Even after 7.20b, a lot of heroes and items were imbalanced and 7.20c is here to fix that. I will be covering most of the important changes from 7.20c in this article.
Item Changes:
Wraith Band, Bracer and Null Talisman
- Wraith Band attack speed bonus reduced from 7 to 6
- Recipe cost of Wraith Band, Bracer and Null Talisman are all increased from 210 to 220
All 3 of these items became extremely efficient after the new bonuses were added to them. Most of the players like to make 2 or 4 of these items and go ham in the early game. These items definitely deserved these nerfs and I am expecting them to get more nerfs in the next few patches.
Sange, Yasha and Kaya
- Recipe cost of Sange, Yasha and Kaya are all reduced from 650 to 600
The multiple Bracers, Wraith Bands and Null Talismans build became super efficient and players started skipping Sange, Yasha and Kaya sometimes, and started going for costlier items like Skadi, Black King Bar and Octarine Core. Although this doesn’t always happen, these mid-tier items definitely needed a buff.
Bloodstone
- Charges increased from 12 to 14
- HP/MP regen per charge increased from 0.25 to 0.3
This item got over-nerfed when they removed the respawn time reduction and pocket deny in 7.20. The Mana Regen rework in 7.20 also nerfed a lot of Int heroes and hence Bloodstone was rarely getting picked up. Although these buffs are good, I think Bloodstone needs more buffs to be viable.
Hero Changes:
Brewmaster:
- Cinder Brew activation mechanic has been reworked
- It now ignites anytime a target is dealt 80 spell damage or more, dealing 20/25/30/35 DPS for 3 seconds
- If you activate it while the debuff is already going, it will extend the ignite debuff duration
- If activated after the ignite debuff wears out, a new ignite debuff will be added
- Cinder Brew primary buff duration is no longer extended when activated (they are seperate debuffs now)
- Level 25 Talent reduced from +200% Drunken Brawler Critical Strike to +175%
Looks like Ice Frog decided to get rid of the elemental damage mechanic that he added in 7.20 with Cinder Brew. Dota is already very complex and we did not need this extra mechanic in the game. Now any spell in the game can extend the ignite debuff which is good for the hero although he didn’t really need it. Brew is already very strong and I see him in every other game in my pubs currently.
Drow Ranger:
- Marksmanship now deals bonus 120 physical proc damage against heroes
The early game potential of Drow got crushed after the 7.20 changes and the hero is in dire need of some buffs. 20/30/40% chance to do 120 extra physical damage on a hero sounds quite good but I don’t think it will be enough to bring Drow back into the scene.
Elder Titan:
- Astral Spirit attack damage per hero reduced from 20/40/60/80 to 15/30/60/80
- Astral Spirit cooldown increased from 16 to 17
After 7.20, ET became very dangerous in the early game, hitting like a truck after using Astral Spirit. The 7.20c nerfs look decent enough and it might be enough to balance the laning phase for the hero.
Lone Druid:
- Base armor reduced by 2
- Agility reduced from 24 + 2.7 to 20 + 2.4
- Spirit Link cooldown rescaled from 44/36/28/20 to 43/36/29/22
- Level 10 Talent reduced from +175 Attack Range to +150
- Level 20 Talent changed from +40 Spirit Link Attack Speed to -0.2 Spirit Bear Base Attack Time
One of the most OP heroes after 7.20. LD definitely deserved these nerfs. Although I still think he deserves a few more nerfs, atleast we are moving in the right direction.
Meepo:
- Divided We Stand XP gain reduced from 50% to 40%
- Level 15 Talent reduced from +40 Poof Damage to +30
Another incredibly OP hero after 7.20. Initially, many Meepo spammers got really upset when Geostrike was replaced with Ransack but soon realized that it was actually better. Even after the nerfs in 7.20b, the hero was still strong and these nerfs are definitely justified.
Outworld Devourer:
- Intelligence gain increased from 2.7 to 3
- Base armor increased by 1
- Equilibrium slow from 12/20/28/36% to 12/22/32/42%
- Arcane Orb no longer ignores Ancients
OD got completely obliterated after the 7.20 changes. These are some really good buffs which will definitely help the hero. Since Arcane Orb can be used on Ancients now, OD will be able to farm faster and also be really helpful in killing Roshan.
Storm:
- Intelligence gain increased from 3 to 3.2
- Static Remnant damage increased from 120/160/200/240 to 120/170/220/270
Storm is another hero that got completely killed by 7.20. There’s a really good thread on reddit which explains all the reasons that “nerfed Storm Spirit into oblivion” on reddit. These 7.20c buffs look really good and they will help Storm farm faster in the early game but I don’t think it is even close enough to bring Storm back into the game.
Slark:
- Pounce duration reduced from 2.75/3/3.25/3.5 to 2.5/2.75/3/3.25
- Dark Pact mana cost from 55/50/45/40 to 60
- Shadow Dance duration from 4/4.5/5 to 4/4.25/4.5
- Agility steal now also occurs when an enemy dies within 300 units from you with the debuff, rather than only when you get the killing blow
- Level 10 Talent reduced from +8 Agility to +6 Agility
- Level 20 Talent reduced from +2s Pounce Leash to +1.5s
- Level 25 Talent reduced from +120s Essence Shift Duration to +100s
This hero became a monster after the leash mechanic was introduced and hex became dispellable. 7.20c nerfed Pounce and Dark Pact but for some reason his Essence Shift got a buff. The talent nerfs look decent and will hurt the hero a lot but I am pretty sure he is still very strong right now.
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