A new patch has finally arrived to Dota 2 after 7.30 has been one of the longest patches in the game’s history. Here are some of the biggest winners and losers of Patch 7.31:
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Winners of 7.31 – Axe, Brewmaster, Chen, Dazzle & more
Axe is among the heroes that got significant attention from the developers. The changes to Battle Hunger and Culling Blade now ensure that he has a lot better scaling potential for the late game and make him a more interesting pickup.
Another strength hero with gains in 7.31 is Brewmaster. The friendly alcoholic had always been something of a one-trick pony relying heavily on his ultimate. The rework to Drunken Brawler now allows him specific stances for different situations that will make him much more of a threat even outside of his ultimate. Don’t forget to drench yourself in your own Cinder Brew ability too in order to triple Drunken Brawler’s bonuses.
Patch 7.31 saw significant changes to the Jungle with buffs to the neutral creeps. On top of those Chen also had a buff to his Holy Persuasion spell, increasing the movement speed of his converted creeps even further. The adjustment on his ultimate mean less burst healing, but the overall amount of healing is higher than before. So take Chen for a ride in this patch.
Dazzle also received some necessary love from IceFrog as he has not been in the meta for a long time now. With buffs to his basic abilities on top of getting a second ultimate and having his old one reworked entirely, the Shadow Priest is looking very good right now.
These are just 4 of the heroes with significant changes so make sure to experiment with the new patch to find out the newest broken combinations.
Losers of 7.31 – Spiritbreaker, Tinker & Fountain Farmers
Of course a balance patch also brings losers to the table as the overbearing heroes get whacked with the nerf bat. Some come as little surprise with Spiritbreaker & Tinker among the worst offenders to be brought in line. Other popular picks like Queen of Pain also got adjustments to their numbers, but none of the heroes were nerfed to the ground.
With all the changes to the terrain and jungle it is also difficult to say how the numbers will work out in the end. However one change is already certain and very welcome. To combat the frustrating experience of being fountain farmed in a game that is already lost, players’ heroes will now be invulnerable as long as there is at least one enemy hero in the base until they issue a command. Hopefully that will eliminate that aspect of the game for good.
Of course our comments on the patch are all on first glance, try and explore the possibilities of the new patch as a new meta unfolds.
Read more:
- New Dota 2 patch 7.31 includes new hero Primal Beast, jungle changes and Techies rework
- Next Dota Pro Circuit Major to be hosted in Stockholm by ESL
How are your impressions from the patch? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!