The first part of Dota 2‘s patch 7.27 has been released, introducing a number of important changes to some of the most popular items and general updates that could shift how captains prepare for drafts.
Starting with the general changes, Captain’s Mode has received a few serious renovations that will change how teams enter the draft phase.
One of the changes that could impact the game more than most of the item updates is how the first pick phase has switched from Radiant/Dire/Dire/Radiant to Radiant/Dire/Radiant/Dire (or flipped if Dire is picking first). Not only that, but the third ban phase has also been changed from Dire/Radiant to Radiant/Dire/Radiant/Dire.
Captain’s Mode ban count has also received an update, going from 4/1/1 for the three ban phases to 2/3/2
Now, the team with the first pick can potentially gain a new advantage over their opponents during draft phase because of the ban count shifting to 2/3/2. The team with first pick can take their second hero and then essentially eliminate three heroes that counter their pick after making their selection.
This is unlikely to break the game, but for teams like Team Secret that almost always optimize their drafts, this could be a deadly change.
In other general updates, hero kill gold and experience have been cranked up a bit, fixing a big complaint from players that tended to stunt early game growth. With this, players shouldn’t be stuck farming instead of prioritizing kills.
Another big change was made to Outposts, since players can’t make moves to steal Outposts until after taking out at least one of their opponents’ Tier 2 towers. This almost guarantees that players will get their own Outposts’ XP when they first become available 10 minutes in.
Moving on to items, Valve has added a new basic item to the store, Blitz Knuckles, which provide +35 attack speed for 1,000 gold. It has also been added to the Monkey King Bar recipe instead of the Quarterstaff and is also needed to make the Shadow Blade.
The Necronomicon, arguably the most broken item for the entirety of 7.26, got hit with a nerf, though it should still be somewhat useful.
- No longer provides Archer Aura (movement/attack speed of necro units increased with the same amount as the aura provided)
- Attack damage type changed from Piercing to Hero and damage amount adjusted such that the net effect is -57 percent vs creeps, -10 percent vs buildings and +26 percent vs heroes
- Mana regen reduced from 3/3.5/4 to 2/3/4
- Last Will no longer deals damage through Spell Immunity
Helm of the Dominator was hit heavily and will no longer provide aura regen, which will severely impact heroes such as Lycan in the current meta. This will also bring down the usefulness of the Necronomicon in general.
The trio of early items, Bracer, Null Talisman, and Wraith Band all got hit with another nerf, with Bracer getting the worst part of it, losing its Magic Resistance.
- Bracer
- Strength/Intelligence/Agility reduced from 6/3/3 to 5/2/2
- No longer grants +4 percent Magic Resistance
- Now grants +3 Damage and +0.75 HP Regen
- Wraith Band
- Strength/Intelligence/Agility reduced from 6/3/3 to 5/2/2
- Now grants +1.5 Armor and +5 Attack Speed
- Null Talisman
- Strength/Intelligence/Agility reduced from 6/3/3 to 5/2/2
- Now grants +0.6 Mana Regen and +3 percent Spell Amp
And while the other items falter, Blade Mail seems to be making a return, providing an increased Armor bonus and a passive return of 20 plus 20 percent of each attack’s damage. It is unclear how much this will impact the game itself. But from what it was before, Blade Mail will surely be used more in the coming meta than it has been in a long time.
The corresponding hero changes patch should come along in the next week or so, but until then, hop into some pub games and start experimenting with some new builds.
