Image: Lozeng3r on DeviantArt
After the end of Division I Leagues the first DPC tour of the 2023 Dota 2 season, we take a look at what heroes are defining the professional meta.
The Division I Leagues for the first tour of the 2023 DPC season are already over (except for China, which is nearly done, but not quite). The Winter Tour was played on a small variation of the TI11 patch – Dota 2 patch 7.32d. The balance patch was released between The International 2022 (TI11) and the beginning of the DPC Winter Tour. The changes were enough to stir up the hero pool, but the meta, or more so the way the game has been played has remained the same.
As we transition from Division I to Division II of the DPC Leagues, let’s take a look at how the six Dota 2 regions have interpreted the slightly different meta in terms of hero picks. Data has been taken from datDota, and shows the stats from the start of the DPC Leagues till the 31st of January (401 games across all six Dota 2 regions). The tail end of the Chinese DPC League Division I is not included in this data.
Most Picked Heroes from the 2023 DPC Winter Tour
Rubick tops the most picked list, and by some margin. With a pick rate of over 50 percent, the son of Aghanim has made himself into a popular position 5 support this meta. In previous patches where he has been popular, Rubick has mostly only been played as a position 4 support. But with his Aghanim’s Shard, which allows him to save allies using Telekenesis, the hero has become a viable position 5 support. Besides that, he has also had small buffs being given to him since Dota 2 patch 7.32.
The high win rate heroes from the most picked list include Treant Protector, Snapfire, Nature’s Prophet, Ember Spirit, and Clockwerk. While some like Treant and Snapfire deserve the rise to prominence, others like Ember have been a part of the meta for a while now, and will see nerfs coming in the next big Dota 2 patch.
Most Contested Heroes from the 2023 DPC Winter Tour
But the most picked numbers hide a very prominent story of the Division I Leagues, which can only be unfolded once we take a look at the contest rate of all the heroes. Here are the five most contested heroes of the Division I DPC Leagues for the Winter Tour.
Lina (105 picks, 283 bans, 96.76% contest rate)
Broodmother (70 picks, 278 bans, 86.78% contest rate)
Rubick (174 picks, 118 bans, 83.29% contest rate)
Batrider (76 picks, 257bans, 83.04% contest rate)
Ember Spirit (104 picks, 201 bans, 76.06% contest rate)
There are no prizes for guessing that Lina is the main story of the current meta. The hero has a staggering 96.76% contest rate, around 10% more than the next in line. Lina, who has always been played as either a mid or a position 4 support, is now being preferred as a position 1 carry, basically as a better Sniper. And even though there’s potential to flex the pick, no one is doing that. That’s how potent she is from the safe lane. So she either gets banned in most games, or gets picked in the first phase. Of her 105 picks, 94 have been in the first phase. This is one fiery girl who is bound to have some water thrown on her by IceFrog in the next patch. Weirdly enough, her win rate isn’t astronomical. There are certain strong counters to her, like Spectre. But most teams just prefer to have her out of the equation, and it is a similar treatment for Broodmother and Batrider as well, who were banned in over 60% of the games.
Heroes with the Highest Win Rates from the 2023 DPC Winter Tour
The list of heroes with the highest win rates is from heroes that were picked in at least 20 games.
Now these are the real heroes to be feared – ones which when picked ensure a significantly higher than average win rate. After a small bout on the sidelines, heroes like position 3 Enigma and mid Keeper of the Light are making comebacks. Pudge, though not too popular at TI11, is now a strong candidate again as a carry. He actually received a couple of small nerfs in Dota 2 patch 7.32d, but still has maintained a win rate of over 65%. The support success story of the meta is the position 4 Riki, who is possibly the most irritating hero to play against right now. But if there is no new patch before the DPC Lima Major, then these are the heroes to watch out for.
The Unpicked Heroes from the 2023 DPC Winter Tour
The list of heroes shown below includes heroes that were picked in less than five games.
In every meta, there are always a bunch of heroes that get left behind. A lot of them like Alchemist, Ancient Apparition and Chen have been popular in recent times, while other like Axe, Clinkz, Necrophos, Sand King and Warlock have hardly been used in the professional scene and are in dire need of some strong buffs.
It has been a while since Dota 2 has been blessed with an enormous patch. Dota 2 patch 7.33 can’t get here quick enough. There are rumors that it could be released after the Chinese DPC Division I League ends, but realistically, it will be after the Lima Major. Till then, the heroes seen here are the ones to play with for some green days in pubs.
