7.20: The Gameplay Update of Doom

Dota 2 is an ever changing, ever evolving, shenanigans filled venture of frustration and desperation. To become skilled at Dota 2 takes time, practice, and an unnatural grace. Which is why we have so many guides to help! So there you are, working on building up your best hero, finally learning all of his intricacies, and the Valve gods decide to mix things up.

Welcome to the world of 7.2 where the points don’t matter and you have forgotten how to play Dota 2.

Key Takeaways

Heroes

Heroes that want to get in your face are big in this new update. It seems that IceFrog has decided he wants a little more action. Huskar is silly beyond compare, Phantom Assassin gets a free smoke, Juggernaut’s ult is amped beyond its original greatness, and I don’t even want to talk about Meepo spammers or the fact that Phantom Lancer got nerfed… again. Slark… well let’s just say why would they make Slark better? For their fun, that’s why.

So how do you deal with this? Either learn to play these heroes or start learning how to play against them. I would suggest training yourself on a hero that can handle being one on one, such as Timbersaw. A good Timbersaw can match against any safelane combo, even ones that are designed to dominate him. Another hero that can do well against these in your ace heroes is Doom or Tidehunter. Although I would stick away from Tidehunter as he cannot be a game finisher, whereas Timbersaw and Doom can dominate if done well.

Item Reworks

Bracer, Null Talisman, and Wraith Band have been completely reworked. None of these items now build into anything useful, yet you will see players build 2-3 on their hero each game. So why is that? They now each offer a useful perk: Bracer increasing magic resistance, Wraith Band attack speed, and Null Talisman magic damage. This increases a hero’s usefulness greatly in the early game. Timbersaw and Doom become veritable unkillable tanks, Slark attacks fast . . . too fast, and Lina’s magic damage output hurts me through my screen. I suggest getting at the very least 2 of your main stat item on your hero.

Bloodstone is back. While once a great item and a must for all magic users, Bloodstone has been phasing in and out of usefulness. If you get it too early and die it would become useless, get it too late and you have already won the game. Now with its passive magic regen and pocket health regen from mana, Bloodstone is too good. Dying still loses its charges for you, and you lose .3 MP and HP per charge, yet that’s it. Bloodstones passive bonuses outweigh its scariness of dying.

Lets just ignore Valve’s strange Phase Boots moment as if it never existed.

New Items

There are some new items to be wary of. They interact in unique ways that you may not be aware. To start there is the Ring of Tarrasque. I would suggest that this is a great replacement for Ring of Health on most heroes that don’t need many of Ring of Health’s upgrades. Being 150 gold cheaper and providing a Health bump, Ring of Tarrasque is a great item for the Spectres that just want something to help them survive in lane.

What the Ring of Tarrasque upgrades into is perhaps one of the best items to be introduced into the game. Holy Locket. At a cheap 2650 gold it is readily accessible, especially since each of its components are cheap and easy to save up for. This item has great passives, providing health and mana regen, extra health, and 15% magic resistance. However, it is its last passive that takes the cake. Holy Blessing amplifies heals and regeneration you provide by 25%. Dragon Knight’s passive heal, boosted. Timbersaw’s Armor Stacks, boosted. Dazzle’s healing wave, boosted.

This Item alone has changed how heroes build and play. I have personally stood in lane with this item with heroes towers and creep attacking me as a Timbersaw and watched my health bar move up. Add a couple of Bracers and pure damage is the only way you are going to kill this hero.

OP HERO ALERT

This last section is for one incredibly strong hero, and one only.

Dazzle

This hero at level 1 is death. Poison Touch does an unbelievable amount of harassment damage. This hero at level 6 is unfair. Dazzle’s new ultimate, Bad JuJu, applies an armor debuff on every cast, as well as reducing cooldowns on his spells and items. It’s a free Octarine Core at level 6, but better. If there is a Dazzle is in the game and they know half of what they should be doing, they are dishing out top two damage in the fight.

This is a Carry Support that needs no Carry Items. Watch out for Dazzle, or get Dazzle on your team.

In Short

Play a hero that can handle someone getting in your face or play Dazzle. Other than that keep in mind that good teamwork will always make the dream work.