Dota 2: Offlane heroes of patch 7.20

7.20 brings new offlane champions as well as stability to old heroes, making the meta more varied and interesting. It also almost eliminated the carry meta – offlane heroes are mostly heroes with assistive skill sets right now.

The first is because the game is getting shorter – you can be greedy, but don’t be too greedy in the current state of Dota. You need heroes that create space, initiate teamfights and take the lead, instead of dealing damage, or else this offlane hero will quickly get swept away.

The second reason is more interesting – the 2-1-2 setup, while still popular, is no longer dominant. We see teams taking care of carry more, then hero roaming more, which means that sometimes the offlane hero has to be able to solo and move on his own.

We can’t talk about 7.20 offlanes without mentioning Magnus. Magnus is easily the hero featured in this patch. Phantom Assassin is clearly strong in certain situations, but in half of those games it’s Magnus that makes PA stand out.

This hero increases bonus damage to carry, greatly increasing farm ability if short handed hero. Farming and dealing damage are two big factors that carry has to do in the game and Magnus complements both of these.

Magnus also has the ability to clear lanes and nukes, so he can always keep up with everyone and always have an escape skill in mind if needed. Skewer both slows, rescues, initiates: whatever you want – you can think of Skewer as a Meat Hook AoE, but can push enemies away from your team.

Finally, we have Reverse Polarity. This is a good skill, but the long cooldown makes it impossible to be good. Either way, AoE through BKB for nearly 4 seconds can change the game and combine well with the rest of Magnus’s skills.

One of the most dominant heroes in the pro scene, but doesn’t seem to be used in pubs. Sand King is a formidable hero to watch out for, despite being nerfed. Good amount of damage and disables and the ability to escape safely, forcing enemy supports to spend all of their SK. Sand King is definitely a good candidate for the offlane.

More and more people raised the new Sandstorm to max first. While it limits the ability to initiate fights in the early-mid game, it almost guarantees Sand King will get to Blink Dagger at the right time. If there is a Blink, Burrow Strike will have a low range (because it has not raised many points) no longer a cause for concern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvlaBvv6UjY

Sand King also copes very well with many short-handed carries in the lane. Melee carry is quite popular in the current game and that will help SK be an effective counter. Since Finale is hard to kill instantly, it will slow down their farming speed and force the enemy carry to invest in more healing items during laning.

Slowing down your team’s carry while still farming is a great combo for a strong mid-game hero. Sand King may not be as effective in the late game, but the hero is very strong in the first 20-30 minutes of the game and that is also when the vast majority of matches end.

The new Hawk may lose some flexibility, but it does create a wide field of vision – which is extremely important in the professional arena as well as in high-ranked pub matches. Beastmaster currently has almost two extra wards on the map at any given point in the game – which wasn’t enough to help teams pick Beastmaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3HmPfV-gXQ

In addition, the skill that stuns an object through BKB for 4 seconds and a very strong aura, Beastmaster will always be useful in any situation.

The latest build trend for Beastmaster is to go up Vladmir’s Offerting instead of adding new summon items from the Necronomicon or Helm of the Dominator. We’ve analyzed how influential armor is and players are slowly adapting to 7.20. Combined with the Inner Beast aura, Beastmaster will give the team an edge in DPS as well as survivability.

Centaur has a new skill that makes his hand attacks very powerful in the early game and beneficial in the late game. That’s how the Chinese teams in the Chongqing Major qualifiers used: 1-1-3 during laning, leaving the enemy open with over 300 damage by hand before the first 10 minutes of the game.

Centaur Warrunner’s mid and late game relies heavily on Stampede – a great tool to help the team escape safely, or turn any hero on the team into a good initiator. Upgrading Aghanim’s Scepter is well worth the investment – reducing damage taken by 40% really increases survivability a lot.

The reworked Brewmaster can play well in the offlane, but is usually in his current 4 support position. Playing in the offlane, Brewmaster can get more items, not just Blink or items with aura.

Thunder Clap is a very powerful slow and nuke, but not a good disable. The vast majority of subjects will have enough time to neutralize, most carries will hit BKB in time and be able to react. So go for a Brewmaster tank with a good aura to take the lead, get attention, and use your ultimate in battle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szp0QnTOWqI

For that to work, you don’t have to be on Blink Dagger, which in turn reduces the hero’s overall cost a bit. That means Brewmaster can play at support and still be perfectly fine, or alternatively, solo in lane after the first 5 minutes of the game, siphoning XP and jungling if necessary.

Ax is still strong. Possesses ‘Reverse Polarity fake version’, but the cooldown is only 10 seconds instead of 130 seconds. Also, Ax is very strong in lane and jungling faster than most heroes of the game.

That makes Ax stable. This hero can level up Blink Dagger at the right time and level. Ax can capture spell immune heroes. Ax can deal massive amounts of damage at regular intervals.

However, they do not mean that Ax is ‘unmatched’. Magnus can reposition enemies, Centaur has an escape move, Brewmaster neutralizes a threat for a very long time, Beastmaster has a great aura and sweeping vision. Ax can initiate combat or counterattack, that’s all. Especially in the later stages of the game, when the Culling Blade buff becomes more difficult to obtain.

Therefore, this hero can be maximized when the team has a lot of risky, but strong heroes – heroes that need space and are only effective in certain situations, like hitting enemies that can’t be resisted ( for example: Sniper + Ax, because Sniper is very easy to die if the enemy catches it, having Ax will help Sniper freely snipe from a distance).

EPILOGUE

Based on stats from recent qualifiers as well as minor tournaments, we can be sure of one thing – the meta is changing. There is still a lot to discover and find a way to overcome. Of course, the meta currently still has Magnus and PA – a duo that is almost impossible to beat. But perhaps, even without the need for the following nerf patches, we believe that the teams will soon find the answer for this hero duo.

Finding the answer is one of the most exciting things about Dota, and gamers should continue to experiment, as well as share their ideas with the community.

According to Dotabuff