Dota 2 update brings Aghanim’s Scepter abilities for every hero

The latest Dota 2 update is here, albeit a bit late.

Dota 2 version 7.22 brings a number of changes based on the MDL Disneyland Paris Major. Like most post-major patches, 7.22 brings significant changes to heroes, items, and a number of other elements to the game.

The most interesting change comes to Aghanim’s Scepter. All 117 Dota 2 heroes now have scepter abilities, with the 24 heroes previously without now receiving new abilities while dozens more had their abilities altered. That would be a lot to digest on its own, but Aghanim’s Scepter can now be transformed into a consumable item that allows heroes to enjoy their upgraded skills without having to dedicate an item slot to the scepter.

The new consumable Aghanim’s Scepter can also be found for free on Roshan. The first two Roshan spawns will function as normal, offering an Aegis of the Immortals on first death, with Aegis dropping alongside Cheese on the second death. On the third death, Roshan will drop Aegis, Cheese, and either an Aghanim’s Scepter or a Refresher Shard. On the fourth death, he is guaranteed to drop all four items. Offsetting this are serious buffs to Roshan, including a 50-percent gain on his attack damage growth and higher base armor.

Roshan wasn’t the only thing on the map to get a big change. Certain jungle camps were made harder to stack, with hard camps’ chase times being reduced and spawn boxes being altered. Tier 2, 3, and 4 towers were upgraded with an ability to fire two shots per attack while being fortified.

Hero changes in latest Dota 2 update

Items, Roshan, towers, and the jungle all got tweaked in Dota 2 version 7.22. Naturally, plenty of heroes were changed as well. Many of the most common picks and bans from the MDL Disneyland Paris Major were nerfed.

Drow Ranger largely remains intact, but her Marksmanship skill was weakened with the ability to quickly cull ancient creeps removed and its armor piercing ability removed. Doom’s Devour skill now needs to be leveled in order for him to eat larger neutrals. Nature’s Prophet was hit with damage reductions both to himself and to his Nature’s Call summons.

No heroes received major reworks and no heroes received especially large buffs. The addition of new Aghanim’s Scepter abilities does add a lot of intriguing possibilities for some underutilized heroes.

Dark Willow can attack multiple times while under the effects of Shadow Realm with Scepter, making her an intriguing dual threat with both magical and physical damage. Death Prophet has an added effect to her spells that grant heals on impact, making her an almost invincible tank under the right circumstances. Grimstroke becomes a potent anti-carry hero, capable of creating a powerful illusion of enemy heroes if he splurges on a Scepter.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, so make sure to check out the full Dota 2 patch notes on the official blog.