Dota 2 meta is interesting, because it keeps on developing even in the absence of balance changes. This is a testament to the great core gameplay principles of the game. Even though we, like many others, are waiting for a big overhaul patch, there are still things worth discussing and exploring. Today we are going to have a quick look at some surprising new developments that are easy to implement in your everyday pubs.
Ogre Magi
The inspiration for today’s post. Ogre Magi is possibly one of the easiest heroes to make work in the current meta, as a tanky frontline support with high damage and decent crowd control can’t be overestimated. In fact, the surprising part is that the hero was ignored for so long.
Given the current meta revolves around ranged carries who can use a meta shield during the laning stage and given how this hero gets an insane amount of damage come level two, there are virtually no bad lane partners for the hero.
Later on he also accelerates the farming speed and increases the DPS of your carries, however from what we’ve seen at DreamLeague, most professionals agree that Ignite is a priority skill to max out, with a value point in stun for obvious reasons.
There are also very few bad items for the hero, however Solar Crest is a very popular common purchase that fits into the meta and has very few wasted stats. Later on, going for more save items is usually the play, though one shouldn’t underestimate a potential Heaven’s Halberd purchase in games against ranged cores.
There really isn’t a lot to dive deep into when it comes to Ogre Magi — the hero is as straightforward and simple as he looks. Make sure to bring plenty of regeneration for your laning stage and trade relentlessly — games are frequently decided during the laning stage and Ogre Magi with the Learning Curve facet is undoubtedly ahead of the curve.
Nyx Assassin
Another melee support hero, one that doesn’t necessarily win the lane, but instead has a lot of utility throughout the game. Being a constant drain on enemy support gold is annoying on its own, but being able to scout, initiate or safely disengage with the Scuttle* facet is why the hero is making waves.
Information is everything in the game of Dota. Finding good angles for an attack and picking off isolated targets can quickly snowball into an advantageous teamfight. Nyx does that by default and with the pub-inspired Dagon build he can even solo skill enemy supports.
This will require a great deal of patience and macro understanding, but given how Scuttle provides 15 seconds of unobstructed pathing and given how big the map currently is, it is virtually impossible to be completely safe, even inside your own base.
On top of it, the hero can also be very punishing against an enemy Medusa, if you pick the Mana Burn facet. We’ve seen professional players occasionally pick it up against one of the most meta-defining carries in the game, but if we are being perfectly honest, defaulting to Scuttle is generally a better idea regardless of matchups.
Lion
Lion doesn’t really fit the definition of a lane-dominating support and truth be told, it is immediately apparent from the hero’s win rate. That said, we feel like the hero definitely deserves a mention, as he is often used as a block-pick in the Captain’s Mode.
One interesting observation we have is that most professional players tend to value both Lion’s disables over Mana Drain. More often than not they also opt for the Fist of Death facet, as opposed to the Essence Eater. This is understandable in the professional scene, as games tend to be shorter. You don’t have all of your abilities maxed out for the majority of the game and +0.3 seconds of stun per level and +0.4 seconds of Hex per level are really good arguments in favour of skipping Mana Drain altogether.
In pubs, however, we feel like the war of attrition, even during the laning stage, can be more beneficial. Players are reluctant to buy extra mana regeneration, they frequently forget extra Mangos and Soul Ring isn’t exactly the most popular of purchases. With that in mind, going for an Essence Eater facet with maxed Mana Drain has some merit.
It certainly decreases your kill potential, however it also makes your lane opponents less threatening and potentially less willing to contest creeps. Not getting kills and farming safely is definitely an option, especially if your lane partner is a weak laning hero. Keep that in mind and adapt accordingly.
Closing thoughts
We understand that a Kez post is definitely something you would expect from us at this point, but truth be told it is going to take some time before we fully understand the hero. He has so many options and intricacies that it’s going to take more than a week to fully grasp what this hero is capable of and how potent he can be in the right hands. It’s been a while since we got a 3-star complexity hero introduced to Dota after all, though we have to say that Valve have outdone themselves with Kez.
For now though we will keep a close eye on the meta developments and potential shifts. There aren’t many big tournaments planned until later in the month and the last balance patch was a while ago, so now is the best time to try out something creative.
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