After the end of the first Major tournament on Dota 2 patch 7.33, we analyze the new meta based on the tournament.
Image: abadauy on DeviantArt
When a new patch drops in Dota 2, one of the most interesting things is seeing how professional teams interpret the changes. They see things most casual players don’t, and their hero picks and strategies tend to shed light on the secrets of the new meta.
Dota 2 patch 7.33 was released two and a half weeks ago, and there was a massive tournament right after its release – the Berlin Major! So the Dota 2 community did not have to wait for long to see the best in the business fight it out on the new patch. The Major had a total of 187 games played, with 144 of those played in the group stages and 43 played in the playoffs. Based on the data from those games, let’s take a shot at analyzing the new meta. All stats and images taken from datDota.
Most played heroes at the ESL One Berlin Major
The biggest change patch 7.33 brought with it was the revamped map, but heroes also did see a lot of changes. A whole new category was introduced – Universal heroes. Based on the changes, a lot of new heroes were seen at the Berlin Major. Crystal Maiden and Underlord, who are in the top 5 most played heroes, were not highly contested heroes until recently. But in the new meta, they are hot commodities! Crystal Maiden was one of the few heroes who did not have her disable (Frostbite) nerfed, also got an increase in base damage by 2, which helps her in the laning stage. Also the plethora of neutral creeps around is good for a CM to use Frostbite on and farm. In the case of Underlord, the new low cooldown Fiend’s Gate is a great tool to be omnipresent on the 40% larger map. Additionally, with the new Crimson Guard, he gets even tankier than before.
Another notable addition to the most picked heroes is the Alchemist. Alch’s new skill, Corrosive Weaponry, has made him a hero who can fight early and does not need him to be significantly ahead of other cores to have an impact. Previously, the first few skill points would get used up in Greevil’s Greed. Now with the initial skill points used for Acid Spray and Unstable Concoction, the hero can fight much faster than before. And while Underlord is going well with a win rate of 59.46%, Alchemist is knocknig it out of the park at 65.08%. The only hero in the most played list with a win rate higher than Alchemist is Beastmaster at 68.29%.
Other notable additions to the most played heroes are Void Spirit, Terrorblade and Skywrath Mage. A lot of the other heroes were seen quite often in the previous meta as well. But to be fair, teams haven’t fully experimented with the new patch yet. The list is bound to change in the upcoming tournaments.
Most contested heroes at the ESL One Berlin Major
The most played list often does not tell the full story, as many heroes get banned out in a majority of the games and are not available for picking. That’s where the most contested picture sheds some light on the heroes teams do not want to face. If the entire tournament with all 187 games is considered, Doom and Underlord stand out as the two most contested heroes with contest rates over 85%. Heroes like Slark, Phantom Lancer and Chen have so many bans against them, that it isn’t a surprise that they didn’t make it to the most picked list. Slark was the most banned hero of the tournament with 100 bans against him.
Based on these first two sets of graphs, it doesn’t make sense that Medusa is on the cover image, does it? That’s because her popularity ramped up as the tournament progressed, and at one point, she started getting contested in pretty much every game. The table below shows the most contested heroes from the 43 playoff games. Medusa has a 100% contest rate! And 38 of those are bans, which shows how much teams did not want to play against her. In an interview with GosuGamers, OG’s carry Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev said that she has been overbuffed. In the 24 games she was picked at the Berlin Major, she won 18 of them and had a staggering win rate of 75%! That definitely earns a hero the spot on the cover page, and also the first spot in the line of heroes that will be nerfed.
Unpicked heroes from the ESL One Berlin Major (heroes picked in 5 games or less)
While certain heroes get popular with the advent of a new patch, others tend to lose popularity, while certain ones continue their journey in the dark. 44 heroes were picked in 5 games or less at the Berlin Major. A few like Chaos Knight, Dawnbreaker, Drow Ranger, Lina, Marci and Nature’s Prophet have been popular picks in recent patches, and them being in this list is warranted. But heroes like Clinkz, Necrophos, Witch Doctor and Warlock have been overlooked for a long time in the professional scene. They need a nudge in the right direction.
Game durations
Looking at the distribution of games based on duration, a nice bell curve can be seen with the game times peaking in the 30 to 40 minute bracket and an equal number of games in the brackets to either side of it. Majority of games always fall in the 30-40 minute bracket for any patch, but durations on either side are usually skewed. 25.12% games ended before 30 minutes, while 33.15% went over the 40 minute mark. This meta hasn’t been defined as an early or late game meta till now. There is potential for early game strats, as there is for late game ones as long as you don’t get overrun in the first 30 minutes.
Comparing this to the 193 games of the Lima Major which took place on Dota 2 patch 7.32, only 20.73% games ended before 30 minutes while 37.82% games went over 40 minutes. The percentage of games in the 30-40 minute bracket was quite similar, but games were more likely to go long rather than short.
Dota 2 patch 7.33 has definitely brought with it some exciting changes. The meta is fresh and interesting and bound to see a lot more change before the final DPC Major of the season in July. As the teams head back to their regional DPC Leagues, we can experiment with the new meta and watch them do the same in the fight for qualification to the Bali Major and The International 2023.
