Dota 2: Meta Mid Analysis in 7.21b

This meta has some stable mid heroes from previous patches. Dragon Knight has never left the meta. People will still play Invoker, the same way Pudges are everywhere, no matter how strong they are. And Kunkka is still a good pick even though the hero’s Cleave has been tweaked.

7.21b this time gives some heroes some extra stuff to sneak into the pub and pro arena. With the recent ESL Katowice and MDL Macau, we see more new faces and new builds in mid.

Since 7.21, Viper’s pick and win rates have both increased. The hero’s weakness lies in the transition to the mid and late game, while he plays the most in the laning phase. Atos, Drum and Guardian Greaves are interesting items for Viper. They add effective stats, helping Viper last long on the battlefield. Specifically, in the game against Gambit, Team Secret had three Hands of Midas, so Viper was forced to carry the first game. Viper is also a good stable pick in the early and mid game, and sometimes that’s what your team needs to get into the later stages.

Monkey King was a good pick in the previous meta, even though the win rate wasn’t high. Patch 7.20 gives Monkey king a free dodge attack when using Mischief similar to Manta Style, paving the way for pro players to exploit this feature. In 7.21, pub win rate increased by 6% (from 44% to 50%) – one of the biggest changes to date.

While MK’s Agility is buffed, the hero also benefits from 7.21’s movement speed change. Monkey King base movement speed increased and Phase boots buffed, from +20% to 22%. These adjustments make an important contribution to stacking Jingu.

Monkey King’s peak strength is slightly different from other heroes. Reaching level 6 doesn’t really help the hero much, as Money King needs more items and levels to take advantage of Wukong’s Command. With the meta slowing down and the Hand of Midas revolting, the game is now a perfect fit for MK.

Necrophos became a pub hero in 7.21, when his win rate increased by 4%. Traditionally offlaner, Team Aster and Alliance have used Necrophos in the mid position in ESL Katowice.

Hero’s laning phase has been badly affected since Death Pulse was reworked: changed passive healing to Heartstopper. But patch 7.21 fixed it: increased Intelligence gained per level from 2.5 to 2.9, buffed Ghost Shroud talent (+20% to +30%) and increased Death Pulse damage (100/140/180/200 to 100 /150/200/250). Necrophos may not be strong in the pro meta, but in pubs, he has the 4th highest win rate.

Patch 7.21 buffs the base damage and Agility gains each level of Pangolier, helping him to go mid. In the past, Pangolier was a strong offlaner, but teams like Alliance and Secret have pushed the hero to mid – having some success at ESL Katowice, to the point where I became the most banned core hero at the tournament.

Pangolier doesn’t suffer much from the stat bonus, since the hero’s items are more spell-oriented (Javelin and Maelstrom) and add-ons (Guardian Greaves). With the early-mid game meta being slower in the patch, heroes like Pangolier benefited more in the early game, when they were at their strongest.

With pro, heroes can take on more valuable positions. They allow them to hide their lane intentions from their opponents. With so much going on in the early game, teams will also rotate lanes and face off against each other for an advantage. That’s why Monkey King and Pangolier appear in mid – not because these heroes are strong in mid, but because they can handle multiple responsibilities at the same time.

According to Dotabuff