Dota 2: Supporters who thought they were strong but weren’t strong in 7.28

Old habits are hard to break and that can make it difficult for you in Dota 2. The three heroes we want to analyze today are probably the consequences of hard-to-break habits. Players continue to choose these heroes because they were strong in the previous patch or the previous patch. Grimstroke, Lich and Witdch Doctor are currently picked 10% of the total game but only win 45%. So why are these three heroes not as strong as before 7.28?

CALENDAR

The best temporary on this list is Calendar, which currently has a win rate of around 47.5% – higher than the other two heroes. This hero hasn’t received any major tweaks since 7.24, so the changes in the game are what makes Lich not as strong as before.

The article believes that the changed meta is the reason why Lich is no longer as effective as before. Lich’s strongest skill, especially in the later stages of the game, is Frost Shield. Lich’s strength is not in his focus on dealing damage, while the ‘disable’ Sinister Gaze is also not very strong.

Frost Shield must be too effective. A 60% reduction in hand damage means you save more than half of the HP you have to invest in more. Lich knows how to choose a standing position to easily save his teammates from being ‘killed’ by Phantom Assassin, Sven, Faceless Void or any other hand-hit carry. The problem is that these heroes are not played much anymore.

Heroes are picked for many hours with both magic and hand damage or a combination of both damage groups. Of course, Lich can help fight off Wraith King and Juggernaunt, but WK still deals as much damage as Radiance, and Juggernaut can deal damage through Bladefury, waiting for Frost Shield to end.

Lich is not weak: the hero is just not suitable in most games right now, especially since the draft phase now always defaults to support being picked first. If you pick Lich, the opponent will not pick heroes that are countered by Frost Shield and that will definitely prevent Lich from reaching 100% of his power.

WITCH DOCTOR

The last time the Witch Doctor had a big change happened was longer than Lich: except for the Shard and the talent. A few months ago, Witch Doctor was a premium support. Now, the hero has a win rate of less than 45%.

The problem is that WD wants to be both a healer and a disable, even in high ranked pubs. Taking a look at this hero’s tutorials, it’s easy to see that the best Witch Doctor players almost skip Voodoo Restoration. It’s not necessarily the wrong move, but if picking Witch Doctor is only for attacking play, you might be better off picking another hero at this point.

Witch Doctor can deal a lot of damage with Maledict. As of the Spell Immunity/Magic Resistance change, as long as you cast Maledict before BKB turns on, it will continue to deal damage through BKB. This is a great trick, but it’s being abused a bit too much at the moment.

The meta doesn’t revolve around buff, hard-to-kill heroes. The most popular heroes right now are Puck and Void Spirit. Mobility, burst damage and agility are sought after at the highest ranks. Why should we try to take the hit, when what you need to do is not get hit first?

This mobile group of heroes is not ideal for the Witch Doctor for two reasons. Firstly, Maledict is not strong compared to other nukes when used on these heroes. Maledict is strongest against buffalo objects. Second, nothing catches them. Paralyzing Cask? Half of the players in the match have Eul’s or Force Staff, while the other half have at least one mobility move. Maledict? It has a fairly long cooldown and high impact, but has a low cast range and long cast points. Casting Maledict is more difficult than Paralyzing Cask.

The article would like to emphasize, the Witch Doctor should be temporarily forgotten until Centaur, Doom, Dragon Knight, etc are returned to the meta. Perhaps gamers should think of a new way to focus on Voodoo Restoration and constantly create pressure, but this requires the team to know how to play extremely well.

GRIMTROKE

The hero has been buffed recently, but that’s not enough and Grimstroke is still winning only 45% of games at the highest tier. Unlike the heroes discussed above, Grimstroke’s situation is not much better at other ranks.

Meanwhile, Grimstroke is also popular in the professional scene and is now among the most picked heroes in the DPC. Specifically, this hero ranks 11th most popular characters in professional competition. However, the hero only wins 35% of the games present.

Grimstroke is not difficult to deploy. Hero does not depend on team play nor requires good macro skills. This hero is just very weak right now and unlike the two names mentioned above, I don’t think changing the meta will really save Grimstroke.

As for the future, Grimstroke will definitely be buffed, but now it’s best not to pick this hero.

So what do you think about the heroes analyzed above? Do you think they have any bright spots that the article hasn’t mentioned or is it best to pick them only after the next patch comes out? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

According to dotabuff

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