With Dota 2 patch 7.34e set to arrive soon, we take a look at what heroes deserve to be pushed to the front of the line in the next balance patch and ahead.
Dota 2 patch 7.33 was released in April 2023, but it feels like ages since the map size grew. But it wasn’t until Dota 2 patch 7.34 was released that there was some real stir up in terms of hero picks. Not just the major patch, but even the balance patches that followed the release of patch 7.34 brought in significant changes. The meta around patch 7.34 started off with Phantom Assassin terrorizing pubs, and now stands at strength heroes with Blade Mail and Heart of Tarrasque dominating the game.
The ESL One Kuala Lumpur qualifiers are done and dusted, and the Dota 2 community is about to be blessed with a new balance patch in the form of Dota 2 patch 7.34e.
Now, while it is a balance patch and won’t completely shake up the meta, there will be a good deal of movement, especially considering we are past The International and still a few weeks away from the first premier tournament of the year, ESL One Kuala Lumpur. The candidates for nerfs are well expected – Bristleback, Chaos Knight, Kunkka, Primal Beast – basically the tanky lot along with a few others like Dazzle and Weaver. But here, we will take a look at which heroes haven’t been in the zeitgeist for a while, and deserve some movement towards being more popular. Like Dazzle, it might take two or three patches of buffs to get there, but it at least needs to start with Dota 2 patch 7.34e.
To get us started, the list of 15 least played heroes in professional games on patch 7.33 and patch 7.34 is shown below. To get an idea of how bad things have been for these heroes, let’s talk about the other end – in 3051 professional games played on the past two patches, the most picked hero was Rubick with 807 picks, and the most contested hero was Beastmaster with 1909 picks or bans. In comparison, the 15 heroes below look absolutely pale.
(taken from Dotabuff)
Of course, not everyone on this list is supposed to be a meta pick. Heroes like Arc Warden, Huskar, Meepo and Tinker have always been cheese picks, and that is the role that favors them the most. But the others have been shunned for a long time, and it shows in their win rates as well. The win rates of most of these heroes is well below average. Here, we take a quick look at some of these heroes that are not so popular in pubs either to get an idea about who deserves the most buffs in the upcoming Dota 2 patch 7.34e
Shadow Shaman (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 27th)
The big change that was supposed to bring Shadow Shaman back into the meta was Hex amplifying damage on the affected unit. But that did not impact Shaman in a positive way at all, and of all 124 Dota 2 heroes from the last two patches, he has the worst win rate in professional games with 22.22%. His buff needs to come in terms of his disables, Shackles or Hex – either the durations or the cooldowns. Or it could be something that makes him a lot stronger in lane, like buffs to the early levels of Ether Shock.
Zeus (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 31st)
The introduction of Lightening Hands in Dota 2 patch 7.33 was fun for a while to make the hero a right clicker, but in the long run, it has put Zeus neither here nor there. He is meant to be a spell caster, and his Shard needs to help him do that better.
Viper (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 58th)
Viper has actually only been buffed in patch 7.33 and patch 7.34. But his faux tankiness does not compare to the actual tankiness of meta heroes like Bristleback and Primal Beast. This is also a meta where games go long, and Viper has long been the hero that wins the lane but then massively falls off. The Netherdrake might need to wait for a meta shakeup along with some buffs.
Riki (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 61st)
Riki had found a perfect role for him when his Aghanim’s Shard upgrade provided him with Sleeping Dart, and with that totally taken away, the Stealth Assassin has found it difficult to solidify a new role for himself. Riki is in a period of transition, and a few buffs to propel him in the direction of a core will do the trick.
Hoodwink (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 63rd)
Hoodwink hasn’t been nerfed in recent times and if anything, has received slight buffs. But she has one of the lowest starting strengths and strength gains in Dota 2, and this is a patch for tanky heroes, which is where she suffers. Hoodwink is one of the least tanky, or as the old term goes, paper heroes in the game. Like Viper, along with buffs, it may take a meta shakeup to make her popular again.
Sand King (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 66th)
Sand King looked like he was on the rise when he got sizable buffs in Dota 2 patch 7.34, but after seeing the increase in his win rate, he was hit with a barrage of nerfs in just a few days in patch 7.34b. Fate has been cruel to Crixalis, but it won’t take much to make a hero with an AoE stun and a massive team fight ultimate popular once again.
Omniknight (pub popularity according to Dotabuff: 98th)
Omniknight was one of the most reliable babysitting supports in lane for a long time, but then he lost Heavenly Grace, which was one of the best spells in the game. He is also being pushed into a core role with Hammer of Purity. Purist Thunderwrath needs a clear path to proceed on if he is to be popular in pubs and professional games once again.
Items
In items, two items get a special mention – Aether Lens and Phylactery. Aether Lens’ popularity has gone down ever since its upgrade to Octarine Core was removed. The new Octarine Core, on the other hand, is one of the most popular items of the current meta. Multiple posts on the Dota 2 subreddit (r/Dota2) have proposed combining the two items, which will make it lucrative for spell casters like Bounty Hunter and Zeus. Let’s see what IceFrog thinks about the idea.
Dota 2 patch 7.34e will be released within 24 hours, so very soon we will get to see where IceFrog plans to take the game. Hopefully, it is away from the place where tanky front liners get to reign supreme.
