We look at the top 5 performing facets for core heroes from the last week of pub games on Dota 2 patch 7.37d.
Facets have become a key part of Dota 2 since their introduction in patch 7.36. They can make or break a hero, and for many heroes, the majority of pub games and especially professional games see just the stronger facet picked.
Certain facets like Mirana’s Solar Flare and Sand King’s Dust Devil were major factors in those heroes being popular and dominant at The International 2024 (TI13). Based on that, balance patch 7.37d, which was released after TI13, nerfed a few of the strong facets, which has brought new heroes and facets to the fore. A few days ago, we took a look at which support facets were doing well in pubs. Here, we see which core facets are at the top of the charts.
The facets have been picked as the best performing ones from the Immortal bracket. This data is as per Dotabuff. The choice of facets was made from a combination of facets with high win rates, with at least 5000 games played in the last week. While the win rate of a facet is based on games from the Immortal bracket, the pick rate is based on all pub games. Analyzing facets is a bit tricky, as a facet having a high win rate does not necessarily translate to it being one of the best in the game. It could always be a case of a strong hero with the preferred facet.
Lone Druid – Bear with Me (Games: 6202, Win rate: 54.10%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 59.73%
Before the release of Dota 2 patch 7.37d, Bear Necessities was Lone Druid’s go to facet. But after the strength of the facet was displayed in the final few days of TI13, it received sizable nerfs, that have changed the pecking order of Lone Druid’s facets.
(taken from Liquipedia Dota 2)
Bear with Me is a strong facet by itself, and is getting its time in the limelight with Bear Necessities nerfed. Since it was introduced in Dota 2 patch 7.36, Bear with Me hasn’t changed. With Bear Necessities, all major items were put on the hero and not the Spirit Bear, which made him the main damage dealer of the duo. While playing with Bear with Me, it is the Spirit Bear that gets the majority of items. But True Form with Bear with Me does give Lone Druid Demolish, so the pair of them make an even deadlier combo for bringing down buildings with this facet.
Sand King – Sandshroud (Games: 16507, Win rate: 53.96%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 40.64%
Sand King dominated The International 2024 (TI13) from the mid lane and offlane, and one of the tools that made him extremely dominant was Dust Devil. Owing to the popularity and strength of the facet, it was nerfed in Dota 2 patch 7.37d.
But it isn’t just the facet that has made Sand King a strong core in recent times. It is also his new ability, Stinger, which hasn’t been changed at all in any of the balance patches following Dota 2 patch 7.37. So Sand King continues to be a strong hero, just that the facet of choice is seeing a shift. The win rate for Dust Devil in pubs has fallen to nearly 47%, and the pick rate for Sandshroud should see an increase in the days to come.
Winter Wyvern – Dragon Sight (Games: 9407, Win rate: 53.47%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 36.57%
Winter Wyvern’s Dragon Sight facet has a lower pick rate of the two facets, but that is only because the two facets divide her into a core and support. Her other facet, Essence of the Blueheart, is picked when she is being played as a support, while Dragon Sight is the choice when she is played as a core (typically as a position 2 or position 3 hero).
Dragon Sight is a facet that has been strong since its inception. The early level of Dragon Sight got nerfed because of how much additional damage Winter Wyvern could do in lane with Arctic Burn. But even with that nerf and the reduction in damage provided by Winter Wyvern’s level 10 talent, the right click build is strong.
The nerfs to Dragon Sight have been accompanied by buffs to Essence of Blueheart, which shows IceFrog is trying to promote Winter Wyvern as a support and is possibly the reason why that is the facet with the higher pick rate. But even with these changes, the right click build is potent in the correct scenario.
(taken from Liquipedia Dota 2)
Nightstalker – Night Reign (Games: 23673, Win rate: 53.25%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 60.77%
Night Stalker is a strong hero in the current meta, irrespective of which facet is chosen. Even though the Blinding Void facet has a slightly higher win rate, Night Reign is a higher priority facet in the top 5 core facets as it has more than twice the number of games.
Night Stalker is a hero that benefits from the fact that he wasn’t too hot at TI13, because of which he wasn’t nerfed in patch 7.37d. Night Reign is one of the most unique facets in the game, which ensures skill points used for Hunter in the Night in the laning stage don’t go to waste. He is a force to be reckoned with in the lanining stage, and once the first night ends 5 minutes 15 seconds into the game, he is close to level 6, where he can get Dark Ascencion and continue terrorizing opponents in the dark of night.
Axe – One Man Army (Games: 37754, Win rate: 52.49%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 48.09%
One Man Army is one of those facets that has been strong ever since facets were introduced in Dota 2 patch 7.36. Owing to how strong it was, it was nerfed twice, but still continues to be strong.
A lot of players have the misconception that One Man Army requires Axe to play on his own, seeking solo kills, which isn’t the case at all. The additional armor from strength is activated when there is a 700 distance separation from the nearest allied hero, which is not that big of a distance. To get some perspective, a hero with 350 movement speed will cover that distance in 2 seconds. Axe typically leads the gank and blinks ahead when he sees an enemy, locking them down with Berserker’s Call until his teammates can join him. Even if he is able to get the bonus armor for a few seconds, it increases his survivability significantly, which is all he needs until backup arrives.
Honorable Mentions
Nightstalker – Blinding Void (Games: 10711, Win rate: 54.00%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 39.23%
Broodmother – Feeding Frenzy (Games: 14576, Win rate: 52.97%)
Facet pick rate in pubs for the past week – 71.05%
Considering only a few heroes have three facets and most have two facets, there is a good chance that in the next few major patches, there will be new facets introduced to the game until every hero has three facets. Hopefully, when Dota 2 patch 7.38 arrives, we will get some more unique facets like Learning Curve, Night Reign and Seed Money.
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