7.22c is out, and it brought a surprisingly large amount of buffs with it. I will be analysing the entire patch in this article. Let’s get started right away!
Ring of Basilius
- Bonus damage increased from +7 to +8
This is a very small buff to the laning stage of heroes that like to make Vladmir’s Offering.
I cannot think of any hero that would like to have a casual Ring of Basilius. Maybe if the item gets a few more buffs, players will start use it in the early-game and sell it once their inventory is full, instead of upgrading it into a Vlads.
Axe
- Base movement speed increased by 10
A straight-up +10 MS buff? Where did this even come from? IceFrog has been making some extremely crazy changes these days and it’s getting me really excited.
Axe has 305 base MS now. He is so fast! Imagine getting Phase Boots on him. I’m excited to play Axe right now!
Batrider
- Flaming Lasso cooldown increased from 100/80/60 to 100/90/80
That is a huge nerf to Batrider’s late-game. Batrider doesn’t even have any talents to reduce the cooldown on his ultimate, except for the 15% cooldown reduction talent at 20.
Bloodseeker
- Base armor increased by 1
This is a huge buff to Bloodseeker, because he is vulnerable in the very early levels. Specially from level 1 to 3. Having +1 armor will make him extra durable against harass, because he also keeps getting his HP back through Bloodrage. Hence, this increases his EHP by a significant amount. EHP stands for Effective HP.
Bristleback
- Base damage increased by 3
Low base damage was always one of Bristleback’s major problems. In the early levels, its very hard to get last hits with this hero, since Quill Spray also does very little damage early on.
Thus, this is a really good buff for Bristleback. Hopefully he will be a stable part of the meta at some point, because he has never been a very popular hero.
Chaos Knight
- Chaos Bolt manacost reduced from 140 to 110/120/130/140
Chaos Knight has a lot of mana issues throughout the game. This buff is very important because its quite common for players to max this spell last because of how unreliable it can be.
Chen
- Divine Favor aura no longer provides +4/8/12/16 damage
- Divine Favor now has the Recall ability instead of Holy Persuasion with a 60 second cooldown
- Divine Favor HP regen increased from 1/2/3/4 to 2/3/4/5
- Holy Persuasion now provides +8/16/24/32 bonus damage to the converted creep
- Penitence manacost increased from 70 to 70/80/90/100
- Level 10 Talent reduced from +35% XP Gain to +30%
- Level 15 Talent changed from +10 Divine Favor Damage to +20 Holy Persuasion Damage
- Level 15 Talent changed from +7 Armor to -30s Divine Favor Cooldown
Chen got a lot of changes this patch. It seems like players are able to abuse this hero, no matter how much IceFrog tried fixing Divine Favor. So it looks like IceFrog just decided to remove the damage feature from Divine Favor, and move it to Holy Persuasion. Now, heroes will not get any bonus damage through Chen’s spells.
Apart from that, Chen’s Recall feature also got a huge nerf. The cooldown is set to 60 seconds now. Previously it was 15 second CD on all levels. There’s a -30 second Divine Favor Cooldown on level 15 now, but its hard to choose between that and +20 Holy Persuasion damage.
Apart from that, Penitence got a manacost nerf, and Chen’s XP gain talent at level 10 was also nerfed from +35% to +30%.
Clinkz
- Level 10 Talent changed from +5 Armor to +8 Agility
- Level 10 Talent changed from +12% Magic Resistance to +10 Strength
- Level 15 Talent changed from +15 Strength to -30s Burning Army Cooldown
- Level 25 Talent increased from +3s Strafe Duration to +4s
Clinkz’s talents got a lot of changes, because after the addition of his Aghanim’s Scepter buff into the game, the talent choices became extremely one-sided. It’s pretty hard to choose from the new talents in 7.22c though.
The toughest choice is probably at level 15. I still can’t make up my mind as to which one is better: +15 Searing Arrows Damage vs -30s Burning Army Cooldown. One increases the damage on your ult, and the other allows you to use it more frequently. Guess I’ll have to play a few games and decide which one is better.
Clockwerk
- Battery Assault cooldown reduced from 32/28/24/20 to 24/22/20/18
Once again, I’m extremely surprised by these insane changes by IceFrog. Since Battery Assault lasts for 10.5 seconds, the down-time of the spell is very low, right from the beginning. This is a buff to Clock overall, regardless of whether he’s being play as a support or a core.
Dark Seer
- Surge reduced from 30/45/60/75% to 25/40/55/70%
- Level 20 Talent reduced from +100 Ion Shell Damage to +80
Some much needed nerfs to one of the most popular heroes in the meta. Dark Seer has a win-rate of around 55% in Immortal/Divine pubs.
Dark Willow
- Base attack speed increased from 100 to 115
- Shadow Realm max damage duration reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds
This is a very unusual change by IceFrog. There was a lot of negative comments on forums like Reddit about the changes made to Willow in the previous patch. Here’s a short summary for the cause of said negativity: IceFrog nerfed Willow’s base attack time and Shadow Realm max damage duration in 7.22b, just because her Aghanim’s Scepter turned out to be way too OP. People were arguing that he should have nerfed the Scepter bonus, instead of nerfing her base stats and abilities.
Generally, IceFrog is very adamant about keeping the changes as they were, and nerfing/buffing the hero in some other way. But this time, it almost feels like he clicked the “undo” button.
Dazzle
- Bad Juju cooldown reduction increased from 20/35/50% to 26/38/50%
- Level 10 Talent changed from +200 Health to +30% XP Gain
I do love myself some Dazzle buffs. The Bad Juju buff is absolutely incredible. It increases the potential of being efficient by a lot.
The level 10 talent is such a big decision to make though. Both the talents are absolutely incredible. The other level 10 talent is +75 damage. I guess you’ll have to go with 30% XP gain if you’re playing support, but the damage is just way too tempting.
Dragon Knight
- Base intelligence increased by 3
- Level 10 Talent increased from -25% Breathe Fire Damage Reduction to -30%
- Level 15 Talent increased from +350 Health to +400
I’m genuinely surprised to see so many buffs in this patch. The smaller patches are generally full of nerfs and very few buffs, but this one is completely opposite.
Any Strength hero would love to get a base intelligence increase buff. DK especially, because he can use Breath Fire to farm. The talent changes are also very useful for a DK.
Elder Titan
- Astral Spirit attack damage bonus per hero increased from 15/30/60/80 to 20/40/60/80
I’m really unhappy as to how many changes this spell is getting. Its way too many changes to keep track of. In the last 10 patches, Astral Spirit was changed 6 times.
Astral Spirit attack damage per hero got buffed in the early levels. It seems like IceFrog buffs this spell every time ET becomes weak in the meta, and nerfs it when he becomes popular.
Enchantress
- Impetus range increased from 550 to 575 (matching the hero’s attack range)
- Enchant cooldown reduced from 22/18/14/10 to 20/16/12/8
I did not know that Impetus’ range was lower than the hero’s attack range. That’s so unintuitive. Thank god they fixed it.
Enchant cooldown got another buff. This is quite a serious buff. Players might actually consider going for the max enchant build again, as you’ll be able to enchant a lot of creeps and keep them enchanted.
Enigma
- Intelligence gain reduced from 3.9 to 3.6
A very small nerf to a popular hero in the meta. Enigma has a win-rate of around 54% in the Immortal/Divine bracket currently.
Faceless Void
- Chronosphere radius increased from 425 to 450
- Time Lock chance increased from 10/14/18/22% to 12/16/20/24%
I love the constant updates we keep getting, but changes like these are what bother me the most. Chronosphere’s radius has been the same for so long now that there’s a mental image of it in my head. Now I’ll have to get used to the new radius, and who knows how long that’s going to take. I’m sure most pro players would agree with this about these kinds of changes.
To add onto that, Time Lock % chance was increased. As if I wasn’t getting bashed enough already.
Huskar
- Life Break slow increased from 40/50/60% to 60%
This is a massive buff to Huskar. There were a few heroes that were fast enough to escape from Huskar in the early game, even after getting hit by Life Break. Now you need a proper escape mechanism in order to survive it.
Invoker
- Base armor increased by 1
Invoker players must be rejoicing right now. Invoker is one of the squishiest heroes in the early game, and +1 armor is like a blessing for him.
Io
- Attack range reduced from 575 to 500
- Base armor increased by 1
- Strength gain increased from 2.5 to 3
- Tether regen reduced from 105/120/135/150% to 90/110/130/150%
- Tether cancel now has a 0.25s cooldown to prevent accidental uses
- Spirits no longer slow
- Level 10 Talent changed from +20% XP Gain to Spirits Apply Slow
These are some very curious changes. Io is a lot tankier than before, but his spells and talents got massive nerfs.
Io has no way to disable a hero anymore, unless it takes the ‘Spirits apply slow’ talent at level 10. Losing the XP gain talent is also a huge blow to IO, as it won’t be able to reach level 20 as quick as before. Level 20 is where it can choose among 2 critical talents: Tether Grants Scepter Bonus vs. +150 Gold/Min.
Keeper of the Light
- Will-O-Wisp radius increased from 675 to 700
Another ultimate radius increase change. I hate IceFrog as much as I love him.
Lich
- Base intelligence increased by 2
- Sinister Gaze cooldown reduced from 30 to 30/28/26/24
- Chain Frost damage increased from 250/375/500 to 250/400/550
- Level 25 Talent increased from 50% slow to 60%
Oh my, these are some beautiful buffs. Lich is finally getting some love after what felt like a million nerfs.
Lich has serious mana problems, so the base intelligence increase is very welcome. The Sinister Gaze cooldown is also going to be very useful in long teamfights.
The Chain Frost damage increase is surprisingly the least significant one, since the spell is very unreliable. It’s going to have a very big impact when used in the perfect moment though.
I cannot think of a scenario where I would choose the slow talent instead of +60 HP regen on Frost Shield.
Luna
- Base health regen increased from 0 to 0.5
Although this isn’t the biggest buff, I can appreciate it considering how squishy Luna is.
Medusa
- Strength gain increased from 1.3 to 1.5
Medusa loves stats. Any increase in stats is very valuable to her, because she is naturally very tanky.
Mirana
- Base mana regen increased from 0 to 0.4
- Starstorm cast point reduced from 0.5 to 0.4
The Starstorm cast point is very negligible, but the mana regen will definitely come in handy for Mirana. She has 4 active spells.
Morphling
- Waveform cooldown increased from 17/15/13/11 to 20/17/14/11
- Waveform manacost increased from 140/155/160/165 to 150/155/160/165
Another popular hero in the meta. Although Morphling’s win-rate is very low at 46.38%, his pick-rate is at a massive 18.14%. So, the stats are definitely skewed because of too many players playing the hero. I personally believe that this hero is extremely strong against certain line-ups.
So, Waveform got nerfed in the early levels. That’s great news since Morphling is in his most vulnerable state in the early game. Now he’s even more vulnerable. If you haven’t yet figured out why I’m being so biased, it’s because I’m a support player.
Necrophos
- Heartstopper heal regen per stack increased from 2/3.5/5/6.5 to 3.5/4.5/5.5/6.5
- Heartstopper mana regen per stack increased from 3/4/5/6 to 3.5/4.5/5.5/6.5
IceFrog is amazing. First he nerfs a hero deep into the ground, then he slowly buffs the same hero to make him as annoying as he was before. Necrophos is going through the second phase here.
Nyx Assassin
- Base health regen reduced from 3.25 to 2.5
- Spiked Carapace duration reduced from 2.25 to 2
The base health regen nerf was definitely required. Previously, Nyx was way too durable in lane to seem balanced. The reduction in Spike Carapace duration is also a big nerf, because the spell is very reliable once you get Aghs.
Phantom Lancer
- Juxtapose illusion damage increased from 16% to 18%
- Level 10 Talent increased from +15% Evasion to +20%
+20% evasion talent at level 10? That sounds extremely strong. Moreover, PL is an illusion hero, so his Illusions also get tankier. The other talent is +20 attack speed which is also not bad because it affects your illusions.
The Juxtapose illusion damage was also increased. These are some scary buffs.
Phoenix
- Icarus Dive cooldown reduced from 36 to 36/34/32/30
- Fire Spirits Release cast point changed from 0.01 to 0
Some very inconsequential buffs. The Fire Spirits Release cast point could be useful if you need to immediately throw out all your spirits and cast your ultimate. But apart from that, these changes are very tiny.
Puck
- Base health regen increased from 0 to 0.5
- Level 25 Dreamcoil talent no longer requires enemies to be in attack range of puck, as long as Puck is within 200 range of the edge of the circle
- Level 25 Dreamcoil talent attack interval reduced from every 0.6 seconds to every 0.7 seconds
- Level 10 Talent increased from +5 All Stats to +6
- Level 10 Talent increased from +125 Cast Range to +150
Wow, these are some really good buffs for Puck. It really needed these buffs too. It is amongst the lowest win-rate heroes in every bracket.
The base health regen along with the +6 All Stats talent at level 10 would make Puck quite tanky in the mid-game. The Cast Range talent is also very tempting though.
The level 25 talent that no one previously went for, got some really strong buffs. You don’t even need to be too close to the enemies to attack them with rapid fire now.
Sand King
- Strength gain reduced from 3.2 to 3
- Sandstorm manacost increased from 60 to 75
Another popular hero getting some much deserved nerfs. Although these aren’t the biggest nerfs, his win-rate will surely drop by a bit.
Shadow Shaman
- Base attack speed reduced from 100 to 90
It hurts to see Shadow Shaman nerfs, but considering how strong and popular he is right now, this doesn’t come as a surprise at all.
Skywrath Mage
- Concussive Shot damage increased from 70/140/210/280 to 100/160/220/280
- Level 10 Talent changed from +8 Intelligence to +30% XP Gain
Skywrath Mage has a +30% XP gain talent now. The other level 10 talent is +20 MS, so this talent is easily the right choice. This is very scary because Sky likes to kill heroes every time his ult is off cooldown. Hence his ability to snowball has the potential to skyrocket now.
The Concussive Shot damage buff in the early levels is also very good for the hero.
Slardar
- Base health regen increased from 0 to 0.5
Slardar’s laning phase is going to be better now, and he is also going to be tankier than before in the early game.
Sven
- Storm Hammer stun duration reduced from 1.7/1.8/1.9/2 to 1.4/1.6/1.8/2
- Warcry manacost increased from 40 to 60
Poor Sven is getting nerfed to the ground every patch. But it makes me really happy because I hate this hero.
Both these nerfs severely affect Sven, regardless of what position he is being played in.
Terrorblade
- Strength gain increased from 1.5 to 1.7
Terrorblade is one of the squishiest heroes in the early game. He would gladly welcome a strength gain increase.
Timbersaw
- Base strength increased by 2
- Base mana regen increased from 0 to 0.25
Timber is a niche pick and he works extremely well against certain line-ups. That said, his win-rate is very low right now, and he could definitely use some buffs.
Both these buffs are very good for Timber’s laning phase. Considering how strong Timber already is in lane, these buffs are a little terrifying.
Tinker
- March of the Machines manacost reduced from 145/150/165/190 to 130/150/170/190
- Level 15 Talent changed from +30 Movement Speed to +150 Gold/Min
- Level 15 Talent increased from +10% Spell Lifesteal to +15%
- Level 20 Talent increased from +8 March of the Machines to +10
The March of the Machines manacost buff is very good for Tinker in the laning phase, as he can just push the wave and go farm the jungle.
I am very surprised by the level 15 talent change. How is it okay for a Tinker to have a +150 GPM talent at level 15? It doesn’t make any sense. I have a strong feeling that this will either get removed or nerfed in the next patch.
Treant Protector
- Base armor increased by 1
- Overgrowth duration increased from 3.25/4/4.75 to 3.5/4.25/5
That +1 base armor is very useful for Treant, since he’s a strength hero. It increases his EHP by a lot.
Overgrowth lasts for a whopping 5 seconds at level 18 now. That is an incredible disable. However, it is balanced because most heroes would be able to build some sort of a dispel by then. However, the duration increase at level 1 and 2 will definitely be felt.
Troll Warlord
- Whirling Axes Melee damage reduced from 75/125/175/225 to 50/100/150/200
Considering how spammable this spell is, this nerf is very much justifiable. Troll is in the same place as Morphling in terms of win-rate and pick-rate. He has a low win-rate of 47.53%, but a high pick-rate of 11.84%. And just like Morph, Troll is extremely good against certain line-ups.
Tusk
- Movement speed increased by 5
A Tusk buff? Wow, haven’t seen those in a while. +5 MS is very much welcome for Tusk, since he likes to roam.
Underlord
- Base armor increased by 1
Yet another +1 base armor buff. Looks like IceFrog is really favoring Strength heroes this patch. Just like Treant, Underlord is a strength hero, and he would massively benefit from any armor buff.
Undying
- Fixed the +5 Tombstone Attack talent not causing the right amount of health change
- Fixed Soul Rip not healing Tombstone for the intended amount
- Soul Rip max unit count reduced from 10/12/14/16 to 8/10/12/14
- Soul Rip Heal/Damage from 18/22/26/30 to 22/26/30/34
Apart from some bug fixes, Soul Rip got changed. It’s actually a nerf if you check the numbers, but it’s a buff in a very specific situation. Since Soul Rip does more damage/heal per unit now, it is better than before when there’s very few units around. This isn’t a very common occurrence for Undying however, because of Tombstone zombies.
Vengeful Spirit
- Magic Missile cooldown reduced from 10 to 9
This is quite a strong buff as it reduces the downtime of the spell. Venge also has a -6s Magic Missile Cooldown talent at level 20, putting the spell down to a 3 second cooldown.
Warlock
- Fatal Bonds damage reduced from 13/17/21/25% to 12/16/20/24%
- Level 10 Talent reduced from +5% Fatal Bonds Damage to +4%
Warlock is very popular currently, and it’s no surprise that he’s getting nerfed. These nerfs are extremely small though, I was expecting bigger nerfs. 1% reduction feels like almost nothing. I doubt anyone will take the talent anymore though.
Weaver
- Geminate Attack bonus damage from 10/20/30/40 to 10/25/40/55
I think that Weaver needs just a few more buffs to be strong. This buff is not much but its at least a nod in the right direction.
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