A new patch for Dota 2 was dispatched today and it brings lots of changes to the talent trees of heroes. While most of the changes are primarily nerfs to the heroes, some heroes were also buffed through better talents.
Icefrog has taken a detour from the routes of 7.26a and 7.26b with the new patch 7.26c not being a witness to any new changes in gameplay mechanics. While there were two small item changes, the majority of the patch focused on reworking heroes’ talent trees.
The only receivers of the item changes were Royal Jelly and Illusionist Cape.
ROYAL JELLY
- Buff is now duplicated on illusions
- Now has a global cast range
ILLUSIONIST’S CAPE
- Illusion now dies if the item is unequipped
The global cast range of the Royal Jelly will certainly make it more convenient for it to be passed on to the Weaver who refuses to be farming anywhere remotely close to his supports.
Most heroes only received a rework in their talent trees but some heroes also had one of their abilities changed to an extent. While the searing arrows of Clinkz took a hit in the damage, it was more than compensated by buffs in his talent tree.
CLINKZ
SEARING ARROWS
- Searing Arrows damage reduced from 30/40/50/60 to 25/35/45/55
TALENTS
- Level 10 Talent changed from +8 Strength to +9
- Level 10 Talent increased from +6 Agility to +7
- Level 15 Talent increased from -24s Burning Army Cooldown to -30s
- Level 20 Talent increased from +275 Death Pact Health to +325
Another insanely popular hero, Juggernaut received a tiny change in his ultimate mechanics and will now always be affected by Helm of the Dominator during omnislash.
JUGGERNAUT
- Fixed Helm of the Dominator not affecting your hero during Omnislash
OMNISLASH
- Omnislash now waits for 0.15 seconds before ending when it doesn’t find any valid target, rather than instantly ending
TALENTS
- Level 15 Talent increased from +60 Blade Fury Movement Speed to +80
- Level 25 Talent increased from +0.8s Omnislash Duration to +1s
Mars had his manacost for his Spear of Mars increased along with a change in Bulwark mechanics. He also had his talent tree reworked.
MARS
SPEAR OF MARS
- Spear of Mars manacost increased from 100 to 110/120/130/140
BULWARK
- Bulwark toggle will now be turned off when casting Spear of Mars
TALENTS
- Level 10 Talent changed from +6 Strength to +15 Damage
- Level 10 Talent changed from +15 Movement Speed to -2s Spear of Mars Cooldown
- Level 15 Talent changed from +20 Damage to +20 Movement Speed
Other popular heroes like OD, Pangolier, Terrorblade and Slark also had some changes along with talent tree reworks. Those, along with all the other changes can be read in detail in the official Dota 2 blog.
With the WePlay! Pushka League currently underway, fans will be eager to see how the pros deal with the sudden update in the middle of the tournament. There can potentially be a shift in the meta if the pros tilt towards certain heroes in this new patch.