We didn’t have to wait long for a new Dota patch right after TI qualifiers. There were definitely some balance issues in the game and from the looks of it, most of them were addressed. We are going to highlight some of the biggest patch changes and try to guess what it means for the meta.
Item Changes
There aren’t really many worth highlighting. We feel like the changes to Khanda cost aren’t big enough to dissuade people from buying this item, while Silver Edge is still as niche as it was, even with an extra second of Break.
The only really interesting one is the Meteor Hammer. It had a noticeable advantage over other Kaya derivatives in terms of Mana regen and as a result it was built quite often on heroes like Storm Spirit. Without this edge, we feel like most players will revert back to the other options — Yasha and Kaya looks especially interesting.
Bloodthorn nerf is also a very welcome one and we feel like it should make Chaos Knight a lot more manageable. It is a sizeable decrease to CK’s potential burst damage and the hero already lost ~1.5% win rate since yesterday.
Hero changes
Most hero changes are pretty tame, with very few overreactions. Given how much more complex the game got over the last month we feel like it is a good thing. There is one change I personally don’t particularly enjoy, as it makes the hero pretty much unplayable at higher levels.
Dark Willow lost her ability to send Jex towards an ally and casting Bedlam effectively once again requires Mireska to be out of position. This already led to a whopping ~3% win rate loss across all brackets and pushed the hero below 50%. Coupled with the Bramble Maze nerfs, the hero is in a pretty bad spot right now.
Clockwerk’s Expanded Armature aspect should also feel slightly less oppressive, with longer cooldowns and lower mana burn at earlier levels. We feel like the hero is still very much viable, but is a lot less of a nuisance during the laning stage. His second aspect also looks better and better with every patch.
Pudge finally got his Flayer’s Hook aspect toned down slightly. The extra Meat Hook speed felt wrong and a bit too strong. Reacting to it was much harder and we saw some incredible plays during TI qualifiers, but some of them felt undeserved.
It is kind of sad to see the Clockwerk and Shadow Fiend combo gone, but it was one of the changes deemed necessary and we kind of agree. Shadow Fiend was way too strong and nerfs to the hero are more than welcome. Even if they remove a cool legacy interaction.
Another hero who got a long list of nerfs is Templar Assassin and, again, it is well deserved. Making every single layer of Refraction a Barrier with HP was a questionable decision, in my opinion. Much like Mega Meepo, it is a way to make the hero playable in otherwise impossible matchups, but it results in an identity erosion. Over time the cumulative effect of these types of changes could lead to heroes feeling a lot less unique. Pulling the idea back slightly, with much lower HP on Refraction Barriers is a very good move and a well placed nerf.
Tinker getting nerfs to Defense Matrix on top of Arcane Blink nerfs are also welcome. Not because the hero was particularly strong or oppressive in pubs, but simply because it is Tinker — possibly the most infuriating hero to play against in the history of the game. Moreover, the hero looked very good in some TI Qualifier games and the success getting replicated in pubs was only a matter of time.
Closing thoughts
Most of the changes in the patch were nerfs to overperforming heroes, which makes total sense, considering the meta of the Qualifiers. That said, there are some smaller buffs here and there worth exploring. We are particularly excited about Silencer maybe finding a niche in the game.
What are your thoughts on the patch and the current meta? Perhaps there is a hero you are excited to see buffed? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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