Dota 2: What can we learn from the OGA Dota PIT Minor?

The OGA Dota PIT Minor has a rather strange format, but it also offers a lot of parameters and high-quality matches between Tier 1/2 teams. Overall, this is a great experience for viewers and an opportunity to help young players gain more experience.

In terms of meta, this hero is very diverse, on par with the previous DreamLeague Season 11 Major. Doom is the most competitive hero in the tournament, despite having a win rate of less than 50%, while Razor and Enigma are the two heroes competing after Doom. But here, we are not discussing meta. The article looks for new ways for players to bring into pubs, giving you more variety in gameplay.

SAND KING

Every time Earthshaker appears in the meta, like at ESL One Mumbai, the Sand King is also present. This is completely understandable: when teams are looking for a tanker, a position 3 or 4 hero with high damage and good foot lock, these two heroes are always the first choice.

Burrow Strike got a buff recently: increasing the cast range by 50 (400 total) makes this hero extremely useful in the early levels. Also, it seems that pro players often miscalculate Sand King’s initial range since the hero hasn’t been used for quite some time. This allows Sand King to set up kills easily.

Most players will max out the first two moves first, regardless of SK’s position on the team. In fact, Caustic Finale isn’t weak, but Sand Storm’s DPS is buffed allowing Sand King to put pressure on short-handed opponents in the lane and farm faster.

In position 4, most people rush to Blink Dagger, but in position 3, we often see pro items that add stats as well as add-ons: Spirit Vessel or Aura items often go up. They allow the Sand King to take hits in the front line, while repeatedly locking down opponents with Burrow Strike.

TEMPLAR ASSASSIN

After being buffed continuously throughout patch 7.21, Templar Assassin is now fine. Agility stat increases by nearly 1 per level, while Meld and Refraction make the hero overwhelming in the mid as well as much stronger in the mid game.

The meta now requires mid heroes to be quicker to fight and keep the game. Meanwhile, they have to be strong late game and Templar Assassin fits this description perfectly. TA doesn’t have many buffs and can’t dodge and take strong hits, but you really don’t need these if your opponent dies in just a few hits.

The most notable change in 7.21 is the fact that Meld can stack with himself and debuff before dealing damage. Templar Assassin is one of those heroes that can easily break through an opponent’s “high armor”, especially at the level 20 talent – allowing TA to take down paper heroes with just one or two attacks.

A useful and rarely used tip is to Meld near Roshan – wait for Meld to run out of cooldown then you can -16 or maybe -24 armor with two consecutive Melds. That will make Roshan go underarmored, especially when TA holds the Desolator. You can also use this method on enemy heroes who let their guard down on a hill – pro players have used this tip many times. However, don’t wait too long because TA still has to go to the farm to build items.

CENTAUR WARRUNNER

Centaur Warrunner was ignored for a long time, but now the hero is ready to return. In theory, Centaur is similar to Sand King and Earthshaker, but the way this hero plays is somewhat different. First, Centaur can only play in position 3 offlane. Second, Centaur doesn’t have to be the team’s initiating hero or the main locking hero in the squad.

This is reflected in pro games: Blink Dagger still spawns regularly, but sometimes as a 3rd or sometimes 4th item after boots and some aura. This hero has the tools to engage and escape disable: Stampede is a global move so any hero on the team can reach the enemy quickly.

Stampede is also a technique to escape or counterattack if you know the right time. Later, when on Aghanim’s Scepter, it will greatly reduce the damage the team takes: This Stampede is only slightly worse than Ghostship and does not deal damage afterwards like Ghostship.

This is a great hero in lane, especially against heroes that rely on hand-to-hand combat. Not only did they lose health due to Retaliate, but they were also hit by Centaur.

EPILOGUE

The next major will start soon and it looks like the meta in patch 7.21 will continue to evolve. The changes in the patch, plus the few strong heroes yet to be discovered promise new heroes to appear in the tournament. Hopefully this time Paris will bring the same thing.

According to Dotabuff