In addition to possessing incredible mechanical skills, professional Dota 2 players are also tasked with identifying the strongest heroes after each patch to gain an advantage over others. The Dota 2 meta looked settled as The International 2022’s group stage came to an end, and from the available pool of over 120 heroes, some were the clear favorites.
With the group stage of TI11 coming to an end on Oct. 18, Enigma, Marci, and Shadow Fiend ended the first part of the tournament as three of the most popular picks.
Despite being one of the classics in Dota 2, Shadow Fiend was considered one of the weaker heroes until gameplay patch 7.32. SF’s Shadowraze was significantly buffed in this version as it started applying a stackable movement and turn rate slow. This change alone turned SF into one of the best mid-lane heroes since his solo kill potential skyrocketed.
Marci’s popularity may have come as a shock to fans since the hero was hit heavily by the nerf hammer in Patch 7.32. Before the nerfs, Marci was a top pick in the meta, and she fell off a little bit after the nerfs. She received a readjustment in Patch 7.32b/7.32c, and it looks like professional players still found a way to turn her into a real threat on the map. While Marci has quite an average win rate in pubs, Marci ended the Last Chance Qualifier with an over 70 percent win rate.
Enigma was another hero that had a rather nice time right after Patch 7.32. Aghanim’s Scepter new Black Hole upgrade granted the spell a pulling effect. Enigma’s Shard upgrade was also swapped for a Malefice stun duration increase by 0.35 per tick. His level 20 talent +400 health was also moved to level 15 with a 50 hp nerf, which allowed the hero to become tanky more quickly.
The remaining table features the top 16 heroes picked in The International 2022’s group stage and their win rates.
| Hero | Number of matches picked in | Number of matches banned in | Win rate |
| Marci | 76 | 105 | 50 percent |
| Shadow Fiend | 71 | 80 | 54.93 percent |
| Undying | 63 | 71 | 49.21 percent |
| Tiny | 61 | 39 | 50.82 percent |
| Primal Beast | 59 | 95 | 50.85 percent |
| Leshrac | 55 | 56 | 56.36 percent |
| Pangolier | 54 | 83 | 46.30 percent |
| Enigma | 47 | 116 | 57.45 percent |
| Snapfire | 44 | 21 | 45.45 percent |
| Crystal Maiden | 43 | 10 | 65.12 percent |
| Silencer | 42 | 47 | 45.24 percent |
| Nyx Assassin | 42 | 38 | 66.67 percent |
| Clockwerk | 39 | 45 | 46.15 percent |
| Morphling | 37 | 91 | 43.24 percent |
| Broodmother | 32 | 78 | 62.5 percent |
| Pudge | 28 | 42 | 64.29 percent |
