Dota 2 update 7.30e item and hero balances changes - biggest nerfs and buffs

Valve has just released its latest Dota 2 patch update, version 7.30e, which includes a menu of changes to some of your favourite heroes, including Magnus, Tiny, and Void Spirit. In addition to this, we finally see Marci join the fight, Dota 2's newest hero!

Overall, the patch update does not include any remarkable changes. However, we expect Marci to change the meta in a big way, given how strong she already appears to be. Most of the nerfs in the present patch stem from The International 10 playoffs and are centred around items and heroes with a high success rate in those matches.

We won't beat around the bush here, so without any further ado, let's get right into it.

Marci is the newest hero in Dota 2

Valve announced Marci's induction into the game by saying: "Today Marci powers her way from DOTA: Dragon's Blood into the battle of the Ancients as the newest hero to join the fight, proving that undying loyalty yields unrivalled power."

"Marci marches into battle, ready to raise fists in defence of her companions. Head over to the Marci update page to learn about her abilities and more."

Gameplay updates in Dota 2 7.30e

There weren't many gameplay updates. However, small camps XP bounties have been reduced by 10%. This could affect Support players in a big way, as they will receive less XP when pulling creep waves for their core.

Dota 2 Item balance changes in 7.30e

There were several item changes in Dota 2 7.30e. However, only a few will have any notable effect on your game. Arguably the most significant change has been to the Bottle, which now only stored bottled runes for 90 seconds.

• Battle Fury
  • Bonus damage increased from 55 to 60
  • Quell bonus damage reduced from 18 to 15
• Bottle **
  • Rune stored duration reduced from 120 seconds to 90 seconds

This change could see more aggressive plays in the mid-lane as players can no longer do their lane-jungle farming cycle efficiently.

• Fae Grenade
  
  • No longer applies your attack damage
  • Damage per second increased from 20 to 35
• Holy Locket
  • Heal amplification reduced from 35% to 30%
• Linken's Sphere
  • All stats increased from 14 to 16
• Mage Slayer
  • Debuff duration increased from 4 to 6
  • Attack Speed increased from 15 to 20
• Silver Edge
  • Attack Damage reduced from +60 to +52
  • Attack Speed reduced from +40 to +35

Economic changes

• Crimson Guard (-75 gold)
• Falcon Blade (+25 gold)
• Guardian Greaves (-100 gold)
• Heart of Tarrasque (-100 gold)
• Helm of Iron Will (+25 gold)
• Hurricane Pike (-100 gold)
• Skull Basher (-75 gold)
• Vladmir's Offering (-100 gold)
• Helm of the Overlord (+100 gold)

Minor item changes

• Echo Saber (-1s CD)
• Mjollnir (+5 AS)
• Satanic (-10 Bonus Damage)
• Shadow Blade (-5 Damage)
• Swift Blink (-5 AS and Damage)
• Witch Blade (+2 Int)
• Wraith Band (+0.5 Armour)

Item mechanic changes

• Veil of Discord no longer amplifies attack based spells like cleaves, splashes, damage return, etc.
• Psychic Headband no longer triggers Linkens Sphere (and will work similarly to Bullwhip).

Biggest hero balance changes in Dota 2 7.30e

We won't list all of the hero balance changes because it's simply too long to mention here.

Magnus

Yeah, we all saw this coming. Magnus was by far one of the most picked heroes at TI10, boasting a win rate of 73% at the Main Event. Magnus was arguably one of many single determinants that won Team Spirit the Aegis of Champions. They drafted Magnus 6 times at the Main Event, winning 5 of them for a win rate of 83%!

• Horn Toss
  • Shard now applies a 100% MS and 100 AS slow to targets instead of a stun (duration from 0.75 to 1.25)
  • Shard damage is now done at the start rather than the end
• Skewer
  • Range reduced from 900/1000/1100/1200 to 900/975/1050/1125
• Talent Tree 
  • Level 20 Talent reduced from +425 Skewer Range to +375

Despite these nerfs, I still expect Magnus to be picked in pubs. I feel like Valve should have nerfed this hero even more.

Tiny

Tiny was the 6th most-picked hero at TI10. Team Spirit played with Tiny seven times with a win rate of 57%. Team Secret also picked Tiny 5 times, winning 80% of their matches with him. It's, therefore, a no-brainer that Tiny got nerfed, with Valve restructuring Tiny's Tree Throw and Tree Grab ability damage.

• Tree Throw
  
  • Unit bonus damage reduced from 25% to 20% (now matches Tree Grab values)
  • Splash now equals Tree Grab splash values (from 200% to 40/60/80/100%)
• Tree Grab
  • Building damage reduced from 90/120/150/180% to 70/100/130/160%
• Talent Tree
  • Level 15 Talent reduced from +30% Tree Grab Unit Damage to +20% (tooltip was 15% before but was doing double damage)

Void Spirit

Void Spirit was the 5th most-picked hero at the TI10 Main Event and had a total win rate of 53%. While the changes to Void Spirit below may seem insignificant, collectively, they affect the hero in a big way by throwing some players' off. However, in the same breathe, I also feel like Valve should have nerfed this hero even more.

• Dissimilate
  • Cast point increased from 0.2 to 0.3
  • Shard bonus damage reduced from 200 to 175
• Talent Tree
  • Level 20 Talent reduced from 14% Spell Amplification to 12%
  • Level 25 Talent reduced from Dissimilate Stuns for 2s to 1.75s

And that's it! If you want to interrogate the patch notes in further detail, then click here.

• Read more: T1 Xepher calls out his mum in heartfelt moment at Dota 2 TI10.

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Featured image courtesy of Valve.