Less than a week after the release of Dota 2 patch 7.34, balance patch 7.34b has been released to nerf the strong heroes.
Dota 2 patch 7.34 was released on the 8th of August, and it stirred up the meta quite quickly. Certain heroes rose to the top, and GosuGamers looked at the big winners of the patch. It hasn’t even been a week since the release of the patch, and a balance in the form of patch 7.34b has been released to bring the highflyers down a notch.
Items
Only two items were nerfed – Glimmer Cape and Spirit Vessel. The major nerf is to Spirit Vessel, and it is because Spirit Vessel was quickly turning into the go to item for universal heroes early on in the game. The stats it provided gave universal heroes a lot of damage, and especially bolstered the newest hero amongst their ranks - Invoker. But with the stat gain reduced to half, either a lot of heroes will forgo the item or the ones who make it won’t get as much benefit from it. With all attributes being reduced from +12 to +6, the damage universal heroes get will be reduced from 25.2 to 12.6. That’s a good chunk of damage in the early game.
Not all hero changes from patch 7.34b are nerfs. There are small buffs to heroes that are on the brink of being good but need a slight push. But the buffs are minor ones. The significant changes are in the form of nerfs. Here’s a look at some of the heroes that will really feel it.
Invoker
Invoker was already taking a hit with the nerf to Spirit Vessel, because he buys that as his first item when playing Quas-Wex. With the additional nerfs to Quas-Wex Invoker, it might be time to take a look at Exort Invoker.
Sand King
Two skills and the Aghanim’s Shard are the target of Sand King’s nerfs. Not that nerfs weren’t required, as his win rate was over 58% in pubs. But it does seem harsh for a hero who hasn’t been seen played in professional games for a long time.
Witch Doctor
100 seconds cooldown for Death Ward at level 1? That seems a bit over the top. The highest the Death Ward cooldown till now has been 90 seconds, which was before Dota 2 patch 6.76. This wouldn’t be as much a nerf if Witch Doctor were a core, as cores have a much higher XPM than supports. But having to languish at the low levels with a 100 second cooldown Death Ward is something that cannot be cured by a doctor.
Dota 2 patch 7.34b won’t make or break a hero, but it will move the needle slightly for all of those who have either been buffed or nerfed. This is the patch on which the TI12 qualifiers will be played. Hopefully, a lot of new heroes will be seen in those games instead of what we have been seeing for the past few months.
