A look at how balance patch 7.37d has impacted professional Dota 2 games in the first three days of PGL Wallachia Season 2 after TI13.
The International 2024 (TI13) ended just a few days ago. Typically, there is a lull in the professional Dota 2 scene after The International has ended, but this year, things are a bit different. The first balance patch in the form of Dota 2 patch 7.37d was released just days before PGL Wallachia Season 2 began. The balance patch brought a good deal of nerfs with it to the high flying heroes of TI13.
PGL Wallachia Season 2 is three days in with 59 games played. The tournament has already seen 94 heroes picked in those games, which seems a good deal higher than the 99 heroes picked in 123 games at TI13 (taking the higher number of games into consideration). With two rounds of the Swiss stage and the playoffs still to be played, there are bound to be over 100 heroes picked at the tournament.
The question is, how has Dota 2 patch 7.37d impacted professional Dota 2, if at all? We looked at the TI13 meta right after the fight for the Aegis ended. How do hero picks compare to what we saw in Copenhagen? The top 15 most picked heroes from the first three days of PGL Wallachia, taken from datDota, are shown below.
Impact of Dota 2 Patch 7.37d on Heroes
A lot of the heroes here are the same ones that saw high pick rates at TI13, which is not surprising. It has been less than a week since the nerfs of patch 7.37d, and it takes time for teams to let go off their old ways. Luna, Enchantress, Clockwerk, Snapfire, Mars, Tusk, Sand King and Shadow Demon are heroes that were pretty popular at TI13. What is different is their win rates. Win rates for heroes like Enchantress, Snapfire, Mars, Tusk and Sand King have dropped massively since the release of Dota 2 patch 7.37d. Others like Luna and Clockwerk, who didn’t get hit too hard by the nerf hammer, have risen to the top. Other than these two heroes and Beastmaster, none of the most played heroes have a win rate higher than 55%.
(taken from datDota)
Looking at the most contested heroes, it is a lot of the usual suspects. However, there are heroes like Sand King and Wind Ranger, who had a contest rate of over 90% throughout TI13, who are not among the 15 most contested heroes in PGL Wallachia Season 2. So patch 7.37d has definitely had some impact on the choices made by teams.
(taken from datDota)
Impact of Dota 2 Patch 7.37d on Items
Some of the biggest changes that patch 7.37d brought with it were the nerfs to items. The three early game items – Bracer, Null Talisman and Wraith Band – were nerfed in a major way. They no longer double the bonuses at level 25, which was a huge reason for supports and some offlaners to stack up on them. Below are the total purchases for all three items at TI13 and the first three days of PGL Wallachia Season 2, with the number of items purchased on average included in brackets
(taken from datDota)
The biggest drop that can be seen is for Bracer. That was the item a lot of supports stacked up on. Two Bracers would provide 640 HP after the 25 minute mark, and three would take you up to 960 HP. Now with those numbers reduced by half, the impetus to make multiple Bracers is not there anymore. The Bracers per game, in response, have fallen by more than half.
Wraith Band has seen a little bit of a decline. But Null Talisman does not seem to have taken a hit, as it is mostly an item used by cores for early game mana and the mana regeneration it provides.
But the biggest nerf, which can be seen based on the numbers, has been to Gleipnir. Gleipnir was one of the prominent items of the tournament at TI13 with 143 picks in 123 games. At PGL Wallachia, its popularity has declined to just 17 picks in 59 games.
Gleipnir Popularity
The International 2024 (TI13) – 143 purchases in 123 games (1.16 purchases per game)
PGL Wallachia Season 2 – 17 picks in 59 games (0.29 picks per game)
Gleipnir is barely seen now, and its win rate has gone down from 57.34% at TI13 to 52.94% at PGL Wallachia Season 2. It isn’t an item that is being completely ignored, but based on the comparison of purchases per games, Gleipnir’s popularity has gone down by 75%.
It is a good thing Dota 2 patch 7.37d was released before PGL Wallachia Season 2 began, as it introduces a little bit of freshness to a rather stale patch. It also rewards teams that are not afraid to experiment. The tournament is still in its early stages, and as we move on to the playoffs, more than a few new heroes will be seen that will take teams by surprise.
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