Some new faces join along side some of 6.88’s most favored heroes in Game 1

Dota 2 released its 7.00 update yesterday, bringing a new hero, new HUD, and a ton of gameplay changes. It’s always an exciting time in the professional scene, as new heroes come back into the meta and new strategies are tried. Perhaps never more so than right now, with the introduction of talents and the massive map changes.

VG.J and FTD club A, playing in the secondary league of DPL 2 ( http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/Dota2_Professional_League/Season_2) had the honor of playing in the first professional series of the patch. Let’s take a quick look at the drafts, and then focus on how each player skilled and built their heroes around the new talent system. For reference, the series link can be found here: https://www.dotabuff.com/esports/series/169471

Game 1(https://www.dotabuff.com/matches/2842077011)

FTD_A: Terrorblade, Timbersaw, Sand King, Rubick Dazzle

Bans: Batrider, Underlord, OD, Ursa, Puck

VG.J: Lifestealer, Shadow Fiend, Slardar, Arc Warden, Ogre Magi

Bans: Bounty Hunter, Omniknight, Invoker, Tinker, Templar Assassin

Game 1 went past 50 minutes, allowing a pretty neat look at some of the late game level 25 talents. Arc Warden, new to captains mode, was initially part of an aggressive trilane as a support, and was underfarmed for the first 15 minutes of the game, but he was able to catch up and eventually take over the game. The use of double bloodthorn and double hex was useful in the lategame. The Shadow Fiend, played by ZeuS in midlane, was able to hold his own in the laning stage, and seemed to benefit from the new jungle camps allowing him some more room to farm. Ogre Magi’s level 25 talent, +40 Attack Speed on Bloodlust, was interesting to watch late into the game.

Game 2(https://www.dotabuff.com/matches/2842155383)

FTD_A: Ursa, Puck, Juggernaut, KotL, Ogre Magi

Bans: Sand King, Batrider, Dragon Knight, Sven, Naga

VG.J: Arc Warden, Leshrac, Underlord, Bounty Hunter, Shadow Demon

Bans: Rubick, Omniknight, Nyx, Timbersaw, Mirana

Game 2 was a much quicker affair. VGJ decided to let Hym play the 1 position Arc Warden this time, rather than starting off as a support, so Agressif moved to the Bounty Hunter. FTD_A’s tricore managed to get ahead early however, including a monstrous game from 897’s Puck. With his talents, he had +48 damage and +8% spell amp by level 20, and his level 4 Dagon had a huge impact. It looks like we might be seeing more of Puck in the future with his spell combo much stronger, and his physical damage coming into it’s own as well with the new talents.

A look at hero talents and builds:

Ogre Magi(1): +60 Gold/min over 100 cast range, 8% magic res over +40 damage, +25 MS over +250 health, +40 Bloodlust AS over +15% spell amp

Ogre Magi(2): +60 Gold/min over 100 cast range (taken at level 11 instead of level 10, in order to have max bloodlust and stun at 10)

Both Ogre games chose the +60 Gold/min for their first talent. shaker took it at 11 instead, but FTD were so far ahead that it’s unclear if he was simply satisfied with his net worth. In game 1, 8% magic res could be a response to Rubick, Sand King, and Timbersaw, and also a sign that for a melee support like Ogre, running in to do that extra 40 damage might be a bit too dangerous to pull off. The move speed over health seems to be a response to the quick heroes on the enemy team such as SK, TB, and Timber, and also allows for quicker counter initiations. Finally, the +40 bloodlust helped buffed the AW, Lifestealer, and Shadow Fiend as the game came to a close, and Ogre wasn’t doing much magic damage this game anyways.

Arc Warden(1): +125 Health over +25 AS taken at level 11, +30 Damage over +8 Str, 10% CD reduction over +100 attack range, 30% lifesteal over +175 Spark Wraith Damage

Arc Warden(2): +125 Health over +25 AS, maxed skills out and saved 2nd talent for level 16

Same player here for the Arc Warden, so the first talent choices being the same makes sense. Different skill builds though, given the different roles hym played in. That explains the delay in the first game, as he wanted to max out Magnetic Field first before taking the health boost. +30 damage over strength makes sense, as he started to grow into his damage and already somewhat addressed the health pool with the earlier talent. 10% CD reduction is a big deal for all of Arc Warden and his Double’s skills and items. 30% lifesteal seemed the better choice for late game physical damage duels.

Rubick: 60 Gold/min over +50 Damage taken at level 13, +150 Health over +8 Intelligence taken at level 16, +75 Cast Range over +8% spell amp

Rubick actually opted to max out Fade Bolt, Lift, grab two points in aura, and take his second ult point before taking the gold boost. It’s interesting given the more physical damage orientation of VGJ’s lineup. Anyhow, another instance of the support ignoring the damage boost. It’ll be interesting to see if that’s a trend, or just a consequence of the state of the game. If nothing else, a midlane Rubick would love that level 10 talent option. +150 health and +75 cast range seem to be simple defensive options, rather than the offensive choices.

Sand King: +5 Armor over +200 mana taken at level 11, +12% magic resistance over +15 MS, +120 gold/min over +350 health

SK opted to max out Caustic Finale and Burrow before taking the +5 armor boost, surely a response against VGJ’s lineup. +12% magic res helps beef up the SK further, and SK already has so much mobility through items that it makes some sense given VGJ’s comp. The passive gold boost helped SK acquire and AC and Lotus Orb late on in the game, though it seems the level 20 talents are both really strong in their own right.

Timbersaw: 10% xp gain over +150 health, +14 health regen over +15 Int taken at level 16, +5% spell amp over +125 cast range, +6 whirling death stats reduction over +20 strength

Timber took the XP boost early on, delaying the level 4 in Timber chain to help him reach level 25 faster. Health Regen over Int is a no-brainer with the bloodstone taking care of any mana needs. Spell amp over cast range makes sense with the Aghs and Shivas coming into play, and the crucial whirling death stats reduction helps stifle the Terrorblade and his illusions late on into the game, as well as chipping away at the beefy health pools of Slardar and Naix.

Terrorblade: +15 AS over +6 Health Regen taken at level 11, +25 damage over +175 health taken at level 16, +15 agility over +15 MS, +15 all stats over -30s Sunder CD

TB maxed out his skills before opting for talents, with all of the talents focused on buffing up the fighting and farming power of his illusions. +15 MS would certainly be tempting, given it would help negate an old nerf of Metamorphosis, but it looks like damage was the name of the game.

Dazzle: +125 Health over +10 Int taken at level 11, +100 Cast Range over +40 damage taken at level 16, -30s respawn time over +25 MS

Dazzle continues a trend of more defensive support talent skilling, waiting to max grave before taking the health boost, opting for cast range for longer range saves over damage, and a lower respawn time to help get back to the fray quicker over moving around faster in fights. We’ll have to wait and see if we get to witness that -6s poison touch cooldown talent in action.

Slardar: +175 mana over +6 health regen, +200 health over +25 AS taken at level 16, +7 Armor over +35 damage, +10% bash over +20 Str

Slardar takes mana first, with tranquils mostly rendering the health regen redundant. +200 health and +7 armor help keep him alive during initations, but the +10% bash is a move towards more crowd control late on in the game. rOtk did go Midas following the blink purchase, which is interesting, but makes sense given the fact that Naix, SF, and AW took over the farm on the map.

Shadow Fiend: +15 MS over +15 AS taken at level 11, +6% spell amp over +175 health, +15% evasion over +2 damage per soul, +150 attack range over -7s raze CD

15 extra MS early helps SF run around the map to farm as well as keep him alive in fights. Spell amp at 15 makes some sense in conjunction with his silver edge purchase, helping finish off Requiem uses. +15% evasion for survivability against TB illusions. Attack range over Raze CD is interesting, and there might not be a wrong answer there.

Lifestealer: +5 all stats over +15 AS taken at level 11, +200 health over +25 damage taken at level 16, +15% evasion over +15 MS, +15 Armor over +1s rage duration

Lifestealer went entirely for defensive talents, though it makes sense given the amplify damage and bloodthorn that he had to assist him on offense. He also opted to max his skills first, so perhaps Lifestealer’s talents are just a nice bonus, rather than something to make or break a build. The +15 armor really beefed him him up, though.

Underlord: +2 mana regen over +4 armor taken at level 11, +10% spell amp over +200 health

Underlord’s first pro game was less than ideal, with rOtk racking up 11 deaths. He did pick up a Mek, and that combined with max Firestorm and Pit of Malice necessitated the mana regen. Spell amp over health was a last ditch attempt at getting kills on the ftd tricore.

Leshrac: +125 health over +15 MS taken at level 11, +8% magic res over +400 mana

Leshrace needed health early and is pretty quick as a hero, and the magic resistance was a response to the Puck who was heading out of control, in combination with the bloodstone keeping Leshrac at a decent mana pool.

Shadow Demon: +10 MS over +6 Strength

The MS boost, in combination with the wind lace and tranquils, helps SD move around fights a bit quicker. He probably could’ve gone either way here, though. Interesting that he did opt for the talent over a 4th point in disruption at level 10.

Bounty Hunter: +15% xp gain over +175 health

Bounty got level 10 very late, so he was hoping to extend the game, and Drums provides a similar boost to health pool.

Ursa: +25 Damage over +8% magic resistance at level 13, +5 armor over +20 AS

Ursa grabbed two points in ult and Earthshock, as well as max Fury Swipes and Overpower, before opting for his first talent, which makes sense as those skills give more damage than +25 anyways. +5 Armor helped secure his lead and was taken before the final point of Earthshock. Ursa also grabbed a very early Desolator, which could be something to watch with the new changes to Roshan and armor talents possible giving more value to an early pickup of the item.

KotL: +6 Str over +20 MS taken at level 13, opted for final level of Illuminate at level 15 instead of level 15 talent, did not skill level 15 talent

KotL is another hero that loves all of his skills, and with his opening talents a little light, he delays the strength boost until he gets max mana leak and chakra with 3 points in illuminate.

Puck: +8 Int over +150 Health, +40 damage over +20 MS, +8% spell amp over +20% magic res

Puck grabs more mana and damage before maxing his illusory orb, then grabs the big damage boost as quick as possible. By that point, he had run rampant in the game, and the Spell amp with Dagon was a downright nasty combination. Expect to see more of this in pro play, probably combined with veil too. Puck did grab Boots of Travel at 19 minutes, which is interesting to note, but its at least partially due to how far ahead FTD_A were.

Juggernaut: +20 Damage over +150 health, +20 Attack speed over +5 Armor

Juggernaut opted for more damage, boosting his omnislash potential. It makes sense, with the armor not necessary especially against a Leshrac, and the health being at least somewhat negligible.

897 and his puck are loving the new opportunities the talents provide for the hero.

Final thoughts:

Overall, the two games are probably just a blip in the radar for what is to come in this patch. There are so many talents which have created new variables. Professional play will be the first place to set a meta though, so keep your eyes open, because only time will tell what is tocome out of this massive set of changes.