Valve finally teases a release date for Dota 2 patch 7.31

Valve has finally revealed the release date for Dota 2 patch 7.31.

After the exciting conclusion of The International 10, fans had a lot to celebrate. Team Spirit’s underdog victory rocked the Dota 2 world, a pro player shuffle was inevitable, and another TI grand finals meant that a patch was soon to be released.

While Valve has tuned the game with small patches, the traditional post-TI patch remained absent. Finally, Valve has revealed a timeline for patch 7.31’s release.

The release date for Dota 2 patch 7.31 is most likely between February 24 and March 7, 2022.

Valve did not specify an exact date for the update, only that it would come out shortly after the newly announced Dota Pro Circuit Regional Finals. The Chinese, CIS, and North American finals will end on February 20. Valve will probably consider the results of those events for patch 7.31. If Dota 2 patch 7.31’s release date does turn out to be late February, 7.30 will go down as one of the longest-lasting balance patches in the game’s history.

What will change in Dota 2 patch 7.31?

The most likely changes for 7.31 are nerfs for Jakiro, Wraith King, Engima, Zeus, and Silencer.

Even without all the data from the DPC Regional Finals, there are some clear balance patches coming up in Dota 2 7.31. The most obvious changes are nerfs to overpowered heroes. According to Dotabuff win rate data, the strongest heroes in 7.30 are Jakiro, Wraith King, Enigma, Zeus, and Silencer. 

There are also a few heroes that are particularly notorious at higher skill levels. Tinker’s status resistance skill Defense Matrix is extremely strong, and the area-of-effect added to Laser makes him incredibly strong against illusion heroes. Outworld Destroyer’s combo with Meteor Hammer is also incredibly polarizing. Tinker will most likely get some number tweaks or a limit to the units affected by Laser. Outworld Destroyer might not get nerfed directly, but changes to Meteor Hammer would impact his current play style.

As for buffs, there are a few heroes languishing at the bottom of the win rate pile that desperately need a tune up. Nature’s Prophet remains the worst hero in Dota 2 after multiple patches, so expect some huge buffs in Dota 2 7.31. Doom also trails the pack with a 44.33% win rate for the month. His trademark health regeneration was entirely removed from his kit in patch 7.29. It could return to Devour or Scorched Earth in the future. Fan-favorite Rubick is also down in the dumps. An Arcane Supremacy rework or buffs to his core abilities are in order. 

Lastly, there are a few gameplay mechanics that could be tweaked. The early game jungle ward meta has reached a peak, with dozens of unique strategies to block certain camps and protect others. A reduction of ward gold bounties or more expensive sentries could fix the problem.

Outposts still occupy a strange spot in the metagame. The rules for taking them could be reverted to requiring a tier-three tower. Some pro players have even called for Roshan’s Pit to move. If it does move, it’s anyone’s guess where it would land in Dota 2 patch 7.31.