The new Dota 2 patch 7.34d isn’t bringing any earth-shaking changes to the picture — but it might lead to a healthier meta at The International.
Dota 2’s latest patch consists minor number adjustments to the most and least meta-impactful heroes and items, while about half of the hero pool didn’t receive any changes at all.
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7.34d’s biggest nerf might be for an often-abused neutral item
Heroes that dominated DreamLeague S21, which ended September 25, like Phantom Assassin, Gyrocopter, and Pangolier were hit with some small nerfs. Meanwhile, we also see small buffs for less-seen heroes like Ogre Magi, Magnus, Spectre and Abaddon.
The single most impactful change in the whole patch was likely for Ninja Gear, the tier four neutral item that was arguably one of the most abused items in the whole game. Ninja Gear lets you cast Smoke of Deceit on yourself, letting certain heroes move and farm with impunity around the map. It received a major cooldown nerf, from 45 seconds to 60 seconds, and the Smoke is also now removed when the hero loses Ninja Gear — preventing heroes from using it and putting it in the backpack.
All in all, this patch isn’t particularly exciting — but with TI12 just around the corner, “exciting” is probably best left for the tournament itself, rather than any groundbreaking changes. Hopefully, all this minor pushes and pulls will help stabilize hero power levels in the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year, scheduled to run from October 12 to 29.
You can read the full 7.34d patch notes here.
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