words like they were a dessert cooked by a master chef.
A few seconds later she said something on how intelligence builds usually need to worry about getting hurt, but I could afford an extremely resilient body. Even more so because I was able to pay a hefty fine. Supposedly, nobody was ever that rich to pay any fine.
Then she evilly giggled, that seemed to be a habit of hers.
So, I just continued standing there while data, numerated bars and everything else on the screen in front of me moved all around it. Parts of it sometimes blipping and going out of existence. Instantly being replaced by another set of information.
Then she suddenly screamed like a rich spoiled sixteen-year-old girl getting a brand new Mercedes.-” Haa!! Look at all these passives compatible with this build!”
I could swear to God (the first one) that she looked at me at the very moment with her eyes as wide as they get, although I was alone there -and could only sense her voice- But there was this distinct feeling that she was staring at me lingering in the air.
“Sharp!”- she exclaimed with playful zeal -” other choices were straight forward, but I am not sure about this. What do you think?”-the question obviously directed at myself.
The information on the screen was now simplistic, revealing what she was talking about. I could see a list of five ‘passives’. But I could not escape the notion of how ‘game-like’ this all was.
“Selecting passive powers? What the hell is this!? Dota 3?”- I thought.
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compatible Passive**: Arch-summoner** (available)
Compatible Passive**: Internal Strike** (available)
Compatible Passive**: Pestilence** (available)
Compatible Passive**: Body of Shadow** (available)
Compatible Passive**: Touch of True** Eclipse (available)
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then in a moment of child like madness, I just went for the “Touch of True Eclipse”. Because it was the last on the list and sounded the most ‘exotic’. Plus I honestly wanted to make a fast decision and thus project a picture that ‘I knew what the hell I was doing’.
“Stealth passive?! I thought you would rather opt for the Arch-summoner? Increased leadership and all that. Or maybe an Internal Strike, large critical damage plus a stun?”- she immediately stated
Ouch… that might not have been the right choice?!
“You dislike it?”- I was a bit worried at that moment, but still composed.
“No, no, it’s an interesting choice really.”- sounding almost as if she was afraid she insulted me-” It makes you quite versatile. ”
“Well… if you insist another passive would be better, then...”-yet I was immediately interrupted.
“Oh! Nonsense, it’s your body… I can’t wait to see this build in action. Sharp!”
I simply nodded with my head, really slowly, and she giggled… again.
A few minutes passed, a dozen more numerated bars popped in and out of the screen, not much more happened. I held my tongue shut with spartan discipline.
Then she spoke-” Alright, I need you to confirm all of those purchases”
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Price: 1 992 711 711 Dark Karma
Amount left: 11 483 291 790 Dark Karma
Confirm the Payment
Yes? No?
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Yes”-I spoke without thinking. Again, I did not want to give her ANY reason to doubt me. What questioning her spending of the resources would surely cause. At least that is what I thought.
Two billion? She spent two billion? I… I was not sure what exactly to think. I knew I was intellectually blind about all of this.
A hellish amount of ‘congratulation/notification’ messages spamming my view interrupted my stream of thoughts. I took a sudden and a rather clumsy step back. To make it worse, I didn’t manage to read any of them, capturing not a single drop of information by my eyes.
Maniacal sounds startled me- “AahAHHAHAHAHA!!! Aaaaaaahhhhhii!”- ‘laughter’ coming from her. Yet, I was kind of getting used to it, emphasis on ‘kind of’.
“This is sooooo sharp! Ahahahaha! So much of it! I can’t even spend it! AHAAHAH”- well she seemed to be in a good mood. I reckoned that was not that good of a sign.
Well, my father always told me the only way to make a girl happy was to have more money than she can spend. I bet that rule was worth double if she was a Goddess of Darkness.
Thanks dad, you were right all along.
.
.
.
.
.
In front of me stood the status of my ‘afterlife bank account’:
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Niilo Novak
Race: Human
Status: In servitude to the Goddess of Darkness
Dark Karma: 11 483 291 790
–-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“You like what you see? Darling?”- her voice was now different, I sensed it coming somewhere close behind me. I turned around.
Turned around confident I would see her.
Yet there was nothing. Only empty space, the same it was the first time I appeared in this ‘universe’.
“Darling?”-she called me once again.
“D-darling?”-I questioned her choice of the word. A word like that did not feel right. Not even as a joke. Not in a situation like this.
“Hihihihih, anyone who lets me spend two billion dark karma is my darling.”- again I felt that wicked smile and her eyes on me. But I could see nothing around me, not a trace of the deity.
“Well, I am not one to question your words”- trying to sound loyal and diplomatic.
“Indeed, you are a smart one.”- it really sounded like an actual compliment.-” And soon to be handsome in that new – fearsome - body of yours… hehehehe”
Well, that was a given.
Reincarnation would make a ‘new man’ out of me. That much I have expected ever since I heard reincarnation was even an option. Therefore I did not care about it. I wanted to be alive damn it! And somehow, even while serving this Goddess, survive and maybe repent my sins.
I had to make it count this time.
“So... what do you want to do next? ”- the color of her voice strangely ‘natural’ almost as if I were on a date and we just finished watching a movie. The only problem being that she actually asked me a direct question. I had to deflect in any way possible.
“I firmly believe it’s you who should decide on our next course of action.”
“Well… I am a Goddess, but somebody of your caliber surely has few quality ideas on his mind”-her logic and common sense seemed unquestionable.
“Shiiiiit! Of course she would think I had a ton of ideas. Intelligence build, fighter, leadership-oriented and all that other crap I told her” - I lost my cool for a second there; even frowned.
“Everything alright?”-she asked. Even the worry in her voice sounded genuine. Yet I knew it was far from the truth. Nobody who is ecstatic about the amount of dark karma I had can possibly be sympathetic towards others.
To my surprise that brain of mine actually worked for once.-“I will have to think everything over. Not keen to rush any decision if I do not have to.”- Yea that 100% sounded like a bullet-proof type of smart answer.
“Sure, take your time… I need to take care of a few things anyway. Will be back in an hour or so, then we can talk it over, haahahah. ”
It worked! I was a bit worried when I said it, but yea. That was some brilliant devil’s lawyer level shit on my part. I had captured the most valuable commodity one can ask for in any conflict, the time.
“See you later! Darling… hehe”-damn I would have sworn her voice sounded innocent there for a second. Yea, devil is a deceptive bastard, alright. Goddess of Darkness is surely not far behind.
I had to figure the shit out of this. To read through the same screen, that she used to ‘spend’ my dark karma. There had to be a lot... and I really mean A LOT of useful information there.
Thus, both hungry and desperate for knowledge, I quickly opened it by just saying a few words. Everything here seemed to work that way, a surprisingly user-friendly interface.
I began to read it superficially at first, just to get a general idea. What was where, how it was organized, etc. Sometimes glancing over the numbers and graphs, more focus on the written word.
However, one part soon caught my eye.
The purchase history! It was practically at the bottom, like one might expect. I rushed to look at it.
To my satisfaction, there was an orderly list of all things my ‘Goddess’ bought, starting with the most expensive one.
–-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The purchase --------- The Price
TITLE: Dreadlord (Unlocked) ………………………. …. 513 000 000 Dark Karma
Active Ability: Herald of Darkness (Unlocked)……………… 71 000 000 Dark Karma
Passive: Immortal (Unlocked)……………………………... ……47 000 000 Dark Karma
Passive: Deathless (Unlocked)…………………………………….. 27 000 000 Dark Karma
Active Ability: Aura of Primal Fear (Unlocked)……………… 27 000 000 Dark Karma
Compatible Passive: Touch of True Eclipse (Unlocked)………113 000 000 Dark Karma
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The initial list was short, but I knew not what a single thing there meant. Yet... in an awkward way it honestly looked like something I expected to find.
“What is a Dreadlord?” - Of course I was going to check the most expensive ‘Title’ first. And like every time, the screen displayed the answer.
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[Dreadlord:” Ruler of Darkness, the Leader of Shadows, the Son of Eclipse, a being which transcended evil and became its master.”
Gives one the strength to carve up his very own soul and still survive unscratched. Having that kind of resource at hand, one can thus call forth fanatically loyal servants which are able to act independent, using their own better judgment. Meaning they might not be loyal forever, but as long as they are, they will serve their creator… even beyond death.
Note: “Default understanding of a multitude of languages, both written, spoken, or gesticulated is always included in high tier Leadership oriented Title.”
→ Further Details...]
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Huh….? What the?
The description of it was like something from a poorly written fantasy. And everything below ‘the explanation’ of what it does, made no sense, except the part on being a polyglot. However, if I had any doubts this ‘Goddess of Darkness’ might not be such a bad deity, they were nonexistent now.
“Further Details...”-my words shallow, but moist with the yearning for knowledge.
Predictably, another window popped up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Many who are in servitude to the Goddess of Darkness spill their precious blood to summon mindless minions that only inherit the physical traits of a corpse used for the purpose, subsequently enhancing it proportionally to the potency of the blood.
But the Dreadlord can do immeasurably more, bringing forth servants unlike any others, by giving them a piece of his soul, embedding it into the core of their being. Such an unholy act creates an abomination imbued with two somewhat chaotic and unpredictable gifts. One originating from the dead body, while the other is inherited directly from the piece of its creator’s soul, no matter how corrupt it may be. ]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Fucking excellent!! What am I exactly??? Some kind of soul-necromancer bullshit.”
It took a moment for my mind to sober up.
I inhaled deeply, my eyes rushing further down; the title ‘Immortal’ piqued my interest enormously. My mind hoped it would be exactly what it said, no strings attached.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Immortal:” The one who does not age, practically resistant to nature of death, able to fully regenerate as long as there is a single trace of his soul left. ”
Note: “Reattaching/Absorbing severed body parts instead of waiting for them to regrow significantly increases regeneration rate and preserves body mass.”
----------------------------------------—----------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, well… that was superbly useful. I could not argue there. However, seeing that I was a kind of “Immortal”, the Deathless passive seemed redundant. What could it possibly be?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deathless:” Survival! Utterly resistant to critical injuries and capable of functioning even after suffering the most grievous damage, the Deathless one is nigh impossible to kill. No flame, poison, or bane of his race will stop its natural regeneration.”
Note: “Beings gifted with this passive possess senses and reflexes of range and scope far beyond that of any mortal. Precognition of incoming danger is like breathing to them. With spatial awareness that knows almost no bounds.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damn… that was, ‘sharp’. If there was one thing I did not want to happen, it was to get murdered. At least that Goddess and I were on the same page regarding that.
Still, there were many more arrays of data to go through.
I urgently went down to see all other ‘purchases’, both worried and interested in what else I might find.
My worry unexpectedly changed into confusion when I saw this.
–-------------—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The purchase -------- The Price
Item**: Obsidian Granite 5 000 000 tons** (stored)………. 25 000 000 Dark Karma
Item**: Pure Iridium 100 tons** (stored) ……………….. 25 000 000 Dark Karma
Item**: Pure Platinum 1000 tons** (stored) ……………… 20 000 000 Dark Karma
Item**: Silver Coins 50000 tons** (stored) ………………. . 10 000 000 Dark Karma
Item**: Emanating Marble 300 tons** (stored) ………….. 10 000 000 Dark Karma
Item**: Sacred Pearls 100 tons** (stored) …………………. 9 000 000 Dark Karma
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What the hell was that, and she bought tons of it? Some kinds of materials? Huh?!.
Even after inspecting what they were, I really had no clue of their purpose. Except for the silver coins, currency obviously. But the fact that she was spending millions of human lives worth of dark karma likely meant it was necessary.
“Why was she buying all of that?”
Unable to understand what I was looking at, and unwilling to lightheartedly spend the valuable time I had. My mind quickly switched to other problems, searching for any information I could understand.
A few minutes after, I saw another interesting piece of data listed under “Penalties”. I opened it on instinct, not expecting to find anything which might surprise me more than anything else thus far.
I was wrong.
More so that one might think.
–------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The purchase -------- The Price
Paid Fine: Owns both the Immortal and Deathless passive…... 313 000 000 Dark Karma
Direct Penalty: Hunger for Life
Direct Penalty: Uncontrollable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------—----------
Needless to say… I instantly went over this.
Something in the back of my mind radiating ominous precognition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hunger for life:” The one who needs to kill to quell his hunger. Consume the Blood or Souls of living to sustain himself. ”
Every day spent consuming neither Blood nor Soul of living deteriorates one’s condition and capabilities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------—-------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uncontrollable:” One whose strengths are beyond him, prone to unwillingly losing authority over his own actions.”
Note:” Due to also possessing Hunger for Life penalty, the effect of the Uncontrollable slowly increase for every single day spent consuming no Blood or Soul of a living.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This for real??
Consuming?!? Fricking... CONSUMING the Blood or Soul of a living?
Yea, I was no lawyer, but my gut feeling told me this surely did not apply to the “blood and soul” of some animals. The beings I would have to kill, likely being far more sapient in their nature.
I had to change these settings, these purchases. There was no way I would allow myself to reincarnate as some blood-hungry psychopath.
Word by word, detail by detail, I needed to save myself.
What in God’s name did that bitch of a Goddess plan to reincarnate me into? Some immortal cannibal?
The first minute passed as I was trying to straighten my thoughts.
The following ten minutes I was searching for some type of “cancel purchase” button. To my horror, none was there.
But there had to be a way to undo this. Even if I had to spend another shit-load of dark karma.
Another fifteen minutes flew by, I was already reading the small print and any side information I saw. I already spent the last life being a murderous monster, another one was one too much.
In a reasonable effort to recollect my thoughts, I took a two-minute break, walking around the stone table. I was getting better, I understood more every second.
The fact that I was able to talk to the “screen” made it all much easier, far more efficient. You did not want to press the wrong button or something like that in this situation.
Ten minutes after I took another short break. Trying to connect dots here and there. Seeing a bigger picture, seeing a clearer picture. That would help a lot.
I was sure of it.
I was getting better at this.
Well, of course, after all, I knew how to read and speak, you did not need much more to work with this.
Luckily for me. If it was in some language I did not understand I would have been in a rather unsalvageable situation.
Twenty minutes after that I felt like bashing at the screen when the message popped out.
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Please Note That All Purchases are Final, Non-Refundable and Non-Exchangeable.
Note: [Any and all purchases can only be done directly by deity].
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shit!

NEXT CHAPTER ->

To all the DotA is dying post/videos i've seen recently.

Firstly i would like to start with introducing myself, just to make you sure i am nowhere nearly new to DotA, even tho i only recently chose to take it seriously. After a couple of months of actually trying to improve my gameplay, and aim for not just the Immortal rank, but the competitive scene as well, even if im a bit "older" for a professional gamer let alone one who wishes to start his career next year, as i started aiming for that goal, i atually started reviewing reddit posts and youtube videos, stuff like gameplay, meta videos, even some tutorials. I started coming across videos and posts on reddit and some popular streamers and generally people known in DotA community posting hatefull stuff about DotA, mainly focusing on these things:

Community is toxic Im sure that is the one thing you will find in each kind of these videos and posts, even in those that praise the game, people usually say these kind of stuff. IT'S NOT TRUE!!! Sure, every 3-4 games people can start fighting in the draft because someone picked something that isnt in the meta or doesnt seem to be popular in that mmr bracket, i've came across these people and situations, and my first respons is why are we fighting? The game hasnt even started yet? Usually after that kind of question both sides would well make claims and theories about why are they right, and the other player isnt and we lost gg. After which i calm down the situation by saying yea sure that hero is bad because of those reasons but its good because of those right? They would agree and be like sure lets go on see how the game goes. I learned to ease the tention at the very start of the argument, especially in those that happen before the first wave of creeps even spawns, i guess people do treat each other better later in the game if they allready had one argument and seemed to overcome it. Then find more empathy for the future mistake that the other side might be making. I cant explain this but i feel like if the first fight happens that fast into the game and we manage to overcome it we somehow build a better bond and actually play as teammates throught the first 10 minutes of the game, which leads to even better mid game and that usually does the job in winning the game in the first place. If the fight happens because someone is feeding or some kind of ackward gameplay that results in a teammate dying, and then the flame starts, i would recommend just asking the player attacked to switch lanes, or help you out with something and be sure to congratulate that person so everyone can see that hes not that bad after all. It helps the flamed player to release preassure of not making further mistakes, and it helps showing the flamer that everyone can make good and bad moves and they shouldnt just focus on the bad ones. You would be surprised at how many times this works. 9/10 would recommend. People being toxic because some speaks their native language??? So as much as it seems distortive to listen to a language you dont understand while focusing on last hits, im sure it cant be that bad, and im sure that those people (russians mostly) are talking to their party friends with whom they lane together, which means they are cooperating and that just leads to you having not to worry about that lane cause its gonna be won. Not everyone is good at english, some dont even know how to speak it at all and yet they want to play and communicate like the rest, let them be focus on your own thing or lover the voice audio option for that game its not that hard. Also most of these people are not even using the voice chat, and if you dont have a problem having LAKAD MATATAG on your screen every second im sure you wont have a problem with a sentence that you cant understand. The main reason why i feel this toxicity problem is not true is also because of the player base that DotA as a game has, and i feel its unique, nowhere in other games will you find that many older guys and girls playing than in DotA. This is actually very contradictory to the post itself as it suggests that there are no new young people playing the game but im sure they are here they are just not used to using the voice chat that much. Im saying this out of personal experience. Now that im older i usually use only voice chat, while when i was younger i was well shy i guess to talk. I dont know if im right about this, but i feel like i am. My point is that those older players have been in gaming communities for years, they developed friendships and relationships with other players though out the years and i think all of them-us realised that being nice to other people online is making you feel better about yourself aswell and it might result in making some online friends even. I even developed a desire to learn russian language just by playing the game and will be focusing on that in the future, those russian servers are gonna be helpfull once i start learning, something i never thought is gonna happen, intentional queing russian server :D Finally what i want to say about the toxicity in the game, and you can notice i didnt mentioned it as an option in how to deal with the toxicity that i find very rare in the game is the mute button. Yes i feel like that should be an option but lean onto figuring stuff out before muting someone, because that toxic person will still continue to flame your teammates and they are gonna tilt, which will result in loss even tho you werent hearing any of that.Instead talk to them for 20 seconds and im sure most people will chill out and be nice. But if someones a jerk and nothing you do helps them stop, f%%k him ignore him forever.
Player base keeps dropping month after month So yes, the statistics do show this, and yes its pandemic out there which should most definitely result into people getting into their favourite game even more however.... I want to think differently. For me DotA before pandemic didnt exist for lets say 4 years, ive been a very active player since the start of 2013 untill 2015, by very active i mean 5500 games played with over 7000 hours on steam, yes for the 2 years period of time. In that time DotA at the start felt like fun. I was a DotA 1 player for years, but i didnt really get things i used to play clockwerk with 2 perservances maxing out the rocket and spamming it, played qop with the blink for the fun of it and never understood how someone can play meepo or invoker because the amount of skill i felt needed for that hero to be usefull i thought i never possesed or never will posess. DotA helped me than, im talking about DotA 2 make lifelong friendships from lan partys i had with people, i even have a friend from Russia since that time whom i still play with today, all those people from lan partys also played DotA 1 and still play DotA 2 today. In that time i remember the hype around 1 million dollar reward for winning the TI, i remeber possesing the green compendium not battle pass and how cool were the predictions back than. It was massive i even heared some news irl talk about how massive reward is going to be for an online game. If someone was to tell me that 5 years later the prize pool would be over 20-30 millions, i would drop everything and started working on becoming the best player in the world. So my point is, the prizes are growing every year, and the best part is that the community itself is making them huge, i overheared today how that is bad, i dont see how that is bad. How many games are out there that do not give a 25% of the cost of all the cosmetics back to the players that deserve it the most? I havent heared of any and if im wrong please tell me otherwise. It is an awesome thing from valve to do, and i would like to defend them in that case. Its also genius. This makes me sound like everything is about money, but if you rate DotA as a success or a game that is doomed to die out, at least rate it by the statistics that show constant growth in the competitive scene, which keeps a game alive. Games like fortnite for example dont have this and those are the games that i believe everyone will eventually play however no one is gonna stick to it because there doesnt seem to be that goal of actually becoming a paid professinal in something you put so much time in. Thats why those games are more popular than dota but do not have players commiting to them for the long run. I want to go back to the start of why i started telling you this, the reason why i quit dota in 2015 is because it started to feel like a chore, i hit 5k mmr and back then it was a big deal okay? It wasnt easy, and life around me kept happening, the games were hard and i could chose beetween playing for 4-5 hours in order to maintain the skill lever or play for even longer to achieve higher ranks or go outside and do stuff, party make friends find girls. I chose that and was coming back to dota for a game or two ever 2-3 months. Then 12 months ago i came back. I saw a huge competitive scene, larg sums of money in play, streams with over 10k views, game itself changed and progressed on the levels i couldnt even expect, they added talents, some new heroes, new neutral camps, everything was the same but everything was also different, the meta wasnt trilanes anymore it was 2 supports, the mmr system changed, the medals were a new thing, map was different, but the best part is that all the best things that i remember from 2013-14 still stayed. I could still see Dendi play, i could still hear some of the casters back then in the game still doing that, and the progress i made with my mmr climb still felt so good. The feeling of winning and losing didnt change i still found many old friends online still rocking it as they were. I fell in love again and i thought nothing new could happen. Oh yes i only felt bad because the name compendium doesnt exist anymore and is now battlepass, it just sounds more pay to win even if its not, and compendium sounds like a tournament pass/ticket. Anyway i was wrong, just as i got hooked again and got my rank, it was 2.4k Archon medal, later i even dropped to crusader at one point, the 7.23 came out, with it the new hero, completely new meta, new map, and yes the neutral items. Aghanim upgrades to each hero was huge to me, i remeber i thoguht people are gonna play clockwerk pos1 now because of the 8 seconds attack speed boost, how dumb right? But my point is the game developers found a way to again make something new out of a game that was allready complex enough, and yet it didnt go over the levels where we as players wont be able to fit it in in our allready very heavily occupied skill level requirements. The game is alive thanks to the devs and players, the game keeps evolving, and i dont know why everyone feels like its over, if i learned anything from this game its that it will keep chaning in ways we cant even imagine, but because it did changed so many times throught my lifetime, and even found its way as independent game the one thing im sure of is that it will not die out, it will stay with us throught our lifetimes, and it will keep growing and changing, i cant wait to show my kids my steam account and the screenshots i have.
Bpass content sucks levels cant be gained through playing Okay so your favourite hero didnt get the new arcana this year, or you dont like the pudge persona because it looks silly? Or am persona isnt sexy enough? Well its normal that you like last years invoker more than this years pudge, but hey the content cant be always perfect, out of five arcanas and personas we all have the ones we like the most and the ones we dont like, its cool that WK got his old hero looks back through arcana, i think its genius because of what ive said about player base, i loved it because when i was playing dota as a kid its how he looked and when they changed him and his name i felt terrible, and now thats back, i think thats their way of rewarding the legacy players, and the ones that are in here for that many years, also a thing many of redditors and youtubers complained about. He also says something like im back which is cool if you ask me. Skeleton king is back in the "flesh" ( get it?) Pudge persona looks silly because its supposed to be a toy! Its not supposed to look scary its supposed to look goofy... Anti mage Wei isnt sexy because anti mage presents a balanced personality hero even his voicelines say so, and i guess thats why she also looks very confident and not like qop who is a sidistic bitch and i hate her and all the players that play her (dendi im talking to you as you are my favourite player and the fact that shes your favourite hero isnt looking good on you) im just kidding but i feel like most of you guys didnt see beyond your personal desires when it comes to cosmetics, they are keeping them up to heroes spells, lores, and i guess voiceliness in terms of personalities. The hype around waiting for the bpass contest is also something i would like to say a few words about even tho i found myself wanting more content and logging every day in hopes to see the new thing. We had a big amount of content in this years bpas, and the bpas itself lasted around 3 months. Now thats 90 days, even tho the amount of items and prizes are big, you cant expect to get the stuff on daily bases. It would spoil the feeling of getting the prize in the first place, and it wouldnt have the same value. Yes valve does taunt us indeed with this wait and with the order they get things out for us, but thats normal, look at any company with any product, and in reality thats what DotA is, its a product for you and me to use, and in order to keep that product alive and make both sides happy it is required to use some strategy to create money and in the same time to keep players in need of supply and keep them a little bit in the dark for some time just so they can feel special when they get something they wanted for some time, its much like in life if you think about it. So my guess is lower your expectations a little bit, we cant love every single thing that comes out and we cant have new things every week playing this game, then the game would truly die out. Instead focus on what happened to this game in this year or the last and realise much have changed and many new things were added. Finally the bpas leveling. I got my lvl1 bpas and i got 2 bundles of levels which is in total 241 leves, my bpas is now 459 lvl which im sure is also gonna go up by at least 120 more levels with the rare bundles and 2 weeks of tokens betting. That all costed less than 70$ for the span of 3 months of bpas which makes it 23$ a month. Thats less than the cost of 1 arcana. And you get so much value. And the bonus treasure that were included in the bpas bundle is also a very cool thing. Now i dont have a huge rate of success with betting, its around 60% so it means it couldve been higher, but what i do have is constant grind of guild contracts and clearing the cavern crawl, completing the achievements collecting bountys, and i have to mention i played 1 game of aghanim labyrinth so i imagine it wouldve been at least 30-40 levels higher if i chose to dedicate that much time in grinding, but i didnt. In the end of the day, yes that stuff isnt free but its not suppose to be i allready mentioned its both amazing and genius that valve made a decision to give away 25% of all the sales to the prize pool, and in return you get so much stuff, that is also exclusive and will forever be so. Again for 23$ a month.

Anyway much more i would like to say now that im reading this, but i realised i spent almost two hours writing this and ive never comitted to doing this kind of thing online, i was just bored from the ranked games and didnt have much to do so i thought to share my thoughts, and also see your responses to what i think, i was thinking about making youtube videos and content about dota since i played if for so many years, but im second guessing that now that i realise how much time it actually takes, shoutout to all the people that do make these kind of posts daily i wont take that process lightly in the future. Also in my defence i havent stayed on crusadearchon medal im now at the peak of reaching divine. Yes that happened in 6 months from crusader to almost reaching divine, and i wanted to speak about that as well since many of you are saying how the matchmaking system doesnt work, but im sure if you deserve the medal you think you do, you would have it in a couple of months if not either quit or git gud.

Aphelios is incredibly problematic right now, dominating high elo pick-ban and plaguing front page with clips of global one shots. I've identified some of his core issues and created a program to simulate his damage values for his general combos (he does a lot more damage than expected).

So we've all seen the "Aphelios one shots an enemy from across the map with sentry Calibrum" or "Aphelios deletes someone from 3000 range with no warning" or "200 YEARS EXPERIENCE" clips that hit the front page. I've played a fair bit of him and have identified the problems in Aphelios' design and kit that allow these clips to exist, along with his underlying issues that cause his > 200% ban rate. To demonstrate the problem with Aphelios' numbers and interactions I also decided to code up a program that shows exactly how much damage a certain combo does from Aphelios (pro tip, it's a lot more damage than you and Riot thought). This is a long post so I'll give a TL;DR now for those that don't want to read.
TL;DR: Riot forgot that Calibrum marks, Sentry with Calibrum marks and Calibrum Ulti all apply FREE AUTO ATTACKS. Calibrum Q already has good base damage+ratios and then gives a FREE AUTO. Sentry with Calibrum can give anywhere up to 3-4 FREE AUTOS GLOBALLY on top of the autos the turret performs. The Ultimate already performs a FREE AUTO, and a Calibrum Ultimate gives not only a free auto but then an extra super empowered FREE BONUS AUTO AGAIN. The problem is exemplified by the fact that with as little as 6 Crescendum Chakram all of Aphelios' attacks do double damage before crit, which means he can crit up to a 4x (4.5x with inf. edge) crit. Calibrum-Crescendum also ignores the penalties of Crescendum which requires close quarters combat. Aphelios does way more damage than you think at over 1400 range.
First, the numbers. I love numbers, simulating scenarios to quickly produce formatted results and writing programs, so I created a console line program that simulates an Aphelios with his items and levels, along with Gathering Storm and Adaptive Runes to choice (all other runes ignored, only wanted to focus on AD changes). This simulated Aphelios can perform any combo with Calibrum-Crescendum, with the assumption that you consume all Calibrum marks immediately and put points into AD as a priority. The sentry can attack up to any number of times, and the ultimate can hit any number of champions.
I ran 3 different Mid-Game builds in 3 different scenarios. The builds varied from:

Weak mid game (behind on gold and xp)
Moderate (average performance)
strong (up in farm, kills and gold+xp for mid game)

The Scenarios are:

Single target Combo. Calibrum Q -> Calibrum Ult
Sentry Attacks. Sentry attacks 3 times with Calibrum offhand
Full Combo. Sentry triple attack -> Calibrum Q -> Calibrum Ult

For each scenario the program estimates roughly how much Pre-Mitigation damage should be done, with lower and upper bounds accounting for Critical strike randomness. The program also gives the minimum range away that Aphelios must be to perform the combo (it's very far for all the scenarios). This gave the following results in the following format ~Expected (Minimum-Maximum) or just ~Expected for 100% crit.

DAMAGE	Single Target	Sentry Attacks	Full Combo
Weak Build	~1984 (1563-2498)	~2700 (1786-3815)	~5373 (3827-7263)
Moderate Build	~2324 (1600-2565)	~3396 (1833-3916)	~6578 (3924-7462)
Strong Build (100% crit)	~2850	~4360	~8308

Full Images of program output with item builds can be found here. Every combo could be performed at over 1450 range, with Sentry combos being completely global based on sentry position. Notice that Aphelios was never even close to attack range for all of this damage, it's like Caitlyn on steroids. Keeping in mind that while these numbers are pre-mitigation, they are hilariously high for an ADC at mid game. Even a behind Aphelios can put out well over 2000 damage with a few long range abilities. Three sentry autos can do 3400 damage on a moderate build Aphelios, that's insane. Even I think these numbers are higher than what we see in actual gameplay, but this is what the maths says. Factor in PTA, Coup de Grace and item effects like Energized or Runaan's AOE and you even more utility and damage.
The program can simulate any ability combo at any level and item combination, if there are different items+combos you want to see just let me know. If I actually knew css and JS I'd made this into a website for everyone to test, but since I don't the best I can do is put the source code up on github if people wanted it. Guinsoo's is not implemented yet, neither is energized effects and some other obscure things that I thought didn't matter too much.
Some problems.

Too many free autos. It seems Riot forgot that Calibrum can perform free auto attacks when they gave his ult a free auto attack. They didn't put a cooldown on how often the sentry can mark someone, allowing for mutliple global attacks. They gave his Calibrum Q (Moonshot) a decent base damage and ratio before allowing it to perform a free empowered auto. Calibrum Ulti also performs a super empowered free auto, totaling 2 free autos from one super long range ability. Granted that Moonshot and Ulti are skillshots and you won't always have Calibrum up, but these are still super strong abilities for one weapon, let alone his entire other kit.
The Crescendum damage multiplier. Looking at the wiki for the stats on Crescendum Chakrams, it stacks up very quickly into over double damage on all crescendum autos. 6 stacks is all that's required to get double damage on all autos, which multiplies into crits giving 4x or higher critical strikes (4.5x with inf. edge). This is a massive damage increase which can be performed somewhat globally with Calibrum or just with any weapon at point blank range. Infernum can stack Crescendum up almost instantly on a good minion wave, you could start these Calibrum-Crescendum combos at 10 chakram stacks if you play it right. The bonus damage is insane, it's Phantom Assassin level for those who played Dota.
Calibrum bypasses Crescendum's supposed weaknesses. Crescendum is supposed to be an up close and personal weapon, so why can Sentry apply multiple Calibrum marks which apply Crescendum attacks at massive range with no penalties. Calibrum marks allow Crescendum to function both as a close range weapon and as a long range champion deleter. Each mark stacks a chakram as well which further boosts the damage. Due to the nature of how well Calibrum abuses Crescendum, Crescendum seems impressively underwhelming for virtually any other scenario. This issue needs to be addressed so Crescendum can be fixed.
The Gangplank problem. Gangplank used to have a core problem in his kit which was a exacerbated form of the key problem with critical strike. Back when Gangplank was 100% pick-ban, with triforce and IE it was as simple as "if he crits, you die". This means that although his critical strike chance may be low, you cannot risk the fight as you cannot plan for the randomness of his crits. It would be too devastating to lose someone to a random crit so don't risk it at all. Play as if he had 100% crit chance. This has tapered off with Gangplank but has risen in other champions like Caitlyn or Jhin somewhat, and it's now being exploited by Aphelios. If he crits the Calibrum Q auto you die. If he crits the Infernum RFC Auto, you all die. Now as an ADC Aphelios is more likely to have 75-100% crit chance, but even at first or second item you still have to play as if he could accidentally delete you without meaning it. Critical chance seems to have this concept of being an overall damage increase, where the crits and non-crits average out into a consistent DPS increase, but it's actually creating credible one shot threats that shouldn't exist. The concept of Critical Strikes needs a rework.
He's just better than any other ADC. He does just so much damage at any point in the game, with no glaring weakness besides no mobility and little CC. Most ADC's can be put so far in the ground by the jungler and mid laner that they will never be a problem in the game. You can basically turn the game into a 4v5 by camping bot and sending rift herald into their tower. Aphelios is never out of the game, he will always pump damage by just standing far away and using Calibrum-Crescendum.

A problem that isn't actually a problem.

"I don't know what his kit does, it's too complicated". Go and learn it. Look at the wiki. Watch some gameplay of him. Play him if you have him. Just read what his kit does and how it functions. It's not that complicated, honestly. The difference between the good players and the bad players is that good players make the conscious effort to learn what they are playing against and how the champions and interactions work. Did you know Ornn has 4 passives, have you learnt up on all of them? I bet you know at least 2 of them just from games with him. Go and learn.

Solutions. These are just some solutions I have come up with but different solutions exist and some of them are probably better than mine.
Less free autos, or reduce base values where free autos exist. The Ultimate should not perform a delayed auto attack on everyone hit, just do the base explosion damage and then apply weapon effects. Calibrum Q should not have 60% bonus AD as a bonus ratio, it should just do flat damage and then the empowered auto.
Timer on Sentry applying Calibrum marks or the sentry should only apply a mark to the first champion hit ONCE. You should only get one free auto with this ability, the sentry already does enough damage as it is. The Sentry should probably have reduced attack range as well, it's incredibly hard to avoid and most champions can't kill it before stepping in range and eating a ton of damage.
The weapons actually need weaknesses. Jinx has to trade attack speed for range and splash with Q. Aphelios has no weakness for using any weapon, only strengths. Infernum does too much splash damage. Crescendum should have abysmal attack speed at max attack range. Severum should have minor reduced attack range in general as the in-lane sustain is huge. Gravitrum just sucks so I guess it's fine. Calibrum has increased range so probably trade some attack speed for it. Caitlyn has reduced attack speed by default for having so much range, so should Calibrum.
Crescendum bonus damage probably shouldn't be able to crit. It's overwhelming at the moment with the long range. Either the long range Crescendum attacks go or the bonus damage goes. Can't have both at the same time and long range attack is somewhat fundamental to Calibrum marks as a concept.
Rework crit. It's been a controversial statistic in virtually any competitive game, it's about time to get rid of it for something more predictable. This benefits everyone, from the person with crit to the person trying to face someone with crit.
Conclusion. Aphelios isn't poorly designed, he just doesn't have well defined weaknesses and his strengths can be ridiculous, especially when shown in the form of one shotting someone from across the map. These strengths must be toned down and weaknesses placed into his weapons, much like Jinx and her choice between minigun and rockets. Naturally some combo of weapons will always be stronger than others, it's up to Riot to try and bring them as close as possible and to eliminate points of abuse like Infernum Ulti and Calibrum-Crescendum one shots.
Too many free autos and bonus AD ratios where free autos already exist. He's an interesting and really fun champion to play, I'd rather see him balanced than gutted to Kalista levels. Until these core problems have been addressed (instead of the shitty cooldown nerf they gave him), Aphelios will remain as a super high pickban champion that will dominate the ADC meta.
Extras. If you crunch the numbers and get to different damage values from my program, let me know. I've used values straight from the wiki and have tried to keep it as accurate as possible. Nothing annoys me more than when I do my maths wrong and get incorrect conclusions.
I'm just a code monkey, I'm not a game designer let alone champion designer. There are people out there far more skilled than me at identifying problems in games and game concepts, this is just my attempt to shed some light on what I think the problems are using maths. They're not easy numbers to crunch so sometimes an idiot with little sleep and plenty of time to waste on coding a program can identify the severity of problems that were thought to be minor.

You don't want a Battlepass in LoL. Why? Because gambling.

MEGA GUIDE to The International 2019 in Shanghai, China!

Comprehensive Guide for Shanghai TI9 Visitors

Heya /dota2, your resident bilingual Dota fan here, who brought you Chinese memes and interview translations over the past few TI's. With the advent of The International 9, many fans who are looking to attend the event live but have never visited Shanghai would understandably have many questions and concerns regarding the city. This guide was painstakingly written by yours truly to give ya'll an idea of what to expect during your visit and answer some common questions and concerns. Be warned that this is a REALLY long guide (9k words, no biggie) aimed towards first timers in Shanghai, if you’re a ticket holder and this is your first time visiting, make sure to read the whole thing as a fair few parts are interconnected.

If you have any specific questions that this guide doesn’t cover, feel free to ask any questions in the comments section or via the Shanghai TI9 Discord.

Introduction

Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of more than 24 million. Situated along China’s eastern coastline, Shanghai has a warm temperate climate, with July and August being our hottest months averaging 25-35 degrees Celsius. Rainy season usually ends by late June so we would expect typical hot summer weather during the event period, so dress accordingly.

Air pollution in Shanghai has seen a drastic reduction since 2010 in an effort to improve the city's image. Despite this improvement, it is still considered fairly polluted by global standards, and sensitive people might experience respiratory irritation, though if you’re from a developed city you probably won’t notice much difference. Also, indoor smoking has been recently banned in Shanghai, so smoking is only allowed in open-air environments or designated smoking areas.

In terms of commodity costs, China isn't as cheap as it used to be, and Shanghai’s definitely on the pricey end of the scale. That being said, you can always find a good deal on accommodation and food if you’re resourceful enough, though you might need a local friend to help you with that.

Compared to other parts of China, Shanghai has one of the highest overall prevalence of English speakers. Younger generations have at least a rudimentary grasp of English, and there’s a fairly large number of proficient users. Communication for basic things like directions and purchases shouldn’t be an issue.

One thing to note is that Shanghai isn’t just a tourist location for you, it’s a tourist hotspot for the rest of China as well. There’s easily a couple million domestic tourists in Shanghai on any given day, and to them, YOU are a tourist attraction, so try not to be bothered by the looks and attention. People in China are generally very welcoming and friendly towards foreigners, so if you’re in a pinch, just ask for help from passer-bys (particularly younger folk).

Preparations

1. Visa
Before one books a flight to Shanghai, first thing you will need to do is look up the Visa application process to obtain a tourist visa to China. China’s visa application process is pretty straightforward without any particular hurdles, just fill up the relevant forms and attach the required documents. The main items you will need to prepare for the application would be your flight itinerary and hotel booking. Please note that in some countries, you may have to submit the application form in person or via mail to specific visa application centers, so make sure you do your research on the due process beforehand.

[Cost]
Visa cost may vary between countries, usually ranging between USD$90 – 110, though I’ve seen some places pricing it at 150. Agency fees will apply if you apply through a travel agent, but that may be preferred to simplify the process if you find it hard to navigate through the embassy resources.

[Duration]
Officially, visa processing time is slated to be 10-14 days, but it can often be processed as quickly as 2-3 days, depending on how busy the embassy is. Again, check with your country’s authorities, you may have to return to the visa application center to pick-up your passport/visa.

[Misc]
Singapore, Brunei and Japan passport holders can enter China without a visa for a stay no more than 15 days. For those of you from countries with powerful passports, you may be unused to the paperwork to fill out, but it’s pretty simple to handle and shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes of your time.

2.Flight
For flight booking, simply use your preferred website, skyscanner, booking, etc, to find the lowest fare available.
Shanghai is a cosmopolitan city so there wouldn’t be any problems booking flights there, Pudong Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. Note however that there are two airports in Shanghai, Pudong International Airport (PVG) and HongQiao International Airport (SHA). Nowadays, HongQiao Airport is mostly for domestic flights, but if you’re flying from Eurasia, your flight may transit via another major inland city in China, which will possibly land you in HongQiao. If you’re travelling with friends via different flightpaths, make sure everyone’s booking to the right airport, because the two airports are pretty far apart on opposite ends of the city.

Should the air tickets to Shanghai be in short supply, alternative flight routes include flying to Hangzhou or Nanjing and taking a high speed rail to Shanghai. The high speed rail service in China is world-class and easy to navigate (do inquire if you’re going for this option, I’ll add another section if it’s in high demand), and it’s less than 2 hours travel time via the rail to Shanghai. If you wish to take this chance to tour around China a bit, this would be a good choice as you can visit multiple cities and see their unique history, culture and attractions (such as West Lake in Hangzhou).

3.Venue:
Before we get to the hotel and accommodations, the venue needs to be looked at since I’m sure a lot of you will be looking to stay somewhere nearby. First off, here’s a google map of the venue and its surroundings.
The stadium is conveniently located right beside a Metro station, China Art Museum Station. You will see the iconic Mercedez Benz Arena (MBA) building immediately when you step out of the station via exit 4 (I've personally verified it), and it is a mere 30 second walk to the stadium.

Located along the bank of the Huangpu River, the MBA is part of the expo grounds developed during the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. It boasts spectacular views of the city and the river, has a gorgeous park right next to it where you can go for a leisurely stroll, stunning architecture in every direction and rows upon rows of restaurants available in the adjacent River Mall Area 5. The entire area was developed for event purposes and its facilities are specifically constructed to cater to those needs.

HOWEVER, this also means that there are no hotels or residences within the immediate vicinity, since the district was entirely purposed as exhibition grounds. The nearest available accommodation would be budget hotels approximately 1km away, with decent hotels (4-stars) at least 1.5km away. Given how efficient the Shanghai Metro is, it is strongly recommended that you widen your hotel search radius and take advantage of the Metro system.

Please also note that food and drinks are not allowed to be brought into the Arena. While there is some leeway for small finger foods and mineral water, it is up to the discretion of the organizers/guards (i.e. if the venue ends up being a mess on day 1, they might enforce a stricter ban day 2 onwards. Keep the venue clean everyone!). Things like a Mcdonalds takeout bag are definitely not allowed. Food and drinks are available for sale inside the Arena, but at a hefty premium compared to standard local retail prices. For reference, a bottle of water sold inside would be about 15-18 rmb (2.50 USD), a grilled sausage is 10rmb (1.50 USD) etc.

4. Hotels/Accommodation
In a city of 24 million, hotels are aplenty around Shanghai, with options available across all prices. As a reminder, your passport is mandatory for checking into any public accommodation in Shanghai, be it hotels or AirBnB. Also, while AirBnB is rising in Shanghai, unless you have a local friend helping you out, you may encounter communication issues with due processes during your stay, hence I would recommend sticking to hotels where formality is assured.
[Edit] I've been informed that due to the new recycling laws enacted in July, budget and mid-range hotels no longer provide bathroom amenities by default, but are available on request. Please remember to ask for them before flaming them!

[Location Selection]
The main priority you would have when choosing a hotel for the TI event would be the ease of commute to the venue. It is highly recommended that you search for a hotel that is close to a Metro line. To recap for those who skipped straight to this section, it is due to these main reasons:

The Arena is located in a special use district, with no hotels in the immediate vicinity
The closest hotels are approximately 1km away, and higher grade hotels even further.
With almost 18,000 spectators leaving the venue at the close of each day, you’ll face massive wait times for Uber. Public Transportation is your best bet. Check the transportation section for guidelines on how to access and navigate the metro.

The Arena’s station lies on Line 8 (blue line), which runs vertically through the city. You can reduce the hassle of changing lines by selecting accommodation solely along this metro line, but it would limit your options. I recommend that you use the map view when booking your hotels on your booking site of choice and try to find hotels within walking distance of a metro station (which honestly isn't hard because of the extensive metro coverage - see transportation section).
The main locations where hotel prices are higher would be in the strip stretching from People’s Square to LuJiaZui (highlighted in yellow in the above link), due to their premium location in the heart of Shanghai’s iconic tourist hotspots. Beyond these areas, hotel prices are generally fairly uniform across the city.

[Hotel Grades & Chains]
i.Budget hotels (USD 35-70)
While there are even cheaper options, I would not recommend them as they run the risk of being sketchy motels or hostels with nothing but a bed. Most of them likely won’t have English-speaking staff either, and honestly you likely won’t find them on international booking sites, so don’t worry.
There are a few budget hotel chains in Shanghai, such as HANTING and JINJIANG. These are typical budget hotels offering a simple room with standard utilities and daily room service, but likely do not include breakfast nor any sort of catering service (they might on the upper price end). Note that even within the same hotel chain, the quality of the hotel may vary significantly, so keep an eye on the photos when booking. In some low-budget cases, the room might not have an exterior window, but gaming addicts don’t need sunlight anyway.

ii.Midrange Hotels (USD 70-120)
This is where you’ll find some international brands like Holiday Inn. These hotels are generally 3-4 star caliber, and would match international standards in terms of room quality. Typical hotels, not much to comment about them.

iii.Luxury Hotels (USD 120+)
As a cosmopolitan city, Shanghai sports luxury hotels from all international hotel chains, such as Mariott, Ascott, Intercontinental etc. Beyond the luxuries these hotels offer, they are usually situated in shopping hubs or tourist hotspots, and you can be assured that they would have staff proficient in English. A personal recommendation I would make is the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel, which is absolutely stunning and located right next to Metro line 7, taking a mere 25 minutes to arrive at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

If you have any queries or questions about the hotel you’re booking, feel free to ask on Discord where Shanghai locals (myself included) will be able to answer you.

5.VPN and Data Plans
Due to censorship laws and the Great Firewall of China, many commonly used social media platforms and search engines are blocked and/or throttled in China. Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Youtube are all completely blocked. Google translate and maps are usable (via its Chinese platform translate.google.cn and maps.google.cn), Whatsapp is kinda-sorta banned but messages do go through occasionally (pictures and media definitely can’t). Reddit’s in the same boat, it’s banned but… sometimes it’s not? Anyway, bottomline is, if you want to access the internet as you do back home, there are two options:

Your home country’s local carrier has global roaming, and you’re fine with coughing up the dough for usage abroad. Check with your service provider to see if this is available. If you’re visiting for a short duration (i.e. main event only), this would be a good choice and price would vary based on your mobile plan. Because you’re using the network provided by your own country’s carrier, the global roaming is NOT subject to the firewall and you’d retain full access to the internet, which saves a lot of hassle.
If you use a network in China, such as connecting to local wifi/using a local sim card you purchased, you will have to utilize a VPN to access the blocked content. Contrary to popular belief, VPNs are NOT illegal to use in China. (What is illegal is if you sell a VPN service as a corporate entity without approval granted by the authorities). There are tons of VPNs available on the market, however the GFW is no slouch and do periodic banwaves that kills of a bunch every now and then. Make sure you do careful research on which ones are reliably usable before purchasing; the free ones tend to be either shady (data selling) or unreliable (unusable/poor connection). If you use a VPN service, make sure to install and ensure that it is working first before arriving in Shanghai, as those service providers’ websites might be blocked.

Google Translate: Your best buddy if mandarin is basically moonrunes for you. Helps with basic communication which should cover most things you’ll encounter on your trip.
Pleco: Your second best buddy to help with communication, comes with voice functions, optical character recognition functions (when you see a signboard and have no clue what it means and you can’t type it out either), handwriting input (you can draw moonrunes into it) and many other functions that helps you overcome the language barrier
Didi: Basically Chinese Uber. Allows foreign credit card payment so one of the rare few apps that foreigners can work with. Visa/Mastercard/UnionPay only, not sure about AMEX.
Wechat: Chinese Whatsapp and Facebook rolled into one, you should set it up beforehand. This is THE most used app in China, just about everyone uses it and it is an essential means of communication. If you meet anyone you want to stay in touch with, add them through Wechat and you’re good to go. Perhaps someday you might even discover the fabled meme trove of China that is Wechat Stickers…

7.Money
This warrants a special section because Shanghai has a unique case of being an essentially “Cashless” city. E-commerce is the predominant form of transaction in Shanghai, with virtually everyone making payments and transfers via wallet apps such as Alipay and Wechat. This has resulted in much lower amounts of circulated cash, and oftentimes small retails and cabbies may not hold enough spare change since barely anyone uses cash these days. While highly convenient, this becomes a challenge for foreign visitors as the process for linking the wallet app to a credit card requires verification from a local bank.
There are a few ways one can make payments in China:

Domestic payment platforms such as Wechat/Alipay, if you are able to complete the verification process. This may be possible for some SEA nations with banks that are partnered with Unionpay.
Some international payment platforms such as ApplePay, SamsungPay are also accepted at larger chains (Starbucks, Mcdonalds etc)
Credit Cards are accepted at most large retail outlets, stores and restaurants, but some cards may not be accepted (Visa/Mastercard/Unionpay are fine)
Cash – ATM’s around the city do cater to foreign cards but there are transaction costs and withdrawal limits, I believe it’s around 2000 RMB per transaction (300USD) for foreign cards.

See also the section on transportation below for further information regarding travel payments.

Arrival in Shanghai

Once you have made the necessary preparations for your trip to Shanghai, next comes the part where you plan what to do while you’re here.

1.Airport Services
There are a few things to take note of when you arrive at the Shanghai Airport. Security is pretty standard per international standards, and you won’t be subjected to TSA-style unsolicited colonoscopies. You may be requested to open your bags for a brief inspection, so please do not attempt to smuggle contraband (see section on China Law). If the border officer asks the purpose of your visit and doesn’t understand e-sports, just tell them you’re here to attend an exhibition.
PSA due to recent bs on worldnews: No, you will NOT be asked to hand over your phone or electronic devices. No, you will not have any bullshit spyware forcibly installed on your phones, apple/google already did that for you. No, security doesn’t give a shit if you have porn on your devices. These measures are only applied to specific border crossings in one specific part of western China that is prone to conflict, and do not apply to 99% of China’s ports.
Once you leave the gates, there might be a swathe of tourist peddlers asking if you need a cab, do make sure to ignore them and just follow the signs to the public transport facilities. The information desks at the airport all have English assistance so you can look to them for help. There are 3 main transportation options from Pudong Airport to the city – Cabs, Metro and the Maglev, as follows:
1. Cabs/Uber: The fare from Pudong Airport to the venue is approximately 150RMB (22USD), subject to variation based on time (night rate, peak hour jams etc). Depending on where your hotel is, you can approximate what your fare would likely be. I recommend that you print out the hotel address (In Chinese characters) for easy navigation with the driver.
2. Metro: Metro lines are available in both HongQiao and Pudong Airports, and easily accessed after exiting the gates. This is by far the cheapest option, costing a mere 3 – 5 RMB a trip (45-75 cents), though you will likely be facing a rather packed train. If you’re looking to minimize costs or if your hotel is near a metro line, this is the recommended way, though you will have to navigate your way through the metro map to the right station.
3. Maglev: The Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Rail, available only in Pudong Airport, is a short-distance rail that takes you from the Airport to Longyang Station, a transport hub close to the city. Costing 40 RMB (6 USD) for a ticket, the Maglev is a state-of-the-art transport that goes up to 430+ kph, covering the 30+ km (19miles) between stations in 7 minutes (which the metro line would otherwise take 40 minutes to traverse). If this is your first time in Shanghai, I highly recommend taking it at least once for the experience, not just for the speed but also that surreal /futurology moment when the magnets hum to life and you feel the train levitating.

2.Currency Exchange
Next thing you might worry about is currency exchange. In the case that you did not prepare local currency, there is a currency exchanger in the airport; however the airport rates tend to be pretty pricey. In China, currency exchange is government controlled, which means there are no private retail currency exchangers as one might find in other countries. Instead, all currency exchange are performed through the banks. The bank’s rates all uniformly follow the central bank’s rate, which is highly competitive, and in most cases the exchange rate will likely be far better than in your own countries due to regulations against banks placing a premium on currency exchange. You may have to bring your passport to prove your identity, but beyond that you won’t need to worry about any procedural obstacles. A yearly exchange cap of US$50,000 per person applies for foreign cash exchange (does not apply to credit card transactions), but I don’t think that would apply to most of us attending the event.

3.Transport
A. UbeDiDi
Didi, which is basically Chinese Uber, is the go-to app in Shanghai for vehicular transport. There are other alternative apps but Didi is the most integrated in terms of english availability and, more importantly, allows use of international visa/mastercard credit payment.
While Didi is a very convenient mode of transport around Shanghai, do note that it may not be the best choice for the event, as you’re looking at over 15,000 people leaving the venue at the close of each day, of which a sizable portion will be hailing private fares. If you rely on Didi/Uber, you might find yourself placed 200+ in the queue with an estimated wait time of over 2 hours… which is why I recommend seeking public transport to the venue.

B. Public Transport – Metro
The Shanghai Metro is the most convenient form of transport in the city. With a huge network spanning across the city, there are few places in the metropolitan area that are beyond a 15 minute walk from any given station. One of the most efficient systems in the world, the Metro runs at intervals of approximately 3 minutes, down to 30 seconds during peak hours (commuters wanted more but safety concerns limited the frequency), so you don’t have to worry about missing one. Most lines operate between 5am to 11pm, with Line 2 (which connects to the airports/railway stations) running as late as 1.30am. During the late hours though, taxis/didi would be your only option.

All stations have signs in both English and Mandarin so you shouldn’t have many issues navigating your way around, though you should take note of which exit you want to take as some major stations can have over 20 exits and span a long distance. The metro can be really packed during peak hours – while not at Japan levels of sardine packing, you may find yourself queueing and missing a few trains before being able to board one yourself. Peak hours is usually 8am-9:30am and 5pm-6:30pm.

To use the Metro, you will need to purchase a Public Transport Card which looks like THIS. The card can be purchased at any metro station including the airport and costs 20 RMB (3 USD) that can be refunded upon return. You can then top up the card with whatever value needed. Do note that the Public Transport Card is usable across all official public transport (Metro, Buses, Official Taxis, Maglev) which makes it particularly convenient as you won’t have to worry about spare change, you can pay by just scanning the card, so keep that in mind when topping it.
When refunding the card at the station upon leaving the country, do note that there will be a 5% surcharge on refunds above 10 RMB when returning the card.

C. Public Transport – Taxi
There are a few different taxi companies in Shanghai, but the main reputable ones are 大众 (Cyan colour), 强生(Yellow or Red colour). The main taxi companies are affiliated with the Department of Transportation, allowing them to accept payment via the public transport card as described above. It is highly recommended to obtain a card for this purpose as many Taxi drivers might not keep much spare change for cash transactions, given the cashless city phenomenon. You can also book a taxi directly using Didi, which may sometimes be faster than finding a dedicated driver.

Change Taxi's if the taxi does not have a meter or if the driver asks to keep the fare off-meter. Do note however that it is customary for the driver to not activate the meter immediately out of courtesy to the passenger – they usually activate it after driving a few meters or after completing a u-turn, so don’t be alarmed. You shouldn't have to bargain for your fare, and never pay up-front. Some drivers may prefer not to pick up foreigners due to bad experiences with past passengers (drunken fare-skipper incidents etc) and many cabs are pre-booked via booking apps, so don’t be surprised when an empty cab appears to ignore you.

Unfortunately, most taxi drivers will not understand the slightest bit of English, so if you don't speak Mandarin, it's very useful to have a 'taxi card'. Most hotels will provide you with one, which contains the hotel's address for your return trip. It's best to keep small bills or change for taxi's, as taxi drivers won't usually have change. Taxi drivers do not expect a tip, nor will they ask for one, but they do appreciate if you round up the bill / forego the change.

D. Relevant Traffic laws and customs:
Shanghai is notorious for its cutthroat driving etiquette where many drivers don’t use blinkers and the right of way goes to whoever gives less fucks. While the traffic culture has improved over the years with increased traffic police oversight, there are still many things that may take visitors for a surprise. If in doubt, stick to a crowd and you’ll be fine.
First off is the right-turn rule in China, where cars can do a right turn (small turn) on a red light. So if you’re at a traffic junction, don’t assume safety of passage once the pedestrian light turns green, take note of your surroundings for ignorant drivers to ensure it is safe to cross. Alternatively, stick to a crowd and you’ll be fine.
Secondly, there are a lot of cyclists/scooterists in Shanghai, and they have a tendency to think themselves above traffic laws with their maneuverability. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had a close shave with some asshole on a scooter blatantly ignoring a red light. There are bicycle lanes on most roads around Shanghai, so keep an eye out there when crossing roads, or just stick to a crowd and you’ll be fine.

4.Food
Being a cosmopolitan city, Shanghai caters to all sorts of tastes and preferences when it comes to food. Local signature dishes include steamed soup dumplings, pan-fried buns, soysauce braised pork, baked sweet potato, drunken chicken and many others, while also sporting some of the best hotpots around. There are also innumerable restaurants serving foreign cuisines, ranging from Japanese, Korean, Western, Indian and various Southeast Asian cultures. There are restaurants that cater to vegetarians and halal requirements, and if all else fail, we have the bastions of American nutrition, McDonalds/KFC/Burger King.

[Food Hygiene and Sanitation]
One might be understandably concerned about the sanitary conditions of food in China. Shanghai’s town council has aggressively tightened hygiene regulations over the past years, particularly after major food scandals which pretty much killed the street food business due to public fear (unethical assholes ruining things for everyone as usual). While there are definitely seedy places out there with questionable sanitation, you would be perfectly safe sticking to larger establishments. As a rule of thumb, find places with a decent crowd and you’re good to go. Largefancier restaurants are very safe as they do have a reputation to maintain, and most expat/tourist areas are closely vetted; generally if the restaurant has a budget for English menus it’s pretty safe.

[Water]
Tap water in Shanghai needs to be boiled before consumption. Your hotel should have complementary drinks (you can always ring the reception for more, though budget/midrange hotels might limit it at two per day) and there is no shortage of convenience stores across the city where you can purchase drinks.

[Exotic Foods]
Shanghai’s on the moderate end of the scale when it comes to exotic foods, so you won’t be finding some of the more extreme foodstuffs that shows up on fear factor. If you’re feeling adventurous during your stay however, you can try some of the local delicacies which oftentimes involve parts considered unusual in western culinary cultures. Braised chicken feet (called Phoenix Claws) is a hugely popular dish, along with pork liver, blood pudding, pork ears, ox tail soup and many more. China has a rich culinary culture with many recipes passed down over innumerable generations, and many dishes have some sort of background story behind them.

[Tipping]
Some restaurants refuse tips, mostly because they’re unused to it and are accustomed to fully returning your change. However, tipping is becoming more common in the city, but mainly in high-end restaurants where a 10-15% service charge may be added to the bill. Elsewhere it is not expected.

[Misc]
While food in Shanghai’s metropolitan area is quite clean by international standards, it is recommended that visitors bring some diarrhea medication along just in case of upset stomachs. For allergies, there are over-the-counter medications available in local pharmacies, but anything with adrenalin or corticosteroid (epipens etc) will require a doctor’s prescription at the hospital. (See section on Medical Services)
For street food/small eateries, unless you have a Chinese E-wallet app, you will likely have to use cash payments as vendors may not have SWIFT payment available, so keep some loose change on you.

5.Alcoholic Beverages
The legal drinking age in China is 18, and the Chinese are no strangers to the world’s favorite poison. Most restaurants serve beers which tend to be local brews like Tsingtao pale lager, priced around USD$1.5-3 a bottle. If you prefer western drinks, there are also several western bars in Shanghai, usually clustered around expat areas. A quick google search of shanghai bars will give you a rough idea of where they are, these places tend to be streetfront and very popular so you don’t have to worry about seedy joints. Keep in mind though that imported drinks will have a hefty premium tagged on them if you’re buying from a bar, so don’t expect cheap prices in this regard.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try the local Baijiu (White Wine or Chinese Vodka), which is a spirit typically around 52% alcohol content (though some brands go as low as 38 and as high as 64). Keep in mind that Baijiu has a different “role” compared to western liquor - despite also being served in small glasses (about half a standard shot), it is usually consumed during a meal, as a complement to your course rather than a standalone beverage, though it also can be consumed that way.

Buyers beware, however, as Baijiu comes in many different varieties and grades, ranging from thousands of dollars a bottle to 4 dollars for a 5 Litre drum. Just like how vodka’s cheaper than water in Russia, some of the lower end brands are ridiculously cheap. However you get what you pay for, and I honestly cannot recommend the cheap brands in good faith, as they’re considered “fake wine” by locals (just a shitty alcohol mix, not a savory brew), so unless you’re really motivated to abuse your body and taste buds, I’d advise to stick to the more mainstream brands recommended by your Chinese peers or stores. For reference, a decent bottle would typically have a retail price of around 400+ RMB (60+USD), with more popular brands going past 800 RMB (120USD).

6.Sightseeing
Shanghai, being a highly developed city, has a skyline predominantly filled with skyscrapers and vast expanses of concrete jungle, so sightseeing here is a pretty similar experience to say, New York City. I’ll briefly list a few popular tourist hotspots here – there are already many tourist guides out there for Shanghai that gives you a wealth of information, so I’ll keep this section simple.

The Bund - Pretty much the iconic heart of Shanghai, a must-see.
Lu Jia Zui/Oriental pearl Tower – The financial center on the opposite coast of the Bund, with most of Shanghai’s iconic skyscrapers and buildings.
Nanjing Road – The quintessential shopping avenue, stretching from the Bund to People’s Square (Note: You can directly take the metro from the Mercedez Benz Arena to People’s Square, then tour via People’s Square – Nanjing Road – The Bund. It’s a easily navigated path following one main road, and particularly beautiful at night. Highly recommended.)
Yu Garden – Classical Chinese Garden and tourist hotspot
Shanghai Museum / Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai Wild Animal Zoo – I highly recommend a visit if you can spare the time, as they feature a safari-like experience where you travel in a bus directly through an open pasture where tigers roam freely. Oh and you can purchase a live chicken to feed the tigers with.
Zhujiajiao* – A classical old Chinese town with traditional Dynasty-era architecture. A fair distance away from the city center but worth a visit.
SheShan* – A thematic tourist area with a huge park, golf courses, and the recently opened Intercontinental Wonderland Hotel – the hotel that is built within an abandoned quarry, featuring a unique “pit” environment as well as underwater rooms. Highly recommended for Underlord spammers.

*: As these places are fairly far from the city center, it is recommended that you seek a tour guide or tour group when visiting, if only to help with communication and navigation.

7.Chinese Law
This is probably the section that will attract the most memetic responses so I’ll keep it straight and simple – please be a responsible adult, as you would be when visiting ANY country. You’re here to attend an Esports event and have a good time watching some top-notch dota with the rest of the world. This enjoyment is similarly shared by everyone in the stadium regardless of race, country or culture. Everyone is here to celebrate something we all enjoy in equal measure, so please don’t let any political or cultural disagreements get in the way, because it doesn’t belong here.
That being said, there are certain laws that a visitor should keep in mind:

1. Drugs & Contraband
All narcotic substances are a BIG no-no here in China, and this includes marijuana. China has a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs after being subjected to massive narco-terrorism campaigns by colonial powers, which inflicted grievous damage to the nation and resulted in deep social and cultural enmity towards substance abuse. Please do not attempt to bring any narcotics into the country, even if they are legal in your home country. If caught in possession of drugs, you will be arrested on the spot, with penalties ranging from 15 days imprisonment (smoking weed) to capital punishment (trafficking heroin). This is the one line you REALLY do not want to fuck around with while in China, so don’t do it.

2. Censorship of politically sensitive topics
I’ll first clarify one thing: It is NOT illegal to engage in discussions about certain politically sensitive topics in China, unlike what popular opinion on /worldnews claims. However, broadcasting it would put you at risk of getting in trouble with authorities (looking at you edgelords who wants to put dumb political discourse on camera at a Dota event), as it can be considered public disruption or even instigating public unrest, which may get you detained for a couple days while your embassy sorts you out.
If you are particularly concerned about this for some reason, the below links provides a pretty good picture of what you can expect when discussing sensitive topics in China:
Link 1 Link 2

If it is your first time in Shanghai, you may well find the local populace to be very different from your preconceived notions, especially for younger generations who are generally more connected and well-informed of international news. I recommend that you keep an open mind coming into this beautiful city, and enjoy some awesome dota with the local fans.

[Cont]Nightlife/Safety/Police/Hospital

Due to hitting the 40,000 character cap on reddit, the remaining sections are posted in the link above. Please make sure to read them as well!

Again, if you have any questions, you can ask me in this thread or via PM, or through the Shanghai TI9 Discord where several locals are available constantly to answer any queries you have. You can also find more information through a quick google or youtube search, there are many resources that explains things you might encounter on a visit to Shanghai. One thing though, don’t ever use /China as a source of info, it’s a heavily biased (if not openly racist) cesspool.

To close things off, I hope this guide would be helpful to those of you visiting Shanghai, and it wasn't too much of a bore to read. This guide ended up being far lengthier than I predicted when I started it as a voluntary work, but it'd be worth it if it can help dota fans who are coming over from all around the world enjoy TI9 just a bit more. Shoutout to David from Newbee for keeping me on track over the past weeks and Icefrog for nerfing Doom to the point that I stopped playing Dota and could actually pump this guide out. Can you unnerf him now please?
P.S. If any team orgs would like assistance in setting up a social media presence in China on chinese platforms (to perhaps connect with and build up your chinese fanbase), do drop me a message via reddit DM!

Matchfix today in Rainbow Cup

[Updated] Shanghai Visitors' Mega Guide for TI9

Comprehensive Guide for Shanghai TI9 Visitors [UPDATED]

With TI9 less than 2 weeks away, there are some who are still ironing out their travel plans, hence I have reposted this mega guide as an effort to reach more audiences who may have missed the first iteration. For those who have read the first one, give this version a skim as well as a few new sections that have been added, based on feedback and suggestions from the previous thread.

Heya /dota2, your resident bilingual Dota fan here, who brought you Chinese memes and interview translations over the past few TI's. With the advent of The International 9, many fans who are looking to attend the event live but have never visited Shanghai would understandably have many questions and concerns regarding the city. This guide was written by yours truly to give ya'll an idea of what to expect during your visit and answer some common questions and concerns. Be warned that this is a REALLY long guide (9k words, no biggie) aimed towards first timers in Shanghai, if you’re a ticket holder and this is your first time visiting, make sure to read the whole thing as a fair few parts are interconnected.

If you have any specific questions that this guide doesn’t cover, feel free to ask any questions in the comments section or via the Shanghai TI9 Discord.

Introduction

Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of more than 24 million. Situated along China’s eastern coastline, Shanghai has a warm temperate climate, with July and August being our hottest months averaging 25-35 degrees Celsius. Rainy season usually ends by mid July so we would expect typical hot summer weather during the event period with occasional light rain. Note that rainy days in Shanghai can cause a sharp rise in humidity due to its coastal proximity, so dress accordingly.

Air pollution in Shanghai has seen a drastic reduction since 2010 in an effort to improve the city's image. Despite this improvement, it is still considered fairly polluted by global standards, and sensitive people might experience respiratory irritation, though if you’re from a developed city you probably won’t notice much difference. Also, indoor smoking has been recently banned in Shanghai, so smoking is only allowed in open-air environments or designated smoking areas.

In terms of commodity costs, China isn't as cheap as it used to be, and Shanghai’s definitely on the pricey end of the scale. That being said, you can always find a good deal on accommodation and food if you’re resourceful enough, though you might need a local friend to help you with that.

Compared to other parts of China, Shanghai has one of the highest overall prevalence of English speakers. Younger generations have at least a rudimentary grasp of English, and there’s a fairly large number of proficient users. Communication for basic things like directions and purchases shouldn’t be an issue.

One thing to note is that Shanghai isn’t just a tourist location for you, it’s a tourist hotspot for the rest of China as well. There’s easily a couple million domestic tourists in Shanghai on any given day, and to them, YOU are a tourist attraction, so try not to be bothered by the looks and attention. This is particularly prevalent when you go to common tourist attractions such as Disneyland Shanghai where the predominant demographic are domestic Chinese tourists, some of whom may be a bit rowdier than the norm. Overall though, people in China are generally very welcoming and friendly towards foreigners, so if you’re in a pinch, don’t be afraid to ask for help from officials or passer-bys (particularly younger folk).

Preparations (If you haven’t done these preparations yet, HURRY UP!)

1. Visa
Before one books a flight to Shanghai, first thing you will need to do is look up the Visa application process to obtain a tourist visa to China. Costing approximately USD$90-110, China’s visa application process is pretty straightforward, just fill up the relevant forms and attach the required documents. The main items you will need to prepare for the application would be your flight itinerary and hotel booking. Please note that in some countries, you may have to submit the application form in person or via mail to specific visa application centers, so make sure you do your research on the due process beforehand.

Officially, visa processing time is slated to be 10-14 days, but it can often be processed as quickly as 2-3 days, depending on how busy the embassy is. Again, check with your country’s authorities, you may have to return to the visa application center to pick-up your passport/visa.

Singapore, Brunei and Japan passport holders can enter China without a visa for a stay no more than 15 days. For those of you from countries with powerful passports, you may be unused to the paperwork to fill out, but it’s pretty simple to handle and shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes of your time.

2.Flight
For flight booking, simply use your preferred website, skyscanner, booking, etc, to find the lowest fare available.
Shanghai is a cosmopolitan city so there wouldn’t be any problems booking flights there, Pudong Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. Note however that there are two airports in Shanghai, Pudong International Airport (PVG) and HongQiao International Airport (SHA). Nowadays, HongQiao Airport is mostly for domestic flights, but if you’re flying from Eurasia, your flight may transit via another major inland city in China, which will possibly land you in HongQiao. If you’re travelling with friends via different flightpaths, make sure everyone’s booking to the right airport, because the two airports are pretty far apart on opposite ends of the city.

Should the air tickets to Shanghai be in short supply, alternative flight routes include flying to Hangzhou or Nanjing and taking a high speed rail to Shanghai. The high speed rail service in China is world-class and surprisingly easy to navigate (do ask on discord if you want more information about this, where other locals can help you), and it’s less than 2 hours travel time via the rail to Shanghai. If you wish to take this chance to tour around China a bit, this would be a good choice as you can visit multiple cities and see their unique history, culture and attractions (such as West Lake in Hangzhou).

3.Venue:
Before we get to the hotel and accommodations, the venue needs to be looked at since I’m sure a lot of you will be looking to stay somewhere nearby. First off, here’s a google map of the venue and its surroundings.
The stadium is conveniently located right beside a Metro station, China Art Museum Station. You will see the iconic Mercedez Benz Arena (MBA) building immediately when you step out of the station via exit 4 (I've personally verified it), and it is a mere 30 second walk to the stadium.

Located along the bank of the Huangpu River, the MBA is part of the expo grounds developed during the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. It boasts spectacular views of the city and the river, has a gorgeous park right next to it where you can go for a leisurely stroll, stunning architecture in every direction and rows upon rows of restaurants available in the adjacent River Mall Area 5. The entire area was developed for event purposes and its facilities are specifically constructed to cater to those needs.

HOWEVER, this also means that there are no hotels or residences within the immediate vicinity, since the district was entirely purposed as exhibition grounds. The nearest available accommodation would be budget hotels approximately 1km away, with decent hotels (4-stars & above) at least 1.5km away. Given how efficient the Shanghai Metro is, it is strongly recommended that you widen your hotel search radius and take advantage of the Metro system.

Please also note that food and drinks are not allowed to be brought into the Arena. While there is some leeway for small finger foods and mineral water, it is up to the discretion of the organizers/guards (i.e. if the venue ends up being a mess on day 1, they might enforce a stricter ban day 2 onwards. Keep the venue clean everyone!). Things like a Mcdonalds takeout bag are definitely not allowed. Food and drinks are available for sale inside the Arena, but at a hefty premium compared to standard local retail prices. For reference, a bottle of water sold inside would be about 15-18 rmb (2.50 USD), a grilled sausage is 10rmb (1.50 USD) etc. Given that the tournament is a full-day event, you would presumably be allowed to leave the venue for lunch and return back to the arena, but whether its single entry or multiple entry hasn’t been announced yet.

4. Hotels/Accommodation
In a city of 24 million, hotels are aplenty around Shanghai, with options available across all prices. As a reminder, your passport is mandatory for checking into any public accommodation in Shanghai, be it hotels or AirBnB. Also, while AirBnB is rising in Shanghai, unless you have a local friend helping you out, you may encounter communication issues with due processes during your stay, hence I would recommend sticking to hotels where formality is assured. Please also note that due to the new recycling laws enacted in July, budget and mid-range hotels no longer provide bathroom amenities such as toothbrushes by default, but are available on request. Please remember to ask for them at the service desk before flaming them!

[Location Selection]
The main priority when choosing a hotel for the TI event would be the ease of commute to the venue. It is highly recommended that you search for a hotel that is close to a Metro line. To recap for those who skipped straight to this section, it is due to these main reasons:

The Arena is located in a special use district, with no hotels in the immediate vicinity
The closest hotels are approximately 1km away, and higher grade hotels even further.
With almost 18,000 spectators leaving the venue at the close of each day, you’ll face massive wait times for Uber. Public Transportation is your best bet. Check the transportation section for guidelines on how to access and navigate the metro.

The Arena’s station lies on Line 8 (blue line), which runs vertically through the city. You can reduce the hassle of changing lines by selecting accommodation solely along this metro line, but it would limit your options. I recommend that you use the map view when booking your hotels on your booking site of choice and try to find hotels within walking distance of a metro station (which honestly isn't hard because of the extensive metro coverage - see transportation section).
The main locations where hotel prices are higher would be in the strip stretching from People’s Square to LuJiaZui (highlighted in yellow in the above link), due to their premium location in the heart of Shanghai’s iconic tourist hotspots. If this is your first time in the city and you don’t mind forking out a little more, I highly recommend staying in these districts as they offer a much more immersive experience of the city’s attractions. Beyond these areas, hotel prices are generally fairly uniform across the city.

[Hotel Grades & Chains]
i.Budget hotels (USD 35-70)
While there are even cheaper options, I would not recommend them as they run the risk of being sketchy motels or hostels with nothing but a bed. Most of them likely won’t have English-speaking staff either, and honestly you likely won’t find them on international booking sites, so don’t worry.
There are a few budget hotel chains in Shanghai, such as HANTING and JINJIANG. These are typical budget hotels offering a simple room with standard utilities and daily room service, but likely do not include breakfast nor any sort of catering service (they might on the upper price end). Note that even within the same hotel chain, the quality of the hotel may vary significantly, so keep an eye on the photos when booking. In some low-budget cases, the room might not have an exterior window, but gaming addicts don’t need sunlight anyway.

ii.Midrange Hotels (USD 70-120)
This is where you’ll find some international brands like Holiday Inn. These hotels are generally 3-4 star caliber, and would match international standards in terms of room quality. Typical hotels, meals and standard services fully available.

iii.Luxury Hotels (USD 120+)
As a cosmopolitan city, Shanghai sports luxury hotels from all international hotel chains, such as Mariott, Ascott, Intercontinental etc. Beyond the lavish facilities these hotels offer, they are also usually situated in shopping hubs or tourist hotspots, and you can be assured that they would have staff proficient in English.

If you have any queries or questions about the hotel you’re booking, feel free to ask on Discord where Shanghai locals (myself included) will be able to answer you.

5.VPN and Data Plans
Due to censorship laws and the Great Firewall of China, many commonly used social media platforms and search engines are blocked and/or throttled in China. Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Youtube are all completely blocked. Google translate and maps are usable (via its Chinese platform translate.google.cn and maps.google.cn), Whatsapp is kinda-sorta banned but messages do go through occasionally (pictures and media definitely can’t). Bottomline is, if you want to access the internet as you do back home, there are two options:

Your home country’s local carrier has global roaming, and you’re fine with coughing up the dough for usage abroad. Check with your service provider to see if this is available. If you’re visiting for a short duration (i.e. main event only), this would be a good choice and price would vary based on your mobile plan. Because you’re using the network provided by your own country’s carrier, the global roaming is NOT subject to the firewall and you’d retain full access to the internet, which saves a lot of hassle.
If you use a network in China, such as connecting to local wifi/using a local sim card you purchased, you will have to utilize a VPN to access the blocked content. Contrary to popular belief, VPNs are NOT illegal to use in China. (What is illegal is if you sell a VPN service as a corporate entity without approval granted by the authorities). There are tons of VPNs available on the market, however the GFW is no slouch and do periodic banwaves that kills of a bunch every now and then. Make sure you do careful research on which ones are reliably usable before purchasing; the free ones tend to be either shady (data selling) or unreliable (unusable/poor connection). If you use a VPN service, make sure to install and ensure that it is working first before arriving in Shanghai, as those service providers’ websites might be blocked.

Protip: If you’re a University student, look up your university’s tech resources to see if they have a uni-access VPN for students abroad, particularly if your university has a strong Asian demographic. Given the large number of Chinese students abroad and the endemic problem of being unable to access University resources whilst on holidays back home, many Unis have set up official VPNs for use by their Chinese students, which you can make use of in this instance. Most US/CA/UK/AU institutions have this function and you can look it up.

Purchasing a Sim Card for local use:
If you wish to purchase a Sim card from a local carrier (China Telecom or China Unicom), there are retailers present in the airports for convenient access. Sim cards plans are generally quite cheap, ranging around 6-15 USD a month, and usually with unlimited data. Might be a little more expensive for short-term prepay usage. Also, do note that passport identification is necessary for purchasing a number, so make sure to bring your passport along.
6. Apps to prepare

Google Translate: Your best buddy if mandarin is basically moonrunes for you. Helps with basic communication which should cover most things you’ll encounter on your trip.
Pleco: Your second best buddy to help with communication, comes with voice functions, optical character recognition functions (when you see a signboard and have no clue what it means and you can’t type it out either), handwriting input (you can draw moonrunes into it) and many other functions that helps you overcome the language barrier
Didi: Basically Chinese Uber. Allows foreign credit card payment so one of the rare few apps that foreigners can work with. Visa/Mastercard/UnionPay only, not sure about AMEX.
Wechat: Chinese Whatsapp and Facebook rolled into one, you should set it up beforehand. This is THE most used app in China, just about everyone uses it and it is an essential means of communication. If you meet anyone you want to stay in touch with, add them through Wechat and you’re good to go. Perhaps someday you might even discover the fabled meme trove of China that is Wechat Stickers…

Domestic payment platforms such as Wechat/Alipay, if you are able to complete the verification process. This may be possible for some SEA nations with banks that are partnered with Unionpay.
Some international payment platforms such as ApplePay, SamsungPay are also accepted at larger chains (Starbucks, Mcdonalds etc)
Credit Cards are accepted at most large retail outlets, stores and restaurants, but some cards may not be accepted (Visa/Mastercard/Unionpay are fine)
Cash – ATM’s around the city do cater to foreign cards but there are transaction costs and withdrawal limits, I believe it’s around 2000 RMB per transaction (300USD) for foreign cards.

As visitors likely won’t go through the trouble to set up e-commerce for a short trip, you will have to stick to cash and credit card payments. Just keep note of my comment above regarding low amounts of circulated cash, so if you’re predominantly using cash, try to keep a fair bit of spare change on you to avoid issues. See also the section on transportation below for further information regarding travel payments, as you will be using a metro card to pay travel fares.

Arrival in Shanghai

Once you have made the necessary preparations for your trip to Shanghai, next comes the part where you plan what to do while you’re here.

1.Airport Services
There are a few things to take note of when you arrive at the Shanghai Airport. Security is pretty typical of international standards, and you won’t be subjected to TSA-style unsolicited colonoscopies. You may be requested to open your bags for a brief inspection, so please do not attempt to smuggle contraband (see section on China Law). If the border officer asks the purpose of your visit and doesn’t understand e-sports, just tell them you’re here to attend an exhibition. Make sure to follow the signs for foreign visitors prior to the immigration checkpoint, as you will have to fill out an entry card and register your fingerprint scans as part of due process.
PSA due to recent bs on worldnews: No, you will NOT be asked to hand over your phone or electronic devices. No, you will not have any bullshit spyware forcibly installed on your phones, apple/google already did that for you. No, security doesn’t give a shit if you have porn on your devices. These measures are only applied to specific border crossings in one specific part of western China that is prone to conflict, and do not apply to 99% of China’s ports.
Once you leave the gates, there might be a swathe of tourist peddlers asking if you need a cab, do make sure to ignore them and just follow the signs to the public transport facilities. The information desks at the airport all have English assistance so you can look to them for help. There are 3 main transportation options from Pudong Airport to the city – Cabs, Metro and the Maglev, as follows:
1. Cabs/Uber: The fare from Pudong Airport to the venue is approximately 150RMB (22USD), subject to variation based on time (night rate, peak hour jams etc). Depending on where your hotel is, you can approximate what your fare would likely be. I recommend that you print out the hotel address (In Chinese characters) for easy navigation with the driver.
2. Metro: Metro lines are available in both HongQiao and Pudong Airports, and easily accessed after exiting the gates. This is by far the cheapest option, costing a mere 3 – 5 RMB a trip (45-75 cents), though you will likely be facing a rather packed train. If you’re looking to minimize costs or if your hotel is near a metro line, this is the recommended way, though you will have to navigate your way through the metro map to the right station.
3. Maglev: The Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Rail, available only in Pudong Airport, is a short-distance rail that takes you from the Airport to Longyang Station, a transport hub close to the city. Costing 40 RMB (6 USD) for a ticket, the Maglev is a state-of-the-art transport that goes up to 430+ kph, covering the 30+ km (19miles) between stations in 7 minutes (which the metro line would otherwise take 40 minutes to traverse). If this is your first time in Shanghai, I highly recommend taking it at least once for the experience, not just for the speed but also that surreal /futurology moment when the magnets hum to life and you feel the train levitating.

2.Currency Exchange
Next thing you might worry about is currency exchange. In the case that you did not prepare local currency, there is a currency exchanger in the airport; however the airport rates tend to be pretty pricey. In China, currency exchange is government controlled, which means there are no private retail currency exchangers as one might find in other countries. Instead, all currency exchanges are performed through the banks. The banks’ rates uniformly follow the central bank’s rate, which is highly competitive, and in most cases the exchange rate will likely be far better than in your own countries due to regulations against banks placing a premium on currency exchange. You may have to bring your passport to prove your identity, but beyond that you won’t need to worry about any procedural obstacles. A yearly exchange cap of US$50,000 per person applies for foreign cash exchange (does not apply to credit card transactions), but I don’t think that would apply to most of us attending the event.

3.Transport
A. UbeDiDi
Didi, which is basically Chinese Uber, is the go-to app in Shanghai for vehicular transport. There are other alternative apps but Didi is the most integrated in terms of english availability and, more importantly, allows use of international visa/mastercard credit payment.
While Didi is a very convenient mode of transport around Shanghai, do note that it may not be the best choice for the event, as you’re looking at over 15,000 people leaving the venue at the close of each day, of which a sizable portion will be hailing private fares. If you rely on Didi/Uber, you might find yourself placed 200+ in the queue with an estimated wait time of over 2 hours… which is why I recommend seeking public transport to the venue.

B. Public Transport – Metro
The Shanghai Metro is the most convenient form of transport in the city. With a huge network spanning across the city, there are few places in the metropolitan area that are beyond a 15 minute walk from any given station. One of the most efficient systems in the world, the Metro runs at intervals of approximately 3 minutes, down to 30 seconds during peak hours (commuters wanted more but safety concerns limited the frequency), so you don’t have to worry about missing one. Most lines operate between 5am to 11pm, with Line 2 (which connects to the airports/railway stations) running as late as 1.30am. During the late hours though, taxis/didi would be your only option.

All stations have signs in both English and Mandarin so you shouldn’t have many issues navigating your way around, though you should take note of which exit you want to take as some major stations can have over 20 exits and span a long distance. The metro can be really packed during peak hours – while not at Japan levels of sardine packing, you may find yourself queueing and missing a few trains before being able to board one yourself. Peak hours is usually 8am-9:30am and 5pm-6:30pm. Do note that there are baggage scans in every station, and anything larger than a purse will have to be scanned.

To use the Metro, you will need to purchase a Public Transport Card which looks like THIS. The card can be purchased at any metro station including the airport and costs 20 RMB (3 USD) that can be refunded upon return. You can then top up the card with whatever value needed. Do note that the Public Transport Card is universally usable across all official public transport in Shanghai (Metro, Buses, Official Taxis, Maglev) which makes it particularly convenient as you won’t have to worry about spare change, you can pay by just scanning the card, so keep that in mind when topping it.
When refunding the card at the station upon leaving the country, do note that there will be a 5% surcharge on refunds above 10 RMB when returning the card.

C. Public Transport – Taxi
There are a few different taxi companies in Shanghai, but the main reputable ones are 大众 (Cyan colour), 强生(Yellow or Red colour). The main taxi companies are affiliated with the Department of Transportation, allowing them to accept payment via the public transport card as described above. It is highly recommended to obtain a card for this purpose as many Taxi drivers might not keep much spare change for cash transactions, given the cashless city phenomenon. You can also book a taxi directly using Didi, which may sometimes be faster than finding a dedicated driver.

Change Taxi's if the taxi does not have a meter or if the driver asks to keep the fare off-meter. Do note however that it is customary for the driver to not activate the meter immediately out of courtesy to the passenger – they usually activate it after driving a few meters or after completing a u-turn, so don’t be alarmed. You shouldn't have to bargain for your fare, and never pay up-front. Some drivers may prefer not to pick up foreigners due to bad experiences with past passengers (drunken fare-skipper incidents etc) and many cabs are pre-booked via booking apps, so don’t be surprised when an empty cab appears to ignore you.

Unfortunately, most taxi drivers will not understand the slightest bit of English, so if you don't speak Mandarin, it's very useful to have a 'taxi card'. Most hotels will provide you with one, which contains the hotel's address for your return trip. It's best to keep small bills or change for taxi's, as taxi drivers won't usually have change. Taxi drivers do not expect a tip, nor will they ask for one, but they do appreciate if you round up the bill / forego the change.

D. Relevant Traffic laws and customs:
Shanghai is notorious for its cutthroat driving etiquette where many drivers don’t use blinkers and the right of way goes to whoever gives less fucks. While the traffic culture has improved over the years with increased traffic police oversight, there are still many things that may take visitors for a surprise. If in doubt, stick to a crowd and you’ll be fine.
First off is the right-turn rule in China, where cars can do a right turn (small turn) on a red light. So if you’re at a traffic junction, don’t assume safety of passage once the pedestrian light turns green, take note of your surroundings for ignorant drivers to ensure it is safe to cross. Alternatively, stick to a crowd and you’ll be fine.
Secondly, there are a lot of cyclists/scooterists in Shanghai, and they have a tendency to think themselves above traffic laws with their maneuverability. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had a close shave with some asshole on a scooter blatantly ignoring a red light. There are bicycle lanes on most roads around Shanghai, so keep an eye out there when crossing roads, or just stick to a crowd and you’ll be fine.

4.Food
Being a cosmopolitan city, Shanghai caters to all sorts of tastes and preferences when it comes to food. Local signature dishes include steamed soup dumplings, pan-fried buns, soysauce braised pork, baked sweet potato, drunken chicken and many others, while also sporting some of the best hotpots around. There are also innumerable restaurants serving foreign cuisines, ranging from Japanese, Korean, Western, Indian and various Southeast Asian cultures. There are restaurants that cater to vegetarians and halal requirements, and if all else fail, we have the bastions of American nutrition, McDonalds/KFC/Burger King.

[Food Hygiene and Sanitation]
One might be understandably concerned about the sanitary conditions of food in China. Shanghai’s town council has aggressively tightened hygiene regulations over the past years, particularly after major food scandals which pretty much killed the street food business due to public fear (unethical assholes ruining things for everyone as usual). While there are definitely seedy places out there with questionable sanitation, you would be perfectly safe sticking to larger establishments. As a rule of thumb, find places with a decent crowd and you’re good to go. Largefancier restaurants are very safe as they do have a reputation to maintain, and most expat/tourist areas are closely vetted; generally if the restaurant has a budget for English menus it’s pretty safe.

[Water]
Tap water in Shanghai needs to be boiled before consumption. Your hotel should have complementary drinks (you can always ring the reception for more, though budget/midrange hotels might limit it at two per day) and there is no shortage of convenience stores across the city where you can purchase drinks.

[Exotic Foods]
Shanghai’s on the moderate end of the scale when it comes to exotic foods, so you won’t be finding some of the more extreme foodstuffs that shows up on fear factor. If you’re feeling adventurous during your stay however, you can try some of the local delicacies which oftentimes involve parts considered unusual in western culinary cultures. Braised chicken feet (called Phoenix Claws) is a hugely popular dish, along with pork liver, blood pudding, pork ears, ox tail soup and many more. China has a rich culinary culture with many recipes passed down over innumerable generations, and many dishes have some sort of background story behind them.

[Tipping]
Some restaurants refuse tips, mostly because they’re unused to it and are accustomed to fully returning your change. However, tipping is becoming more common in the city, but mainly in high-end restaurants where a 10-15% service charge may be added to the bill. Elsewhere it is not expected.

[Misc]
While food in Shanghai’s metropolitan area is quite clean by international standards, it is recommended that visitors bring some diarrhea medication along just in case of upset stomachs. For allergies, there are over-the-counter medications available in local pharmacies, but anything with adrenalin or corticosteroid (epipens etc) will require a doctor’s prescription at the hospital. (See section on Medical Services)
For street food/small eateries, unless you have a Chinese E-wallet app, you will likely have to use cash payments as vendors may not have SWIFT payment available, so keep some loose change on you.

5.Alcoholic Beverages
The legal drinking age in China is 18, and the Chinese are no strangers to the world’s favorite poison. Most restaurants serve beers which tend to be local brews like Tsingtao pale lager, priced around USD$1.5-3 a bottle. If you prefer western drinks, there are also several western bars in Shanghai, usually clustered around expat areas. A quick google search of shanghai bars will give you a rough idea of where they are, these places tend to be streetfront and very popular so you don’t have to worry about seedy joints. Keep in mind though that imported drinks will have a hefty premium tagged on them if you’re buying from a bar, so don’t expect cheap prices in this regard.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try the local Baijiu (White Wine or Chinese Vodka), which is a spirit typically around 52% alcohol content (though some brands go as low as 38 and as high as 64). Keep in mind that Baijiu has a different “role” compared to western liquor - despite also being served in small glasses (about half a standard shot), it is usually consumed during a meal, as a complement to your course rather than a standalone beverage, though it also can be consumed that way.

Buyers beware, however, as Baijiu comes in many different varieties and grades, ranging from thousands of dollars a bottle to 4 dollars for a 5 Litre drum. Just like how vodka’s cheaper than water in Russia, some of the lower end brands are ridiculously cheap. However you get what you pay for, and I honestly cannot recommend the cheap brands in good faith, as they’re considered “fake wine” by locals (just a shitty alcohol mix, not a savory brew), so unless you’re really motivated to abuse your body and taste buds, I’d advise to stick to the more mainstream brands recommended by your Chinese peers or stores. For reference, a decent bottle would typically have a retail price of around 400+ RMB (60+USD), with more popular brands going past 800 RMB (120USD).

6.Chinese Law
This is probably the section that will attract the most memetic responses so I’ll keep it straight and simple – please be a responsible adult, as you would be when visiting ANY country. You’re here to attend an Esports event and have a good time watching some top-notch dota with the rest of the world. This enjoyment is similarly shared by everyone in the stadium regardless of race, country or culture. Everyone is here to celebrate something we all enjoy in equal measure, so please don’t let any political or cultural disagreements get in the way, because it doesn’t belong here.
That being said, there are certain laws that a visitor should keep in mind:

1. Drugs & Contraband
All narcotic substances are a BIG no-no here in China, and this includes marijuana. China has a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, after a ugly period of being subjected to massive narco-terrorism campaigns by colonial powers, which inflicted grievous damage to the nation and resulted in deep social and cultural enmity towards substance abuse. Please do not attempt to bring any narcotics into the country, even if they are legal in your home country. If caught in possession of drugs, you will be arrested on the spot, with penalties ranging from 15 days imprisonment (smoking weed) to capital punishment (trafficking heroin). This is the one line you REALLY do not want to fuck around with while in China, so don’t do it.

2. Censorship of politically sensitive topics
I’ll first clarify one thing: It is NOT illegal to engage in discussions about certain politically sensitive topics in China, unlike what popular opinion on /worldnews claims. However, broadcasting it would put you at risk of getting in trouble with authorities (looking at you edgelords who wants to put dumb political discourse on camera at a Dota event), as it can be considered public disruption or even instigating public unrest, which may get you detained for a couple days while your embassy sorts you out.
If you are particularly concerned about this for some reason, the below links provides a pretty good picture of what you can expect when discussing sensitive topics in China:
Link 1 Link 2

If it is your first time in Shanghai, you may well find the local populace to be very different from your preconceived notions, especially for younger generations who are generally more connected and well-informed of international news. I recommend that you keep an open mind coming into this beautiful city, and enjoy some awesome dota with the local fans.

[Cont]Sightseeing/Nightlife/Safety/Police/Hospital

Due to hitting the 40,000 character cap on reddit, the remaining sections are posted in the link above. Please make sure to read them as well!

Again, if you have any questions, you can ask me in this thread or via PM, or through the Shanghai TI9 Discord where several locals are available constantly to answer any queries you have. You can also find more information through a quick google or youtube search, there are many resources that explains things you might encounter on a visit to Shanghai. One thing though, don’t ever use /China as a source of info, it’s a heavily biased (if not openly racist) cesspool.

To close things off, I hope this guide would be helpful to those of you visiting Shanghai, and it wasn't too much of a bore to read. This guide ended up being far lengthier than I predicted when I started it as a voluntary work, but it'd be worth it if it can help dota fans who are coming over from all around the world enjoy TI9 just a bit more. Shoutout to David from Newbee and everyone who has contributed suggestions to make this guide more complete. I look forward to seeing you all at TI9!

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[OC]Benevolent Evil (Chapter 1) - part2

Benevolent Evil

(Chapter 1) The End of Me - part2

To all the DotA is dying post/videos i've seen recently.

Aphelios is incredibly problematic right now, dominating high elo pick-ban and plaguing front page with clips of global one shots. I've identified some of his core issues and created a program to simulate his damage values for his general combos (he does a lot more damage than expected).

You don't want a Battlepass in LoL. Why? Because gambling.

MEGA GUIDE to The International 2019 in Shanghai, China!

Comprehensive Guide for Shanghai TI9 Visitors

Introduction

Preparations

Arrival in Shanghai

Matchfix today in Rainbow Cup

* UPDATE *

Background:

Todays action:

GAMES:

Ending thoughts:

Links:

[Updated] Shanghai Visitors' Mega Guide for TI9

Comprehensive Guide for Shanghai TI9 Visitors [UPDATED]

Introduction

Preparations (If you haven’t done these preparations yet, HURRY UP!)

Arrival in Shanghai

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