Dota 2: The most disadvantaged heroes patch 7.29

Patch 7.29 didn’t really address hero balance much. Most of the changes are mainly about item balance and game economy. However, they have a huge impact on many heroes, making some unplayable at high ranks. Today, the article will show which are the most disadvantaged heroes that you need to avoid if you want to really win the game.

Equality the Zoo and the MICRO HERO

Necronomicon is wiped out, making heroes dependent on this item significantly weaker. Although Beastmaster can still play with pure damage, Lycan has almost disappeared from the meta.

A few people have experimented with Lycan following the aura path, going to Vladmir’s Offering early and then Assault Cuirass, but this has not been successful so far. Necronomicon is too important for this carry tempo. The item’s removal from the game took away Lycan’s complete map control.

Heroes like Broodmother are also affected, but mostly because the hero is nerfed. Broodmother farm is much slower and has no map control in the early game. The skill set is now more towards creating baby spiders and that makes the hero weaker. The swarm of spiders can’t compensate for Broodmother’s ability to cross terrain as well as +140 damage, +140% lifesteal previously inherent to Broodmother.

This patch does not have much impact on Enchantress and Chen because these heroes have never been completely dependent on Necronomicon. Visage, a hero that often uses summons and sometimes also goes to Necronomicon but surprisingly, is among the heroes that benefited the most from patch 7.29. We will talk about Visage in a future post.

TON NGO has no expiration date

Monkey King got a significant nerf in update 7.29, but that’s not enough to explain the 6% drop in win rate. From the most popular hero in the professional and high ranked arena, now MK has become a below-average carry.

The article believes that nerfed mobility along with buffed ranged heroes has prevented Money King, causing the hero to not shine like before. Monkey King is usually stronger against physical damage melee heroes. The opponent needs to be careful against Wukong’s Command. Either run or two must be ready to face the massive damage of this utilmate. Meanwhile, Money King is weaker than enemy kite heroes or other super late heroes.

Overall, the article recommends not playing MK now, even after the last 7.29b buff. This hero’s success rate is currently average or below average and also doesn’t fit the meta in general.

IO

It seems like the standalone IO with the massive damage has been dealt with and returned to a more original support position. In the author’s opinion, this is a good thing because the hero does not necessarily weaken if playing in the support position. But harder to implement than before? Sure. Requires more teamwork? Of course. That is what is really needed in an IO support.

DEATH PROPHET

Previously, Death Prophet had a base movement speed of 335. The nerf down to 320 brought DP back to the ground. Chasing targets and keeping Spirit Siphon becomes a lot harder. This change causes the hero to reduce his win rate by almost 5%.

Losing 6 base damage is also a big deal, especially when playing mid. The attack animation is shorter and the Crypt Swarm is now easier to deploy, but it’s clearly not enough to support Death Prophet’s position 2 support playstyle.

Perhaps, we will see Death Prophet more in the support position, because her Silence has a very strong cast range and duration. DP is actually better against offlane melee bulls. DDP still offers the ability to push turrets and great damage, while not requiring a lot of item investment. This is probably the gameplay you can test Death Prophet through in the near future.

EPILOGUE

After a while of launching 7.29 in Dota 2, we have drawn many conclusions. As expected, the zoo meta has disappeared, the average game time has also become longer and the greedy heroes are somewhat prioritized. Meanwhile, core tempos are struggling in the meta.

Carry ranges are gradually becoming more popular and successful. In the next article, we will take a look at the heroes that benefited the most from the patch. Now, please share your thoughts on which heroes are over-nerfed? Do you think removing the old Necronomicon item from the game is really necessary?

According to dotabuff

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