Dota 2: Analysis of 7.20c update, there will be more balance updates

7.20 has been out for less than a week and we have 7.20c! The new patch once again brings a lot of changes. They are aimed at balancing all heroes. Dota 2 7.20c was announced early morning on 11/25: mainly hero changes, but we also have a few major game impact items changed. Let’s analyze 7.20c and its effects:

Change Item

Wraith Bands: Bonus attack speed reduced from 7 to 6
Wraith Bands: Recipe price increased from 210 to 220
Bracer: Recipe price increased from 210 to 220
Null Talisman: Recipe price increased from 210 to 220

Almost every agility carry champion has increased to two to three wraith bands from the beginning of the game, we are quite surprised that IceFrog has not decided to remove the Wraith Band completely from the game. Nerf is a must and Wraith Band will be nerfed a few more times before going into the past. The biggest change is in the recipe price: from 210 to 220. It’s not much, but it completely messes up the early game items for mid. A lot of times, mid starts with a Wraith Band, Null Talisman or Bracer with a Tango set. They are equivalent to 600 gold, but now the total gold will be 610.

They’re not that big of a deal in the pro scene where pro players often go mid with a finish, Ironwood Branch and tango shared by teammates. But in pubs, people will feel this influence. What’s worse, the Wraith Band fever also caused Null Talisman and Bracer to be nerfed. It is best to ask for tango at the beginning of each game, even though the chances of getting it are slim.

Heroes that benefit in 7.20c

Centaur

– Stampede slow duration increased from 1.8 to 2.3 seconds

The new Centaur still finds its place in the game, but Stampede has always been a good move and with the extra 0.5 second slow, it just gets better. Half a second doesn’t sound like much, but when it’s increased to 100% slow, it’s endless for those hit by Stampede.

Chaos Knight

Chaos Strike lifesteal increased from 35/40/45/50% to 35/45/55/65%

Chaos Knight has 1 third of Satanic’s strength every 4 seconds. Therefore, maxing out Chaos Strike at level 7 and then going to the jungle is advisable. It helps CK last a long time to fam in the jungle without having to go home or require healing support. It will play a big part in the late game with a lot of healing, not only for his CK but also his shadows!

Death Prophet

– Base movement speed increased from 310 to 315
– Level 10 Talent increased from +12% Magic Resistance to +15%
– Level 20 Talent increased from -2s Crypt Swarm Cooldown to -3s

The biggest buff for Death Prophet lies in the increased movement speed. With high movement speed and the ability to slow enemies with Spirit Siphone, this buff improves ganks as well as escape chances. Not many players choose the Magic Resistant talent because +40 Damage makes farming much better (usually this is the talent picked and DP then goes to Hood of Defiance for magic resistance). But the Crypt Swarm cooldown is also worth noting. It reduces the cooldown of Crypt Swarm to 2 seconds (1.5 seconds with Octarine Core). Possessing the nuke AoE skill that deals 300 damage with a 2 second cooldown is really cool!

Drow Ranger

– Markmanship now has the ability (proc) to deal 120 bonus physical damage to heroes

‘Drow Tactics’ may have dropped because ranged champions no longer take extra damage, but Drow itself is still a strong hero. Marksmanship has 40% proc (at level 3 of the ability) and completely penetrates enemy armor, which is 120 pure damage to enemies! Scepter for Drow could be an item worth considering from here on, as we have the ability to deal 120 extra damage to nearby heroes.

Ember Spirit

– Sleight of Fist bonus damage increased from 35/70/105/140 to 40/80/120/160
– Level 10 Talent increased from +200 Flame Guard Absorption to +250
– Level 15 Talent increased from +50 Flameguard DPS to +60

Ember was never a bad choice. Remember, Ember was the hero that helped OG win TI8 and helped them win the final game of the tournament. It’s not a popular pick, but the hero is still strong. The buff will help the hero be used more commonly in the game. Talent Flame Guard is getting stronger and is definitely an option worth lifting.

Kunkka

Tidebringer splash damage increased from 150 to 165%

Kunkka is one of the strongest mid heroes. Kunkka doesn’t lose to many heroes thanks to Tidebringer and cleave being buffed. Cleave’s strongest point is not in killing creeps but in harassing the enemy in mid. Gaining an extra 15% damage will force the enemy early in the game to continuously use healing items.

Outworld Devourer

– Intelligence gain per level increased from 2.7 to 3.0
– Base armor increased by 1
Equilibrium slow increased from 12/20/28/36% to 12/22/32/42%
– Orbs no longer ignore Ancients

OD seemed to be dead and buried at the beginning of patch 7.20, but with 7.20b and 7.20c present, OD is likely to return. Arcane Orb hitting Ancient is a great buff for OD. Before that, this hero was forced to ignore Ancients or kill them at extremely slow speeds. This will increase farm speed. Once players learn how to use Equilibrium, OD has the potential to become a stable meta pick.

Storm Spirit

– Intelligence gain per level increased from 3 to 3.2
– Static Remnant damage increased from 120/160/200/240 to 120/170/220/270

This hero needs a buff to compensate for the magic resistance appearing in Bracer (6% Magic Resistance). Most of Storm’s damage is magic, early game Storm’s effectiveness becomes too slow for 7.20. Buffs in 7.20c are essential (along with 7.20b update) and increasing Intelligence received with Static Remnant damage will buff Storm more damage.

Heroes that are disadvantaged in 7.20c

Lone Druid

– Base armor reduced by 2
– Agility reduced from 24 + 2.7 to 20 + 2.4
– Spirit Link cooldown adjusted from 44/36/28/20 to 43/36/29/22
– Level 10 Talent reduced from +175 Attack Range to +150
– Level 20 Talent changed from +40 Spirit Link Attack Speed ​​to -0.2 Spirit Bear Base Attack Time (-0.2 Spirit Bear base attack time)

We just got back to playing Lone Druid range in 7.20 when the patch was released. The last time this gameplay was used a lot was when 7.00 was introduced. Going forward in 7.20c, IceFrog will try to balance this hero so that range becomes less popular and people gradually shift focus to Spirit Brear.

Luna

– Agility gain per level reduced from 3.3 to 3.1
– Level 10 Talent reduced from +20 Attack Speed ​​to +15
– Level 20 Talent reduced from +10 All Stats to +8
– Lunar Blessing night vision reduced from 250/500/750/1000 to 200/400/600/800

Luna is not the most popular hero in the last patch. She was nerfed immediately in 7.20b and with the 7.20c nerf, there is a high chance that the hero will be sidelined. The idea of ​​getting stats rather than damage is nice, and helps the team experiment with interesting strategies. But Luna can’t just keep getting nerfed. Agility gain with each level drop has a slight effect. Now that her night vision is reduced, she is no longer as strong as Slark. This can become a problem as Slark is leading to become one of the popular heroes of the new meta.

Meepo

– XP gain from Divided We Stand reduced from 50% to 40%
– Level 15 Talent reduced from +40 Poof Damage to +30

Meepo is the hero that stormed pubs after 7.20 was released. Obviously, this is a ‘broken hero’ and is even more obvious when playing with Luna – a hero that can add stats to Meepo. IceFrog is working to fix the mistake of heroes needing more than everyone else in terms of level: 10% of XP loss from clones can affect this process. Let’s see if Meepo gets picked often in the Chongqing Major qualifiers.

Slark

– Pounce duration reduced from 2.75/3/3.25/3.5 to 2.5/2.75/3/3.25
– Dark Pact manacost increased from 55/50/45/40 to 60
Shadow Dance duration increased from 4/4.5/5 to 4/4.25/4.5
Agility Robbery now only happens when enemy dies within 300 units of Slark with debuff, instead of only when Slark is the one to finish the enemy
– Level 10 Talent reduced from +8 Agility to +6
– Level 20 Talent reduced from +2s Pounce Leash to +1.5s
– Level 25 Talent reduced from +120 seconds Essence Shift Duration to +100 seconds

Slark gets nerfed a lot. But the biggest nerf here is the increased mana cost for Dark Pact. Slark is a hero that relies on ‘swapping Tread’ to get enough mana to use Dark Pact to improve farming. Now, with Powert Treads changed (and agility reduced from level 10 talent), going to phase boots to add attack speed to Slark is a better choice. But in the case of phase boots, that means Slark can’t ‘change Treads’ and lack mana. The consolation point in 7.20c with Slark is that the hero can steal agility from enemies without having to kill them directly.

We have 7.20c in six days since 7.20 launched. Undoubtedly, balance patches will continue to be released. Especially when the Chongqing Major qualifiers are over and we’ll see some more crazy combos. This will make the Major qualifiers even more interesting.

According to VPesports