We take a deep dive into the meta that has evolved around Dota 2 patch 7.32 based on the TI11 qualifier games.
The small matter of the TI11 qualifiers is in the rearview mirror, and we can now look forward to the tournament we have all been waiting for – The International 2022 (TI11)!
This year, the fight for the Aegis will take place in Singapore. What makes it slightly more unique this year than the last few years is the fact that the big patch on which The International is typically played is always released before the final DPC Major of the year, but this year, it was released after the PGL Arlington Major, and before the TI11 qualifiers, which has left the patch open to a lot of interpretation.
A total of 257 games were played across the six Dota 2 regions (Europe East, Europe West, South America, North America, China and Southeast Asia) for the TI11 qualifiers. Just as the Dota 2 community was trying to unravel the secrets of patch 7.32, so were the professional teams, in their quest to make it to Singapore for the fight for the Aegis. Dota 2 patch 7.32 brought with it a lot of general changes, along with hero and item changes, which was bound to shake things up substantially. Let’s take a deep dive into what the new meta that has risen around patch 7.32 looks like.
All data has been taken from datDota.
Most picked heroes from the TI11 qualifiers
The table below shows the 15 most picked heroes from the TI11 qualifiers. The two heroes that standout based on picks are Marci and Death Prophet. Even after being nerfed, these two ladies refuse to be affected by the wrath of IceFrog. Both of them bring a lot of versatility to drafts, as they can be played in multiple roles. Marci can be flexed in either a position 4, position 3 or position 2 role, while Death Prophet goes a step further by being a viable position 5 option as well.
Even though they are the two most highly picked heroes, there is a stark difference in their win rates. Death Prophet is languishing at 44.23%, while Marci is nearly 10% higher than her at 54.10%. Marci clearly was one of the most prominent heroes of the TI11 qualifiers, and if there isn’t a balance patch before TI11, will be a highly favored pick in Singapore as well.
It is nice to see the latest addition to Dota 2, Primal Beast, get some attention in the professional scene. But the heroes making the headlines are clearly Faceless Void, Earthshaker and Enigma. All three of them have more than 50 picks to their name, and a win rate of over 60%! Void and Enigma are actually closer to 70%, indicating that they are definitely in need of a slight nerf. Faceless Void was definitely the standout carry of the TI11 qualifiers. The buffs to his Time Lock and Time Dilation in patch 7.32 were more than enough to make him the top contender for the position 1 role. Additionally, Void pairs well with a lot of mid heroes in the meta, like Death Prophet, Invoker, Lina, Queen of Pain and Zeus. The only other carry in the most picked list is Morphling, and his win rate is only at 48%.
Most contested heroes from the TI11 qualifiers
The most contested list, which includes picks and bans, gives a more complete picture of what heroes are on the minds of teams. And the top three heroes, who have a contest rate of over 90% in the 257 games, are Batrider, Undying and Enigma. Batrider has been dominating the mid lane thanks to the changes in Dota 2 patch 7.32. He did get hit by a few nerfs in patch 7.32b, and owing to that, his win rate isn’t too high (52.31%). But teams definitely do not want to face him, as he is the second most banned hero after Enigma.
The Enigma bans make a lot of sense, as this hero is coasting in the current meta. Enigma provides excellent lane control, which now is possibly slightly more important with the introduction of the Flagbearer creep. And he scales more than most heroes played in his position, may it be position 3 or position 4.
Heroes with the highest win rates from the TI11 qualifiers
Only heroes with more than 20 picks have been considered here.
The expected miscreants – Faceless Void and Enigma, are right at the top of the list. The only hero that has a higher win rate than them is Visage with 69.05%. That is absolutely bonkers, considering the hero was picked in 42 games. Visage does have 113 bans against him, showing that teams definitely know his potency. He too, like Marci and Death Prophet, can be played in multiple roles with position 2 being the most common, but position 3 also being an option. And Visage is one of the best carriers and fastest builders of Wraith Pact. The item goes great with Gravekeeper’s Cloak, and makes him a lot more difficult to bring down.
Two new carries make an appearance in the highest win rate list – Terrorblade and Slark. Slark came into the picture towards the end of the qualifiers. He’s a good counter to Batrider, as he can dispel the Sticky Napalm stacks with Dark Pact. Lina also has a very high win rate, and though played from the mid lane, often assumes the role of the position 1 hero in the game.
Other strong heroes include Viper and Doom in the offlane and Dazzle and Chen in the support department.
Unpicked heroes from the TI11 qualifiers
Only heroes with less than 10 picks have been considered here.
A thought must be spared for the heroes who are not in favor. 48 of the 123 heroes were picked in less than 10 games. Of course, the meta is still fresh and developing, so it is quite early to make conclusions on whether these heroes are not good or just yet to be discovered. Only 23 were picked in less than 5 games, and only two heroes – Outworld Destroyer and Silencer – did not see a single pick throughout the qualifiers. Good chance that a few of these heroes get slight buffs heading into TI11 in case there is a balance patch in the form of 7.32c.
Distribution of games based on time
The game distribution based on time is very interesting for the TI11 qualifier games. Looking at the changes in Dota 2 patch 7.32, it was pretty evident that the game durations were going to increase. They definitely have gone up, with nearly half the games going over the 40 minute mark. The average game time of the TI11 qualifiers was 40 minutes 20 seconds.
Compare that to the 824 games of the final DPC season, and there is a definite shift towards the later games. Games ending before 40 minutes have decreased by 4% and ones ending after 40 minutes have gone up by 11.65%. There are definitely some long drawn games with a lot of back and forth to be expected at The International 2022, and that is what we love!
The meta developing around Dota 2 patch 7.32 is extremely interesting, and definitely seems to give us edge-of-the-seat games based of the TI11 qualifiers. There are a few heroes that are being favored way too much than the rest of the bunch, so a small balance patch would be good before TI11 begins. Even if there isn’t one though, the hidden potential of the patch paired with the back and forth nature is bound to give us some mind blowing games in Singapore, in the fight for the Aegis when The International 2022 finally begins.
