Biggest winners and losers of Dota 2 patch 7.30
Dota 2 patch 7.30 is finally here, and the meta might get turned upside down.
Patch 7.29 was dominated by Aghanim’s Shards and Scepters, many of which have been toned down for The International 2021. The neutral items pool received a big shakeup, and a few heroes have cool new abilities to play around with. Out of Dota 2’s 121 heroes, six in particular stood out for being either buffed to the moon or nerfed into the ground.
Here are the biggest winners and losers of Dota 2’s 7.30 update.
Most buffed heroes of patch 7.30
Bane
One of Bane’s biggest issues is mana in the laning stage. Brain Sap is one of the best trading tools in the game, and any reduction to its mana cost makes it even better. That said, the real star of the show is the cast point reduction on Fiend’s Grip. A lot can happen in .4 seconds, but .2 seconds is fast enough to snag enemies juking around trees. Expect to see plenty of pure damage Nightmares at TI10 in Bucharest.
Underlord
Dark Rift has always been a little underwhelming for an ultimate ability. It’s amazing on paper and in certain situations, but Underlord’s new Aghanim’s Scepter is terrifying. The new Aghanim’s Scepter upgrade Fiend’s Gate creates a two-way portal between any two locations. Teammates can take the portal several times, creating a direct link from a team fight to your fountain. It also isn’t limited to targeting a friendly unit, so you can plop a portal right in front of the enemy ancient if the situation calls for it.
Lich
Valve showed a lot of love to support heroes in 7.30 and Lich is no exception. The hero has been somewhat underwhelming since losing Sacrifice for Sinister Gaze. Lich’s mana-draining stun now costs 80 mana at all levels and got a nice cast range boost. The Scepter upgrade, which was already quite strong, now lets you cast Chain Frost during your massive stun. Lich’s biggest issue last patch was mana and positioning. The 7.30 update helps fix both problems.
Most nerfed heroes of patch 7.30
Axe
Carry Axe was the breakout star of 7.29, winning the WePlay AniMajor and carving up public matchmaking with an Aghanim’s Shard ability that allowed Counter Helix to proc on attack. Carry Axe had its time in the spotlight, but it’s now gone for good after the 7.30 update.
His Counter Helix Shard has been reworked to apply a damage-reducing debuff instead of proccing from Axe’s own attacks. The days of Manta Style Axe are in the past, but the hero might still have legs in the offlane.
Leshrac
Poor Leshrac. Diabolic Edict becoming pure damage is amazing for lane harassment and team fights, but the changes remove part of his core identity. Leshrac was one of the few caster mids that was able to take towers after drowning the enemy in magic damage. Now he’s a weird mix of Zeus and Outworld Destroyer who can’t just press R to win. Expect the disco pony to land in the dumpster for TI10.
Clinkz
Clinkz’ rework is interesting at first glance, but there are only a few instances where Burning Barrage beats out Strafe. Barrage is great when it hits multiple heroes or stacked camps, but Clinkz has lost his ability to knock down towers before the enemy can properly react. The 40% damage reduction leaves a lot to be desired, as the ability only really shines when it hits multiple heroes. The new Clinkz could become a terrifying carry with a few buffs but for now, he ends our list as one of the hardest-hit heroes in Dota 2 patch 7.30.
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