The qualifiers for TI13 just came to an end. We take a look at the current Dota 2 meta from the lens of the 232 games played in the TI13 qualifiers.
Image: jacky5493 on DeviantArt
The 2023-2024 Dota 2 season feels like it has Pangolier’s ultimate on the whole time – it is rolling by! We have two huge Dota 2 tournaments in the season, with the first one being Riyadh Masters in a few weeks, and the second one being The International 2024 (TI13) in September in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Before the Riyadh Masters began, the TI13 qualifiers were set to take place. The final set of qualifiers ended on the 23rd of June, with Southeast Asia and Western Europe finalizing the teams that will represent the regions in the fight for the Aegis. In all the six regions (yes, Valve still sees it as six regions although most tournament organizers now consider seven regions), a total of 232 games were played. This was the first major data set on Dota 2 patch 7.36, and it provides a good idea of what the meta looks like. After the introduction of innate abilities and facets in patch 7.36, there has been a shakeup in the hero preferences, which was seen in the TI13 qualifiers.
All data has been taken from datDota.
Most Picked Heroes from the TI13 Qualifiers
The 15 most picked heroes of the TI13 qualifiers are shown below. The list here is significantly different than what you would have seen a few weeks ago. The major reason for the change is the innate abilities and more importantly, the facets. Facets give you two different pathways to play a hero, and the ones that can be most versatile to adjust to the game based on the draft get preference. On the other hand, it could just be the case that one facet is extremely strong!
Dark Willow and Weaver are the two heroes penetrating the three digit club, but there are quite a few heroes over 50 picks in the TI13 qualifiers, which is more than 20% of the games. The positive thing to see, which is not the case in every meta, is that there is mix of heroes from positions. There’s also a good reason that these heroes are highly picked, because most of their win rates are above 50%. One hero which is hard not to find in the most picked list is Pangolier, who has been a meta hero for a long time. But other than him and perhaps Rubick, most heroes were not seen a lot in the first half of this season.
Most Contested Heroes from the TI13 Qualifiers
Of course, the most played list often only tells half the story. There are heroes that don’t make it there because they are banned in the majority of games, and those for the TI13 qualifiers include Templar Assassin, Witch Doctor and Shadow Fiend. All these heroes have been banned in more than 70% of the games, with Templar Assassin having an astounding contest rate of 98.28% and a ban rate of 91.14%. Clearly, these are heroes no one wants to play against, meaning you can probably look to use them in your pubs as long as you have a decent idea of how to play them. If there is a balance patch before the Riyadh Masters, the heroes here with a contest rate of over 70% are probably at the top of the line to be nerfed.
Heroes with the Highest Win Rates from the TI13 Qualifiers (at least 20 games)
There are always certain heroes that don’t see a lot of picks, but when picked in the right circumstances, deliver big. The list below shows the 10 heroes with the highest win rates, with the sole criteria to make the list being the hero must have been picked in at least 20 games.
There are some crazy high numbers seen here, with six heroes having a win rate of 60% or higher. And most of them have over 30 games, with Storm Spirit being picked in 55 games. It is good to see typically unseen heroes like Elder Titan, Shadow Fiend, Pudge, Centaur Warrunner and Dark Seer make this list. The usual suspects like Lifestealer, Razor and Enchantress need to be nerfed to keep them out of the professional meta for a while.
Neglected Heroes from the TI13 Qualifiers (picked in less than 5 games)
33 heroes were picked in less than 5 games across all six regions in the TI13 qualifiers. These heroes can do with a few buffs, based on how good or bad they are doing in pubs. But on the whole, the TI13 qualifiers treated us to a diverse set of games, with 122 heroes picked and only two heroes – Omniknight and Riki – not being picked at all.
Distribution of Games based on Duration
When looking at the distribution of games based on duration, the main problem with the current Dota 2 meta becomes evident. There is a heavy concentration of games that end between 30 minutes and 50 minutes. While these are usually the time brackets which have the majority of games, it is often more equally balanced. While Dota 2 patch 7.36 is fascinating because of all the new abilities it brought to the game, the gold and experience formulas remain unchanged, so a lot of the gameplay and pace of the game did not change. The game right now is catered towards a 40 minute finish with high ground still being an extremely challenging task. If IceFrog and Valve are able to alter mechanics in a way early and late game strategies have a bit more viability, it would make tournaments a lot more enjoyable.
It has been fascinating to witness professional games on Dota 2 patch 7.36 with all the new innate abilities and facets at work at the highest level of the game. The Riyadh Masters begins on July 4th, and that is where we will get to see the full depths of the new meta explored with some crazy strategies on display.
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