Dota 2 Heroes

1.6.0 - Advanced Hero Action, Animation, VFX, Networking, and AI

Hero action and presentation

• Consolidated the 1.5.x server-owned action timeline and original GeckoLib presentation work for Bloodseeker, Pudge, and Faceless Void into the 1.6.0 release, retaining named release/impact ticks, cooldown locks, targeting safety, progression, phases, and synchronized primitive action state.
• Added a dedicated looping Pudge Rot overlay controller and original belly, torso, and apron secondary motion. The overlay follows synchronized Rot state, stops on death/cancel, and does not restart from per-tick animation triggers.
• Preserved Bloodseeker's stalking/Thirst locomotion and distinct melee/cast poses, plus Faceless Void's separate locomotion and one-shot temporal action controller.

VFX and networking

• Advanced the existing Forge SimpleChannel protocol to version 2 while retaining its clientbound-only semantic VFX packet and strict symmetric primitive encoding.
• Added a bounded effect-id/seed duplicate window so late or repeated packets cannot replay the same visual burst, without affecting server combat results.
• Added client configuration for global active-effect, per-effect lifetime particle, and duplicate-window caps. Existing LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH density culling and graceful global per-tick degradation remain in force.
• Added pure unit coverage for duplicate rejection, expiry, and bounded eviction.

AI, dependencies, and compatibility

• Retained the existing controlled decision windows, weighted anti-repeat action selection, stable target goals, preferred ranges, line-of-sight checks, friendly-fire policy, and server-authoritative combo execution for all heroes.
• Kept GeckoLib Forge 1.20.1 at version 4.8.4 with no new runtime dependency.
• Preserved dedicated-server-safe client separation and Minecraft 1.20.1, Forge 47.4.10, and Java 17 compatibility.