After weeks of promising a major content update post The International 2023, Valve released 7.34e to a collective groan from the Dota 2 fanbase. This reaction stems from the bare-bones balance patch that 7.34e turned out to be instead of the huge content update that was initially promised.
The patch turned out to be tiny with minor nerfs to heroes that dominated the TI season throughout October and November. The nerfs given to these heroes are nowhere near what players expected, with the win rates and pick rates of the popular heroes still lingering around the same level they were pre-TI12, according to Dota2ProTracker.
The unanimous reaction from the community to this minor patch can be pretty much summed up a Reddit thread titled, “7,34e is trash.”
And it’s not just players and fans over the internet that are puzzled—this disappointment extends to well-known people within the Dota 2 sphere as well. Even Dota 2 personality Wykrhm Reddy seemed to be at a loss for words about what was next to come from Valve.
With TI12 being a bust in terms of its prize pool not holding up anywhere near to the previous years, followed by a meager balance patch, fans seem to be at their collective wits’ end with Valve. The community was already disappointed with the lack of a Battle Pass and unlockable Arcanas this year, with 7.34e being the final nail in the coffin.
The disappointment from the community is further amplified by Valve’s inability to deliver on its promises throughout the second half of this year. With features like the development blog giving fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the game being barely updated beyond the first post, Valve has yet to justify its lack of transparency with its dedicated community.
The next event that Valve is set to release is the Christmas-themed event of Frostivus. If the previous years’ Frostivus events are anything to go by, we will probably be getting a new game mode with rewards attached to it. The rewards will probably consist of certain cosmetics and treasures if Valve decides to follow the same pattern it has since the original Frostivus.
What’s next in the future of Dota 2? Only time will tell if the development of this game will proceed as smoothly as Valve initially promised in the coming years. After scrapping the DPC format post-TI12, the future of the competitive scene is uncertain at best.
Oh well, at least we’re getting the Ringmaster soon, right Valve?
