Valve decided to drop the Dota 2 Patch 7.38c just a few days ago, and the new update turned out to be bigger than expected. Following our analysis of everything new in patch 7.38c, it is time to look at the first hero trends. Although it’s only been a couple of days since the new update became available, we can already see clear meta changes.
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Win Rate Boost
As expected, the numerous hero changes after 7.38c have greatly affected several heroes. Let’s learn more about them.
Templar Assassin
Based on the stats from DotaBuff, Templar Assassin is the biggest winner so far because her win rates are up by more than 3.39% after the latest changes.
There are several reasons why Templar Assassin suddenly became way stronger than before. One of them is because of the buffs to Refraction because the ability’s cooldown is now 14s instead of 16s. On top of that, TA’s best ability now has 3/4/5/6 instances instead of 2/3/4/5, making it a lot more efficient.
The second buff that TA received is for Meld, and it’s related to a bug. Now that it is fixed, the Meld effect will apply to both attacks even if the ability was used fast in quick succession. Aside from that, the hero’s level 25 talent allows refraction to get +4 instead of +3 instances, making it even better than it is.
Besides the specific hero changes, Desolator also received a small buff in 7.38c because the item gives +55 instead of +50 damage. This change is important for Templar Assassin because Desolator is one of her go-to items. In other words, every change related to it impacts her overall effectiveness.
Lycan
The second Dota 2 hero whose win rate increased after the 7.38c Dota 2 patch is Lycan. Like Templar Assassin, Lycan was not the go-to option in the previous meta, but it seems like things are changing.
Among the reasons for Lycan’s success is the buffs. If we look at the changelog, we will see that his base STR is now 28 instead of 26. Furthermore, his level 1 melee damage is now 52-57 instead of 50-55, allowing him to secure more last hits than before.
Alongside these buffs, Lycan also received a bonus because of some item changes. Similar to TA, the buff to Desolator helps him (although this is not the hero’s go-to item). Helm of the Dominator and Helm of the Overlord also received buffs because the creep becomes a creep-hero. In other words, enemies can’t “steal” it or kill it using items like Hand of Midas.
Wraith King
Wraith King is one of the heroes that was trendy following the Dota 2 patch 7.38 update. To be honest, people expected to see different nerfs because he was among the go-to carries in the meta. Instead, WK became even stronger after patch 7.38c because his win rate is up by almost 2%.
Wraith King received several interesting changes in the new patch. Bone Guard, one of his facets, now allows Bone Guard to have 42s CD instead of 50s. As for the Skeleton duration, the latter is up from 40s to 46s. His level 10 talent that provided +25%/-25% Bone Guard Duration/Cooldown is now different, and it adds +2s Wraithfire Blast Slow Duration.
Alongside the Facet, Wraith King’s Wraithfire Blast also has less cooldown on levels 1-3. As for reincarnation, the mana cost is slightly higher than before (225 instead of 220).
Once again, Desolator’s buff is another thing that makes WK more popular than before. Not everyone goes for the deso build on WK, but now that the item is much better, we expect to see more of it.
Win Rate Loss
Even though a lot of Dota 2 heroes received buffs and became more popular than before, others weren’t that lucky. Let’s skim through some of the biggest losers following the 7.38c Dota 2 patch.
Dazzle
Dazzle was one of the most successful heroes after the Dota 2 7.38 patch. The hero is an excellent support, but some players often use him as a core. Surprisingly, his win rate sky-rocketed and reached more than 54% at one point. Sadly, this is no longer the case because Dazzle lost more than 4% of his win rate at the time of writing.
Dazzle got big nerfs, which is not surprising, considering his previous success. Starting with Shadow Wave, it no longer has extra healing and damage when it bounces on enemies with an Aghs.
Nothl Projection also got nerfed because the cast range is down from 600 to 450. The Max Duration also decreased from 15s to 12s, and the leash pull str growth increased from 0.5 to 1.5.
Dazzle’s level 10 talent now gives Poison Touch a +200 attack range instead of +300. As for the level 15 talent, it provides +5 Nothl Projection Duration instead of +90 Attack Speed.
Abaddon
Abaddpm was the go-to hero in Dota 2 in the last couple of months. He was the most successful hero in the game in terms of win rate. In fact, even after the nerfs following 7.38c, he continues to be strong and his current win rate is 52%.
In terms of nerfs, Abaddon has a few big changes you need to know. The first one is related to his base armor, which is down by 1. On top of that, the Mephitic Shroud allows Aphotic Shield to have 15/13/11/9s CD instead of 14/12/10/8s.
Curse of Avernus remains the same, but the ability no longer deals damage to buildings. This is a big nerf for people who want to use Abaddon as a carry.
Moving on to the talent, his level 15 gives Curse of Avernus +40 DPS instead of +50. As for his level 25 talent, Curse of Avernus adds +65 AS instead of 80. These nerfs mean that we expect more people to use Abaddon as support instead of a core.
Conclusion
The new Dota 2 patch arrived just a few days ago, so we can’t wait to see the meta changes that are about to take place. ESL One Raleigh 2025 will be the first big Dota 2 tournament on the new patch, and it will be intriguing to see how some of the best in the world will take advantage of the new changes. Don’t forget to follow Blix.gg for more information.
