Image: Valve
We're breaking down the most impactful hero changes in Dota 2's latest patch.
Valve released a huge, game-changing update, Patch 7.38, on 19 February. If you haven't checked it out yet, be prepared - it's incredibly long. The update includes map changes, item reworks, a new neutral item system, and an extensive list of hero adjustments. If you’re looking for a quick rundown of the biggest winners and losers in Patch 7.38, keep reading!
Patch 7.38 winners: Dragon Knight, Abaddon, and Jakiro
Dragon Knight
The hero experiencing the most positive change in win rate is Dragon Knight. While this hero was already fairly popular before Patch 7.38, the update has significantly boosted his pick rate by 13% and his win rate to an impressive 58%, marking a remarkable increase of 10%. This trend is also evident in the high-ranked brackets.
Patch 7.38 reworked Dragon Knight’s Facet, Fire Dragon. The Facet now alters the following abilities:
- Dragon Tail: While in dragon form, Dragon Tail applies to enemies in a 175 radius around the target
- Wyrm’s Wrath: Attacks deal 10/20/30/40 bonus magic damage to enemies and increases all AoE effects by 25/50/75/100
This Facet is Dragon Knight’s most popular pick for good reason. It enables you to deal an AoE (Area of Effect) stun, boosts your damage output, and amplifies AoE effects from other spells. With Dragon Knight, you can dish out a significant amount of both physical and magical damage. Even with relatively few items, you can become an almost unstoppable force in the game.
Abaddon
It may come as a surprise to many, but Valve has doubled down on this already strong hero. Abaddon was already a prominent pick in the meta before Patch 7.38, and with this update, he has somehow become even stronger. While his popularity has seen a slight increase in overall pubs, he has notably gained traction in the high-ranked brackets.
Abaddon received a significant change to his Facet, “The Quickening”:
- Cooldown reduction per hero death increased from 4s to 6s
While there were minor reductions to his base stats, Abaddon’s Attribute Gain has seen significant increases. Although Mephitic Shroud remains his most popular Facet, changes to The Quickening have led to a noticeable rise in its picks and wins.
Jakiro
Support players rejoice! Jakiro has seen a 7% increase in pick rate, along with a 3% boost in win rate, now standing at a solid 52% in general pubs. However, in the high-ranked bracket, the two-headed dragon has experienced an even more dramatic shift, with his pick rate soaring from 16% to 42%, accompanied by a strong 54% win rate.
This support hero underwent a complete rework to his two Facets. Jakiro no longer has the Liquid Fire and Liquid Frost Facets; instead, the dual attack is now integrated into his normal attack. Jakiro's new Facets are:
- Twin Terror: Improves the basic attack. Damage penalty is decreased from 50% to 40% and improves even further by 5% per Macropyre level
- Ice Breaker: Path Duration increased from 3/3.5/4/4.5s to 6s. Upon expiration, Ice Path detonates, dealing an additional 75/125/175/225 damage and stunning enemies for 0.5s a second time. While the path exists, ability is replaced with a sub-ability, which allows Jakiro to detonate his Ice Path early.
This Facet overhaul gives Jakiro great flexibility, enabling him to focus on either a damage-oriented support or a more traditional full-support role. With Twin Terror, Jakiro can deal more damage and apply damage reduction, but his most popular Facet is Ice Breaker, which provides additional stuns and damage through spells.
Patch 7.38 losers: Lina, Morphling, and Kez
Lina
You can breathe easy now, as Lina has been handled the nerf hammer. The overpowered fiery lady has haunted pubs the past month, boasting a 19% pickrate and 51% win rate in general pubs. With Patch 7.38, that number has drastically fallen. After the first day of the patch, Lina’s pick rate dropped by 10% and her win rate swooped down to 44%.
Some of the strongest changes to Lina’s abilities are:
- Fiery Soul: Move Speed Bonus per stack decreased from 1.5/2/2.5/3% to 1/1.5/2/2.5%.
- Flame Cloak: Duration decreased from 8s to 7s
Her Talent Tree also witnessed strong nerfs:
- Level 10 Talent Dragon Slave Cooldown Reduction decreased from 3.5s to 3s
- Level 20 Talent Laguna Blade Cooldown Reduction decreased from 25s to 20s
- Level 25 Talent 125% Laguna Blade Damage into Barrier replaced with +60% Combustion Overheat Damage
Morphling
Morphling wasn't particularly popular before the update, but after significant changes to his abilities, he now has one of the worst win rates in the game. But why the drastic drop? Before Patch 7.38, Morphling had a relatively unthreatening 47% win rate, but this has now plummeted to 41%. This drop is also reflected in the high-ranked bracket, although it only decreased by 1%.
Looking back at the patch notes, Morphling didn’t receive any direct nerfs. Instead, most of his abilities and Facets were reworked or adjusted. With Patch 7.38, Valve has given Morphling more versatility, allowing players to experiment with skill builds and itemisation.
One of the biggest changes is Morphling’s “Flow” Facet rework, which now details:
- No longer affects Morphling's Cooldowns
- Changes Morphling's Primary Attribute to Strength. Morphling gains +1% Spell Amp per 4 Agility. Spell Amplification effect is breakable
- Adaptive Strike: Stuns enemy target for 0.5-2.4s depending on Morphling's Strength. Has the same rules as a knockback effect
The sharp decline in Morphling's win rate is likely due to players struggling to adapt to the new mechanics. As a complex hero, it’s likely that players are still figuring out how to effectively use his reworked abilities. Given that we’re only one day into the patch, we can expect Morphling's win rate to recover as players gain more experience with him in the coming weeks.
Kez
The standout hero of 2024, Kez, entered Dota 2 with an impressive win rate. His mechanics are somewhat complex, requiring players to skillfully switch between his two spell kits during battle. However, it was clear that players who mastered Kez could dominate games. With Patch 7.38, Kez finally received his own set of Facets. At first glance, the adjustments seem balanced, but his win rate tells a different story.
Kez’s win rate has plummeted from 50% to 41%, and his pick rate has dropped by 3% in general pubs. High-ranked games show a similar decline, with a 5% decrease in win rate. The main culprit behind this shift appears to be the nerf to Kez’s Raptor Dance:
- Now follows global Lifesteal rules (as a result, gained creep penalty)
- No longer provides debuff immunity and a hard dispel
- Now provides a basic dispel and 0.1s invulnerability period on cast, and complete magic damage immunity for the duration
Keeping you on the edge of your seat
Patch 7.38 has just dropped, and it’s still sizzling hot! Players worldwide are diving in, experimenting with the wide array of changes—from the map and neutrals, to items and heroes. There’s still plenty of time ahead to uncover hidden buffs and nerfs that could shift the meta even further, potentially altering this list.
As we continue to explore Patch 7.38, expect the winners and losers to evolve. Check out the full patch notes here.
