Dead Game: Reactions to 6.78 June 1st, 2013 02:23 GMT Text by Vykromond Graphics by shiroiusagi

Table of Contents

Players' Thoughts



Casters' Thoughts





See Full Patch Notes on

Liquipedia





Focus Mode

Turn off Focus Mode [x] See Full Patch Notes on



Dead Game: Reactions To 6.78





June is the cruelest month, nerfing

heroes out of the dead metagame, mixing

S tier and F tier, stirring

Dull drafts with summer changelogs.



T.S. Eliot (poet, feeder scrub)



Change is in the air. As the season turns to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the thoughts of the world turn to Seattle in August, Icefrog and company have delivered to the community's doorstep a brand new patch for DotA and Dota 2, the full implications of which likely won't be fully understood for months to come. The effects of major patches are notoriously difficult to predict, with unseen vagaries and hidden interactions between new or revamped heroes, items, and abilities taking time to comprehensively process and use to one's advantage. 6.78 delivers changes to the fundamental mechanics of the game- wards, couriers, XP on death, Captain's Mode- and overturns the balance of 75% of Dota's hero cast. Who could possibly claim to understand the impact of this



Everybody, that's who. Speculation and theorycraft are intrinsic to video games and esports. There's nothing quite like poring over the presents left under the tree by Icefrog for our favourite heroes- nothing, that is, except for crowing over the lumps of coal left for our bêtes noire. And everyone wants the inside track, the knowledge months, days, hours, or minutes ahead of the pack of what's to come.



We asked some of the Dota community's preeminent professionals, pundits, and thinkers to give us their absolute least-considered, most knee-jerk reactions to the patch notes shortly after their unveiling. What follows are their responses, a look into the ids, egos, and superegos of Dota's hivemind at ground zero of a metagame change.





Le jeu est mort, vive le jeu !

(The game is dead, long live the game!)



The Duc d'Uzès (French nobility, feeder scrub)





The Professionals: Players' Reactions



I am sad regarding the Clockwerk change. I feel the hero needed the BKB counter on his Cogs for teamfights later on. The hero relies on disrupting teamfights for late-game Dota but without that, he loses a major strength. Also he was used as a good N`aix counter but now the Raged N`aix can just walk out of the Cogs. I would have preferred if the knockback still existed on magic immune heroes but did not sap mana or HP.



The Aghanim's upgrades on the heroes like Doom and AA are pretty interesting, however my main concern is farming that item on those heroes. AA is a really slow farmer and usually needs a force staff or a mek. Doom goes for Phase Boots and Drums often or the Loda Vlads-> Shiva's build. I think 16 seconds on Doom is long enough to zone the hero out of a fight so I'm not sure on the effectiveness on that over buying items that give Doom armor (which he needs).



The Captain's Mode changes are pretty cool and give 2nd pick a more equal playing field. The way that the bans work will also be interesting since you have to choose the first two heroes more effectively. The bottle crow thing will also make Queen of Pain a much stronger mid in my opinion. I'd say she will go as far as being first pick for some teams with Kunkka. I am happy regarding the Lone Druid change. Armlet made the hero way too dumb and i think he might be going back to the safe lane Radiance rush that we saw earlier with the hero. Radiance with 50 damage is pretty insane.



Bulba (Team Liquid) I am sad regarding the Clockwerk change. I feel the hero needed the BKB counter on his Cogs for teamfights later on. The hero relies on disrupting teamfights for late-game Dota but without that, he loses a major strength. Also he was used as a good N`aix counter but now the Raged N`aix can just walk out of the Cogs. I would have preferred if the knockback still existed on magic immune heroes but did not sap mana or HP.The Aghanim's upgrades on the heroes like Doom and AA are pretty interesting, however my main concern is farming that item on those heroes. AA is a really slow farmer and usually needs a force staff or a mek. Doom goes for Phase Boots and Drums often or the Loda Vlads-> Shiva's build. I think 16 seconds on Doom is long enough to zone the hero out of a fight so I'm not sure on the effectiveness on that over buying items that give Doom armor (which he needs).The Captain's Mode changes are pretty cool and give 2nd pick a more equal playing field. The way that the bans work will also be interesting since you have to choose the first two heroes more effectively. The bottle crow thing will also make Queen of Pain a much stronger mid in my opinion. I'd say she will go as far as being first pick for some teams with Kunkka. I am happy regarding the Lone Druid change. Armlet made the hero way too dumb and i think he might be going back to the safe lane Radiance rush that we saw earlier with the hero. Radiance with 50 damage is pretty insane.



Change is inevitable, it happens all the time but this time it's big.



I think the Scepter upgrades on Doom, Omni and Silencer on paper are very strong- numbers can be tweaked up and down, only time will tell.



The new CM mode picking phase is better then the current one, more balanced.



All the small buffs to least favoured heroes are all very good also. The nerfs to strong picks are all expected.



All in all, great patch, but the journey ahead of the meta game looks like a path of darkness not knowing what is there.



WinteR (MUFC) Change is inevitable, it happens all the time but this time it's big.I think the Scepter upgrades on Doom, Omni and Silencer on paper are very strong- numbers can be tweaked up and down, only time will tell.The new CM mode picking phase is better then the current one, more balanced.All the small buffs to least favoured heroes are all very good also. The nerfs to strong picks are all expected.All in all, great patch, but the journey ahead of the meta game looks like a path of darkness not knowing what is there.



AGHANIMS CHANGES?! Dude, that Ice Blast with 17 seconds duration, jeeeeeeez



First pick isnt as important anymore and its pretty impossible to be outpicked now with the new picking pattern



Sylla shouldnt be as popular anymore, the Gyro change is also quite big. As for rising carries, not sure, but i really like Ursa, especially with the new Fury Swipes



Ward changes are soooooo good, challenges the players' map awareness. I love it. The game has been made too casual over the last patches, but that's been revoked now. Regarding which lane should use the wards, I think the short lane wont ever need it unless it's a 3v3. I think you need to block with your heroes now, not the actual ward.



Overall, the new patch brought many good changes. The Aghanim changes are especially brilliant... People can't buyback anymore after getting kicked by necro with Agh? Or Silencer applying his curse in combination with silence when he has Aghanim's? Brilliant changes. The new picking pattern makes it really hard to outpick opponents so the games should be much more even drafting wise at least. I'm happy they changed Syllabear so that Armlet drains HP now. Siegeing bases won't be as easy anymore and maybe we will see the return of the Radiance Bear. The XP changes (it takes less xp to reach level 11) and the fact that there are 2 less Observer Wards available overall as well as the buyback cooldown being increased by 1 minute should make sure games get a lot more active than they have been. Overall I really like all the changes and I hope new heroes will see a lot more light in the competitive scene.



Black^ (mousesports) AGHANIMS CHANGES?! Dude, that Ice Blast with 17 seconds duration, jeeeeeeezFirst pick isnt as important anymore and its pretty impossible to be outpicked now with the new picking patternSylla shouldnt be as popular anymore, the Gyro change is also quite big. As for rising carries, not sure, but i really like Ursa, especially with the new Fury SwipesWard changes are soooooo good, challenges the players' map awareness. I love it. The game has been made too casual over the last patches, but that's been revoked now. Regarding which lane should use the wards, I think the short lane wont ever need it unless it's a 3v3. I think you need to block with your heroes now, not the actual ward.Overall, the new patch brought many good changes. The Aghanim changes are especially brilliant... People can't buyback anymore after getting kicked by necro with Agh? Or Silencer applying his curse in combination with silence when he has Aghanim's? Brilliant changes. The new picking pattern makes it really hard to outpick opponents so the games should be much more even drafting wise at least. I'm happy they changed Syllabear so that Armlet drains HP now. Siegeing bases won't be as easy anymore and maybe we will see the return of the Radiance Bear. The XP changes (it takes less xp to reach level 11) and the fact that there are 2 less Observer Wards available overall as well as the buyback cooldown being increased by 1 minute should make sure games get a lot more active than they have been. Overall I really like all the changes and I hope new heroes will see a lot more light in the competitive scene.



The most interesting patch [change] will probably be to see how the new Captain's Mode will affect overall drafting strategy.



I would say that either Omniknight--because of the in my opinion incredibly good Aghanim's Scepter upgrade--or Timbersaw benefit the most from the patch.



Lifestealer was hit the hardest--the range nerf on Open Wounds is a huge deal and a big blow to his laning phase presence. It also pretty much forces players to max Open Wounds over Feast unless they're playing in the jungle. Also worth mentioning is Lone Druid. FINALLY Armlet will start draining health on the bear, and the increased bounty for killing it makes it much more worth while to take it down.



I personally love the Bloodstone change; I think it's such a cool and fun idea, and could prove useful under the right circumstances.



Synderen (mousesports) The most interesting patch [change] will probably be to see how the new Captain's Mode will affect overall drafting strategy.I would say that either Omniknight--because of the in my opinion incredibly good Aghanim's Scepter upgrade--or Timbersaw benefit the most from the patch.Lifestealer was hit the hardest--the range nerf on Open Wounds is a huge deal and a big blow to his laning phase presence. It also pretty much forces players to max Open Wounds over Feast unless they're playing in the jungle. Also worth mentioning is Lone Druid. FINALLY Armlet will start draining health on the bear, and the increased bounty for killing it makes it much more worth while to take it down.I personally love the Bloodstone change; I think it's such a cool and fun idea, and could prove useful under the right circumstances.



Awful, game-ruining, kind of interesting, but ultimately stupid. Each hero has a game-changing mechanic that fucks up how you play. A lot of changes that aren't really imbalanced, but totally imbalanced in one specific situation. Stupid mechanics like these make the game stupid as a whole.



EternalEnvy later clarified and amended his statement -



Minor changes always follow after a huge patch so i'm mostly interested in the extra gold from spree killing/exp gain/warding/gem/and pick ban phase.



I don't expect the exp change to do much.



Sprees giving more gold will give losing teams a better chance to come back. As they will get more gold from ending sprees in a losing game. Overall I don't think this means much though.



The # of wards going down is going to huge. I don't think I'll be able to go over how many things will change from this alone. From not truly being able to assert map dominance by placing more wards as the winning team to the losing team not be able to sneak in more wards in order to survive. I can't wait to think of the many ways to abuse this new system. Different heroes might even be picked from such a change.



I won't really know what the new pick/ban system means till I play it more but at the very least it will make hiding strategies more difficult and banning opponent strats much easier.



As for the hero changes, the nerfs to the op heroes are good. I think Wisp will still be Op though. I dislike some of the buffs on some heroes. As interesting as mechanics like AGA Scythe killing buyback and Rupture over BKB is. To me making some aspects of a hero super imbalance just leads to silly games. As interesting as things like rapier gyro games are, they can really ruin some games for the pros.



EternalEnvy (Kaipi) EternalEnvy later clarified and amended his statement -Minor changes always follow after a huge patch so i'm mostly interested in the extra gold from spree killing/exp gain/warding/gem/and pick ban phase.I don't expect the exp change to do much.Sprees giving more gold will give losing teams a better chance to come back. As they will get more gold from ending sprees in a losing game. Overall I don't think this means much though.The # of wards going down is going to huge. I don't think I'll be able to go over how many things will change from this alone. From not truly being able to assert map dominance by placing more wards as the winning team to the losing team not be able to sneak in more wards in order to survive. I can't wait to think of the many ways to abuse this new system. Different heroes might even be picked from such a change.I won't really know what the new pick/ban system means till I play it more but at the very least it will make hiding strategies more difficult and banning opponent strats much easier.As for the hero changes, the nerfs to the op heroes are good. I think Wisp will still be Op though. I dislike some of the buffs on some heroes. As interesting as mechanics like AGA Scythe killing buyback and Rupture over BKB is. To me making some aspects of a hero super imbalance just leads to silly games. As interesting as things like rapier gyro games are, they can really ruin some games for the pros.





All-in-all I am happy with the changes, very strong heroes like Wisp and Batrider got small nerfs, weaker heroes got small buffs. All-in-all this patch is nothing special; I didn't see anything super global in it, at least in terms of hero changes. I liked the addition of Aghanims to some heroes, Ancient Apparition and Doombringer look especially impressive, I think Doom will become the pub king, and he can be very very useful in pro Dota as well. The most interesting stuff are the changes in picks and bans, I think it will bring great diversity to modern strategies, which is definitely good.



+ Show Spoiler + Впринципе, я доволен изменениями, очень сильные персонажи, типа виспа и бетрайдера получили не большой нерф, многие послабже были подняты, впринципе патч как патч, ничего супер глобального я в нем не увидел, покрайней мере если говорить об изменениях героев. Мне понравились аганимы добавленные некоторым героям, особенно внушительно смотрится аппарейшен и, конечно-же думбрингер, мне кажется что он станет новым королем пабликов, но даже и в профессиональной доте он теперь может быть очень и очень полезен. Что действительно интересно так это изменения в пиках и банах, думаю это привнесет огромное разнообразие в современные стратегии, что безусловно радует.



NS (Virtus.pro) All-in-all I am happy with the changes, very strong heroes like Wisp and Batrider got small nerfs, weaker heroes got small buffs. All-in-all this patch is nothing special; I didn't see anything super global in it, at least in terms of hero changes. I liked the addition of Aghanims to some heroes, Ancient Apparition and Doombringer look especially impressive, I think Doom will become the pub king, and he can be very very useful in pro Dota as well. The most interesting stuff are the changes in picks and bans, I think it will bring great diversity to modern strategies, which is definitely good.



The Punditry: Casters Speak Out



Patch 6.78 is in the Goldilocks Zone of patches – it's hugely revolutionary with new heroes, novel approaches to buffing heroes (Doom and Necro in particular), and a fairly big change to what has become a fundamental mechanic in bottle crowing... yet it manages to pull back in just the right areas, providing much needed fixes and tweaks to bring heroes like Lone Druid back into line and tighten up an already taut competitive game. It gives us a hundred reasons to be excited, and a hundred reasons to say “this is jusssssst right."



Ayesee (D2L, ADL) Patch 6.78 is in the Goldilocks Zone of patches – it's hugely revolutionary with new heroes, novel approaches to buffing heroes (Doom and Necro in particular), and a fairly big change to what has become a fundamental mechanic in bottle crowing... yet it manages to pull back in just the right areas, providing much needed fixes and tweaks to bring heroes like Lone Druid back into line and tighten up an already taut competitive game. It gives us a hundred reasons to be excited, and a hundred reasons to say “this is jusssssst right."



Think of a hero with 3 disabling spells that go through BKB... Yeah, right, hard to find one, it would be imba! Shadow Shaman has 2 ways of disabling (non-BKB) enemies and he's already considered super strong! Thing is... now there is one, everyone's favorite cow! After the 2 latest patches, his Greater Bash goes through BKB (as most bashes do), his ultimate stuns through BKB, and now his Charge of Darkness goes through BKB! Did the frog just make Spirit Breaker viable?? Add to that the fact that his passive gives perma-Track movespeed to everyone on your team and that he has 701 BASE HP, and I honestly don't see a reason why that hero shouldn't be played!



Statman Bruno (GD Studio) Think of a hero with 3 disabling spells that go through BKB... Yeah, right, hard to find one, it would be imba! Shadow Shaman has 2 ways of disabling (non-BKB) enemies and he's already considered super strong! Thing is... now there is one, everyone's favorite cow! After the 2 latest patches, his Greater Bash goes through BKB (as most bashes do), his ultimate stuns through BKB, and now his Charge of Darkness goes through BKB! Did the frog just make Spirit Breaker viable?? Add to that the fact that his passive gives perma-Track movespeed to everyone on your team and that he has 701 BASE HP, and I honestly don't see a reason why that hero shouldn't be played!



The biggest thing for me is the change to the drafting phase. It will be interesting to see how drafting will develop now that the phase is reworked in a 2/2/1 style.



In terms of heroes I am already anticipating a lot of Aghanim's Scepters and suicide Leshacs, both in pubs and in competitive games. I hope that we will see some more Necrolyte now that he can prevent buybacks and more ES because he will blow up PLs. And even though we have already had a pretty OK versatility for the heroes drafted, I think this patch will give all teams so many things to work with that we will see the number of different heroes used go up.



Let the testing and experimenting begin!



Sheever (SheeverGaming) The biggest thing for me is the change to the drafting phase. It will be interesting to see how drafting will develop now that the phase is reworked in a 2/2/1 style.In terms of heroes I am already anticipating a lot of Aghanim's Scepters and suicide Leshacs, both in pubs and in competitive games. I hope that we will see some more Necrolyte now that he can prevent buybacks and more ES because he will blow up PLs. And even though we have already had a pretty OK versatility for the heroes drafted, I think this patch will give all teams so many things to work with that we will see the number of different heroes used go up.Let the testing and experimenting begin!



As always, I really like the minor tweaks IceFrog puts into heroes to give them a nudge towards the top tier while staying true to their nature.



I think the coolest change is Necrolyte's Aghanim's disabling buyback as it impacts the game in a far more unique way than a number tweak ever could. I also like the prioritizing of armor mechanics (Vlads + AC stacking and Desolator becoming a worthy alternative to other UAMs).



The Oracle is ridiculous. The sheer amount of things his ultimate can do is kind of over-the-top in my opinion, but as a whole I like how his kit synergizes different skills.



The new big hero to pick up is Doom. He's going to be the lord of pubs until people get used to him and if professionals can work him into a stable lane with high income, he's going to have immense potential there as well.



The new Captain's Mode ban stage brings us deeper into the mind games and will force players to diversify their hero pool if they want to succeed.



Blaze (TPL) As always, I really like the minor tweaks IceFrog puts into heroes to give them a nudge towards the top tier while staying true to their nature.I think the coolest change is Necrolyte's Aghanim's disabling buyback as it impacts the game in a far more unique way than a number tweak ever could. I also like the prioritizing of armor mechanics (Vlads + AC stacking and Desolator becoming a worthy alternative to other UAMs).The Oracle is ridiculous. The sheer amount of things his ultimate can do is kind of over-the-top in my opinion, but as a whole I like how his kit synergizes different skills.The new big hero to pick up is Doom. He's going to be the lord of pubs until people get used to him and if professionals can work him into a stable lane with high income, he's going to have immense potential there as well.The new Captain's Mode ban stage brings us deeper into the mind games and will force players to diversify their hero pool if they want to succeed.





I expect you're going to get pro game impressions from virtually everyone else you ask, so I'll answer from the perspective of the broader skill continuum.



Big warranted buffs: Broodmother, Timbersaw, Morphling, probably Huskar, maybe Medusa and Meepo. Brood has been really bad in my opinion at nearly every level of the game for a while, particularly when it comes to late game contribution. I don't know if this goes far enough, or is interesting enough, but at least it's something. Huskar has also been aggressively lackluster and needs a shake-up. I don't know for sure how the math works out, but the the attack speed boost on the new Inner Vitality should mostly offset the damage loss for cases outside of last hitting. Overall, I think the changes make him more effective as a late-game carry, which arguably is closer to his current best strategy against competent opponents anyway.



Vengeful Spirit's buffs looks promising. Viper and Zeus saw ~2% win rate boosts in 6.77 when they received 3 base strength and .5 str/lvl respectively. Vengeful got a mix of both and the range boost on top of that. How that translates into competitive viability is anyone's guess, but it can't hurt and might even matter more for a 4 or a 5 position.



Big warranted nerfs: Batrider, Nyx, Magnus, Lifestealer, Lone Druid, and Troll Warlord (Shadowblade too, but 8 damage may or may not be that big of a deal in the long run) For the most part well targeted, especially Battle Trance which has been pretty crazy at all levels of pub games. Lone Druid's armlet strat needed to be hit, but I wonder if the extra bear bounty is overdoing it.



Changes I'm not crazy about: Crystal Maiden, Io. Yeah, Dota's all about having heroes with well defined strengths and weaknesses, but I wonder if these are going too far. Regardless of what people say about the addition of Arcan Boots, Crystal Maiden's best support builds in matchmaking are already aura heavy. These changes might just further the gap without actually doing enough to make her relevant in organized games.



Similarly, Io is a hero who struggles until he gets into an environment with actual coordination and then dominates. Relocate doesn't get touched, but the abilities that low level wisp players might use effectively get hit pretty hard.



Most interesting hero changes: Bloodseeker, Razor, Timbersaw. People hate on Bloodseeker a lot, but his performance in pubs is relatively average for a carry. Could be the new pubstomper du jour depending on how the changes actually pan out. DD used Razor pretty effectively to neutralize a 1v1 Lone Druid in the Western Qualifiers, and maybe an Agh's rush could be a legit push strategy. Timbersaw's an exciting dude who already has the best Dota2 chase video, and the changes collectively could help him get online in a more timely manner.



Hopefully that's brief enough for you!



Phantasmal (DotaMetrics) I expect you're going to get pro game impressions from virtually everyone else you ask, so I'll answer from the perspective of the broader skill continuum.Big warranted buffs: Broodmother, Timbersaw, Morphling, probably Huskar, maybe Medusa and Meepo. Brood has been really bad in my opinion at nearly every level of the game for a while, particularly when it comes to late game contribution. I don't know if this goes far enough, or is interesting enough, but at least it's something. Huskar has also been aggressively lackluster and needs a shake-up. I don't know for sure how the math works out, but the the attack speed boost on the new Inner Vitality should mostly offset the damage loss for cases outside of last hitting. Overall, I think the changes make him more effective as a late-game carry, which arguably is closer to his current best strategy against competent opponents anyway.Vengeful Spirit's buffs looks promising. Viper and Zeus saw ~2% win rate boosts in 6.77 when they received 3 base strength and .5 str/lvl respectively. Vengeful got a mix of both and the range boost on top of that. How that translates into competitive viability is anyone's guess, but it can't hurt and might even matter more for a 4 or a 5 position.Big warranted nerfs: Batrider, Nyx, Magnus, Lifestealer, Lone Druid, and Troll Warlord (Shadowblade too, but 8 damage may or may not be that big of a deal in the long run) For the most part well targeted, especially Battle Trance which has been pretty crazy at all levels of pub games. Lone Druid's armlet strat needed to be hit, but I wonder if the extra bear bounty is overdoing it.Changes I'm not crazy about: Crystal Maiden, Io. Yeah, Dota's all about having heroes with well defined strengths and weaknesses, but I wonder if these are going too far. Regardless of what people say about the addition of Arcan Boots, Crystal Maiden's best support builds in matchmaking are already aura heavy. These changes might just further the gap without actually doing enough to make her relevant in organized games.Similarly, Io is a hero who struggles until he gets into an environment with actual coordination and then dominates. Relocate doesn't get touched, but the abilities that low level wisp players might use effectively get hit pretty hard.Most interesting hero changes: Bloodseeker, Razor, Timbersaw. People hate on Bloodseeker a lot, but his performance in pubs is relatively average for a carry. Could be the new pubstomper du jour depending on how the changes actually pan out. DD used Razor pretty effectively to neutralize a 1v1 Lone Druid in the Western Qualifiers, and maybe an Agh's rush could be a legit push strategy. Timbersaw's an exciting dude who already has the best Dota2 chase video, and the changes collectively could help him get online in a more timely manner.Hopefully that's brief enough for you!



MEEPO IMBA



GoDz (BeyondTheSummit)









Writers: Vykromond

Gfx: Shiroiusagi

Editors: Heyoka

Change is in the air. As the season turns to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the thoughts of the world turn to Seattle in August, Icefrog and company have delivered to the community's doorstep a brand new patch for DotA and Dota 2, the full implications of which likely won't be fully understood for months to come. The effects of major patches are notoriously difficult to predict, with unseen vagaries and hidden interactions between new or revamped heroes, items, and abilities taking time to comprehensively process and use to one's advantage. 6.78 delivers changes to the fundamental mechanics of the game- wards, couriers, XP on death, Captain's Mode- and overturns the balance of 75% of Dota's hero cast. Who could possibly claim to understand the impact of this game-changing changelog only hours after its delivery?Everybody, that's who. Speculation and theorycraft are intrinsic to video games and esports. There's nothing quite like poring over the presents left under the tree by Icefrog for our favourite heroes- nothing, that is, except for crowing over the lumps of coal left for our bêtes noire. And everyone wants the inside track, the knowledge months, days, hours, or minutes ahead of the pack of what's to come.We asked some of the Dota community's preeminent professionals, pundits, and thinkers to give us their absolute least-considered, most knee-jerk reactions to the patch notes shortly after their unveiling. What follows are their responses, a look into the ids, egos, and superegos of Dota's hivemind at ground zero of a metagame change.