Dota 2: Effect of Gold and XP changes in patch 7.20

Dota 2 patch 7.20 brought a lot of changes and it felt like we were relearning the game from scratch. Among those changes include the amount of XP gained and some adjustments in the amount of gold. Let’s find out what effect they have on the game.

Deny’s System

• Deny no longer rewards denyers 25% XP

• Denied creeps now reward denyers 20% gold

  • Melee Creep: 7-8 gold

  • Ranged Creep: 9-11 gold

A lot of people asking for changes in the deny system and IceFrog gave their answer, but does it make a big difference? The best way to verify is to compare the old deny system (25% XP deny goes to the denyer) and the new system.

For example, the mid lane is being dominated by Lina against Invoker. After 5 and a half minutes (10 creep wave, 40 creeps), the creep stats are as follows:

Lina: 30 creeps, 20 deny
Invoker: 10 creeps, 5 deny

Lina is more obvious than Voker. Now assuming these two heroes are in the lane, let’s see what the XP and Gold system is like.

Old deny system:

Lina: 2475 XP (level 6.3), 1327 gold
Invoker: 1575 XP (Level 4.8), 422 gold
Level difference = 1.5, gold difference = 885 gold

New deny system

Lina: 2175 XP (level 5.8), 1504 gold
Invoker: 1500 XP, (level 4.7), 486 gold
Level difference = 1.1, gold difference = 1018 gold

The difference between XP and level has decreased, but net worth has increased (due to the amount of gold gained from deny). Although the level gap is smaller, the difference is not too big. In the second scenario, the overwhelming hero (Lina) will eat a few more waves of creeps to reach level 6, and that makes a difference, especially heroes like Lina who can explode with her Ultimate. However, the dominant hero still has more gold in the laning phase and is still not leveled (between two opposing heroes). The main reason may lie in the 75% XP that the hero misses when the opponent denies. If that lane becomes too overwhelming, the XP difference can be increased by 50-60%.

XP Formula Changed

The formula for calculating XP has been adjusted to be simpler. Previously, the recipe had three parts. While the new one is only partial, it only depends on the XP that the hero kills and the number of heroes appearing in the XP area. When we plot the XP gained from killing heroes by level, before and after patch 7.20, we can see some interesting points about the amount of XP. (click image below to enlarge)

The two graphs are pretty close until the enemy hero reaches level 15. At some levels, the old formula gives more XP, while at others the new formula gives more XP. However, from around level 13-17, the XP in the new formula starts to skyrocket! This means that killing high level heroes will give you more XP than before, becoming your own XPM boost potential. If the match is very even in the mid game and one of the two teams gets a team wipe, the winning team’s level will definitely increase a lot! Not to mention, support talents that give more XP (like Warlock with a 50% XP talent) will help enemy carry collect a lot of XP when they kill them. The new system makes it possible to make a comeback when you kill a high level hero on the enemy side, you will get a lot of XP, as the graph shows.

Also, the lower XP gain in the new formula at early levels (compared to the old recipe) shows that early rorate is not a good idea. It’s best to stay in the lane and if possible, kill the enemy or better, force him to walk home to heal.

Changed Gold for neutral creeps and stacks

• Stacked jungle creeps now reward stackers 35% gold instead of 25%

• Non-Ancient jungle creep camps now grant 5% more gold

The extra gold from jungle creeps (except ancient) benefits all. The gold from the jungle (excluding both sides: 1 small camp, 2 medium camps, 2 large camps and 1 ancient camp) has increased slightly, but stacking supports will receive more gold.

Before Dota 7.20:

Medium Forest Gold: 911 gold
Gold for support (stack all camps at once): 228 gold

After Dota 2 7.20:

Average jungle gold: 948 gold
Gold for support (stack all camps at once): 332 gold

With the jungle core, the amount of gold increased is not much. But with support? This is a strong growth figure! With Shadow Demon or Keeper of the Light, these heroes have the ability to stack multiple camps at once. Stacking 4 ancient yards (for heroes like Sven or Medusa) will help support earn 181 more gold. So try to stack if you are support. Both you and the carry benefit.

Overall, we will still see many changes in patch 7.20 Dota 2. However, the laning meta is unlikely to change much. The jungle may be better than before, but the best way is to win in the lane!

According to VPesports

Dota 2: 7.20 update details, gameplay changes hugely