We take a look at some of the top performing heroes since patch 7.31 dropped.
The newest Dota 2 patch became was released a couple of days ago, and we already have some interesting data we’d like to share with you. Like every new patch, people are testing all sorts of things until they find the success formula. Some gamers watch streams on Twitch, whereas others experiment while playing pubs.
The last Dota 2 patch was fun initially, but pro teams and casual players alike quickly found out the heroes that stand out. As a result, we had the chance to watch names like Queen of Pain, Spirit Breaker, Storm Spirit, and Kunkka all the time. People were hoping that the new patch would change the existing meta, and it seems like they were right. However, we don’t know whether this will be the case in the future because patch 7.31 has been out only for a couple of days.
The first days of a new patch are always fun and this is the time when some people gain tons of MMR. If you want to be one of them, you have to know which heroes to count on, so here are a couple of names that stand out.
Meepo
Judging by the stats, it seems that Meepo is the most successful hero in patch 7.31, at least for now. Some players might be surprised by the fact that this hero is first, but if you read the full patch notes, you will realize why this is the case.
Meepo has always been one of the few heroes in Dota 2 who can win a game independently. That’s why he always has an impressive win rating, regardless of the skill bracket. With that being said, he was never the go-to meta hero because other carries can easily counter him. Even though this is still a threat, Meepo’s latest changes can make him one of the best in the current meta.
The hero receives tons of other buffs besides the boost to his STR, AGI, and INT gain. For example, Earthbind now costs less mana during the first three levels. Dig also costs less mana and restores 60% health, instead of 40%. However, the ability’s cooldown is now 50s instead of 40s.
There are also a couple of notable changes to Divided We Stand. First, the clones no longer benefit twice from the Power Treads stat bonuses and from the level attribute stat bonuses. However, the Shard fling mana is down from 100 to 75, and all Meepos passively gain 15% magic resistance on level 3.
The hero’s talent also received minor tweaks, such as the level 10 one, which now grants +30 Poof damage instead of +20 Base damage. As for the level 15 talent, it grants True Strike on targets under the effect of Earthbind instead of +40 Poof Damage.
Undying
The second place on our list goes to Undying, the offlaner that you definitely don’t want to meet, especially in the current meta. The hero has more than 56% in the last week, which makes him one of the best in patch 7.31.
Even though the hero did not receive that many changes compared to Meepo, he is better than before. Besides the change to Flesh Golem, where the Shard reduces the ultimate’s cooldown by 35 seconds instead of the 30s, there are a couple of notable changes that we should be aware of, and all of them are related to Soul Rip.
To make the spell more popular, Valve decided to change a lot of the things it provides. Now, the maximum number of units it affects is set to 10 on all levels, whereas the heal and damage per unit is increased. As a result, Soul Rip is a lot more effective early on than before.
Soul Rip also has a significantly lower cooldown and its mana cost is reduced. These changes should stimulate Dota 2 players to use this hero more often and focus on Soul Rip instead of Decay.
Huskar
The next hero that stands out compared to the rest is Huskar, one of the most annoying heroes that you can play against. Huskar is one of the names in Dota 2 that can shine in different situations, even if he is not good in the current meta. In fact, we are yet to have a Huskar meta in the game, even though the Dazzle + Huskar combo has been around for many years.
After patch 7.31 arrived, Huskar received a critical buff that definitely put him on the map. His passive ability Berserker’s Blood now also grants up to 25% magic resistance based on his HP. In other words, the hero has a free Hood of Defiance, making him a lot more dangerous than before, especially against heroes known for their magical damage. Heroes like Tinker and Shadow Fiend laned relatively easily against Huskar because the hero was susceptible to magical damage. Following the changes, it seems like he will be able to survive much more manageable.
According to the most recent stats, Huskar has an impressive 56% win rating, which is good compared to others.
Lone Druid
The next hero who seems to be winning more than usual is Lone Druid. The latter is one of the carries/midlaners/offlaners that always worked well in certain situations. In fact, there was a patch a couple of years ago when people started focusing on LD instead of the bear, and the hero did really well. However, this only lasted a couple of months because Valve nerfed the hero.
The current patch seems good for the late-game monster because he has more than a 55% win rating. As you can probably guess, there are many reasons for his success, and most of them are related to his Spirit Bear. The latter now has +8 base damage from before, and the Entangle now deals damage immediately once it applies it. Entangle also has reduced damage interval, but its duration is down to 2.8 instead of 3.0 seconds on level 4. Fortunately, it is longer on level one.
Entangle also does slightly less damage than before, but it seems like this is not a problem, considering the hero’s win rating. Interestingly, Spirit Link also shares 25% of the bear and LD’s armor, which means that you no longer need to purchase items that provide armor just to make the bear more robust.
Lastly, LD’s ultimate True Form won’t go on cooldown if you die while casting it. This was one of the most annoying problems when playing with this hero and it seems like Valve finally decided to address it.
