Lycan gets big buffs in patch 7.29b after Necronomicon removal

Steven Rondina Published 17/04/2021

The Necronomicon getting thrown out of Dota 2 was one of the biggest changes in patch 7.29, and Valve is still trying to adjust to its absence.

Dota 2 update 7.29b is here and it has brought buffs for many of the heroes that were hardest hit by Necromonicon’s removal. Though there were plenty of other changes, the improvements made to Broodmother, Nature’s Prophet, and Lycan stick out the most.

Nature’s Prophet received the most straightforward buff, with a slight increase to movement speed and summoned treants’ attack damage scaling up to 42 rather than 36. That will make Nature’s Prophet’s solo pushing potential stronger, especially in the mid-game.

Broodmother was reworked in Dota 2 update 7.29 by moving Spawn Spiderlings to her ultimate and shifting around her other abilities. Spawn Spiderlings was still a bit underpowered as an ultimate ability, but was improved in 7.29b by making each stack spawn an extra spiderling. A slight nerf was also included as Broodmother is no longer able to lifesteal from allied creeps, but that’s a small price to pay by comparison.

Lycan’s buffs were much broader.

From the top, Lycan’s base armor, intelligence gain, and agility gain were all improved. Lycan’s summonable wolves were also improved, with the Cripple passive applying a slow debuff and health was increased by 25 at all levels. Shapeshift now gives more health and all of Lycan’s level 15 and 20 talents were improved.

Phantom Lancer, Medusa given nerfs in Dota 2 update 7.29b

For the most part, the 7.29b patch was predominantly made up of buffs for Dota 2 heroes. Most were small, like Death Prophet’s Crypt Swarm having its mana cost reduced, but others were more significant, like Weaver getting big stat gains.

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It wasn’t all sunshine and roses in 7.29b. A lot of the traditional carry heroes that were set to take over the meta after the update were given small nerfs that should bring them more in line with other heroes.

Phantom Lancer was the hardest hit. Alongside base armor and damage reductions, the Aghanim’s Shard bonuses to Spirit Lance were weakened and Phantom Rush’s bonus agility was reduced. The 16% Evasion talent was also moved from level 10 to level 15.

Lifestealer and Medusa were also nerfed, but not nearly as hard as Phantom Lancer. Lifestealer’s base damage was reduced by two and Feast’s lifesteal passive was also weakened. Medusa’s intelligence growth was slightly lowered, but any reduction to her tankiness could affect her success due to her reliance on mana shielding.

The full Dota 2 update 7.29b patch notes can be found on the official Dota 2 blog.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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