Dota 2: Hero analysis, who are the heroes that benefit in patch 7.21d

• Agility gain per level increased from 2.2 to 2.8
• Base Agility increased by 6 (base damage unchanged)

Drow Ranger is one of the heroes that has suffered the most from the bonus stat changes. As a hero that relies entirely on Agility, a small change can have a huge impact. Drow’s Agility bonus buff goes back to 7.21, for a total of 2.2 to 2.8. Drow’s base Agility is now 29, up from 19 in patch 7.20b. With such an Agility advantage, Drow Ranger benefits a lot from the attack speed he has in the early game. Since the 7.21d buff, the hero’s win rate has jumped by 5%, from 48% to 53%.

Tempplay Assassin appeared several times during the MDL Disneyland qualifiers, including the seires Fnatic vs. Mineski

• Agility gain per level increased from 2.8 to 3.2
• Meld debuff duration increased from 10 to 12 seconds

Templar Assassin slowly returned to the meta. Patch 7.20 adds an interesting bonus for Meld – stun through BKB, at level 25, making up for the hero’s shortfalls in the late game. Since then, Templar Assassin has been continuously buffed after every patch. Agility gain is 3.2, up from 2.3 in patch 7.21. Meld now adds a debuff before dealing damage, has a longer debuff duration, and stacks. Refraction damage is also buffed at all levels. TA’s win rate is only 47% now, but the hero used to be one of the worst heroes in pubs, with a win rate of just 43% in patch 7.20. Templar Assassin’s latest buff is probably what the hero needs to get back into the meta.

• Sand Storm damage increased from 20/40/60/80 to 20/45/70/95
• Burrowstrike cast range increased from 350/450/550/650 to 400/500/600/700

From the abandoned hero, Sand King win rate increased from 48% to 50.5% after 7.21d. Hero completely disappeared at DreamLeague Major, not picked or banned. In 7.20, Sand King was really annoying in the laning phase because the patch changed Sand Storm so it no longer got canceled while channeling. Obviously, this hero has been nerfed, for 4 consecutive patches. Patch 7.21 somewhat lifted the Sand King and quickly saw success at the MDL Disneyland qualifiers.

• Lucky Shot can’t silence and disarm at the same time
• Lucky Shot probability reduced from 20% to 17%
• Rolling Thunder mana cost increased from 100 to 100/150/200

After Chen and Lifestealer, Pangolier was the most competitive hero at the DreamLeague Major and was almost picked/banned in the first round. Heartpiercer’s reworked Lucky Shot in 7.20 made Pangolier super strong in the offlane, but the small base damage buff in 7.21 made him a good mid player. Pangolier is strongest when key items – Greaves and Maelstrom – are roaming the meta. Lucky Shot and Rolling Thunder being nerfed is a must, and it doesn’t seem like it’s enough to slow the hero down.

• Agility gain per level reduced from 2.8 to 2.5
• Nethertoxin cooldown reduced from 5 to 6

Viper has been constantly nerfed since 7.21 making Viper one of the most ‘badass’ heroes in the meta. Patch 7.21d nerfed again, this time directly on Nethertoxin (the buff that made the hero famous) and one of his main items, Rod of Atos, was also nerfed. The patch reduced Viper’s win rate to 53% – a far cry from his peak of 60% in pubs.

• Rage cooldown increased from 16 to 18 seconds

It seems like a small change, but Rage’s nerf cooldown comes after the series of nerfs Lifestealer received in both 7.21b and c. Once one of the strongest carries in the meta, this final change pushes Lifestealer down to a mediocre position. Overall, Strength gain per level decreased from 3.6 to 2.9. Having nerfed both Feast and now Rage, this Strength hero’s buff has decreased. While Strength gains per level more impact in the mid and late game, Rage’s cooldown is heavily affected in the early levels and laning phase, the strongest phase of Lifestealer.

According to Dotabuff