Even though most of us did not expect to see a new patch, 7.34c arrived, and it changed a lot of the heroes we know. The patch does not include any ground-breaking changes, but some heroes have become stronger than others.
The 7.34c patch is still new, so we don’t have that much PUB game data yet. However, what we do have is information about the heroes who received buffs and those who were nerfed. You may be surprised, but some changes will have an enormous effect on the professional meta. It’s also worth noting there are a few minor item updates. The changes mostly affect Neutral Items, so make sure to check them out before playing.
Read more: DreamLeague Season 21 Overview, Teams, and Schedule
Now, let’s learn more about the heroes who got stronger and those who are weaker after the patch.
The winners
Regarding the Dota 2 Patch 7.34c winners, some heroes deserve a lot more attention than others. We won’t be able to go through everything because this article will be very long. Instead, we will only share some details about the most impressive buffs.
Arc Warden
Despite the fact Arc Warden has been buffed several times lately, the hero hasn’t been that popular. He was never a solid pick among professional players, but if we check the stats, we can see he was never a good PUB star, either. With that said, the buffs from 7.34c may change things, because he receives two big updates.
First, the hero’s Spark Wraith now deals more damage at levels 2,3, and 4, allowing him to farm faster and be more effective at killing enemies. Besides that, the latest Dota 2 patch also allows his Tempest Double to spawn with full HP and Mana. In other words, he can use a lot more abilities, and it will be more difficult for the enemy team to bring him down.
Axe
When talking about popular offlaners, Dota 2 has a handful of them, but only a few come close to Axe. He’s been synonymous with this position for a long time, which explains why Pro and Casual players always use him.
Even though Axe hasn’t been a part of the meta for a while now, the Dota 2 Patch 7.34c is about to change that. The hero received 3 big buffs which will make him more popular and efficient.
Starting with Berserker’s Call, the ability now has 15 extra range, bringing its total to 315 range. It might not seem like much, but it will drastically improve the hero’s ability to ‘call’ his enemies.
The next thing that’s new about Axe is Culling Blade. The ultimate now deals a bit more damage than before, which is good news for people who are not good at killing their opponents with it. Although, it’s definitely better to focus on finishing them off because it makes Axe way more effective.
The last change from 7.34c affecting Axe is related to the Level 10 talent. Instead of granting him 8 armor, using Berserker’s Call will now grant the hero +10 armor, making him even harder to kill.
Bristleback
The last hero we’re expecting will see an uptick in popularity is Bristleback. Although he was popular in the earlier 7.34 patches, the hero hasn’t been that big in the current patch. However, after the drop of 7.34c, it seems like we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in action.
In terms of his changes, Bristleback received +3 base damage buff, allowing him to have an easier time last hitting. What’s more, Viscous Nasal Goo now removes 3 armor from the enemies instead of 2 ‘ increasing Bristleback’s effectiveness against his opponents.
Lastly, Bristleback’s level 15 talent now grants his Goo +250 range instead of +150. This is probably one of his biggest changes, because it makes the ability way more efficient.
The losers
Even though a lot of heroes received buffs from the Dota 2 Patch 7.34c, some of them were also nerfed. We expected to see some nerfs because, during TI 12 qualifiers, certain heroes were much more popular than the rest. With that said, let’s learn more about them and see which will be the potential underdogs at The International 12.
Beastmaster
One of the top-tier Dota 2 offlaners we were expecting to see a lot at TI 12 is Beastmaster. Even though many top-tier Dota 2 players will probably keep using this hero as part of their strats, he did receive some nerfs that have to be taken into account.
The first one is related to his Wild Hawk ‘ it now has less HP and costs more mana. This means BM will have a harder time using the ability to keep the bird alive.
The second change to Beastmaster in Dota 2 7.34c is related to Drums of Slom, which no longer considers illusion damage AMP for its healing amount. This is a huge nerf for setups where BM is paired up with certain illusion heroes.
Dark Seer
When talking about offlaners and nerfs, we also need to include Dark Seer, one of the quintessential Dota 2 heroes in this position. Just when we expected to see him a lot more because of his most recent buffs, Valve decided to address some of them. Consequently, the Dota 2 Patch 7.34c has a few important nerfs we need to be aware of.
The first one is to Vacuum. The ability’s damage output is now lower on levels 1,2, and 3. Although it’s the same on level 4, it will no longer be as effective early on.
The second change is to Surge, with the ability’s cooldown increased from 21/17/13/9s to 24/19/14/9s. In other words, it will be difficult for DS to use it in the early game too.
Invoker
The last hero who deserves more attention when talking about the 7.34c losers is Invoker. He received a lot of negatives in the most recent patch, meaning he’ll most likely be relegated to a Tier 2 midder.
Starting with his Base HP regen, it’s now down from 1.5 to 1. His Wex also provides 0.6% MS per instance instead of 0.8% and Tornado deals 50 instead of 70 damage. Moreover, EMP’s Shard Pull Linger duration is up from 0.5s to 0s.
The new patch will definitely have an effect on the current meta, so we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen. Keep an eye on BLIX for more information about Dota 2 and the upcoming TI 12.
