The jungle just got a big nerf in Dota 2 update 7.30c

Valve is still smoothing out Dota 2 update 7.30, which has yielded the second big overhaul with version 7.30c.

The patch boasts a long list of changes with most being smaller balance tweaks to specific heroes and items. That said, there are several significant changes that will redefine the meta at both the pro and pub levels.

The biggest change wasn’t to a hero or item. It’s a change to gold bounties for neutral creeps.

For a long while now, the jungle has offered up a lot more gold than in the past, something that has made efficient jungle farmers very powerful. It’s a precarious balancing act for developers at Valve as the huge number of neutral camps allows more players to gain an impactful amount of gold, but it’s also something that can allow heroes like Sven and Luna to farm incredibly quickly. It’s also been a big part of why Keeper of the Light has become a powerful core hero.

The 7.30c Gameplay Update has been released https://t.co/FqI0J0AzIq

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) September 11, 2021

Balance lead IceFrog has opted to fix this by reducing the gold bounties for stacked camps. Neutrals from stacked camps now yield 15% less gold and XP, something that will be a hard hit to many of the top cores in the current meta. Alongside this come targeted nerfs for heroes that favor the jungle, with Sven’s attack animation and Storm Hammer being nerfed and Lina’s Light Strike Array having its cooldown increased at lower levels.

When it comes to hero changes, the biggest hit Lycan. Lycan has been the most successful hero in Archon-ranked Dota 2 matches or higher, and is the second-most-successful hero at Crusader and lower. In each rank, his winrate is above 55%.

IceFrog is tackling this with two separate nerfs to the character. First, Lycan’s Feral Impulse was nerfed directly to offer less bonus damage and health regen. Next, Helm of the Overlord was nerfed to provide lower stats. Neither of these nerfs were devastating, but the combination will likely bring the hero more into line with his peers.

The full patch notes for 7.30c can be found on the official Dota 2 blog.

Will Dawnbreaker be allowed at TI10?

Yes, Dawnbreaker will be available for players to draft at The International 2021.

As part of Dota 2 update 7.30c, Dawnbreaker was finally added to Captain’s Mode. Though tournament organizers who are currently running tournaments or will do so in the near future may still choose to ban the hero, this should mean that Dawnbreaker is available for play in professional play. Response to the news was generally negative, even though the fact it isn’t really surprising.

"Added Dawnbreaker to Captain's Mode" pic.twitter.com/M6zTUjAZLp

— Team Secret (@teamsecret) September 11, 2021

Dawnbreaker has been available since April, arriving alongside the 7.29 update. The hero has been up and down, but has been largely balanced in public matchmaking of late with a winrate around 50% at all ranks.

The trouble with adding Dawnbreaker at this point is that The International 2021 is just one month away and there will be limited opportunities to see how she fits into the pro meta. There are only a few tournaments going on at the moment, which means there will be limited opportunities for players and fans alike to see how things shake out.

That makes 7.30c a huge patch when it comes to TI10. There’s no doubt that qualified teams are scrambling to arrange some scrims right now.