Here’s how Dota 2’s latest patch, 7.23d is affecting some heroes in the meta.
Valve decided to release the Dota 2 patch 7.32d a few weeks after the end of The International. Dota 2’s most prestigious event allowed us to watch the best in the world, but to be fair, most people were bored with the previous patch. We expected Valve to release 7.33 or something similar and include tons of changes. However, the company decided to play safe and gave us access to 7.32d, a patch that includes balance changes.
We won’t go into everything new because this article will focus on the latest update’s effect on some heroes. Naturally, many of the fan-favorite heroes received buffs and nerfs, which will affect them. Even though we are yet to see the patch’s long-term effect, here is what we expect.
Leshrac will be out of the meta
As mentioned, it is too early to tell whether a given hero will be that affected by the new updates, but judging from the changelog, some heroes won’t be as successful as before. For better or worse, Leshrac will most likely be one of them because the hero receives a lot of nerfs.
To be fair, most Dota 2 players expected Lesh to be in this position. Even though the hero was not the most popular midder at TI 11, he was the most successful one. What’s more, the hero became very powerful in PUBs because people were able to do tons of damage and push really fast. In fact, thanks to things like the Aghs Shard, some people thought that Leshrac was stronger than he was during TI 5, which was his peak.
Sadly, it seems like Leshrac’s domination will come to an end because patch 7.32d introduced a lot of significant changes. Pulse Nova now has a 1s cooldown after you cancel it, and it deals slightly less damage than before. Needless to say, this will have a big impact on Lesh’s overall damage, especially in the late game.
In addition to Pulse Nova, the hero’s Split Earth with Aghs now gives a +60 range instead of +75. This means that Leshtac will land his stuns even harder. Lastly, one of Leshrac’s level 10 talents now gives 1.5 mana regen, which is lower than it was (1.75). As a result, the hero will have less mana to work with in the mid-game.
QoP may become the top midder
The fact that Leshrac received a lot of nerfs means that we won’t see him as often as before. In other words, another midder has to take his place, and by the looks of it, Queen of Pain will be more than happy to fill in this role.
QoP has always been one of the most popular mid-laners in professional and PUB Dota 2. The hero deals a lot of magical damage, but she can also go for a right-click item build. What’s more, Queen of Pain has Blink, making her significantly more mobile than other mid-laners.
The Dota 2 patch 7.32d includes several important changes to QoP that will definitely make her more popular than before. For example, Shadow Strike now has an extra radius with an Aghanim’s Scepter, and you can target the ground, meaning you can hit multiple units at once.
Interestingly, Sonic Wave, QoP’s big ult, also receives updates. The ability now has a 110/100/90s cooldown instead of 125s, which is a substantial buff. Lastly, one of QoP’s level 20 talents gives her an extra 40s cooldown reduction to Sonic Wave instead of 60s. This is a nerf, but it was expected, considering that the ult has less cooldown in the first place.
All of these changes mean that Queen of Pain can do more damage and fill in Leshrac’s role. Unsurprisingly, most professional teams will be more than happy to put her to the test.
Viper will also contest the mid-lane
Aside from Queen of Pain, which also received a lot of buffs, Viper is another hero that we will see much more often. Even though players like Ammar picks the hero in the offlane, there is no arguing that Viper is a traditional midder. So, following the buffs in 7.32d, the hero will most likely rip through his enemies.
Speaking of the Dota 2 patch 7.32d, Viper receives 4 buffs. The first one is to Nethertoxin, which now costs 70 mana instead of 85. This may not seem that much, but we must remember that Viper only has a little mana to work with. Consequently, this will allow him to use it more often than before.
Nosedive also receives a buff because this ability now has a 375 cast range instead of 300. In other words, he can use it more efficiently.
The other Viper changes in 7.32d are related to his talents. His level 10 one gives Corrosive Skin +18 DPS instead of +13, whereas his level 15 one increases Corrosive Skin’s magic Resistance to +15% instead of +12%.
Treant Protector will be a popular support
Besides the changes to some of the popular core heroes, patch 7.32d also has an effect on some supports. Unsurprisingly, Treant Protector is one of them because we haven’t seen the hero in the meta for some time. It seems like he is one of the few supports that received substantial buffs, which means pro and casual players will start picking him more often than before.
If we look at the changelog, we can see that Treant’s Leech Seed now deals slightly more damage and heals more than before. This ability also has an improved cast point from 0.4s to 0.3s, and its cast range is increased from 400 to 400/450/500/550.
In addition to these buffs, Treant Protector also has received an essential buff to Overgrowth. The latter deals 85 DPS instead of 75 DPS, so the hero can be even more useful in team fights.
There are many more heroes that also received all sorts of changes that will have an effect on their overall performance. For example, Grimstroke received a lot of buffs, whereas Morphling is not as strong as before. It will be interesting to see what will happen once people play on 7.32d for at least a couple of days. Make sure to follow us here at ESTNN for more info and tips!