We don’t have to wait long for a new episode of Dota right after the TI qualifiers. There were some scaling issues in this game and from the looks of it, most of them have been addressed. We’ll highlight the major changes of the patch and try to guess what the meta means.
There really aren’t many to highlight. We feel like changes 
The cost of the Head isn’t big enough to stop people from buying this thing, though 
Silver Edge is still as niche as it was, even for a second more A break.
The only real fun is this 
Meteor Hammer. It had a tangible advantage over the others 
Kaya derivatives in terms of Mana regen and therefore are often built on similar heroes 
Wind of the Storm. Despite this limitation, we feel that many players will return to other options — 
Yasha and Kaya look especially interesting.
The Bloodthorn nerf is also very welcome and we feel like it should do 
Chaos Knight is very manageable. It’s a huge drop in CK’s potential burst damage and the hero has lost ~1.5% win rate since yesterday.
Most hero transformations are simple, with very few extreme reactions. Considering how complicated the game has been over the last month we think it’s a good thing. There is one change that I personally am not too happy about, as it makes the hero unplayable at higher levels.
Dark Willow lost her power to send Jex to her friend and actor Bedram effectively also requires Mreska to step down. This has already resulted in a massive loss of ~3% win rate across all brackets and has dropped the hero below 50%. Combined with The Bramble Maze senses, the hero is in a very bad place right now.
Clockwerk’s Expanded Armature feature should also feel a little more oppressive, with longer cooldowns and lower mana burn at earlier levels. We feel that the hero is still very active, but there is very little trouble during the stage. His second feature is also looking better and better with every patch.
Pudge finally had his Flayer’s Hook feature toned down. Extras Meat Hook the speed felt wrong and too strong. The reaction to it was very difficult and we saw some amazing performances during the TI qualifiers, but some of them felt out of place.
Sad to see Clockwerk again 
The Shadow Fiend combo is gone, but it was one of those changes that was deemed necessary and we agree. The Shadow Fiend was very powerful and the hero’s senses were very welcome. Even if they remove cool legacy interactions.
Another hero that got a long list of nerfs 
Templar Assassin and, again, he deserves it. To make each layer of Refraction The barrier with HP was a questionable decision, in my opinion. Much like him Mega Meepo, it’s a way to make a hero playable in unlikely matchups, but it leads to identity erosion. Over time the cumulative effect of these types of changes can lead to heroes feeling very different. Pulling the concept back a bit, with very low HP on Refraction Obstacles are excellent moves and a well-placed nerf.
Tinker finds nerves in him The Defense Matrix on top of 
Arcane Blink nerfs are also welcome. Not because the hero was too powerful or oppressive in bars, but simply because he’s Tinker – possibly the most annoying hero to play with in the history of the game. In addition, the hero looked very good in other TI Qualifier games and the success of the repetition in pubs was only a matter of time.
Most of the changes in the episode were overpowered heroes’ sensibilities, which makes perfect sense, considering the meta of Degrees. That said, there are little buffs here and there that you should check out. We are especially excited 
The silencer is probably finding a niche in the game.
What are your thoughts on the patch and the current meta? Maybe there’s a hero you’re excited to see beat? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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