Dota 2 patch 7.27b brought with it changes to over a hundred heroes and while a lot of them are minor changes, some of the heroes saw some significant changes done to them, which is bound to change the way they are perceived. Let’s take a look at the heroes who received massive reworks and how that has the potential to change the way these heroes will be played in the days ahead.
(1) Bloodseeker
The new Bloodrage makes Bloodseeker a viable candidate for a position 4 support. To get an idea of the attack speed Bloodrage provides, consider this: it gives and additional 140 attack speed, which is the same as a Moon Shard, an item that costs 4000 gold. And BS can have that at level 7 in the game, with an additional 30 attack speed at level 10 thanks to the new talent! Imagine a Sven or Wraith King, who typically have to build attack speed items, with that kind of attack speed very early on in the game. There is the slight issue of HP drain, which is a total of 24% over the 8 seconds, but that can easily be solved with lifesteal. Considering the amount of damage that will be dished out, it should be easy to keep the lost HP in check. Additionally, with incoming damage no longer amplified, using it won’t make Bloodseeker vulnerable to burst while sprinting around with Bloodrage on. The spell amplification of 24% is a slight nerf, as the old Bloodrage had an outgoing damage amplification of 30%. Thirst now provides passive healing, just like the way it did way back in Dota 1 and the starting days of Dota 2. On the whole, these changes maintain Bloodseeker’s position as a strong core hero, while also opening up the possibilities to be played as a support.
(2) Chaos Knight
Reduction in the ultimate cooldown is a huge boost for Chaos Knight. The 75 second cooldown reduces to 64.5 seconds with the cooldown reduction talent. Phantasm illusions have a duration of 30 seconds (38 with the talent) which make it a downtime of only 45 seconds, unless an opposition hero can easily get rid of CK’s illusions. Previously, the long cooldown on Phantasm gave the enemy team a window of opportunity where CK would not have his ultimate, and this made a huge difference late in the game. With patch 7.27b. he will have the same number of illusions dishing out the same amount of damage (although taking a bit of extra magic damage) as the old patch, and he will have them ready for every fight! If this change does not make CK a popular hero, nothing will.
(3) Clinkz
Clinkz is back to what he was before Dota 2 patch 7.20, but now with a decent Scepter upgrade! Clinkz was a popular hero at TI8, after which Death Pact was removed and Burning Army was introduced. Although the ability might look amazing, it isn’t what a mid or carry hero typically needs. The hero was experimented with in a number of ways including support Clinkz, but it was never the same level of dominance as before and his win rate was less than impressive. Brining back Death Pact and combining Strafe and Skeleton Walk did not really help, as it took away Clinkz’s ability to make an escape after using Strafe and getting a quick kill on a support. The change that patch 7.27b has brought with it is exactly what Clinkz needs. A carry should not feel the necessity to buy a Scepter; it should be an optional pathway, which is what it is with the new and improved version. Also, the old Scepter upgrade is still in the mix with the new level 10 talent (hald of the old Scepter upgrade, at least), which will help the hero get pickoffs from very early on in the game, especially if he is being played as a mid. This is a hero we are bound to see more of in the days to come.
(4) Omniknight
All the way back in 7.07, Purification had a cast range of 575, which was when the hero was quite strong. To nerf him, the range was chipped away at, and brought down to 400, which was a pretty big nerf. Aether’s Lens or an early Blink Dagger became a necessity on him, but with most of that cast range restored, that should make it a lot easier for Omni to get off those clutch heals.
However, the big change for Omniknight is the level 25 talent of -60 seconds Guaradian Angel cooldown, which is an insane talent! Guardian Angel has a cooldown of 140 seconds, and the talent brings it down to 80 seconds. Add an Octarine Core in there, and we are looking at a 60 second cooldown. Why is this so strong? Think about Glyph of Fortification – it lasts for 7 seconds and has a 6 minute cooldown. Guardian Angel with a Scepter does the same thing for 10 seconds for both, heroes AND buildings, with a global cast range and now it can be done every 80 seconds, late in the game when Omni has the farm and levels. Add to that the fact that breaching high ground just got tougher in patch 7.27, and Omni becomes and incredibly strong hero for high ground defense.
(5) Razor
Two massive changes coming in for Razor in the new patch. The first one is to Static Link – even though it is amazing to have Razor auto attack the linked hero, it is surely a good option to have the ability to hit other heroes. And now with opposition unable to disarm Razor during the link (just like Legion Commander cannot be disarmed during a duel), it makes it difficult to escape from Razor once Static Link has been used.
The second big change is to Eye of the Storm – while the passive component was not bad, it had the potential to mess up a few last hits in lane after hitting level 6, and possibly anger some neutral creeps when you wished to leave them alone. Eye of the Storm now has increased damage and more importantly, a build in refresher with the level 25 talent. Eye of the Storm is a skill which can used multiple times to summon multiple storms, which is why an Aghanim’s Scepter and Refresher Orb can be a good build for Razor. With the new talent, Razor gets the additional target damage built in. Making a Refresher Orb now will target four enemies! The Aghanim’s build is bound to get some more love with this new talent.
(6) Rubick
The new Rubick seems to have a lot of potential to be a mid anti-carry hero, thanks to the new talents and Fade Bolt. Fade Bolt now steals 34% of a heroes base damage, which would be good chunk of damage stolen form a carry. Not only will Rubick be able to lame the opposition carry, he will add that to his damage with the level 15 talent, after his damage has already boosted by the level 10 talent. This sounds a lot like Razor’s Static Link, but it is in fact, Rubick’s Fade Bolt. At level 4, it lasts for 10 seconds with a cooldown of 10 seconds, so there’s no downtime to the skill. A right click Rubick does seem like a weird thing to imagine, but a hybrid of magic damage and right click Rubick is something we just might start seeing.
(7) Sand King
The reworked Casutic Finale adds a new dimension to Sand King’s damage in team fights. Image a 3000 HP centaur dying with the the Caustic Finale debuff on him – it will lead to allies close to him being hit by 790 damage, which is nearly the same as a level 5 Dagon! A melee creep exploding is 251 damage, which is also a significant amount of damage. Used correctly, this skill could turn out to be a game changer not only in the laning stage, but in the late game as well.
Hypothetical scenario – Magnus gets a five man RP, Sand King Blink in with Epicenter and makes all the heroes pop like balloons. Doesn’t it seem nice to imagine?!
(8) Shadow Fiend
In most ways, the changes for Shadow Fiend in patch 7.27b are positive ones. The added 4 base damage was something he desparately needed. The low base damage forced him to go for Shadow Raze at level 1, which can be something to reconsidered now, depending on the matchup. At level 4, he previously got an added 72 damage (92 with Scepter), which will now go up to an additional 80 damage (100 with Scepter). The level 20 talent will end up adding a little less damage, but it will also be easier for SF to refill his souls when he dies.
The slightly negative part is for the first two levels of Necromastery, where the new damage will be reduced as compared to the old one owing to either lesser damage per soul or lesser number of souls (13 lesser damage at level 1 of the skill and 12 at level 2). That could make it a bit tougher till SF gets to level 5, but the 4 increased base damage should help bridge that gap.
(9) Silencer
Silencer’s biggest gain from the Dota 2 7.27b patch is the change to Global Silence. The cooldown has been reduced from 130 seconds to a 100, and at level 25, it can further go down to 70 seconds with the cooldown reduction talent. Global Silence is one of the most impactful ultimates in Dota 2, and its cooldown has nearly been slashed down by half. Just like Chaos Knight, the new Silencer is bound to have his ultimate ready for every fight, and it will make things a lot messier for the opposition.
(10) Sven
Sven’s biggest gain, althought he has a few of them, is the change to God’s Strenth. The Rougue Knight will be sad to see the additional strength being taken away from God’s Strength, but the increase in bonus damage will more than make up for that (although, not the tankiness). But the headline belongs to God’s Strength now lasting for 40 seconds instead of 25, which is a 60% increase in duration. One of Sven’s major problems is getting kited during God’s Strength and once it ends, he isn’t half the hero anymore. Which is why the additional 15 seconds will play a huge role in team fights, where Sven and co. will have more time to make the flow of the battle go their way. With a cooldown of 110 seconds, the downtime is now reduced from 85 seconds to 70 seconds.
Chaos Knight, Omniknight, Silencer and now Sven – these changes in ultimate cooldowns/durations are bound to have a significant role in shaping games.
(11) Tiny
So after giving Tiny a permanent tree for a while, it is being taken away from him again. However, it does come with a lot of benefits, like increased unit damage at level 1 and 2, which is helpful for last hitting in lane; a 70% increase in damage to buildings, which will make them melt like butter on a sunny day; and 100% splash damage with a tree in hand! That is just crazy. Everyone in the splash radius of Tiny’s tree will take the same amount of damage (secondary hero targets will take 170% damage if Tiny has a Battlefury). All this is worth having to pick up a tree after 5 hits (8 with the talent). Tiny is should see a rise in popularity with this new patch.
(12) Underlord
It’s a mixed bag of changes for Underlord. While it is a bummer that he no longer gets permanent bonus damage, the increased temporary damage, increase in Firestorm AoE and reduction in cast point are buffs. With the Firestrom debuff of 35% reduced damage now affecting Ancients, Underlord should be able to devour Ancient stacks or at least make it easier for his position 1 or 2 heroes to tank them a bit more easily. Underlord no longer recieves the the additional damage to Firestorm at level 15, which is again, is a slight nerf. But he now has an added 100 radius to for the Pit of Malice, taking the radius from 400 to 500 and increaseing the area of effect by 56%. That is a sizable increase in the area and should play well in team fights.
While these are some of the most changed heroes of Dota 2 patch 7.27b, this is just the tip of the iceberg. All the changes made to heroes will surely lead to players requiring some time to determe which heroes are good and which ones aren’t in the new meta that will develop. Who do you think got the better end of the deal with Dota 2 patch 7.27b?
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