Dota 2 Patch 7.38b – Overview & Analysis

A few days after the arrival of the Wandering Waters update, the Dota 2 patch 7.38b is also here. As expected, Valve decided to bring some much-needed balance changes and fixes. The team at Blix.gg analyzed everything, so let’s see everything new that you should be aware of.

General Updates

The general updates are the first new thing we want to discuss in the Dota 2 patch 7.38b. There are several big changes that you should read about here, but here are some of the more important ones:

• The item grace period when swapping to the main inventory is now 5s instead of 3s.
• Each team member will get 175 gold instead of 250 when the Tormentor is down. 
• Meepo’s clones, Arc Warden’s Tempest Double, and Dazzle’s Nothl Projection can’t pick up lotuses.

Item Updates

The next aspect we want to focus on following the Dota 2 patch 7.38b is related to items. There are changes to both regular and neutral items, so here are some of the more interesting alternatives:

• Heaven’s Halberd will no longer require a Ring of Regen, and the recipe costs 450 instead of 275.
• Eye of Skadi’s melee MS slow is now 25% instead of 20%. On top of that, the cold attack no longer has a separate attack speed slow value against melee targets.
• Pig Oike’s Bobus MS is 20%, its CD is now 20s, and its duration is 3s.

Hero Changes

It seems like Valve decided to wait a few days to see which heroes stand out in the new meta. Now that Patch 7.38b is here, however, the company decided to bring a few small changes to most heroes. Let’s take a look at some of the most intriguing options:

• Abaddon’s Memphitic Shroud now increases Aphotic Shield’s duration to 14s instead of 17s. The hero’s Mist Coil deals less damage and heals, and its cast range is reduced. On top of that, Aphotic Shield costs more mana on levels 1-3 and lasts for 12s instead of 15s. Lastly, Borrowed Time with an Aghs Scepter now has Mist Coil’s Cast Range instead of 900.
• Dragon Knight’s Fire Dragon Facet got slightly nerfed. Dragon Tail’s AoE is now 100 instead of 175, and Wyrm’s Wratg now does less magic damage on attacks.
• Winter Wyvern – The Recursive Facet will no longer allow Winter’s Curse to amplify magical, pure, and physical damage taken from WW. Speaking of the ultimate, cursed targets won’t be immune to damage from WW, and the ability’s cooldown is up on all 3 levels.

Conclusion

Don’t forget to read all of the changes in the latest Dota 2 patch before you start playing. As expected, some of the biggest changes are related to the most popular heroes. While it is true that they are still good, we expect to see changes in their win ratings.