It has been almost two weeks since the launch of Dota 2 Patch 7.32e. The patch was not what players expected although Muerta has been a welcome addition to the roster. As is typical of any new Dota 2 hero, Muerta cannot be picked in captain’s mode and pro-level games as a result due to her yet being untested in the pub scene.
This hasn’t, however, stopped players from experimenting with Muerta and the initial reactions were pretty underwhelming. Now that we have spent some time with Patch 7.32e, she has somewhat found her place in the meta and sits comfortably at a 50-plus percent win rate in the support role. Muerta also pairs well with several of the other heroes that have risen from the ashes in this new meta.
According to stats from spectral.gg, there are several heroes, new and old, that are currently dominating the meta today. We can see a few of these trends popping up in the Dota 2 Pro Circuit’s Spring Tour currently going on as we speak. Reddit user u/ileamare showed all of the major changes happening right now.
To nobody’s surprise, Muerta’s win rate has been going up since players have learned how best to play her. Clinkz is finally getting his time in the spotlight since going unpicked all through TI11 thanks to the buffs to his Skeleton Walk. Since Radiance has been buffed as well, heroes like Wraith King are literally rising from the grave as natural Radiance carriers.
Tinker has always been considered annoying and his spike in win rate can be attributed to Lina’s nerfs. With the rise of these Intelligence heroes, Anti-Mage has slowly crept into the meta once again as well. In response, Night Stalker shuts down these mobile heroes. The meta is shaping up to be teamfight-heavy once again.
Since winners exist, so do losers, and none has lost more than Lina. Going from a first-phase pick/ban down to a subpar 43 percent win rate shows how badly the nerfs have hit her. Joining her is Razor whose shard nerfs have almost destroyed his Bloodstone build, leaving him in a state of limbo.
Another top carry that was hit by nerfs, but not as hard as Lina, is Nature’s Prophet. His Agility and Intelligence nerfs have left him feeling not nearly as strong as before. The offlaners weren’t spared either, with Death Prophet’s Spirit Siphon taking a hit.
And finally, the top support of the last patch, Treant Protector. The nerfs to his Living Armor’s armor boost and Nature’s Guise regen boost dropped his win rate down a bit as well. Thankfully, none of these nerfs were as egregious as Lina’s, which were well-deserved.
Next, we move on to the top two item pickups in this meta, the first of which is Radiance. A cost reduction of 350 gold makes this item much faster to acquire, especially for heroes like Abaddon who aren’t the fastest farmers. Naturally, fast farmers such as Alchemist get this item much faster than normal thanks to Greevil’s Greed, quickly out-farming the enemy cores.
Heroes such as Wraith King and Spectre, who used to build Radiance as their first item are now doing it again. Naga Siren and Lone Druid follow suit, building the item to accelerate their farm and giving them much-needed survivability. This trend extends to the offlane role as well, with heroes such as Necrophos rising from the grave with his Death Pulse buffs as a powerful Radiance carrier.
The other item that is highly prioritized by players is Meteor Hammer. While Radiance is being picked up by core heroes, Meteor Hammer seems to be the item of choice for support heroes. Nyx Assassin and Treant Protector return with their Hammer combos as a follow-up. Riki’s Sleeping Dart was nerfed but Meteor Hammer still keeps him relevant in this meta.
Midlane heroes are no exception to Meteor Hammer as well. The classic Outworld Destroyer-Hammer build makes its resurgence along with the Quas-Wex Invoker build that was rarely picked up before this patch. The unconventional Windranger build with a Meteor Hammer has now become popular as well, although that is better played in a support role.
While the old meta is slowly being phased out, the new changes can be quite exciting. Owing to the rise of new items, a few heroes have come back to the meta with some interesting changes.
The most major shift we have seen so far is Abaddon playing as a safe lane core hero with Radiance and Manta Style. The improvement to his base attack time with the cheaper cost of Radiance propelled this hero into the meta. Manta Style also procs his Curse of Avernus, making it an almost instant silence once he gets on top of someone.
The other item that was buffed, Meteor Hammer, has been very impactful to several heroes. One of them is Dragon Knight, who was already seeing some action in the last patch. The two-second channel time allows him to easily chain his Dragon Tail into a Meteor Hammer follow-up. Combined with the buffs in mana cost to his Fireball, Dragon Knight can take control of a fight easily.
With the nerfs to sustain items, sustain heroes are making their way back into the meta as well. Warlock has had a strong showing so far, with several teams opting to max out his Upheaval and focus on the Upheaval talents as he levels up. The value it provides in teamfights is prompting teams to rush Boots of Bearing, which also got buffed this patch.
The remaining heroes that you occasionally see in games are a direct result of the item changes. Perfect examples of these picks would be the Alchemist/Juggernaut picks due to Radiance, and the Sand King/Nyx Assassin picks due to Meteor Hammer.
Since we are barely two weeks into the meta, these trends could change over time. But as of now, it looks like the road to the Berlin Major is going to be an exciting journey to watch.
