Patch 7.22 has come out just a few days and the gameplay has changed drastically. Let's see which hero will shape the way we play Dota in this patch.
1. Alchemist
The hero has been well known for his ability to “grand” scepter to other teammates. Since you just give 4,200 gold to your buddy but receive nothing in return, Ice Frog must have felt it an unfair situation. So in this patch, Alchemist got bonuses for giving scepter to other players. Specifically, Alchemist gets +30 Damage and + 6% Spell Amp for each Aghanim’s Scepter giving out.
The buff seems to give decent incentive for Alchemist players. Once Alchemist has farmed up 6 items, he would hit the dead end if you can't find a way to finish the game yet. Now Alchemist has more room for growth as he can reach up to +150 damage and 30% Spell Amplification. That does not sound too bad as you don’t need a slot for it in your inventory.
2. Chaos Knight
Chaos Knight has been really underrated and underpicked for quite a while. He is barely picked in pro scene and hardly a favorite hero in pubs. And here comes the update with some much-needed buff for him.
Apart from the buff to Aghs on this hero (which reduces incoming illusion damage from 260% to 180%), CK’s disable, Chaos Bolt is the main point. Ice Frog has increased the minimum and maximum damage of the skill, also adding a slight buff to the stun duration.
The buff to Chaos Bolt could give more fighting capacity to Chaos Knight in the laning phase, helping the hero to dominate his lane more easily. Having a good early time can very well guarantee your mid-game stage.
3. Anti-mage
Anti-mage’s scepter was removed for a few patches. However, the wizard’s scepter has now come back with an attractive feature that magic lovers would fear much. In this patch, AM’s Scepter increases the stun duration of Mana Void by one second. In addition, whenever someone dies from the spell, he/she will have a +70 seconds CD to the highest CD ability of the hero. It means when the affected hero respawns, his highest Cd ability will go on 70 seconds CD
Let’s take some long CD ultimate heroes for example, like Enigma or Magnus. They are very much feared for their AOE disables, making them a winning card for a team in combats. They depend almost entirely on their ultimates to fight. Imagine your key hero becomes useless for 70 secs! That would be a huge amount of time your team has to do without your AOE disables.
4. Keeper of the light
KoTL was once very much hated for his Mana Leak ability. It was one of the most disruptive spells in Dota 2. After the rework of the hero’s abilities, Mana Leak was removed. However, with this update, Chakra Magic now works like the old Mana Leak if cast on an enemy. The only difference is that the amount of mana drained is calculated on the percentage of the current mana, not the max mana pool.
Another buff to KotL is his Aghanim Scepter upgrade for Illuminate. Once equipped, the Scepter will give KoTL the ability to Illuminate without channeling, just like the good old days. This will give KoTL more freedom to reposition in combats and maneuvering.
5. Dark Willow
The playful fairy is back to irritate you again. Apart from the buff to level 15 talent’s GPM is increased by 30 to 120, Dark Will gets another nightmarish upgrade with Scepter. Now Dark Willow can hit freely without breaking out of Shadow Realm. She is now a kind of Slark and Sniper combined, high range hitter plus untouchability. She does not just hit, she hits hard till you scream out.
However, Dark Willow got a minor nerf in the minor update 7.22b:
- Base attack time increased from 1.3 to 1.5
- Shadow Realm damage ramp-up time increased from 3 to 4
- Level 25 Talent reduced from +200 Attack Speed to +175
But it seems like the nerf won't stop Dark Willow from stomping pubs.
Conclusion
After the era of Drow Ranger and Doom, we get to see some new stuff and old heroes coming back. For the upcoming Major and The International, we will have the chance to see more tactical plays and strategies in the pro scene. Dota 2 is always evolving and changing, making it one of the most played Esports out there.