Dota 2: Patch 7.22 analysis, changes affecting gameplay

After a long wait (7.21 launched in January 2019), Dota 2 patch 7.22 is finally here and it brings so many changes! Specifically, no one expected 24 Aghanim’s Scepter to be given to all the remaining heroes and it can also be used for 2000 gold. Even so, we can’t forget about the general changes, the small tweaks, that can have a big impact on the game. Here are the wide-ranging changes to the game:

Roshan now drops the Scepter buff item (used to lose). The third Roshan will randomly drop a Scepter or Refresher Shard item. The fourth Roshan will have both. You can click on Roshan to see its inventory and know what the drop item is.

Depending on the situation of the match, this change can be good or bad. Some situations need Refresher Shard while others prefer Scepter. But overall, the Scepter looked better at Roshan Tuesday: anyone has a Scepter so that gives the team five choices. In addition, Scepter also adds additional stats and keeps them in the hero, unlike Refresher Shard. If at the end of the game, the 4th Roshan (and after) will have a lot of valuable items. Aegis, Cheese, Refresher Shard and even Aghanim’s Scepter can be used! These changes cause the game time to increase, so we can see up to three or four Roshans in a lot of games.

Added Mars to Captains Mode

Mars will definitely show up. The first tournament where the hero will be deployed by professional teams is at ESL One Birmingham.

Then there’s Io: It’s quite sad to see this hero come back without any nerfs. A lot of (pro) players say that Io is too strong in pubs, and maybe we will soon be back to the days when Io was banned from phase 1 of every game.

Deny XP for enemy (who was denied) increased from 35% to 40%

At the beginning of this year, that number increased from 25% to 35%. Now it’s up to 40%. This means that if a player loses lane and is continuously denied creeps by the enemy, they will suffer less XP loss. Of course, the player still loses the gold, but the opponent will have a lesser advantage in terms of level. This change will be most noticeable in the mid lane.

Gold loss on death changed from 50 + NW/40 to NW/40 (NW= Networth)

This is the most obvious change: Each death will lose less than 50 gold. It may seem low, but 50 gold can make a difference for supports (especially position 5) to buyback or not. Might not have much of an impact in the late game, but there are also situations where the carry just lacks a tiny bit of gold to buyback.

XP killstreak gain increased from 200->1500 to 400->1800

Big change! Killing an opponent with a continuous kill streak will give a lot of XP to the hero who finishes that person (and split equally if many people join). This is a comeback mechanism that helps the losing team catch up to the level with just one or two ganks if well prepared.

2 Siege creeps spawn from 35 minutes instead of 30 minutes
Siege creeps cannot be dominated, enchanted or converted

These two changes will stretch the average game time up. Maybe IceFrog and Valve realize TI is only good because of the long games. Tournaments like TI4, which is based on the deathball meta, don’t bring back as many memories as TI8 – thanks to long games and community-favorite comebacks. A successful gank at the moment 2 Siege creeps appear will help speed it up, as well as the opponent’s base is destroyed soon. Going back 5 minutes, which is a lot of time in Dota 2, allows teams with slow drafts, extending late game more time to farm. Not being able to convert Siege creeps is also a nerf for all players to Helm of Dominator, as well as Enchantress and Chen. Kuroky against Evil Geniuses (MDL Disneyland Paris) took the rack in 12 minutes thanks to Chen’s turret pushing power. This plan is now defunct in 7.22

Tier 3+ turret damage increased from 152 to 175
Tier 1 turret armor bonus increased from 2 to 3
Tier 2+ turret armor bonus Aura increased from 4 to 5
Tier 2+ turrets can now shoot multiple targets at once when the glyph is active. Attacks up to 2 additional targets. Prioritize the closest troops.

We go back to 7.00 when attacking the high ground is difficult because there are many shrines appearing in this area. 7.22 now makes it harder to push high ground again, and makes the game longer. In addition to the armor aura that makes enemy heroes harder to kill, not to mention the extra damage from turrets and the ability to shoot multiple targets forces teams to consider tactics before pushing high ground recklessly!

Overall, these are interesting changes in patch 7.22. Combined with new Scepters and hero changes, Dota 2 is now more unpredictable than ever!

According to VPesports

Dota 2: Update 7.22 Details, Scepter For All, Mars and Io Enter Captains Mode