Patch Impressions: 6.80 January 31st, 2014 23:42 GMT Text by Heyoka Graphics by shiroiusagi

Table of Contents

Players' Thoughts



Casters' Thoughts





See Full Patch Notes on

TeamLiquid See Full Patch Notes on



With the Chinese New Year just days behind us a season of change has begun. New tournaments, different opportunities, and fresh beginnings. Spring is around the corner (allegedly) and we will prepare for the unexpected experiences that lay ahead.



In Dota, that change means time for a balance shift. New heroes, buffed skills, and hammers to those who annoy us in pubs and professional competitions. With 6.80 going live just a few days ago we're in a new era, a time to re-think our favorite heroes and discover the optimal ways to play once again.



We took this as an opportunity to ask those in the know their opinions. Consummate professionals in their field, we scoured the hills for casters, players, and statsmen - the preeminent thinkers of the Dota world - and got their impressions of the new patch as it was fresh off the Valve servers. See their response and learn what the best of the best think of the game and what direction we're all headed.





The Professionals: Players' Reactions



6.80 isn't the most major of changes. Mostly just slight buffs and nerfs here and there. The most major change was probably the blink dagger buff, which everyone is talking about. It will help heroes like Sand King so they can rush blink and have mana for their spells. Besides that there are some cool changes like Lion aghs and Tinker aghs. I Can't wait to personally try out Tinker aghs. Alchemist got his needed night vision nerf, but I wish Slark got a bigger nerf. That hero is a pain in public games.



Liquid`Bulba (TeamLiquid) 6.80 isn't the most major of changes. Mostly just slight buffs and nerfs here and there. The most major change was probably the blink dagger buff, which everyone is talking about. It will help heroes like Sand King so they can rush blink and have mana for their spells. Besides that there are some cool changes like Lion aghs and Tinker aghs. I Can't wait to personally try out Tinker aghs. Alchemist got his needed night vision nerf, but I wish Slark got a bigger nerf. That hero is a pain in public games.



I really like the patch as a whole. Heroes that were too strong got nerfed, and heroes that were too weak got a small buff. I am really excited to play the new patch and see how it will change the game. Also really looking forward to playing Random Ability Draft. I loved that mode in Dota 1. The change that excites me the most is the Tinker Aghanims upgrade. It will definitely be interesting to see how viable that will be.



Liquid`qojqva (TeamLiquid) I really like the patch as a whole. Heroes that were too strong got nerfed, and heroes that were too weak got a small buff. I am really excited to play the new patch and see how it will change the game. Also really looking forward to playing Random Ability Draft. I loved that mode in Dota 1. The change that excites me the most is the Tinker Aghanims upgrade. It will definitely be interesting to see how viable that will be.



I think the overall game play in CM mode will be around the same. Smoke lasts 5 seconds less but it's not a big deal. The major one that will affect CM is the nerf on Alchemist which he needed, and the mass TP with less delay now. Fighting at towers now instead of trading will be much easier for defending teams.



Roshan is also better now since it was too easy to kill before with minus armor early in certain lineups.



I think all in all it's a great patch moving the game into a direction that still favors aggressive play.



Terrorblade is my favorite hero in DotA 1. I think he is one of the best carries later on. Sadly it's hard for a hero like TB to be used in CM mode since he is like Antimage now. I have not played Phoenix, so I can’t say much on that hero.



WinteR I think the overall game play in CM mode will be around the same. Smoke lasts 5 seconds less but it's not a big deal. The major one that will affect CM is the nerf on Alchemist which he needed, and the mass TP with less delay now. Fighting at towers now instead of trading will be much easier for defending teams.Roshan is also better now since it was too easy to kill before with minus armor early in certain lineups.I think all in all it's a great patch moving the game into a direction that still favors aggressive play.Terrorblade is my favorite hero in DotA 1. I think he is one of the best carries later on. Sadly it's hard for a hero like TB to be used in CM mode since he is like Antimage now. I have not played Phoenix, so I can’t say much on that hero.



Fuck you Broodmother.



Good enough I think.



EternaLEnVy (Speed Gaming) Fuck you Broodmother.Good enough I think.



My favorite thing about the patch note would be the addition of Terror Blade and Phoenix. It always brings a smile to my face when new heroes get added to the pool. The Morphling change is one of the changes that stand out the most to me I really feel as though the hero will become strong again and be a top tier carry pick some time in the future. My least favorite change is how Serpent Wards can no longer trap Roshan - now you can’t solo him at level 6 and gain massive levels and proceed to winning the game. I also really like how summons got nerfed such as Forge Spirits and Necrobook I find at times mass summons were very hard to deal with and that those changes were necessary.



Overall I think this patch is not going to change the current meta by much we will still see the same heroes picked such as Crystal Maiden and Alchemist.



Liquid`wayto (TeamLiquid) My favorite thing about the patch note would be the addition of Terror Blade and Phoenix. It always brings a smile to my face when new heroes get added to the pool. The Morphling change is one of the changes that stand out the most to me I really feel as though the hero will become strong again and be a top tier carry pick some time in the future. My least favorite change is how Serpent Wards can no longer trap Roshan - now you can’t solo him at level 6 and gain massive levels and proceed to winning the game. I also really like how summons got nerfed such as Forge Spirits and Necrobook I find at times mass summons were very hard to deal with and that those changes were necessary.Overall I think this patch is not going to change the current meta by much we will still see the same heroes picked such as Crystal Maiden and Alchemist.

The Punditry: Casters Speak Out







The patch brings a whole bunch of changes that were really needed. Changes to ward trapping, Roshan, and walking off the map with Brood were bound to happen.



The most exciting change for me as a pub player is that players lose gold if they take too long to draft. As a caster I am looking forward to more Black Holes, and less casual Roshans.



Especially, the Roshan change should have a large effect on how teams that are ahead can snowball. Following that the change should make it more viable to have comebacks again.



Sheever (Sheevergaming) The patch brings a whole bunch of changes that were really needed. Changes to ward trapping, Roshan, and walking off the map with Brood were bound to happen.The most exciting change for me as a pub player is that players lose gold if they take too long to draft. As a caster I am looking forward to more Black Holes, and less casual Roshans.Especially, the Roshan change should have a large effect on how teams that are ahead can snowball. Following that the change should make it more viable to have comebacks again.



This patch seems much less game changing than 6.79, with most of the changes impacting pub play more than pro games. The nerfs to Broodmother, Earth Spirit and Alchemist were definitely needed and will refresh the environment a little bit, and I'm really looking forward to the silent impact that the mana-free blink dagger will have into the meta-game.



Bruno Carlucci (GD Studio) This patch seems much less game changing than 6.79, with most of the changes impacting pub play more than pro games. The nerfs to Broodmother, Earth Spirit and Alchemist were definitely needed and will refresh the environment a little bit, and I'm really looking forward to the silent impact that the mana-free blink dagger will have into the meta-game.



Time to enjoy all the Earth Spirit MMR climbers quickly dropping games by the dozen when they gotta find something new to pick! 6.80 is going to see what looks like more fast paced games, with my favorite change being the 0 mana cost blink dagger. There’s some tiny cool tweaks like Branches costing 50 gold so supports can properly spend starting gold and get that extra bit of stats too.



In general it's an almost typical Icefrog mini(ish)-patch (as far as balance goes). Small buffs to underused heroes, small nerfs to overused heroes, and bigger nerfs to OP heroes (see: earth spirit & Alch). Although for the first time ever we see a Darkseer buff!? Where's the increase in Vacuum cooldown.... And no hero getting +1 base armor...



Anyways, I can't wait for 6.82 where Meepo can level ulti at level 1.



GoDz (BeyondTheSummit) Time to enjoy all the Earth Spirit MMR climbers quickly dropping games by the dozen when they gotta find something new to pick! 6.80 is going to see what looks like more fast paced games, with my favorite change being the 0 mana cost blink dagger. There’s some tiny cool tweaks like Branches costing 50 gold so supports can properly spend starting gold and get that extra bit of stats too.In general it's an almost typical Icefrog mini(ish)-patch (as far as balance goes). Small buffs to underused heroes, small nerfs to overused heroes, and bigger nerfs to OP heroes (see: earth spirit & Alch). Although for the first time ever we see a Darkseer buff!? Where's the increase in Vacuum cooldown.... And no hero getting +1 base armor...Anyways, I can't wait for 6.82 where Meepo can level ulti at level 1.



From a competitive perspective, the theme of the patch is supports.



The big pub sacrificial lambs of the patch were Earth Spirit and Broodmother, and both nerfs were probably warranted. Earth Spirit might not look impressive on Dotabuff, but he had the single largest increase in win rate between the Normal and Very High brackets that I have ever seen at 40.51% -> 52.27%. The previous champion was 6.77 Wisp, who was perfectly balanced and certainly not nerfed in subsequent patches, and absolutely did not put up a 64% competitive win rate in the patch immediately following the one that he was totally not nerfed in.



Anyway, Broodmother was also secretly more successful than she appeared, but her nerf was likely more driven by the collective hatred of her 6.79 buffs than it was by overall balance concerns. I won't be surprised if she gets revisited for buffs in future patches, but for now it's back to the drawing board.



Phantasmal (DotaMetrics) From a competitive perspective, the theme of the patch is supports. Back in the build up to MLG Columbus, I pointed out that the vast majority of support picks/bans were dominated by just four heroes. With 6.80 we see 3 of those 4 heroes, Crystal Maiden, Venomancer, and Visage, eating nerfs along with Alchemist who recently has seen some work as a support in the Eastern scene, and collectively, these were 4 of the 7 most drafted heroes in the entirety of 6.79. Meanwhile, every other support included in the patch notes saw buffs, if sometimes relatively minor ones. The ultimate goal here is to broaden the popular support pool, but we'll have to see how this plays out over the coming months.The big pub sacrificial lambs of the patch were Earth Spirit and Broodmother, and both nerfs were probably warranted. Earth Spirit might not look impressive on Dotabuff, but he had the single largest increase in win rate between the Normal and Very High brackets that I have ever seen at 40.51% -> 52.27%. The previous champion was 6.77 Wisp, who was perfectly balanced and certainly not nerfed in subsequent patches, and absolutely did not put up a 64% competitive win rate in the patch immediately following the one that he was totally not nerfed in.Anyway, Broodmother was also secretly more successful than she appeared, but her nerf was likely more driven by the collective hatred of her 6.79 buffs than it was by overall balance concerns. I won't be surprised if she gets revisited for buffs in future patches, but for now it's back to the drawing board.



First and foremost, it's great to see Icarus finally in game, people say he's weak, but I think he will absolutely destroy in the right hands. Terrorblade is strong but I don't think he is as novel or suitable this meta. With regards to buffs/nerfs, the Earth Spirit and Alch reworks are certainly welcome, and so is the Meepo one (because I believe). After many versions of ninja buffs, Zeus and Wraith King are actually really good now. Also, I think Ability Draft is just Valve's way of stopping world productivity during CNY.



Lysander Xonora First and foremost, it's great to see Icarus finally in game, people say he's weak, but I think he will absolutely destroy in the right hands. Terrorblade is strong but I don't think he is as novel or suitable this meta. With regards to buffs/nerfs, the Earth Spirit and Alch reworks are certainly welcome, and so is the Meepo one (because I believe). After many versions of ninja buffs, Zeus and Wraith King are actually really good now. Also, I think Ability Draft is just Valve's way of stopping world productivity during CNY.



I think the overall most impactful change is the Roshan buff, he's significantly stronger, which will hopefully make for much less "drive-bys" on our favorite monster of the pit.



I actually don't know if the Alchemist nerf is enough, it definitely is considerable, but what makes the hero crazy as a support is the fact that Chemical Rage means he can roam continuously and also never really run out of mana. Skilled Alch players will still get just as much out of him IMO.



The Mana Void buff is huge! Some may think the radius increase by 150 isn't that much but it more than doubles the effective area.



Invoker may have gotten over-nerfed to the point of falling back into obscurity, Forge Spirits are what made him lane-able in mid and the decreased attack range and armor makes them much less effective there.



Necrobook nerfs are solid, but I think you'll still see them in heavy push lineups, which I guess is a happy point for balance. Seeing Necros in every game was a bit silly.



Overall, a solid patch. This isn't as world-altering as 6.79, but I think it extends the philosophy of that patch of trying to make just about every hero and item viable situationally and nerfing ubiquitously effective strategies. Does it completely succeed at that? No. But it comes damn close.



Kpoptosis (BeyondTheSummit) I think the overall most impactful change is the Roshan buff, he's significantly stronger, which will hopefully make for much less "drive-bys" on our favorite monster of the pit.I actually don't know if the Alchemist nerf is enough, it definitely is considerable, but what makes the hero crazy as a support is the fact that Chemical Rage means he can roam continuously and also never really run out of mana. Skilled Alch players will still get just as much out of him IMO.The Mana Void buff is huge! Some may think the radius increase by 150 isn't that much but it more than doubles the effective area.Invoker may have gotten over-nerfed to the point of falling back into obscurity, Forge Spirits are what made him lane-able in mid and the decreased attack range and armor makes them much less effective there.Necrobook nerfs are solid, but I think you'll still see them in heavy push lineups, which I guess is a happy point for balance. Seeing Necros in every game was a bit silly.Overall, a solid patch. This isn't as world-altering as 6.79, but I think it extends the philosophy of that patch of trying to make just about every hero and item viable situationally and nerfing ubiquitously effective strategies. Does it completely succeed at that? No. But it comes damn close.



Patches like 6.80, exceptional as they are, have become the expected norm for Valve – it has a little bit of everything, and manages to cater itself to players of every skill level and point of interest. Aside from the usual fanfare associated with a new event and game mode (both of which are turning out to be arguably the most popular introduced to Dota 2 so far), the addition of Replay Takeover is as innovative as it is creative, and small mechanics changes like being able to pass wards and share bottle charges more easily are nice little polishes that will make playing the game more fun, sleek, and intuitive across the board.



Beneath the polish and firecracker sparkle of the patch, though, is a likewise excellent balance patch that hits the sweet spot between reigning in things which seem too powerful while likewise introducing new wrinkles to the competitive environment. For the purpose of this response, I'm not going to be focusing on the new heroes (which are absurdly fun, and both of which I think will eventually be seen some once they go into CM), and instead stick to immediate effects.Those which were the most needed and/or will definitely have an immediate effect are:



Alchemist Unstable Concoction Nerf – Taking some of the the sting out of Unstable Concoction was desperately needed, no matter who you asked. Nearly every pro player who offered me an opinion about it concluded the same thing: Concoction, in it's old form, was almost certainly the best pound-for-pound ability in the game, and only got more ridiculous with the addition of a comparatively inexpensive item in Medallion and a handful of points into Acid Spray. Hell, according to stats guru Nahaz, Alchemist had been picked and banned in every single professional match since the beginning of 2014... that alone should give some indication of how insane he was. However, such is the state no more. I actually had the pleasure of casting CIS Carnage as 6.80 dropped, and got to see in immediate terms how different the post-patch Alchemist felt in pro hands... and the contrast was startling. By reducing the max shake duration and, more importantly, not allowing the concoction to continue to grow in power in mid air, it suddenly took a LOT more positioning, patience, and timing to melt someone for any considerable amount, even with armor reduction. Because of that, the days of the do-anything Alchemist are likely at an end. Putting him into a mid role is no longer particularly viable, as if he gets behind, he can't rely on Concoction as heavily to continue to make him relevant. Even the strength of a 1-role Alchemist is hurt, as the reduced effectiveness of the pure fighting build makes him even more item dependent than ever, meaning carries can easily find themselves in a need-three-choose-two situation regarding which skills to max if he has a poor laning phase. Don't expect him to disappear entirely, but his popularity is almost certain to decline... and when he is picked, don't be surprised if it's almost always as a roaming support.



Invoker Forged Spirits Nerf / Wex Build Buff – Invoker is another hero that has been immensely popular of late, and for much the same reason as Alchemist: he just felt like he could do anything and contribute to everything. His ability to max Exort and use Forged Spirits to either split push or fit into a gun's forward, swarming push line-up was only the tip of the iceberg, especially when you look at the power of that in combination with pre-patch Necrobook (more on that later) and the Spirits' armor reduction. Now, though, with the Quas-Exort + Book build being nerfed, Quas-Wex is poised to make a comeback with considerable buffs to EMP and Ghost Walk, both of which seem to make him an ideal initiator – fast moving, invisible, and with two great AOE spells in Tornado and EMP. I don't think we can expect Invoker to fall off anytime soon... and to be truthful, as players mess around with the new possibilities of the Wex build, we might even see him become more popular. I'm sure we'll continue to see Exort builds as well, even with Forged Spirits and Necrobook being a bit less effective. I just don't think we'll see it quite as often, as players start to favor pure Quas-Wex or hybrid builds.



Necronomicon Nerf – Arguably as badly needed as the Concoction nerf, this change will finally give supports a chance to actually live through a team-fight. Those damned creeps latching onto a poor CM, Rubick, or Venomancer with 10 armor to have to punch through just flat out wasn't fair, and that's to say nothing of how much they added to a push behind a swarm of Prophet's treants or in tandem with Invoker's forged spirits. Now, supports might actually have a chance to bring them down before they're staring at a respawn timer, and they can only be summoned to aid in a push twice every four minutes instead of three times. The item will still be popular, and it'll still function the same as it has... it'll just be like the new Alchemist: not so much of a guaranteed success.



Blink Dagger Buff – Make no mistake, 6.80 is a pretty huge patch in terms of blink initiators. When you look at the base mana pools of some of the most popular and effective AOE blink initiators – Magnus, Tidehunter, Sand King, Earth Shaker, Nyx Assassin, Slardar – just two pre-patch blinks could chew through as much as one quarter to one third of their base mana pool at level 11. When you then factor in the high mana cost of many of the abilities that make them desirous of a Blink Dagger (level 2 Ravage at 225, Reverse Polarity at 250, Epicenter at a whopping 325 on top of that, even Arc Boots aren't enough to allow these heroes to be as active in skirmishes and around the map as the current meta game tends to necessitate. Hell, even with Arcane boots poor Sand King needs to blow through a full three quarters of his mana just to afford one blink + Epicenter + Burrow Strike combination at level 11. This change, while not completely eliminating the need for excellent mana pool management for these heroes, nonetheless puts them in a position where a small skirmish won't leave them begging for a bottle from their mid or scrambling back to the fountain to mana-up and leaving their team in the lurch in the mean time. Even just having the ability to reliably use blink as an escape while warding or moving without sacrificing mana needed for their initiation combo will make them feel much more sustainable, especially through the first 25 minutes of a game.



Fearless Prediction for Surge of Popularity in 6.80: Slardar and Brewmaster – Different as they are in form, both of these heroes are very similar in their function, strengths, and limitations: both are mid game, blink-initiation monsters and anti-carries that require solid early level gain and a farm despite being relatively weak laners; neither work particularly well being farmed as hard carries for the late game; and both need a Blink Dagger and one or two other early/mid game items then want to JUST GO FIGHT. And in this patch, they both got very significant buffs. Slardar's Bash damage buff helps him peak a little higher in the mid game, even against early BKB heroes, and helps him blow up heroes even easier than before, increasing his snowball potential. Brewmaster's significant CD reduction on Primal Split allows him to fight much more often than before, particularly at levels 1-11, allowing him to do what he does best – hit six and go find a tower to dive or team fight to dominate. Add in the aforementioned Blink Dagger buff and the continued popularity of push line-ups (into which they both fit, providing good reach and threat of initiation, even under an enemy tower), and you've got two excellent initiators/carry eliminators that are even more useful at their primary role, can stay active more often, and which each scale even better into later phases of the game.



Ayesee (D2L) Patches like 6.80, exceptional as they are, have become the expected norm for Valve – it has a little bit of everything, and manages to cater itself to players of every skill level and point of interest. Aside from the usual fanfare associated with a new event and game mode (both of which are turning out to be arguably the most popular introduced to Dota 2 so far), the addition of Replay Takeover is as innovative as it is creative, and small mechanics changes like being able to pass wards and share bottle charges more easily are nice little polishes that will make playing the game more fun, sleek, and intuitive across the board.Beneath the polish and firecracker sparkle of the patch, though, is a likewise excellent balance patch that hits the sweet spot between reigning in things which seem too powerful while likewise introducing new wrinkles to the competitive environment. For the purpose of this response, I'm not going to be focusing on the new heroes (which are absurdly fun, and both of which I think will eventually be seen some once they go into CM), and instead stick to immediate effects.Those which were the most needed and/or will definitely have an immediate effect are:Alchemist Unstable Concoction Nerf – Taking some of the the sting out of Unstable Concoction was desperately needed, no matter who you asked. Nearly every pro player who offered me an opinion about it concluded the same thing: Concoction, in it's old form, was almost certainly the best pound-for-pound ability in the game, and only got more ridiculous with the addition of a comparatively inexpensive item in Medallion and a handful of points into Acid Spray. Hell, according to stats guru Nahaz, Alchemist had been picked and banned in every single professional match since the beginning of 2014... that alone should give some indication of how insane he was. However, such is the state no more. I actually had the pleasure of casting CIS Carnage as 6.80 dropped, and got to see interms how different the post-patch Alchemist felt in pro hands... and the contrast was startling. By reducing the max shake duration and, more importantly, not allowing the concoction to continue to grow in power in mid air, it suddenly took a LOT more positioning, patience, and timing to melt someone for any considerable amount, evenarmor reduction. Because of that, the days of the do-anything Alchemist are likely at an end. Putting him into a mid role is no longer particularly viable, as if he gets behind, he can't rely on Concoction as heavily to continue to make him relevant. Even the strength of a 1-role Alchemist is hurt, as the reduced effectiveness of the pure fighting build makes him even more item dependent than ever, meaning carries can easily find themselves in a need-three-choose-two situation regarding which skills to max if he has a poor laning phase. Don't expect him to disappear entirely, but his popularity is almost certain to decline... and when he is picked, don't be surprised if it's almost always as a roaming support.Invoker Forged Spirits Nerf / Wex Build Buff – Invoker is another hero that has been immensely popular of late, and for much the same reason as Alchemist: he just felt like he could do anything and contribute to everything. His ability to max Exort and use Forged Spirits to either split push or fit into a gun's forward, swarming push line-up was only the tip of the iceberg, especially when you look at the power of that in combination with pre-patch Necrobook (more on that later) and the Spirits' armor reduction. Now, though, with the Quas-Exort + Book build being nerfed, Quas-Wex is poised to make a comeback with considerable buffs to EMP and Ghost Walk, both of which seem to make him an ideal initiator – fast moving, invisible, and with two great AOE spells in Tornado and EMP. I don't think we can expect Invoker to fall off anytime soon... and to be truthful, as players mess around with the new possibilities of the Wex build, we might even see him become more popular. I'm sure we'll continue to see Exort builds as well, even with Forged Spirits and Necrobook being a bit less effective. I just don't think we'll see it quite as often, as players start to favor pure Quas-Wex or hybrid builds.Necronomicon Nerf – Arguably as badly needed as the Concoction nerf, this change will finally give supports a chance to actually live through a team-fight. Those damned creeps latching onto a poor CM, Rubick, or Venomancer with 10 armor to have to punch through just flat out wasn't fair, and that's to say nothing of how much they added to a push behind a swarm of Prophet's treants or in tandem with Invoker's forged spirits. Now, supports might actually have a chance to bring them down before they're staring at a respawn timer, and they can only be summoned to aid in a push twice every four minutes instead of three times. The item will still be popular, and it'll still function the same as it has... it'll just be like the new Alchemist: not so much of a guaranteed success.Blink Dagger Buff – Make no mistake, 6.80 is a pretty huge patch in terms of blink initiators. When you look at the base mana pools of some of the most popular and effective AOE blink initiators – Magnus, Tidehunter, Sand King, Earth Shaker, Nyx Assassin, Slardar – just two pre-patch blinks could chew through as much as one quarter to one third of their base mana pool at level 11. When you then factor in the high mana cost of many of the abilities that make them desirous of a Blink Dagger (level 2 Ravage at 225, Reverse Polarity at 250, Epicenter at a whopping 325 on top of that, even Arc Boots aren't enough to allow these heroes to be as active in skirmishes and around the map as the current meta game tends to necessitate. Hell, even with Arcane boots poor Sand King needs to blow through a full three quarters of his mana just to afford one blink + Epicenter + Burrow Strike combination at level 11. This change, while not completely eliminating the need for excellent mana pool management for these heroes, nonetheless puts them in a position where a small skirmish won't leave them begging for a bottle from their mid or scrambling back to the fountain to mana-up and leaving their team in the lurch in the mean time. Even just having the ability to reliably use blink as an escape while warding or moving without sacrificing mana needed for their initiation combo will make them feel much more sustainable, especially through the first 25 minutes of a game.Fearless Prediction for Surge of Popularity in 6.80: Slardar and Brewmaster – Different as they are in form, both of these heroes are very similar in their function, strengths, and limitations: both are mid game, blink-initiation monsters and anti-carries that require solid early level gain and a farm despite being relatively weak laners; neither work particularly well being farmed as hard carries for the late game; and both need a Blink Dagger and one or two other early/mid game items then want to JUST GO FIGHT. And in this patch, they both got very significant buffs. Slardar's Bash damage buff helps him peak a little higher in the mid game, even against early BKB heroes, and helps him blow up heroes even easier than before, increasing his snowball potential. Brewmaster's significant CD reduction on Primal Split allows him to fight much more often than before, particularly at levels 1-11, allowing him to do what he does best – hit six and go find a tower to dive or team fight to dominate. Add in the aforementioned Blink Dagger buff and the continued popularity of push line-ups (into which they both fit, providing good reach and threat of initiation, even under an enemy tower), and you've got two excellent initiators/carry eliminators that are even more useful at their primary role, can stay active more often, and which each scale even better into later phases of the game.



Gfx: Shiroiusagi

Editors: Heyoka

With the Chinese New Year just days behind us a season of change has begun. New tournaments, different opportunities, and fresh beginnings. Spring is around the corner () and we will prepare for the unexpected experiences that lay ahead.In Dota, that change means time for a balance shift. New heroes, buffed skills, and hammers to those who annoy us in pubs and professional competitions. With 6.80 going live just a few days ago we're in a new era, a time to re-think our favorite heroes and discover the optimal ways to play once again.We took this as an opportunity to ask those in the know their opinions. Consummate professionals in their field, we scoured the hills for casters, players, and statsmen - the preeminent thinkers of the Dota world - and got their impressions of the new patch as it was fresh off the Valve servers. See their response and learn what the best of the best think of the game and what direction we're all headed. @RealHeyoka | DreamHack StarCrafty Man