Dota 2: How a small change brought Divine Rapier to the next level

Since the early days of professional Dota 2, items have also come and gone in the meta in waves of buffs/nerfs. But Divine Rapier was never considered a meta item, and that’s completely true. Giving the opponent an item of 6200 gold + 330 attack is something no one wants. In a split second, 12,400 networth was turned around!

Traditionally, this item is usually only raised when it is considered a last resort. Some players like Miracle or EternaLEnvy also sometimes buy Divine Rapier when the game is in balance or want to make a breakthrough, but such times are rare.

However, the last patch 7.23 has had a change that makes Divine Rapier an active item instead of a last choice when cornered.

DIVINE RAPIER

This is the change to Divine Rapier in Dota 2 Patch 7.23.

Why is this change so important? Because True Strike was removed from the game in patch 7.07! Previously, Monkey King Bar was an item that possessed this feature, but it was removed and only Ember Spirit could take advantage of the talent. Now, True Strike is back, one of the most expensive and potentially game-changing items in Dota 2.

The previous Divine Rapier can be easily negated by dodging in the previous patches, and having the MKB is quite necessary before you buy Rapier in the late game. But not now. Pro players have taken this item to the next level: go to Rapier early game to get Aegis and finish the match.

This change was applied in Dota 2 patch 7.23, but in the original change log Valve forgot to add it. Therefore, when the community first read through this change log, no one knew of its presence. It was added to the change log only a few days later, and then everyone knew.

The graph below shows the pick rate of Divine Rapier by patch. In patch 7.23, the pick rate went down again but people soon realized this change and its potential. As a result, pick rate in 7.24 increased to more than 10%, which is unprecedented (since Dota 2 7.00). The previous highest pick rate was around 6%, in the patch phase every two weeks from 7.08 to 7.19. Although patch 7.24 only had 440 games played, a very small number compared to other patches, but we already have a signal that Divine Rapier is becoming more and more popular.

So what does this item bring to the early game? As mentioned above, it gives the front team a great chance to take the Aegis and push the high ground to win. Not too many teams think they have to face Rapier in the first 25-30 minutes of the game. And Divine Rapier is also a great counter against Radiance, Halberd (which is quite popular in the last few patches) as well as the first avoidance talents. As for the late game, it guarantees a chance to skip the MKB because you already have a huge amount of damage with True Strike. In the last two patches, the average time to buy Divine Rapier has dropped while the win rate has increased.

Average purchase time:

Patch 7.00 to 7.22 – 52:18
Patch 7.23 and 7.24 – 44:45

Win rate:

Patch 7.00 to 7.22 – 38.77%
Patch 7.23 and 7.24 – 46.38%

Medusa’s role

Most of the early Divine Rapier purchases come from Medusa. Miracle set a new record a few weeks ago when he became the earliest Rapier climber in the professional arena: 20 minutes 28 seconds. Medusa is the perfect candidate for early Rapier – Aegis combo. Lots of health, great damage with the ability to hit multiple targets and turn opponents to stone! Other candidates are Ember Spirit (with multiple escape moves) and Wraith King (with two kills). Troll Warlord with Oracle protection can also be an early Rapier hero, if the game allows.

Just a small change, but a huge impact. This is what makes Dota 2 so compelling – you don’t know how things will turn out until it actually happens. Patch 7.24 will be live in DPC Minor and Major Rounds 3 and 4 (based on the cycle from last year), so we’ll see how teams plan to add Divine Rapier to their game plans during matches. upcoming match.