Valve has responded to the considerable shifts in Dota 2 that followed the release of the 7.34 patch on August 14th. This latest patch aims to rein in the dominance of certain heroes that had surged in popularity and win rates due to the previous patch's changes.
The heroes that had taken the meta by storm have now been dialed back, and among them are Witch Doctor and Sand King, both of whom were buffed considerably in Patch 7.34, resulting in win rates close to an astounding 60%, as reported by the statistics site Dotabuff.
Dota 2 Patch 7.34b Highlights:
1. Witch Doctor's Adjustment: Witch Doctor, whose pick and win rates had spiked significantly, bears the brunt of the latest changes. The attack range of his Death Ward has been reduced, and its early-game cooldown has nearly doubled. Furthermore, talents for Death Ward have been tweaked, leading to reduced range and damage as the match progresses. Base damage and stats for Witch Doctor have also seen adjustments, aiming to restore balance and rein in his dominance.
2. Sand King's Rebalancing: The entire toolkit of Sand King has experienced nerfs. Changes range from a reduction in Burrowstrike's damage to curtailing Sandstorm's ability to move with the hero, a feature that was just introduced in the previous patch. Given that Sand King was already enjoying a win rate of 52% before the 7.34 patch, these measures seek to halt his swift ascent to the top ranks and address his growing popularity.
3. Invoker's Revision: The revamp of Invoker's mechanics also required further tweaking. Valve swiftly removed cooldown reduction on Wex and significantly reduced the late-game potency of Ghost Walk. The changes introduced in 7.34 had led to the Quas-Wex build gaining traction, particularly due to Wex's inherent cooldown reduction benefit. However, the effectiveness of cooldown reduction on items tied to Wex has been nullified. This aims to curtail Invoker's overwhelming impact in matches, where faster cooldowns on crucial items gave him a significant advantage.
While the primary focus of this patch was on adjusting these dominant heroes, it's important to note that not all changes were nerfs. Some heroes received minor buffs, such as Abaddon's enhanced heal/damage and Mist Coil range, a shorter cooldown for Omniknight's Repel, and Marci's bonus hit potential for each Fury stack through her ultimate ability, Unleash.
