The new post-TI patch is here and while it is not a major systems overhaul, it is a pretty meaty one. Not necessarily in the amount of changes themselves, but potentially in the ripple effect we expect it will have on the overall meta. Today we want to have a quick look over what we consider to be the biggest changes to the game and discuss what the end result of these changes could be.
The survivability nerfs were expected and necessary, in our opinion. However, instead of tweaking it globally, Valve went for more targeted nerfs.
Both Pipe of Insight and Crimson Guard had their active duration reduced, while staying as effective as they used to be in terms of protection. This is an interesting way to balance teamfight survivability, as these items should theoretically still deal with initial burst, but aren’t as effective throughout the teamfight. Personally, we feel like it might not be enough, but Valve are being very cautious with the balance changes for now.
Considering all the “trinkets” also no longer provide double-stats at minute 25 it only makes sense. Bracer is still a very good item and good early game survivability, but buying multiples of it past the laning stage should be a thing of the past. Same with Wraith Band and Null Talisman. Instead of being a good midgame slot, they now once again have an opportunity cost of taking away inventory space. Perhaps they are now going to get sold earlier, making way for more interesting options.
Gleipnir now having a +300 gold recipe cost with reduced stats should definitely make the item more situational. It is still incredibly oppressive in terms of its active, Eternal Chains, though. All in all we feel like the item is still very much viable, it just no longer provides so much of everything in one neat package. Though truth be told, it might not be enough to make it less ubiquitous.
Finally, Arcane Boots are now more expensive, their aura is weaker and the active restores less mana. This change was forced by many core players getting the item for efficiency and while it does solve this issue to a certain extent, it also makes the item considerably less effective on supports as well. We feel like the intention is understandable, but the execution might have undesired consequences. Perhaps returning to the old days where Arcane Boots had a mana cost on the Replenish active could be a better solution, one that would make it still great for supports, but not as efficient for farming cores.
With survivability teamfight auras nerfs, there is also a small nudge towards different playstyles in hero changelogs. Most problematic heroes received some small nerfs, theoretically making them more balanced, but not unusable.
Heroes like Luna and Windranger stand out in that regard, as their overall strength should decrease significantly. The former received a lot of direct nerfs to her damage output, losing some of the burst the hero was picked for. The latter should be considerably less oppressive with a ~65% cooldown increase to her Whirlwind Ultimate.
Tusk also got some well-deserved changes to Drinking Buddies. We still feel like this ability is overtuned in terms of team mobility and saves, but it should at least make Tusk himself an easier target, especially during the laning stage.
There are several notable buffs as well. We feel like Lich getting 45% attack damage mitigation at level one of Frost Shield is a very big deal, as the hero is now free to max out Frost Blast for the laning stage, while not losing relevance in the earlier stages of midgame. This is huge for a support that’s been absent from the meta, outside of some pocket-strats by a couple of teams.
Death Prophet is also a lot stronger in the early game and could potentially make a meta comeback. The hero’s been too risky for too long, but her level one Ultimate is now 25% more effective, while her laning stage should get a little bit stronger with the added damage.
Outside of these heroes, there aren’t really any major changes to the heroes, however, once again, we feel like the ripple effect on the meta could be massive.
These changes are going to be quite unpredictable, as Dota is a very complex game. Nerfs to some heroes should make other heroes more viable. Nerfs to popular items could make some heroes less popular or at least weaker. So for now it is a “wait and see”, though we would certainly enjoy a more Major shake up to the game.
What do you think of the new patch? Do you feel like we missed something important? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.