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Valve has released the changes of Dota 2, which are called Patch 7.30c. We will analyze what exactly changed and how it will affect the competitive games.
Balance trends
Modern Dota is going through a very important period as we approach The International 10. Valve developers try to maximize the game balance. No one viewer don’t want to watch the main esports event of the year with a pool of 2-3 overpowered heroes, who are constantly appear in the first stage of the drafts. Valve made a conclusions and added novelty to competitive Dota after two tournaments before TI.
Dawnbreaker in Captain’s Mode
This patch includes several important changes ahead of the upcoming The International 10. The developers decided to add Dawnbreaker to the Captain’s Mode. This decision will unlikely changes the balance of power among the teams, because everyone has already played Valora a lot of public games. She is used in a variety of positions because she is a very strong laner. Dawnbreaker’s usefulness lies in her stats. She is very tough, she has a lot of HP and armor to trade health on the lane harassing the opponent. Dawnbreaker becomes mobile with level 6 and can fly to the ally hero to rush into the fight. It is most commonly used as hard support and soft support in high ranked games.
However, it may be a revelation for many to use this hero in a core position. There will be many who want to play Dawnbreaker offlane at the TI, such as Daryl “iceiceice” Koh. This non-ordinary player has always surprised us with his unconventional approach and vision of the game, and was always the first to try out new heroes.
Ancient Creeps and Helm of the Overlord
There was clear that the ancient creeps would be nerfed with the growing popularity of such an item as Helm of the Overlord. Valve developers increased the mana cost for each skill of the ancient creeps. By the way, the helm was also nerfed by decreasing armor and regen. These changes look quite balanced.
The creep stacks
Stacks of the creeps became very popular at the last tournaments. Even teams that never did it before also stack the creeps. This change also will affect heroes who can farm stacks quickly. For example Sven or Medusa or any other hero with Battle Fury. Valve decided to reduce experience and gold for each stacked creep by 15%. This should affect the early game of support heroes.
The strongest heroes
There are several heroes that casters, analysts and professional players noted as the strongest heroes in this patch. Clinkz, Vengeful Spirit, Keeper of The Light, and Omniknight are among them. There was a change in patch 7.30c with them as well.
Clinkz
ESL One Fall showed the true power of Clinkz in Patch 7.30. He was used extensively by the PSG.LGD. Clinkz has a 90% win rate at this tournament, winning 10 out of 11 games. However, at the OGA Dota Pit Invitational his win percentage dropped to 43%. It is noteworthy that Clinkz was mostly used by PSG.LGD at ESL. Clinkz was used by many teams at Dota Pit besides LGD. Team Spirit lost all their matches with Clinkz. Tundra Esports took Clinkz once and also lost their game. This explains the negative win rate statistics of the hero. Obviously, not every team knows how to use it correctly. Nevertheless, Valve nerfed the hero anyway. They reduced the increase of agility and attack range. Also they significantly weakened Burning Barrage and ultimate. The developers decided to weaken Aghanim’s Shard on the hero.
Vengeful Spirit
The teams found a new use for such a hero as Vengeful Spirit. Venge now plays mostly offlane and makes a fast Aghanim’s Scepter, which gives her illusion with all available active skills. She has an 83% win rate at ESL One Fall. Her win rate dropped to a balanced 50% at the OGA Dota Pit Invitational. Venge’s power hasn’t gone anywhere, even after the change. The developers only slightly reduced her movement speed from the Vengeance Aura after death and added a HP bar to Agh’s illusion.
Keeper of the Light
This hero also changed a bit. Valve paid attention to his first skill – Illuminate. Also the Keeper becфme slower in his ulti. The hero has an 80% win rate on Dota Pit.
Omniknight
Omniknight has been called one of the top “imba” on Twitter. Many of Dota influencers said that Omni’s imbalance lies his Heavenly Grace. This ability gives too strong buff to whoever gets it. The developers decided to fix this by making it dispelable. Simple as that! We suspect that Omniknight won’t be a frequent guest at The International 10. Nevertheless, his OGA Dota Pit win rate was quite balanced at 50% in 8 games.