It took a while but we’ve finally got it! A much-needed update is finally here for DOTA 2, and although it might not be a huge one, it is still something players can look forward to. Truly, a breath of fresh air is sorely needed in this overplayed patch!
Don’t get us wrong, when we say “small”, this does not mean that there is nothing insignificant about this update—trust us, there is quite a bit that we are covering in this DOTA 2 patch. So without any dilly-dallying, let us begin!
New Hero: Muerta
Finally, a new hero is entering the fray. We’ve already got a glimpse of Muerta but now, we know what she is all about and naturally, we are extremely excited to play her. Her design is really unique and her skill set is very much different compared to other heroes.
First, let us break down her skills and how they work:
Skill 1: Dead Shot
Dead Shot is a fun skill to use and can open up some serious play if used properly. If the player were to use this skill point target, it will just be a regular nuke and slow. This is already really good because the animation is really fast which can lead to a lot of unexpected surprises.
Another quirk to this skill is its ricochet. Once the bullet bounces (on a unit, even a tree) and hits a hero, the hero will run away with the Fear status. So, Dead Shot is not just a nuke but a disabling ability as well.
Skill 2: The Calling
Just imagine Warlock’s Upheaval but way better. The Calling is an AOE ability that slows anybody inside the circle. Around that circle, there will be ghosts circling around and heroes that are caught by them will receive damage and be feared.
This is a really strong team fight ability and is also insane in cutting off the enemy’s escape route. Timed correctly, you can cast this spell and have the ghosts hit the enemy immediately, making it another useful disabling skill that technically has no cast animation.
Skill 3: Gunslinger
Being the sharpshooter she is, Muerta’s passive ability allows her to fire another shot randomly when she is attacking. The great thing about this skill is that you will not need to worry about the shot hitting creeps or neutral as it prioritises heroes.
This ability makes Muerta scale really well with damage-based items, greatly boosting her carry potential. Also, this passive works wonder for farming, especially if she has a Maelstrom.
Ultimate Skill: Pierce the Veil
Muerta final ability, Pierce the Veil, changes her into an ethereal form where she also gains phased mobility. Here, normal physical attacks will not work against her and also, she deals extra bonus damage in this form.
The best part about this skill is that Muerta is able to hit ethereal targets with her normal attacks. Beware Necrophos and Pugna players, this move is a serious counter to your heroes. However, there is one small caveat. During this form, Muerta will not be able to hit magic-immune targets. Meaning once her target activates their BKB, she won’t be able to do much.
On paper, all of her skills make Muerta a bona fide Mid/Carry hero. While that is true, we do also see her being a viable Support. Just make sure you are building her correctly and she can almost fit into any lineup with her current toolkit.
New Mini-Game
Remember how we loved the Phantom Assassin and Oracle event back in the day? Well, those good times are coming back as this patch is bringing us a small event with rather generous rewards.
Once they’ve entered a game, the player will receive a target which they will need to take down and when they achieve this, they will gain a score point. Your enemy team will have a target as well so don’t expect them to be lying around. Take your target’s head as much as you can but remember to also protect your friends that are being targeted.
These points can be used to purchase Treasures that contain gorgeous hero sets that you will need to open using a special key. Normally, getting this key requires you to pay with real money—you can still do that—but right now, you can actually purchase them from the Shard Shop. Essentially, you can grind these keys with matches alone!
Changes to Turbo Mode
When Turbo was first introduced, we all loved it, at least we do. It is a mode where you can kick back and relax instead of being drowned in the sea of competitiveness of normal matches. That said, the mode still has some problems of its own and we’re glad to see Valve making some positive changes to it.
Right now, hero picks are completely blind which means the opposing team will not know what heroes you and your team are picking. This a good change because there are some players who would wait for the enemy to pick first and then counter-pick them immediately.
Other than that, Towers will now take lesser damage from summoned units. No longer will we be cheesed out by Nature Prophet, Beastmaster and Lycan picks. Before, these heroes can demolish a Tower at an absurd speed, making having the lead completely useless. We’re really glad that is gone now.
Hero achievements like challenges and Arcana progress are now more recognised in Turbo. For challenges, heroes will receive two stars and Arcana achievements are now properly credited.
New UI and Features
Do note that this is for Dota Plus subscribers who get access to additional data for their matches. As DOTA 2 has a really steep learning curve, we highly recommend new players subscribe to it if they can. And if you plan to do so, be sure to get it using our Steam Wallet Codes here.
The newly enhanced Dota Plus perks will include a more in-depth analysis of your past matches. Now, you will be able to dive more deeply into small details that are role-centric. The analysis will tell how you can be better as a Support, Carry, Mid-Laner or an Offlaner.
For non-Dota Plus additional features, the friend list is now very much improved. Over the years, we are pretty sure you would have gathered and met countless Dota buddies. This will unknowingly fill up your friend list and they’ll stay there, even after they quit the game for good.
Now, you can actually bookmark your friends! By bookmarking them, you can favourite your usual Dota mates so when you want to invite them to your party, you will not need to scroll through hundreds of profiles to do so.
Biggest Winners and Losers
Like with all patches, there are some who win and some who lose. Losers are usually items or heroes that are really overpowered in the previous patch and vice versa for the winners.
Let’s first check the biggest winners of this patch:
Anti-Mage
Aside from receiving a small buff on his attack animation, his Ultimate will now mini-stun all units caught by it. This can come in really clutch in dire moments.
Clinkz
Getting out of Skeleton Walk will now spawn one Burning Army Skeleton. This is a huge early-game buff to Clinkz’s damage output which is already decently high.
Sand King
Epicenter now has improved slow effects for targets that are caught in it. This means running away from it is way harder.
Keeper of the Light
You will need 7 attacks to kill his Will-o-Wisp. This might not be a big change from 6 to 7 but even for one second you are caught in it can mean death.
For the losers of this patch:
Riki
Perhaps the biggest receiving end of the nerf hammer. Increased cooldown and significantly reduced cast range on his Sleeping Dart means bye-bye to Riki support.
Rubick
Telekinesis will no longer have the added perks of reduced cooldowns when used on allies. Honestly, this skill will still be viable for what it does, but a significant nerf nonetheless.
Snapfire
A huge decrease to her Shard cookie upgrade’s damage. This automatically translates that she can now no longer clear waves with it which weakens her farming a lot.
Death Prophet
Overall nerfs to her stats and Talent bonuses. She is now less beefy than before and that alone is a big hit for DP as she needs to be able to soak up hits for her team.
Whew! That’s it! You’ve made it until the end. Of course, these are not all the changes in this patch but are mighty significant ones. Be sure to test them out by playing the game yourself on Steam and have fun until the next big patch drops!
