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The 6.80 patch coming soon!

By KawaiiSocks on

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No matter how much I love writing blog posts about things that are not directly linked to Dota 2, I can not miss a chance to make some predictions about the upcoming 6.80 patch. So, without further ado: Dota 6.80!

To make things a bit simpler for you to read, I will use colour coding with Green indicating a minor change, Yellow indicating a moderate amendment and Red indicating a big one. As always - the impact of a change on the gameplay will be based on my personal opinion, so feel free to post a comment if you disagree with something.

GENERAL

  • You now lose one gold per second if you haven't picked a hero after the selection timer runs out in All Pick
  • All Pick selection time increased from 60 to 75
  • All Pick pre-creep time reduced from 90 to 75

Not a lot to talk about. Will make counterpicking in Pubs a bit harder, and will result in people not just waiting for the other team to pick. A nice improvement overall, since it will no longer cause frustration at the beginning of the match with half your team non-existent.

  • Roshan no longer stops upgrading his hp/damage/armor at 45 minutes
  • Roshan upgrade rate increased by 20%
  • Roshan bounty rescaled from 105-600 to 150-400

A really huge change overall to the competitive scene. A lot of people have complained about Roshan being too easy to kill, giving the Dire team too much of an advantage. (T1 and T2 on the bot lane as well as T1 in mid one can be used to teleport to Roshan very fast. Radiant has no such advantage). Not only he is a bit harder to kill now, but also gives less of a bounty.

HEROES

Alchemist Alchemist

  • Night vision reduced from 1400 to 800

That is something that was exploited a lot more than people realise, especially in the short period of Night Stalker being popular after the introduction of the 6.79 patch. Not only does it abolish the tactical advantage at night, but it also makes throwing Unstable Concoctions a lot harder.

  • Unstable Concoction maximum shaking duration reduced from 7 to 5.5

A lot riskier to wait for a full Unstable Concoction Unstable Concoction charge. Also - silence effects used on greedy Alchemists will be even stronger.

Overall, Alchemist was significantly nerfed and made a lot riskier to play. Seeing how he remained relatively popular in the last several months - a welcome change to a stale meta.

Ancient Apparition Ancient Apparition

  • Ice Vortex spell damage amplification increased from 10/15/20/25 to 15/20/25/30
  • Ice Vortex duration increased from 12 to 16
  • Ice Vortex aura stickiness increased from 0.1 to the standard 0.5 aura value

A decent buff to Ancient Apparation in terms of Magic Damage output for the team. The fact that Ice Vortex Ice Vortex also gives vision, makes for a very nice tactical tool as well.

Anti-Mage Anti-Mage

  • Mana Void radius increased from 300 to 450
  • Added AoE targeting cursor for Mana Void

A nice buff to Anti-Mage. Increasing the Radius for his ultimate can result in some Fight-Turning Mana Void Mana Voids that no longer require as much set-up. I don't think that this alone will be good enough to make Anti-Mage Anti-Mage a Tier 1 hero in competitive play, but it will certainly have some impact on the picking phase of the game, since going for an Intelligence-heavy lineup can be punished even more.

Axe Axe

  • Base HP regen increased from 2 to 3
  • Berserker's Call duration increased from 1.5/2/2.5/3 to 2.0/2.4/2.8/3.2
  • Berserker's Call cooldown rescaled from 10 to 16/14/12/10

Axe is rarely seen in competitive scene and he is not exactly a pub-stomper either. We might see him a bit more often, after the recent Dazzle pick-up by Na'Vi in the StarLadder Season 8 Finals, just to counter this hero and to provide a decent BkB-Penetrating form of disable, but I really don't see this happening. Overall - a slight buff to HP regeneration and Berserker's Call Berserker's Call is welcome, but not enough.

Batrider Batrider

  • Attack animation time improved from 0.5 to 0.3

Contesting the lane with Batrider will be a bit easier, but it barely compensates for the loss of initial damage on the hero in 6.79. Unlikely to return the hero to the days of his former glory.

Beastmaster Beastmaster

  • Call of the Wild Hawk duration reduced from 60/70/80/80 to 60
  • Call of the Wild Boar duration reduced from 70/80/90 to 60
  • Call of the Wild no longer destroys previous summons on cast

I agree that 20 seconds of Double-Boar and Double-Hawk can be very handy, but overall it is unlikely to have a huge impact on the metagame. On top of that I am not very sure whether the slow from two Boars will stack. Can have a very strong effect against Melee carries, since it goes through Magic Immunity.

Bloodseeker Bloodseeker

  • Thirst Bonus Speed and damage rescaled from 7/14/21/28 to 5/15/25/35
  • Bloodbath now gives the full hero kill benefit (instead of only half) if he is within the 325 AoE when a hero dies

Since the impact of the Thirst Thirst rescaling is negative only when the ability is at level 1, it is a small buff to the Bloodseekers Mid and late-game presence. The [missing skill: bloodseeker-blood-bath-5016] buff, on the other hand, will be very strong in public play, since Bloodseeker will regain a full amount of HP from the ability, even if the enemy was "accidentally" killed by a team mate.

Brewmaster Brewmaster

  • Primal Split cooldown reduced from 180/160/140 to 140/120/100

A very popular hero during the Second International, that is unlikely to return to the competitive play. However a 40s reduction in cooldown for the Ultimate ability can have quite an impact on the game, since Brewmaster can participate in a lot more fights and be a lot more aggressive - something this pick really lacked.

Bristleback Bristleback

  • Base damage reduced by 4

I am sure Valve and IceFrog have some enormous supercomputer to calculate the influence of changes to the game. And I believe that it uses a lot of statistical evidence and incorporates complex mathematical algorithms to determine some values. But 4 damage... "Oh, well" ©SingSing...

Broodmother Broodmother

  • Can no longer leave the map boundaries
  • Spin Web no longer provides 200 vision
  • Free pathing is now removed when enemies have vision over you

Honestly, Broodmother Broodmother looks like a testing site for weird ideas that are extremely complicated to balance. Being one of the strongest split-pushers and a decent semi-carry she deserved that nerf, and it is now our duty to test whether she will be balanced enough for the competitive play.

Centaur Warrunner Centaur Warrunner

  • Stampede cooldown reduced from 120/90/60 to 90/75/60

A decent buff to an overall "ok" hero. I didn't see him being picked in the competitive scene, but Stampede Stampede looks like a great initiation/escape tool on paper. And a reduced cooldown on it can certainly help the hero's viability.

Clockwerk Clockwerk

  • Hits required to kill Power Cogs rescaled from 3 to 2/2/2/3

This nerf is a lot more significant, than it appears, since Cog-blocking will be a bit easier to escape. It directly decreases the Clockwerk Clockwerk's utility at earlier levels. Especially considering the Power Cogs Power Cogs are rarely maxed out first.

Crystal Maiden Crystal Maiden

  • Base intelligence reduced by 3

Not really sure what this is trying to achieve. At level two she will have enough mana for both of her spells and a 3 damage reduction is not very crucial. With a 54+% Win Rate this month in public matchmaking and being a strong pick in competitive she did deserve some form of a nerf, but I really don't think that it is it.

Dark Seer Dark Seer

  • Ion Shell cooldown reduced from 10 to 9

A 1s or 10% Cooldown reduction is... Not that significant. A very small buff to a hero that has faced a bit too many nerfs in the previous patches. Will unlikely result in a popularity increase. Possibility for a 2s Triple-Ion Shell Ion Shell is only a little scary.

Dazzle Dazzle

  • Weave duration increased from 20 to 24

I really love the hero. And personally love the buff - no only does it give 4 extra seconds to the duration, but also directly results in more armour being shattered. Competitive Dazzle incoming - sharpen your Axes.

Death Prophet Death Prophet

  • Exorcism cooldown increased from 100 to 115
  • Silence AoE increased from 350 to 425

This was literally my reaction when I first saw the patch note. A 15s cooldown reduction on the "Win" button is barely noticeable for a hero with a 57% Win Rate. And a 75 units increase in radius makes for another low-skill, high-utility skill at her disposal.

Dragon Knight Dragon Knight

  • Dragon Tail cooldown rescaled from 9 to 12/11/10/9

It appears to be an overall small and insignificant nerf, however, when one takes into consideration the fact that the Dragon Tail Dragon Tail is rarely skilled past 1st level, untill all other skills are maxed, looks a bit more interesting. Will reduce the amount of the 2.5 stuns in fights for a decent portion of the game. Would place it in borderline Green-Yellow zone, if I could.

Drow Ranger Drow Ranger

  • Silence Reworked

Any rework to an ability immediately deserves a slot in the Red section. The Silence on Drow Ranger Drow Ranger now uses a wave projectile that knocks enemies back - something in the skillset of a hero that was missing. The knock-back itself is not very impressive - 350 units at point blank, but it will help her utilise her ultimate a lot more, since kiting heroes without a BkB will be a lot easier.

Earth Spirit Earth Spirit

  • Stone Remnant recharge timer increased from 25 to 35
  • Geomagnetic Grip now does a 2/3/4/5 second silence instead of a 1/1.5/2/2.5 second stun
  • Geomagnetic Grip damage rescaled from 125 to 100/150/200/250
  • Boulder Smash damage rescaled from 100/150/200/250 to 125
  • Boulder Smash now does a 0.75/1.25/1.75/2.25 second stun instead of a 3.5/4/4.5/5 second silence
  • Boulder Smash radius from 225 to 200
  • Rolling Boulder now also gets interrupted if disabled during the initial 0.6 rolling charge, instead of only while its moving
  • Geomagnetic Grip now kills trees along the path of a dragged allied hero
  • Targeting someone directly with Boulder Smash will now be blocked by Linken's Sphere
  • Fixed being able to cast Geomagnetic Grip on magic immune allies
  • Fixed Boulder Smash being able to target Magic Immune units
  • Fixed Rolling Boulder travel distance going further than intended if you use a Stone Remnant near the end of the roll

Finally, a rework to the infamous Earth Spirit Earth Spirit. He might require quite a bit of skill to play and have an abysmal 46% Win Rate, but at the higher skill brackets and in the hands of an experienced player he was simply overpowered. His instant initiation with a huge range stun left a lot of people annoyed.

Fear no more - stun on this hero is now a hard-to-land skillshot, and he can longer initiate on you in a manner, that will not allow you to do literally anything.

All-in-all a big and well-deserved nerf. Extra "Yellow" nerfs will also be very handy - running away as an Earth Spirit just got a lot more complicated.

Earthshaker Earthshaker

  • Base movement speed increased from 300 to 310
  • Strength gain increased from 2.5 to 2.9

A 310 MS makes Earthshaker one of the fastest heroes in game - a very nice addition, since landing an Enchant Totem Enchant Totem Stun without a blink was very hard.

Extra Strength Gain, while welcome, will probably have little impact on the gameplay - making Earthshkaer just a bit tankier, while providing a small increase to damage (190 HP and 10 Dmg increase at level 25. 40 extra damage to Enchant Totem).

Enchantress Enchantress

Base armor reduced by 1

All hail the great Valve/IceFrog balancing machine! Since 1 armour corresponds to 6% of EHP against physical damage Enchantress, with her small Health Pool, is roughly 1 more autoattack easier to kill. Was it really worth upsetting [A]kke and Puppey? Don't know, but we will see.

Enigma Enigma

  • Black Hole AoE increased from 375 to 400
  • Black Hole cast range increased from 250 to 275

A small buff to Enigma's Ultimate. A bit harder to avoid, a bit easier to land - not a lot to talk about.

Faceless Void Faceless Void

  • Chronosphere cooldown reduced from 120/110/100 to 120/100/80
  • You now have 1000 movement speed and phase while you are in Chronosphere
  • Timewalk manacost reduced from 120 to 90

Some interesting changes that combined might as well bring Faceless Void back to the table of competitive action. A reduction to the Chronosphere Chronosphere cooldown will allow for more frequent aggressive behaviour, while 1000 MS and Phasewalking will drastically reduce the amount of Void submission to the Fails of the Week by DotaCinema.

Time Walk Time Walk manacost reduction is also rather strong - not only does it allow more aggressiveness in lane, but it will also give an opportunity to escape if things go wrong.

Huskar Huskar

  • Burning Spear duration increased from 7 to 8
  • Inner Vitality bonus heal below 40% increased from 15/30/45/60% of primary attribute to 30/45/60/75%
  • Inner Vitality cast range increased from 450 to 550

From the changes alone, it seems like iceFrog is trying to make Huskar a bit stronger at earlier stages, while providing more utility in the late game. An overall strong buff. And I will not be surprised to see some teams running Huskar in Mid or Dual-lanes, both as a semi-carry an maybe even a semi-support.

Invoker Invoker

  • Forge Spirits armor reduced from 2/3/4/5/6/7/8 to 0/1/2/3/4/5/6
  • Forge Spirits attack range reduced from 300->900 to 300->690
  • EMP burn increased from 100->400 to 100->550
  • EMP delay from 3.7->2 to 2.6
  • Alacrity manacost reduced from 75 to 45
  • Ghost Walk movement speed from -30/-25/-20/-15/-10/-5/0 to -30/-20/-10/0/10/20/30

It seems like IceFrog is really trying to bring back the Quas/Wex Invoker, after the huge base damage nerf in the aftermath of the International 2. Coupled with the fact that Anti-Mage now has a decent radius on his ultimate, it might as well work as a combo.

I really like the Quas/Exort build, but since it wasn't nerfed that much (Forged spirits are easier to kill and have less range, but are still very strong in activating Cold Snap) it promotes more versatility. Which is always nice.

Jakiro Jakiro

  • Ice Path damage rescaled from 25/50/75/100 to 50
  • Liquid Fire DPS increased from 10/15/20/25 to 15/20/25/30
  • Dual Breath burn and slow duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
  • Dual Breath DPS increased from 5/10/15/20 to 16/36/56/76
  • Dual Breath damage interval improved from every 1 second to every 0.5 seconds
  • Dual Breath Attack Speed slow increased from -20 to -30
  • Removed initial impact damage from Dual Breath

The Ice Path Ice Path and Liquid Fire Liquid Fire changes are not that significant, but the rework to Dual Breath Dual Breath is kind of nice. It doesn't deal a lot more damage - the changes correspond to 20 damage increase. But the added 1s slow, coupled with an increase to the AS reduction, will make the hero a bit stronger overall. And since the damage interval on Dual Breath is now 0.5s, the Armlet toggling will be a lot harder.

Juggernaut Juggernaut

  • Blade Fury cooldown reduced from 30/28/26/24 to 30/27/24/21

Some small cooldown reductions. Not at all interesting.

Keeper of the Light Keeper of the Light

  • Mana Leak stun duration increased from 1.3/1.6/1.9/2.2 to 1.5/2/2.5/3

A very nice buff to [missing skill: keeper-of-the-light-mana-leak-5472]. In my opinion, it is big enough to justify leaving Illuminate at level 2-3, and prioritising Mana Leak a bit earlier.

Legion Commander Legion Commander

  • Moment of Courage now only procs one extra lifesteal attack
  • Moment of Courage buff grace period increased from 0.5 to 1.0 seconds
  • Moment of Courage cooldown reduced from 1.2 to 0.9

A Bug Fix and a rather strong buff to Legion Commander. I am not sure, whether it will have that much of an impact on the gameplay, but it certainly look so on paper - Double Attacking with Moment of Courage Moment of Courage every 0.9s can make you a force to be reckoned with.

Leshrac Leshrac

  • Lightning Storm jumps from 4/6/7/8 to 4/5/6/7
  • Lightning Storm damage from 80/145/205/265 to 80/140/200/260
  • Lightning Storm cooldown reduced from 5.5 to 4
  • Lightning Storm manacost reduced from 100/115/130/145 to 90/100/110/120

While the reduction to Damage and amount of jumps does not look that significant, the 4s nuke seems like a very strong ability. If Visage Visage has it, why can't Leshrac can have one as well?

Lina Lina

  • Dragon Slave Initial/Final AoE increased from 275/150 to 275/200
  • Fiery Soul duration increased from 7 to 9
  • Fiery Soul movement speed increased from 4/5/6/7% to 5/6/7/8%

Some minor buffs. The increase on the Fiery Soul Fiery Soul duration will make Lina an excellent DPSer in pubs, and give her a bit more presence in the professional scene. Will have a close eye on the hero - the changes look very promising.

Lion Lion

  • Aghanim's Scepter now causes Finger of Death to hit units within a 200 AoE of the primary target

A very strong Aghanim's upgrade. If the previous benefits of Aghanim's Sceptre for Finger of Death Finger of Death will remain (low cooldown, extra damage), we will have a very strong support, that will remain viable until very late stages of the game. Having a Dark Seer or Magnus to initiate for you is certainly welcome.

Lone Druid Lone Druid

  • Spirit Bear's Entangle is no longer an Orb Effect

From what I remember, Entangle used to override existing Orb Effects when it procced, while not messing with them during usual autoattacks. So, the change is more of a matter of semantics.

Lycan Lycan

  • Wolves Fade Time decreased from 3 to 1.7
  • Level 3 Lycan Wolves now have Invisibility
  • Level 4 Lycan Wolves now have a passive ability that gives them 15 HP regen

I believe the Invisible wolves can be exploited by the professionals to a high degree, but overall, it does not help Lycan farm the jungle faster, and the are better heroes to babysit in the lane.

Magnus Magnus

  • Base intelligence increased by 2

A bit more Shockwave Shockwaves in the lane are not unwelcome, but a very small change nonetheless.

Medusa Medusa

  • Mana Shield damage absorption increased from 0.75/1.25/1.75/2.25 to 1/1.5/2/2.5

A small buff to Mana Shield Mana Shield. Will make her tankier for a bit longer, but that is it.

Meepo Meepo

  • Divided We Stand level requirement reduced from 4/11/18 to 3/10/17
  • Divided We Stand now passively reduces your revive timer by 10%/20%/30%

More Meepos! An experience power-horse just got a bit stronger. Since the earlier Meepo gets his ultimate, the earlier he can start leeching a lot of XP, it will be really interesting to see how the professionals will react to this.

The second aspect is in Red not because I think it will have THAT much of an impact on the game, but because it is one of those things that change the rules of the game altogether - akin to the Necrolytes Aghanim's Ultimate upgrade.

Morphling Morphling

  • You can now cast and attack while in Waveform

Just a small buff. There might be ways to exploit it, I guess, but I couldn't think of any.

Nature's Prophet Nature's Prophet

  • Wrath of Nature manacost increased from 150/200/250 to 175/225/275

Just a small nerf to the manacost. Nothing special.

Necrophos Necrophos

  • Death Pulse now hits units in Fog of War

A small buff. Very situational.

Night Stalker Night Stalker

  • Crippling Fear's night miss chance increased from 40 to 50%

Makes the second skill - Crippling Fear Crippling Fear a bit stronger. Maybe some people will finally start levelling it a bit earlier...

Nyx Assassin Nyx Assassin

  • Cast Range on Impale now matches the travel range

Makes Impale Impale a bit easier to land, which was a huge problem after the patch. Not that important.

Ogre Magi Ogre Magi

  • Unrefined Fireblast manacost changed from 400 to 60% of your current mana

I am not exactly sure whether it is a nerf or a buff, but tend to think it is more on the buff side. If used correctly, it will allow Ogre Magi to dish out a lot more stuns during the course of the battle - 60% of current mana means that you can cast it even with 1 mana left. You will still need an Aghanim's Scepter to have the Unrefined Fireblast Unrefined Fireblast

Omniknight Omniknight

  • Degen Aura stickiness increased from 1.0 to 2.0 seconds

A nice small buff to Degen Aura Degen Aura.

[missing hero: outworld-devourer]

  • Astral Imprisonment cast range reduced from 550 to 500

Will make him a bit less annoying. Can tamper with the OD initiation a bit, and his mid-lane presence, but overall a small nerf.

Phantom Assassin Phantom Assassin

  • Invisible heroes now trigger Blur
  • Blur delay reduced from 1.5 to 0.75

Makes it a lot easier to avoid ganks - something Phantom Assasin is really afraid of. A very nice buff in certain situations. Can be exploited to pre-"reveal" invisible heroes to be covered in Dust of Revelation later - a technique very similar to Slark.

Queen of Pain Queen of Pain

  • Sonic Wave Scepter cooldown rescaled from 100/70/40 to 40

If you are facing a pushing lineup, getting an early Aghanim's Scepter was a must. And now it will allow to stop pushes more frequently. A very nice change overall.

Riki Riki

  • Base HP regen increased from 0.75 to 1.5

Will make laning a bit easier, but that is pretty much it. A small buff to the laning phase for Riki.

Sand King Sand King

  • Sand Storm radius rescaled from 275/325/375/525 to 525

Borderline Yellow/Green Buff. The Burrowstrike Burrowstrike + Sand Storm Sand Storm combo with an additional stun or slow in lane can deal a lot of damage.

Shadow Demon Shadow Demon

  • Shadow Poison max effective stacks increased from 4 to 5

If I understand it correctly, the "effective stack" doubled the damage from Shadow Poison Shadow Poison. So, at 5 stacks it will now deal 1040 Damage! Of course, it is really hard to get 5 stacks on an opponent, but a lot of people a day or two after the patch will be unaware of this change, and I can already feel their rage and frustration)

Shadow Shaman Shadow Shaman

  • Shackles duration increased from 2.5/3.25/4/4.75 to 2.75/3.5/4.25/5
  • Mass Serpent Wards can no longer trap Roshan

A small buff and a bug-fix. Not a lot to talk about.

Silencer Silencer

  • Global Silence cooldown reduced from 140 to 130

A small buff in terms of Cooldown decrease. Not interesting.

Skywrath Mage Skywrath Mage

  • Mystic Flare damage increased from 600/900/1200 to 600/1000/1400

More damage! A nice buff. Coupled with a recent Aghanim's Scepter 0 cooldown improvement can have a devastating effect.

Slardar Slardar

  • Bash damage increased from 40/50/60/70 to 40/60/80/100

Borderline Green/Yellow. A nice buff, but won't make Slardar a lot stronger.

Slark Slark

  • Pounce damage reduced from 70/140/210/280 to 60/120/180/240
  • Shadow Dance cooldown reduced from 65 to 60

While the 5s cooldwon reduction for Ultimate will not have that much of an impact, a reduction to the damage dealt from Pounce Pounce will make Slark a bit weaker - just enough for some heroes to survive being leashed.

Sniper Sniper

  • Take Aim range bonus increased from 80/160/240/320 to 100/200/300/400

950 range. Will not necessarily make him a good or viable pick, but the simple idea of getting a Blink Dagger and blinking into the impassable Jungle in the middle of a team fight sounds ridiculously strong.

Spirit Breaker Spirit Breaker

  • You now gain vision over your target while you are casting Netherstrike

A strong buff to a recently nerfed ultimate. Makes kiting into the Jungle to avoid being killed impossible once again. I like the middle-ground between the previously-OP and UP Nether Strike Nether Strike

Storm Spirit Storm Spirit

  • Base movement speed reduced from 295 to 290

He might have lost some weight in the process of being re-skinned, but it still left him with 5 less MS. Not a very huge nerf, especially considering the Hero's mobility.

Sven Sven

  • Base armor increased by 3
  • Warcry cooldown reduced from 36/30/24/18 to 32/26/20/14

Some very strong buffs to Sven. 3 Base armour are viable at any stage of the game, and a lower cooldown on Warcry Warcry means kiting Sven will be a lot harder.

Tidehunter Tidehunter

  • Kraken Shell debuff threshold reduced from 600 damage taken to 600/550/500/450
  • Kraken Shell damage block increased from 9/18/27/36 to 10/20/30/40

Some extra damage reduction is a good thing, but the Debuff threshold is what really stands out. Tidehunter can become a viable offlane pick and his ultimate - Ravage Ravage is as strong as it ever was.

Timbersaw Timbersaw

  • Base strength reduced from 25 to 22

Losing 3 Damage and 57 HP is a big thing for an offlane hero. He will be a little bit easier to burst down, but will unlikely move him from the Tier 1 in the competitive scene.

Tinker Tinker

  • Added Aghanim's Scepter: Doubles Laser cast range and Heat-Seeking missile count

4 [missing skill: tinker-heat-seeking-missile-5151]s and 1100 range Laser Laser - looks interesting and can certainly help defending the high ground, while allowing for even more teamfight presence. And the increased range on laser can really help shutting down the Sniper in the bushes)

Treant Protector Treant Protector

  • Overgrowth AoE increased from 625 to 675
  • Nature's Guise cast range increased from 300 to 600

Some minor buffs here and there. An average buff overall.

Troll Warlord Troll Warlord

  • Fervor max stacks rescaled from 2/3/4/5 to 4
  • Fervor attack speed per stack rescaled from 20 to 16/22/28/34

Overall buff to the Fervor Fervor, that is not very impressive, considering that at level 4 it now gives extra 36 AS, while the ultimate gives 180. Still, can give some viability to this rather strong hero that was suddenly forgotten.

Tusk Tusk

  • Secondary units hit by the Snowball now take the same impact as the primary unit
  • Removed 50% threshold mechanic from Walrus Punch
  • Walrus Punch base crit increased from 3x to 3.5x

Some small buffs and a rework of a kind for the Walrus PUNCH! Walrus PUNCH! ability. Will no longer require people waiting for the target to get below 50% HP, which will be nice in pubs and could possible give some extra competitive presence.

Undying Undying

  • Soul Rip cooldown reduced from 25/20/15/10 to 24/18/12/6

Don't get me wrong - it is a rather strong buff to the Nuke/Heal. The problem is, it is not strong enough to justify maxing Soul Rip Soul Rip before Decay Decay and Tombstone Tombstone.

Vengeful Spirit Vengeful Spirit

  • Wave of Terror armor reduction increased from 2/3/4/5 to 3/4/5/6

People will probably ask me, how come -1 armour on Enchantress is not a big thing, while and extra -1 armour on Vengeful Spirit's Wave of Terror Wave of Terror is? I would have to respond, that I strongly believe that the Wave of Terror should be maxed first, since the extra DPS it provides is very strong, while itss low manacost allows spamming it in lane. In addition, Wave of Terror can potentially hit 5 targets, making for a total of -5 armor buff, rather than -1.

Venomancer Venomancer

  • Base damage reduced by 5
  • Base HP regen reduced from 0.75 to the default 0.25n

Overall, a nerf to the Venomancer's harassing potential. Not a big one, but combined can be felt and will possibly reduce the hero's presence.

Visage Visage

  • Base movement speed reduced by 5
  • Grave Chill manacost rescaled from 70/80/90/100 to 100
  • Familiars are now properly magic immune

As if 10% base Magic Resistance and starting -0.56 armour was not enough... Movement speed loss is not very significant, but a 30 MP cost increase for Grave Chill Grave Chill will not allow to spam double Soul Assumption Soul Assumption + Grave Chill Grave Chill at early levels. Something I find extremely sad.

Warlock Warlock

  • Upheaval max duration increased from 12 to 16

I think the sole purpose of increasing the duration of Upheaval Upheaval is to give Warlock something to do, after the using all of his spells, since the maximum effect is reached after the first 3 seconds of channelling at level 4 of the ability.

Windranger Windranger

  • Focus Fire manacost reduced from 200/300/400 to 150
  • Focus Fire no longer has a cast animation

The buff to Focus Fire Focus Fire will not necessarily make people level it earlier, but it certainly helps giving some use to the ability. The animation aspect was a bit annoying, but had no real influence on the gameplay.

Witch Doctor Witch Doctor

  • Maledict AoE increased from 150 to 165
  • Voodoo Restoration initial manacost reduced from 25/50/75/100 to 20/30/40/50
  • Paralyzing Casks can now bounce to units in Fog of War

The small AoE increase to Maledict Maledict will make it easier to land on a single opponent, while allowing to catch several enemies in it a bit easier. The decreased manacost for the Voodoo Restoration Voodoo Restoration is a very strong buff, since it will allow Witch Doctor provide his team with a 40 HP regen a lot earlier.

Paralyzing Cask bouncing into Fog of War will be very strong, in my opinion. Not only will it make catching enemies easier, but will occasionally also allow for some scouting, since it can now connect to the heroes you do not see. A very nice buff overall.

Wraith King Wraith King

  • Reincarnation slow increased from 50 to 75%
  • Reincarnation slow duration increased from 4 to 5

An amazing buff to the Wraith King. 75% slow for 5 seconds will allow his team to punish the enemy for focusing the wrong guy.

Zeus Zeus

Arc Lightning cast range increased from 700 to 850

Zeus will be able to farm a lot safer, possibly contesting the Middle lane from OD. On top of that, he can finish off fleeing enemies easier, while his passive ability is focusing on the ones still in fight. A great buff overall, that could possibly lead to Zeus being picked in the competitive scene as another possible counter to Outworld Devourer.

ITEMS

Animal Courier Animal Courier

  • Ground Courier bounty per player reduced from 175 to 150

Not a very big change, but welcome nonetheless - killing early courier before the 3rd minute not only left some hero without his items (usually bottle on mid hero), but gave a sizeable bounty. At least the bounty is now reduced.

Arcane Boots Arcane Boots

  • Manacost increased by 10

A small decrease in the amount of mana provided to the owner of the boots - still very good for the team. Also, a little trick some of you might not be aware of - if two people on your team have Arcane Boots, before giving mana to each other, you could put the boots on the ground (in turns), to provide some extra MP to each other.

Battle Fury Battle Fury

  • Cleave AoE increased from 225 to 250

A little AoE increase. Still a very situational item choice for most heroes. Indirect buff to Ember Spirit.

Blink Dagger Blink Dagger

  • Blink no longer has a manacost

That one is huge - with some minor Buffs to heroes like Magnus, Slardar, Sven, Legion Commander (good/decent candidates for a blink dagger with small mana pools) the item becomes extremely potent on them. Can't wait to try it)

Bottle Bottle

  • Can now be used on your allies by holding down the Control key

Just making it a bit easier to share. Especially helpful in a poorly-coordinated team.

Diffusal Blade Diffusal Blade

  • Agility bonus increased from 22/26 to 25/30

Some minor stat buffs. Nothing of a big importance. Personally, I would rather have an option to buy a recipe for the third time to restore the charges.

Drum of Endurance Drum of Endurance

  • Number of charges increased from 4 to 5
  • Recipe cost increased from 800 to 875

75 gold for an extra charge? Not necessarily a nerf/buff, but will delay the next "big" item on a carry by 1-2 last hits.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity Eul's Scepter of Divinity

  • Cyclone cooldown reduced from 25 to 23

Just a minor buff to the item. Even more escape for Puck Puck.

Force Staff Force Staff

  • Force travel speed is reduced

Not that game-changing, but will make targeting Force Staffed units a bit easier.

Iron Branch Iron Branch

  • Gold cost reduced from 53 to 50

Don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, it is not necessarily clear why it used to cost 53 gold in the first place. On the other hand, I got so used to it being 53 gold through the long history of me playing Dota, that it makes me a bit sad.

Mask of Madness Mask of Madness

  • Lifesteal increased from 17% to 20%

Will make suicidal heroes just a little bit tankier. Still a very situational item.

Mjollnir Mjollnir

  • Changed the area type that is used when Static Charge hit units

Just some minor performance tweaks.

Necronomicon Necronomicon

  • Necronomicon units bounty increased from 100/125/150 to 100/150/200
  • Necronomicon units armor reduced from 6/8/10 to 4
  • Necronomicon cooldown increased from 80 to 95

A huge overall nerf to Necronomicon. A very needed and welcomed one, in my opinion. I just hope that the item will not become underused in Public matchmaking once again.

[missing item: observer-wards]

  • Can be targeted on allies to transfer one charge

A minor tweak that makes the initial stages of the game a lot less frustrating. Also opens up some space for mind games - you see an offlane with 1 ward at the early stages - did he already place one, or did he just get one charge, and the second ward is in a completely different lane. Dewarding early wards just got a lot more complicated. And I love it.

Radiance Radiance

  • Attack damage bonus increased from 60 to 65

All hail Valve balance machine!

Refresher Orb Refresher Orb

  • Recipe cost reduced from 1875 to 1800

Just a minor cost reduction. Nothing special.

Ring of Aquila Ring of Aquila

  • Agility bonus increased from 6 to 9

Some extra stats. Nice, but not that significant.

Rod of Atos Rod of Atos

  • HP bonus increased from 325 to 350

25 extra HP. Not enough to transfer the item from the "very situational" category to the "situational" one.

Sange and Yasha Sange and Yasha

  • Sange and Yasha slow duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
  • Sange and Yasha slow increased from 30 to 32%

Little by little, the infamous Sange and Yasha is becoming a very decent item. Let's wait for the next patch and see whether the Valve Balance Machine will decide to grant it something else.

[missing item: sentry-wards]

  • Can be targeted on allies to transfer one charge

Same as with Observer wards.

Shadow Amulet Shadow Amulet

  • Fade delay improved from 1.8 to 1.5
  • Can now be used on allies

Some fun things can be done with it. If you have 50 seconds to spare you can have an infinite Mirana ultimate for the whole team. Of course you have to stand still for it to work)

With the Fade Delay decreased to a decent 1.5s, it can be utilised by heroes with strong channelling abilities, since casting Shadow Amulet will not interrupt channellings. And if your teammate has a Force Staff, it can be very funny to watch - with the whole enemy team wasting their AoE on an invisible target that is actually 600 units away.

Shiva's Guard Shiva's Guard

  • Arctic Blast range increased from 719 to 900
  • Arctic Blast speed increased from 300 to 350

Just some minor buffs to a late-game support item. The speed increase was really necessary, in my opinion, while the radius one is a nice addition.

Smoke of Deceit Smoke of Deceit

  • Duration decreased from 40 to 35

Borderline Green/Yellow. Now, if you are going to gank somebody, you better know where you can find the enemy.

Town Portal Scroll Town Portal Scroll

  • Stacking delay decreased from 3/5/6/7/8 to 3/5/5.5/6/6.5
  • Max targeting range increased from 525 to 575

Mass TP-ing is now possible once more, saving 1.5 seconds for the last hero, which cannot be underestimated in the competitive scene. The second aspect of the chagelog is a nice addition. It might be very interesting to see how it can be abused (e.g. Teleporting to T1 on the bottom lane for the Radiant without breaking any trees, hence completely undetected).

Tranquil Boots Tranquil Boots

  • Movement speed increased from 85 to 90
  • HP Regen increased from 10 to 12

Some extra stats for the boots. Not enough to really change them.

Veil of Discord Veil of Discord

  • Strength/Agility/Damage bonus increased from 3 to 6

Just some minor buffs. Not interesting.

CLOSING COMMENTS

The 6.80 patch will not be as game-changing as 6.79, but some of the amendments I personally find extremely important and strong. Not only will it help dealing with the current somewhat stale meta in the competitive scene, but will also give some extra presence for several heroes in pubs.

All-in-all, I really like that Valve has finally stopped making just hats, and are introducing some changes to the gameplay, as well as new (old) heroes.

As always, Thank You for reading and do not hesitate to leave your comments! We really appreciate the feedback!

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17 commentaires
Убей своих любимых
Убей своих любимых

    It's awesome patch!

    Ablaze
    Ablaze

      WHY change from 53 gold.. it was the gg-branch :(

      KawaiiSocks
      KawaiiSocks D

        Yeah. I can see where they are coming from - branch costing 53 g really didn't make a lot of sense... But the nostalgia... Makes me feel kind of old.

        ブガッティ
        ブガッティ

          can't really reply when there's so much to say. haha.

          but valve did say their patches would come in longer periods(remember?).

          anyway the 50 gold cost for gg branch helps when you buy a combi that leaves you with only 50gold.

          then ya juz go clarity usually.

          Alyosha
          Alyosha

            I was left with 47 gold almost ever game...

            Los Mikkaelos
            Los Mikkaelos

              The Morph change is huge and will bring Morphling back. Im calling it!

              KawaiiSocks
              KawaiiSocks D

                IMO - the biggest changes are:
                1. Observer Ward sharing and the mindgames related to it.
                2. Shadow Demon (read the section)
                3. Zero-Manacost Blink Dagger - countless improvements for: BrewMaster, Magnus, Sven(+-), Ursa, Slardar, Legion Commander etc. etc. etc. - good/decent initiators with somewhat limited mana pool.
                4. Roshan Reworks. That was REALLY necessary
                5. A possible return of QW Invoker.
                6. Lion Aghanim's Scepter.

                xAte*
                xAte*

                  Really nice analyze of the patch and a great blog like always. I'd like to address that the buff to Morphling is way bigger than people are thinking. Just like Mass I think Morph will become a viable carry again or even a mid like he was at TI2. If you want to check out the changes since post TI2 and untill now (6.80) I recommend this article/blog

                  http://ziedota.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/the-morphling-ti2-and-back-again/

                  It really shows you that all in all, Morph has been buffed since TI2 now.

                  Dog of Wisdom
                  Dog of Wisdom

                    Blink no longer has a manacost DAT

                    dp.general_tao
                    dp.general_tao

                      Imo you underestimated the importance of some changes. 900 AOE on mjolnir is HUGE. its a 200 dmg nuke in your whole screen when you get hit! Also the buff to morph means you can eblade+adaptive strike while you are waveforming, for an almost undodgeable combo. The battlefury is not only a buff to ember spirit, but also an other indirect buff to am and void which already got some. Having 2 boars from call of the wild means you can slow 2 heroes for a crippling 35%. You can also stack ancients with 1 while having an other one to protect you in lane for a very low (15) mana cost. The sticky omni aura also means even if you stun him, you cant get out of it. Finally the buff on the spirit bear means the return of mjolnir bear. Before, if you had a mjolnir proc, you would have only the lightning, effectively reducing your entangle chances by 25% (which was compensated by the attack speed buff). Now mjolnir effectively increases your entangle rate by 80%, as well as giving you more farming/pushing potential.

                      Habnabbit
                      Habnabbit

                        @KawaiiSocks / NBB`R0und4b0ut

                        This isn't the first time the GG branch has received a cost reduction.
                        It was 57 gold for a very long time. I believe the last change was around 4 or 5 years ago.

                        KawaiiSocks
                        KawaiiSocks D

                          Thanks for the comments! I might have underestimated or overestimated a couple of things, so any feedback is very appreciated!

                          I think with the Mjollnir, a lot of people disregard the fact, that it sends a 5-target chain lightning, rather than an instant nuke to your offender and others around him. So it will remain more or less the same, the nuke can now proc in a different direction and has potential of hitting more targets, since it is not a cone, but otherwise the mechanics are the same. Or am I being wrong again?

                          Кошеня
                          Кошеня

                            nice post

                            The DarKNovA
                            The DarKNovA

                              I think Morphling casting Manta while in waveform will restart the waveform and can travel further thanks to it.
                              At least it used to be like that back in the days.

                              Ichiban
                              Ichiban

                                The bottle sharing buff is a bit overpowered in my opinion. For a team with Tinker on their line-up, Tinker can just tp to someone who needs hp/mana regen. Coupled with the scepter upgrade on him, I think tinker will be more common in competitive play now.

                                RaiL
                                RaiL

                                  what do u think about morphling buff? it will bring morphling back in competitive?

                                  mllcg
                                  mllcg

                                    morphling is back in the meta.

                                    he was stopped being picked coz of the very same reason they buffed him up this time

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