Dota 2 Patch 7.40: The Largo New Hero, Winter Treasure, and Full Gameplay Changes

Dota 2 Patch 7.40 is now live, bringing the new hero The Largo, the Winter Treasure 2025 Collector’s Cache, and a massive batch of gameplay updates. This patch includes notable hero reworks, neutral item changes, terrain tweaks, and important item adjustments that will shape the meta. Here’s a full breakdown of the biggest Patch 7.40 changes and what they mean.

The Largo Is the New Dota 2 Hero in Patch 7.40

Even though we expected the new hero to be called “Bard Frog”, Valve decided to name him “The Largo”. He is a strength hero that looks like a frog and has four distinct abilities. There is a lot to talk about him, but we will make a separate The Largo Dota 2 guide, where we’ll go through everything in detail. You can learn more about him, as well as all of the other new things, by clicking here.

Winter Treasure 2025: Collector’s Cache Sets, Price, and How It Works

In addition to the latest Dota 2 hero, players also have access to the Collector’s Cache. This is the latest Winter Cache that features 16 sets for several heroes, and we think it looks awesome. Currently, you can get the following sets for some of the following Dota 2 heroes:

• Tiny – Stone Giant Stronghold
• Centaur Warrunner – Cunning Counterfeit
• Silencer – Worship of the Whispered Wing
• Morphling – Fluid Frenzy
• Ringmaster – Harrow’s Harvest
• Enigma – Angel of the Abyss
• Broodmother – The White Widow
• Primal Beast – Prehistoric Predator
• Shadow Fiend – Lord of the Sunded Souls

Each Winter 2025 Collector’s Cache costs 2.65 EUR.

Dota 2 Patch 7.40 Gameplay Update: Biggest Changes and Reworks

Alongside the newest Dota 2 hero and the Winter 2025 Collector’s Cache, Valve also dropped patch 7.40. It features tons of different reworks and changes that we’d like to share, so let’s begin.

Although the 7.40 Dota 2 patch features tons of changes, there are a few major ones that we believe deserve more attention.

Patch 7.40 Featured Hero Changes: Lone Druid, Slark, Treant

Starting with Lone Druid, the hero’s Bear now has its own talent tree, and she can root enemies with a new entangle ability.

Slark is next on the list, and he is interesting because Essence Shift is now an innate ability. Instead of it, the hero gets something called Saltwater Shiv, which allows him to steal the enemy’s health regeneration and movement speed.

Lastly, we have Treant Protector, and his Overgrowth got a big upgrade and is more dangerous than ever.

New Neutral Items in Patch 7.40 (Tier 1, 4, and 5)

Valve also decided to add a few Neutral Items:

• Weighted Dice (Tier 1) – When calculating your base damage or creep bounty from last hits, the value is computed 2 times, and the highest value is taken.
• Idol of Scree’Auk (Tier 4) – The item lets you gain 50% slow resistance, phased movement and 25% evasion for 5 seconds when used.
• Riftshadow Prism (Tier 5) – You can spend 10% of your current HP to create an illusion with full HP that lasts for 20 seconds. The illusion has 50% outgoing damage and takes 240% incoming damage.

Patch 7.40 Terrain Changes: Key Map Updates You Should Know

As expected, Valve decided to focus a lot on improving the Dota 2 terrain in the 7.40 patch. There are many small changes that players need to know, such as those to the Wisdom Shrines, the Bridge on both sides, and the Defender’s Gate. Each one is slightly different, so we recommend checking the full update to get an idea.

Patch 7.40 Gameplay Changes: Talents, Roshan Lifesteal, and Core Mechanics

In addition to the points mentioned so far, we have an extensive change log that has loads of new features that we need to address. For example, talents will no longer require a skill point to level. Instead, they will be learned by using their own talent points that will be available at the specific levels.

There are also changes to some of the map objectives. For example, Roshan won’t be considered a hero for lifeteal mechanics, which means that physical lifesteal is reduced by 40%. As for the Magical Lifesteal, it is down by 80%.

There are also changes to the terrain and Captains Mode.

Patch 7.40 Item Changes: Ethereal Blade, Guardian Greaves, Radiance

The 7.40 Dota 2 patch comes with tons of item changes. Here are some of the most interesting new things:

• Ethereal Blade now requires Ultimate Orb instead of Aether Lens. The item’s overall cost is down to 5200 from 5375 because the recipe’s cost is now 900 instead of 1600.
• Guardian Greaves no longer requires Buckler. Its recipe cost is also down from 1450 to 1125, resulting in an overall cost of 4300 instead of 5050.
• Radiance – Evasion bonus is now +25% instead of +15%. Moreover, the item will no longer cause enemies to miss 15% of their attacks, and it no longer does extra damage to illusions.

Neutral Item Rotation in 7.40: Removed Items and New Additions

Aside from the three new Dota 2 neutral items mentioned earlier, there are a few others that have been removed. Here are those that are new and those that we won’t have access to anymore:

• Magnifying Monocle, Outworld Staff, Brigand’s Blade, Pyrrhic Cloak, Gale Guard, Sister’s Shroud, Ripper’s Lash, and Helm of the Undying are out.
• Ash Legion Shield (Tier 1) – When you activate this item, it decreases the wearer’s movement speed by 12 and gives all player-controlled units a 140% physical damage barrier for 6s.
• Flayer’s Bota – a Tier 4 artifact that has bloodthirst, which increases the wearer’s base damage by 15% and AS by 30 for 6s. Passively, the item also provides Bloodrush, which resets the ability’s CD when someone dies. It also has Dormant Curio, which increases bonus base damage from 15% to 19.5% and the AS from 30 to 39.
• Idol of Scree’Auk – A Tier 4 item that has False Flight. When used, it grants phase movement, 50% slow resistance, and 25% evasion for 5s. It costs no mana and has 30s CD. Dormant curio increases duration from 5s to 6.5s.
• Metamorphic Mandible – It is a Tier 4 item that has Pupate. When used, the wearer enters in a specific form that grants him 35% magic resistance and 15% MS bonus for 4s. During that time, his size is down by 15% and armor by 45%.

Patch 7.40 Hero Updates: Notable Buffs, Nerfs, and Facet Changes

Of course, the Dota 2 Patch 7.40 also comes with loads of hero updates. We already included some of the big changes to Slark, Treant, and Lone Druid, so here are just a few other examples.

• Axe – Berserker’s Call has slightly higher duration and CD; Battle Hunger now does pure damage but does not scale from Axe’s armor and does not slow MS against creeps.
• Batrider’s facet Arsonist no longer has decreased umber of +2 All Attributes bonuses.
• Necrophos – Reaper’s Scythe now gives 1/2/3 instead of 2/4/6 HP regen per kill. His Facet Profane Potency now gives 35 AOE per kill instead of 40 from Sadist.

There are tons of other hero changes, so we can safely say that Valve has done it – the meta is different. Don’t forget to follow us for more details because we will share everything you need to know about The Largo, Dota 2’s newest hero.

Dota 2 Patch 7.40 Conclusion: What This Update Means for the Meta

Dota 2 Patch 7.40 is a major update that brings plenty of fresh content and meaningful balance changes. The headline addition is The Largo, a new Strength hero with a distinctive kit that could quickly influence drafts once players figure out the best builds and matchups. Alongside the new hero, Valve also launched the Winter Treasure 2025 Collector’s Cache, delivering 16 cosmetic sets for 2.65 EUR.

Beyond content drops, Patch 7.40 pushes the meta forward with key hero reworks (including Lone Druid, Slark, and Treant Protector), a reshuffled pool of neutral items with new Tier 1/4/5 options, and impactful item changes to staples like Ethereal Blade, Guardian Greaves, and Radiance. Add in the terrain updates, talent system tweaks, Roshan lifesteal adjustments, and changes to Captains Mode, and it’s clear this patch isn’t just a small refresh — it’s a real shift that players will feel in both pubs and competitive play.