Dota 2 Players Discover Ember Spirit Bug That Drastically Lowers Opponents’ FPS

A new visual bug involving Ember Spirit has been discovered in Dota 2, allowing players to dramatically enlarge the hero’s fire aura—to the point where it can cause a severe drop in FPS (frames per second) for everyone in the match.

The Bug Explained

The bug was recently shared on Reddit, where users posted a simple method to reproduce the issue:

1. Pick Ember Spirit.
2. Buy a Gleipnir.
3. Acquire any second item and place it in your inventory.
4. Rapidly swap Gleipnir with the second item in your inventory.

The longer you repeat this swap, the larger Ember’s fire aura becomes on screen.

What Does It Do?

Although the bug is purely visual and doesn’t provide any combat or defensive benefits, it has a massive impact on game performance. The fire effect can grow so large that it tanks the FPS of other players—especially those using lower-end hardware.

Commenters noted that with a high-end graphics card, you can maintain stable performance while potentially dropping your opponents’ FPS to near-unplayable levels. This opens the door for unfair advantages and MMR abuse.

Valve Yet to Respond

As of now, Valve has not issued a patch or comment regarding the exploit. Players are encouraged to avoid abusing the bug and report it via official channels to ensure fair play.