ESTNN's Dota 2 Writer Veselin Ignatov breaks down Dota 2's new Patch 7.22.

Valve introduced the newest patch in Dota 2 just a few days ago, and like with all new patches, this one comes with some changes to the meta. Many of the most popular heroes receivec different changes, which is why it’s important to point out some of the more important ones so players can start to dominate their games.

Alchemist

As expected, the biggest winner in this “Scepter patch” is Alchemist. Now, with Scepter equipped or synthesized, players gain a bonus +30 Damage and + 6% Spell Amp for each Scepter that a player gives allies at any point in the game.

The overall game changes in 7.22 are definitely going to make the games longer. That’s why Alchemist will begin to become more and more popular unless the nerf hammer comes into play. If the current changes remain, the hero will be able to consume one and give four other Scepters, which translates to a +150 Damage and + 30% Spell Amplification. Not bad for an item that won’t even take up an inventory slot.

Chaos Knight

Chaos Knight has been a somewhat situational pick, especially during pro games. After the recent changes, however, this will most likely change.

Apart from the Aghs addition (which reduces the damage that is being received by his illusions), CK’s Chaos Bolt is the main attraction. Valve has buffed the minimum and maximum damage, as well as increasing the stun duration. As a trade-off, the cooldown of the spell is increased but only for levels 1, 2 and 3.

More Chaos Bolt damage translates to a better laning stage simply because Chaos Knight will be able to bully people out of his lane.

Anti-Mage

Anti-Mage is not necessarily the hero that players associate with an Aghanim Scepter. It was always a decent item, but 99% of the pub AM players never bought it.

In 7.22, however, AM’s Scepter increases the stun duration of Mana Void by one second. In addition, whenever someone dies from the spell, he/she will have a +70 seconds CD to the highest CD ability of the hero. What’s more, the cooldown starts once the enemy respawns, not before it.

As we know, Anti-Mage is one of the faster farmers in-game. If he gets a decent laning stage, the hero can fill up all six slots in around 30 minutes or so. After that, most AM players decide to get a Moon Shard, but now, this will most likely not be the case anymore.

The addition of a 70 seconds CD can be devastating during the later stages of the game. As we know, there are plenty of heroes that rely heavily on one crucial spell to win them the fight.

Keeper of the light

Sadly, one of the most annoying spells in Dota 2 has returned to the game. After the recent buffs, Chakra Magic basically functions nearly the same as Mana Leak. The only difference is that it drains a certain percentage of the current mana, instead of the max mana.

The other buff to KotL is - you guessed it - his Aghanim Scepter. It now causes Illuminate to not require channeling, which is a very welcomed buff. It will provide better sustain whenever the team is going for a push to the enemy high ground.

Invoker

Valve also granted the almighty mage, Invoker, a few changes. Despite the fact that his base damage is been increased by 3, the Exort attack damage per instance is slightly reduced. Apart from that, Invoker’s level 10 and 20 talents also receive a slight buff.

All in all, fans should welcome the changes since Invoker hasn't been in the best shape lately. The days of the first-picking Invoker in professional games are long gone.

Timbersaw

Timbersaw is one of the few heroes that Valve gave a ton of buffs. Timber has always been one of the biggest pains to deal with, as, given a proper start, the hero can easily snowball out of control and completely dominate the game. He received various nerfs before but it seems like IceFrog has decided that enough is enough.

In this patch, Timbersaw has more Strength, Intelligence, Base armor and, arguably, stronger talents. This will definitely put him on the radar for the professional teams.

In terms of pub games, according to DotaBuff, the pick and win rate of the hero is slowly increasing. Despite that, the hero still has one of the worst win rates in Dota 2. The main reason behind this is probably due to the high skill-cap that the hero requires for players to play well.

Dark Willow

The annoying fairy is back yet again. The Scepter upgrade allows Dark Willow to no longer get out of Shadow Realm when Attacking. In addition, each attack still has bonus damage based on the duration of the buff. Her level 15 talent’s GPM is increased by 30 (+120 now) and the level 20 talent now provides -12 seconds CD reduction to Bramble Maze CD instead of +300 Shadow Realm Max Damage.

Unfortunately, these changes will allow DW to become some sort of a right-clicking beast. Expect a Mjolnir-Daedalus Willow in your next pub game.

Conclusion

Of course, there are many other heroes who got various buffs but are not included. If you have not read the full patch notes yet, be sure to click here. It will be very interesting to see how will this meta develop in the future. The first big event played on the new patch will be ESL One Birmingham, which starts tomorrow.

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