Dota 2
Frostivus 2023 and the 7.35 Dota 2 patch improved our favorite game. The community was fed up with the current patch, so it was time for Valve to give us access to something new.
Speaking of the devil, the most recent changes have changed many things. We have access to new items and numerous hero changes. This had an enormous effect on the meta, resulting in the massive popularity of certain heroes.
As expected, the 7.35b Dota 2 patch arrived just a few days after the first one, and it addressed some heroes and items that were too strong. There are also a few intriguing buffs, so let's learn more about them.
Item Nerfs
Although some items got slightly buff, such as Manta Style, others received pretty big nerfs. There are a few options worth mentioning, but Solar Crest stands out. In fact, the nerfs are so big that this item will disappear from the professional meta.
What's new in the Dota 2 Patch 7.35b about Solar Crest is that the item provides less armor, fewer stats, and costs 100 mana. If that's not enough, using it on yourself no longer gives you MS and AS. These changes make Solar Crest one of the worst items in the game right now, so most players will simply stop buying it.
Kaya and Sange also got a slight nerf because the item only grants a +12% spell amp instead of a +16%.
Hero Buffs
If we read the 7.35b Dota 2 patch notes, we can see that most heroes got nerfed. However, there are some exceptions because we also got a few intriguing buffs. Starting with Juggernaut, he is usually not one of the heroes that receives a lot of changes, but Valve decided to make him a bit more popular.
After the new patch, Juggernaut's Blade Fury now costs 100 mana on all levels instead of 120/110/100/90, and his damage per tick is up but 10 on all levels. Even though he will need a bit more mana to use it later on, the ability is much more effective in the early and mid-game.
Lycan is another hero who received a lot of changes, which is not surprising. Following the 7.35 Dota 2 patch, Lycan became one of the worst heroes to get and had an abysmal win rate. Valve has been taking notes because the Dota 2 Patch 7.35b gave 3 buffs:
- Summon Wolves now do more damage than before
- Shapeshift gives +50 more HP on all levels and 160/200/240% crit damage instead of 160/190/220%.
Another name that deserves to be mentioned is Templar Assassin. The most recent update reduced the mana cost of Refraction and its cooldown. On top of that, TA's Psi Blades now give 50 more range on all levels.
Last, we have Phantom Assassin, the hero we haven't seen. She got a lot of new things, such as bonus damage to Fan of Knives and Stifling Dagger, as well as extra AS from Phantom Strike. Moreover, her Blur now lasts 5s longer.
Tiny
After reading the Dota 2 Patch 7.35b patch notes, Tiny deserves special attention because the hero gets 3 significant updates. Many people might be surprised by this, but it is worth knowing that he was among the worst picks during ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. It's been a while since we've seen Tiny in such a position, so Valve decided to buff him.
After the update, Avalanche and Toss deal more damage, whereas Tree Grab's Splash Damage is up on levels 1-3. Remember that Tiny also got buffs in 7.35, so we expect to see him back in action soon.
Hero nerfs
If we analyze the previous smaller patches after a big update, we see that they usually have a lot of nerfs. The Dota 2 Patch 7.35b is not an exception because some of the best heroes received nerfs after the first couple of days from 7.35.
Starting with Leshrac, one of the best midders, he got a slight chance to Split Earth and his Lightning Storm. The latter removes less attack speed on levels 1-3, whereas the stun has less radius with a Shard and comes with an 11s CD instead of 9.
Timbersaw also receives nerfs. His Whirling Death costs more on levels 2-4, and Reactive Armor provides 0.1 less armor on all levels. The latter seems less, but it can make a difference against certain opponents.
Even though many other Dota 2 heroes received nerfs in the most recent patch, Outworld Destroyer deserves special attention. His Arcane Orb and Astral Imprisonment now do less damage than before, whereas Essence Flux has 20s extra CD with an Aghanim's Scepter. As for OD's ultimate, Mana Allergy doesn't do damage anymore, making it significantly less effective in some scenarios.
Conclusion
There are a lot of other exciting changes you should look at when analyzing the Dota 2 7.35b patch, so make sure to read everything.
