Valve releases another patch for our beloved Dota. Welcome 7.10!

With the coming of March, we're welcomed with another patch for Dota -the continuation of the series 7.10. Unlike 7.09 which emphasizes more to gameplay changes (anyone remember the morning when they realized couriers were much cheaper?) the titular 7.10 focuses more on heroes talent changes. Some changes were deemed an exaggeration to an already imbalanced ability (I'll get back to that later), whereas others are mostly minor changes in levels or stats.

Gameplay-wise

After two patches, we're finally welcomed with Dark Willow in Captain's Mode (sorry guys, techies is still unavailable). However, the new character's release partner, Pangolier, has yet to see the light of day in Captain's Mode. Is this due to Dark Willow having the higher win rate overall? With Dark Willow having reached the balance rate of 50.84%, 4% more than Pango, our handsome backstabbing pangolin, does this make her a better candidate in Captain's Mode? Honestly, that's up to Valve.

(Be reminded Monkey King took around 3 months before getting back into Captain's Mode, and we remember how broken he was when he first arrived)

Next, bounty runes are slightly altered, giving 60 gold after the first rune instead of the original 50. Unfortunately, they no longer give XP and as trivial as it sounds, it is a disability for support players and roamers alike as they would depend on runes especially when lacking down in levels early on. This blows an even bigger setback to roamers, who either had to leave the lane for support, or let the core soak up most of the XP. There is a small silver lining however - Tome of Knowledge now gives out 700 (an extra 200) from the previous version and it asks us the question - "is the 150 gold worth it?"

Randoming now also provide you with a Faerie Fire instead of a branch. It may be insignificant but statistically, Faerie Fire gives out the better starting provision with it giving +2 damage compared to +1 damage of the branch and the ability to instantly restore your health by 85 hp. That extra HP is the difference between a dead pangolin, and a living, escaping pangolin. Small note, there are now 12 bonus heroes (4 in each attribute), which won't change the gameplay much other than having an extra mango.

Item-wise

Not much to talk about here with Aeon Disk being the only major item having 10 ten seconds reduction in cooldown and Monkey King Bar now procs with a sound effect (to announce a successful hit).

Soul ring, an item that may have been the very first build of major nukers ingame received an increase of 20 gold -now, 170. Our courier also gained a tiny speed bonus with the flying courier flying at over 460 movespeed, 10 more than the previous patch.

The item that gained the most attention in 7.10 might have been the ones on the bottom of things, -the boots.

Yes, this.

(Yes, this)

Boots of Speed are now 500 gold and if you've been with Dota for a long enough time, you'll know this is back to the original price. Its speed, alongside Phase Boots and Power Treads are also increased albeit slightly from 40 to 50, 45 to 50 and 45 to 50 respectively.

Heroes!

Yes. Now here where it gets interesting.

First, there are more heroes getting buffed - over triple the numbers of those who were slightly nerfed. This report will focus more on those who received a major buff, nerf or visual rework. Talking about every small change would take days sadly, this is after all, a short overview. You can read the whole patch notes over at 7.10!

Abaddon's level 20 cooldown talent has been increased to 20% percent. This means at max level in accordance to skill, Mist Coil will have a 3.6 second cooldown, with Aphotic Shield 4.8, and Borrowed Time with a 32 second cooldown. A reduction of 8 seconds from 40s if you decided on the +90 damage instead. Equipped with an Octarine Core, Abaddon will now be armed with a staggering 24 seconds cooldown on his ultimate. (2.7s on 1st, and 3.6s on 2nd skill).

Alchemist's level 20 cleave talent has been increased to 30% from 25%. As a heavy farming player, having a semi Battle Fury to what may already be a Radiance equipped Alchemist (at level 20) would only increase the rate of farm and most likely be a decisive increase in utility usage (catching up in a losing lane/game or whatnot.) Remember seeing an out-of-nowhere 6-slotted Alchemist ganking? We all do.

Anti-Mage has received a swap instead of a rework. Like before, his talents were simply buffed and swapped out. Take note that these skills were already considered an imbalance/annoyance from the beginning, with these updates, they are sure to give you either a good or hard time.

His level 15 talent now is a +400-blink cast range, swapped with the level 20 talent of -2.5 seconds blink reduction. (AM's blink received an additional 100 cast range and 0.5s blink reduction) With 1550 range at max he has the highest non-targeting blink range (he would be the 2nd, if Riki's 1700 range Blink Strike is included) Now, try catching that.

Ancient Apparition's level 25 talent of what used to be 4 charges of Cold Feet is now changed to 900 AoE Cold Feet. Some would argue that the ability to spam is better than having one big AoE skill. Cooldown-wise, yes, the charges work better but I would try to not be skeptical about it as 900 AoE is a huge area. In a successful teamfight, getting a 5-man Cold Feet is no longer a dream.

Arc Warden got a rather advanced swap. His level 20's 10% cooldown reduction is reduced to 8%, but, it is moved to level 10. That's a 10-level jump with the cost of 2%!

This gives a better question to players; would you take the cooldown reduction, or would you rather take the +25 attack speed? His original was changed (+5 armor) as the usage of Magnetic Field simply voided it (yes, 90% of players would opt the attack speed but what about now? Would you?)

Bloodseeker did not have any rework in terms of talent. He does, however, get a nostalgic blast from the past. With Bloodrage on, he would still receive a portion (50%) of the heal if he did not successfully land the last hit to a dying hero. Just like the old times -almost.

Clinkz at level 15 now receives a generous increase of +20% evasion contesting the +30 Searing Arrows damage. Does it stack well? Will it prove to be a useful talent, or another overlooked skill? Before the patch, Clinkz does, in fact, come with 15% evasions at the same talent tree, however, it was rarely picked due to the overwhelming damage of the +30 SA damage. Statistically, the +30 damage has an 89.4% pick rate on a normal game of Clinkz - almost 90%.

Why is it so? Well, in the hands of a capable player, Clinkz serves as a hunting hero. His Skeleton Walk allows him to have an 18-second leeway in between roaming (to break invisibility and return when needed). Having met a target, he could simply break invisibility, shoots an unsuspecting enemy hero, and finishes it just enough before reinforcement arrives. At level 15, an okay-farmed Clinkz would most likely have a Desolator in hand and maxed out skills. Having -6 armor + 50 damage + 90 damage from Searing Arrows, Clinkz would be able to throw a massive 1300+ damage in the whole duration of Strafe (3s) to an enemy with 0 armor. *Coughs* Tiny *Coughs* Supports.

So, I'm not saying the 20% evasion doesn't work but, better luck next time Valve, the Searing Arrows stays.

Crystal Maiden and Lion are now richer. At level 15, they get a bonus of +120 Gold/Min compared to the measly +90.

Dragon Knight is one of the victims of 7.10. From what to be a massive upgrade of +30 attack speed at level 10 is now changed to -20% Breathe Fire Damage Reduction.

Let's not get too sad at first. DK may have been nerfed in terms of his attacking capability but defensive-wise he still is a very tanky hero. Since Breathe Fire's damage reduction is stagnant throughout the whole game, having only one point in it is a healthy investment (Pun intended) as it allows you to reduce the opposing team's attacking power. Yes, the skill serves also as an AoE nuke and wave clear but with this patch, at level 10, he is one of the very few heroes who is capable of reducing almost half (45%) of the enemies' incoming damage. He might as well stack up a bunch of tangoes and stand behind enemy towers next.

Or you could always take the mana regen. (Please don't)

Side note. Gyrocopter's Flak Cannon now has a better effect in-game. Go try it out now!

Lion again. Yes. His Mana Drain now has better slow with a max of 25% slow during mana drain, decent but that's not why his name came up twice on this list. Lion, like many other magic dealers before him, had always had a history of being a well-respected core. Yes, he has been nerfed and buffed and nerfed and back but today, he received what may be a blessing.

A +90 damage talent at level 10. Yes, 10. That's two free Demon Edge at level 10. That extra cast range may look nice, but no, don't get it, get the damage instead, kill some enemies and farm an Aether instead. You'll have the money later either way (+120 GPM). Make a Vlad, or even a MoM if you want to be nostalgic, onwards toward the midlane, dominate, rule, and just laser anyone in your way. (I would like to avoid his skill's name as it would arouse innuendo)

Luna at level 15 now can opt for either a +24 Lunar Blessing Damage or a 2-second cd on Lucent Beam. Physical vs Magic. Same old same old.

Magnus's level 25 talent got increased to 1s. Players may now choose between the second highest cleave in game (70% cleave + 70% bonus damage) or the longest confirmed non-channeling stun duration? (4.75s Reverse Polarity)

Mirana's Starfall gets a lower manacost. A yay to spammers and a nay to magically impoverished heroes. Her level 25 talents had also been slightly tweaked, with the -70s Moonlight Shadow cd increased to -80s. (20s cooldown on her Ultimate, 15s with Octarine).

A team-player Mirana would surely increase her overall menace with having full team invisibility every 15 seconds, a time of what could be well between teamfights, a feat that grips on the overall success of a gank or an escape. Soldier on Mirana players! This is the time to shine.

Monkey King. Well, he is the King. Major increase over almost everything in his talent department.

Level 10 Talent increased from +150 Tree Dance Vision AoE to +300
Level 15 Talent increased from +300 Tree Dance Cast Range to +600
Level 20 Talent increased from +300 Primal Spring Damage to +400

Even before he had already been the annoying monkey jumping on supports and farming heroes. His menace had yet to see an end and I doubt it exists considering this new patch. However, there is a story as of to why such upgrades were implemented. It's because players have mostly picked his alternative. Attack speed, damage and crit, they were the building blocks of a good carry. Valve is giving more bonuses to his Tree Dance and Primal Spring to give players the confidence to try out a different style of Monkey King, the real essence of a true mischief-maker.

I had always seen Monkey King as a good utility hero. He has survivability, a good stun, space making mechanism, and most importantly, the ability to change into a bottle of Clarity midfight.

Why not give it a try? Create some havoc, tilt the opposing team, be the King.

Morphling's Morph got reworked. He can now change between heroes during the whole duration with a 1s cooldown. Neat skill. This means that his ultimate's skill cap depends on the player itself. A good mechanical player would be able to utilize each skill, (long range if fighting against Sniper, lifesteal if against Lifestealer, Mana Burn + Blink on AM, or simply free evasion with Phantom Assassin) and switches back for the long run or final hit. At most, Morphling could well be equipped with 4 to 5 skills depending on the heroes he morphed into (2 of his, 3+ from the target)

By the end of a game, we could very well see either a full-blown nuking Morphling or a massive DPS hero. Either way, watch out. He's now more dangerous than ever.

Naga Siren's nerf could possibly due to her appearance in recent tournaments. Her Song of the Siren now has an increasing manacost of 100/150/200 respectively, putting a greater burden to her already low manapool.

Same goes for Omniknight, his Purification lost its decreasing cooldown and is replaced with a constant 11s cd throughout the game.

Shadow Demon got an interesting offer at level 25. From +5s Disruption banish duration (A +5s to what may already be a long duration) to 2 charges of Disruption. Is it better than the +500 Demonic Purge Damage? Long answer, yes. Short answer, yes.

Unless you're playing a core Shadow Demon, achieving level 25 in a game is a great feat for a player. And facing against harder, tankier cores, the main usage of Demonic Purge was never to deal damage, it was to purge and slow him enough for the kill. Against a well countered team, your magic damage would still be rendered useless. But where does Disruption stand in this super-late-game scenario? It stands on the very usage of it during and after a teamfight.

In a chaotic battle, you have 2 charges of what may be a two 2.5 second stun or a 5-second stun on a single target. It disrupts channeling, removes potential troublemakers from the battlefield, and helps your teammates in a sticky situation (duel, Stuns, Hex, etc). At most, considering you build Euls, Shadow Demon would be able to remove 3 heroes + 1 Demonic Purge target during a fight, severely reducing their capabilities. Even if the teams had decided to avoid a massive clash over the game, you still have 2 charges of free Manta Style. Disruption's illusions last for 14 seconds, and with 2 of it, you'll have 4 illusions of your hard carry, dealing 75% of damage, traveling towards the opposing ancient.

Sven had some minor tweaks with talents swapped around levels. Most prominent one is the cooldown reduction talent. At level 20, Sven may opt for a -5s cooldown reduction on Storm Hammer compared to the old -9s at level 25. And replacing the old talent at max level is the additional stun duration, a minor addition of +0.75s Storm Hammer stun. (2.75s stun max).

Additional note. At level 15, Sven's Storm Hammer can be equipped with a basic dispel, contesting the +30 movement speed bonus. Before 7.10, Sven players would have the freedom to choose between +30 damage or +30 movespeed with the plus damage being picked mostly. As common as it seems, many are not aware of the potential of having an extra 30 movespeed as Sven is a very damage focus hero, his ultimate would cover most of the damage shortback, and what he needs more is mobility.

A common counter for Sven are ranged heroes and in this case, we're going to take Sniper and Drow as our base of comparison. Having threads, Sven would have a 340 movespeed, equal to Drow and 1 point more to Sniper's 339, if the case were these three heroes were fighting in melee, Sven would've won 2 out of every 3 fights. Unfortunately, that's not the case, Sven is easily kited if played against a well-knowledged player. This is one of the main reasons why Sven had always been either the do or die type of hero, he can get into a fight, but he has a tough time getting out of one. This is where the extra +30 movespeed comes in. Equipped with 370 movespeed (Power Threads included), Sven could easily outmaneuver these two ranged heroes in a foot race. Sven already has the damage, all he needs now is strategical positioning and this +30 movespeed would surely benefits him in the long run (420 movespeed with Boots of Travel on. It's pretty much Sven on skates)

Undying gets harder to kill with every patch. Now with increased cast range talents, Decay duration, and tankier Tombstone.

Venomancer has the best talent trees. I swear. Now, they're buffed with a massive increase of AoE at level 25 (If you're not a fan of wards). Poison Nova AoE can be upgraded to +800. Remember Ancient Apparition's 900 AoE Cold Feet? Imagine it being green. That's it.

(Disgustingly good)

Visage. Good news to Visage players who are having trouble with micro-ing Familiars. Now Visage has an ability that allows the nearest Familiar to land when clicked.

And that's it, folks. There are more changes done and you can always check the official page for more information. The ones stated here are the major ones and what I find interesting. Hope you enjoyed the report.

An overview on 7.10