The latest Dota 2 patch delivers a large number of changes, both to individual heroes and to the overall mechanics of the game. Any good player will have to pay close attention to this update and consider the differences in gameplay it will bring. Here some of these changes are considered.
GENERAL MECHANICS
Many of the game’s core features have seen an overhaul in this patch.
One of the most significant is the renewed importance of denial. Although denying grants the enemy more experience, it also grants the denier some as well, bringing the net XP loss down from 50% to 40%.
This places new importance on the mechanic, particularly when considering other aspects of the patch. Extra creeps will now arrive in the mid lane for the first 15 minutes and siege creeps have seen a buff. All of this places more importance on the mid lane, making it arguably more crucial than it was previously. Although they have slightly reduced the gold granted by melee creeps on kill, lessening the focus on the mid lane in this aspect, overall it remains important, possibly requiring two heroes stacked on it.
Valve seem to have shortened match times too. Shrines have become less effective and numerous, making it difficult for champions to defend as effectively, as well as forcing certain picks to spend more time offlane to recover. Furthermore, the addition of extra creeps and buffed siege creeps makes successful pushes more effective, helping players break through the high ground advantage often relied upon by the defending team in the late game.
Farming has also been changed – neutral creeps now drop less gold, but spawn twice as often, making farming more impactful overall.
Meanwhile, illusions have been nerfed, granting more XP and gold to the team that kills them, making them more costly to utilise.
Heroes have received a general boost to HP, regeneration and mana. This makes them overall more resilient and sustainable, although intelligence-focused heroes will be getting less mana in the late game.
The formula for gold loss on death has also been adjusted. Although players might lose a little less gold in the early game, the more their net worth increases, the more they lose each death.
Valve have also completely removed respawn talents, replacing them with new, unique ones. This seems less of a nerf than a general change to the gameplay and doesn’t target any particular hero too hard.
ITEMS
Quite a few items have seen changes in this patch. The most notable is Aghanim’s Scepter, which has gained a lot of utility and new abilities for heroes like Axe, Silencer and Underlord. This may make it a key pick for these heroes and a few more.
Aether Lens, Force Staff and the Rod of Atos have all been improved, with changes which mainly benefit support heroes, making them easier or cheaper to craft.
Heaven’s Halberd is now immune to Spell Immunity, greatly improving the item’s effectiveness at initiation, while Heart of Tarrasque grants even more health now, making it a very tempting pick.
Meanwhile, the almost-universally used Solar Crest has been nerfed to a more situational role.
HEROES
Many heroes saw an overhaul, but some more than others.
Although Crystal Maiden saw some slight ability nerfs in her Freezing Field cooldown, the buffs to her early game and to support items make this already popular hero even stronger. With the early boost to mana, she can easily cast all her spells by Level Six.
Enigma’s respawn talent has been replaced with another hit of Malefice, improving his disabling abilities in the late game. He’ll likely remain a desirable pick after the patch.
Windranger has seen more versatility with her new talents, being able to choose between invisibility or higher damage output. Monkey King has been completely overhauled, seeing a more defensive focus than his previously damage-oriented playstyle. It’s hard to say whether he’ll still see play with this new bearing.
Sven has been buffed heavily, with God’s Strength hugely improving his health. Coupled with the increased neutral creep spawn rates, Sven will almost certainly be a top-tier pick after this patch.
Although Brewmaster, commonly considered a counter to Sven, has seen some buffs too, it’s possible he’ll finally see play, at least as a counter-pick.
Naga Siren has been weakened greatly as although her early game is a little stronger, the nerf to illusions and changes to her costs and timings make her weaker overall. Alchemist, too, has been hit by this patch – although he wasn’t a common pick beforehand, the changes to neutral creeps would have made him extremely powerful, requiring him to be nerfed ahead of time.
Overall then, many popular heroes have seen nerfs, but just about all the others have seen slight buffs, helping to rebalance the game and – hopefully – diversify hero picks. The new general mechanics might lead to some new, interesting tactics in the tournaments to come.
