After a long wait, Dota 2 patch 7.32 has been released, and it brings with it a lot of general, item and hero changes just before the TI 11 qualifiers.
It came at an unexpected time, but Dota 2 patch 7.32 is finally here! It is an unexpected time because we are in the middle of ESL One Malaysia, but IceFrog and Valve were more concerned about getting it out early for the TI11 qualifier teams, which makes sense. The patch brings massive changes to the gameplay, and is bound to make things insanely interesting at The International 2022 (TI11). The entire set of patch notes can be found here. Let us now take a look at the major changes patch 7.32 has brought with it.
Primal Beast
Primal Beast has been introduced to Captains Mode! The newest hero can now be a part of the professional scene and will play a role in Singapore when teams try to fight it out for the Aegis at TI11.
Of course, he wasn’t just dropped into CM as is. The hero, who has fallen out of favor in pubs after a set of nerfs, sees an Aghanim’s Scepter added to his arsenal along with a number of buffs to talents, as well as a buff to his Aghanim’s Shard upgrade, Rock Throw.
General Changes
Patch 7.32 has something that no Dota 2 patch has had for a long time – meta defining general changes! There are a lot of interesting general changes in patch 7.32, the three most prominent being changes to XP required to get to a certain level, introduction of a Flagbearer creep to a creep wave, and map changes.
Experience changes
The XP requirement to get from one level to the next has gone up for all levels. The cumulative effect of that is a massive increase in XP required to get to the higher levels. This will slow the game down and prevent snowballing heroes from getting to higher levels of abilities and talents at higher levels quickly.
Flagbearer
Added Flagbearer Creep. Starting at minute 2 one of the melee creeps in every second creepwave is replaced by a Flagbearer. It has 40% magic resistance and an Inspiration Aura, which gives +3 Health Regen to all allies within a 700 range. Killing an enemy Flagbearer will grant you and each allied hero within 1200 radius bonus gold equal to 100% of a Melee Creep's bounty. Does not grant gold on deny and cannot be denied by hero abilities, e.g Demonic Conversion.
The addition of Flagbearer will singlehandedly revolutionize the laning stage. This change is bound to have such massive ripple effects, that it cannot be discussed in a few lines and deserves a separate discussion of its own. Why? Because the laning stage dictates a lot of hero picks, and also sets the stage for how a game will play out. All in all though, a very positive change, and something the game has been needing for a long time.
Map changes
Map changes are mostly applied to the Dire side to make it a bit more difficult for Dire to approach or fight into the Roshan Pit.
Item Changes
A lot of items have been nerfed and buffed. A total of 9 neutral items have been removed from the game, while 7 new ones have been added. One of the more interesting item changes is BKB now having a 50 mana cost. It seems like a trivial change, but in clutch situations, can make a massive difference.
Hero Changes
There is a plethora of hero changes in Dota 2 patch 7.32! The number and type of changes are so high that we are bound to have a complete rotation of the popular heroes in the game, especially in the professional scene. GosuGamers will have detailed articles on winners and losers of 7.32, along with ratings for the new and reworked Aghanim’s Scepters and Aghanim’s Shards. Here is a look at all the new Scepter upgrades from the patch.
The two most interesting new Aghanim’s Scepters have to be the Centaur and Doom ones.
Centaur
Reworked Scepter. Grants new ability: Hitch a Ride. Centaur tosses an ally into a cart hitched behind him. While in the cart, the ally can still cast and attack normally, but cannot move independently or be targeted by opponents. Non-targeted effects can still affect the hitched ally. Increases the attack range of hitched melee heroes by 200. Mana Cost: 75. Cooldown: 60s. Duration: 8s. Cast Range: 300.
Doom
Reworked Scepter. Enemies within 325 radius from target also suffer the effects of Doom. Also allows it to be self-cast to affect enemies around caster.
The road to TI11 is lit up, and one of the things lighting it up is Dota 2 patch 7.32. As we unravel and understand the patch a bit more, GosuGamers will have more articles on the meta that evolves around the new patch. And just in case you think your excitement might wane in a few days, don’t worry. The TI11 Battle Pass is just around the corner.
