Here is a list of the biggest winners of patch 7.34e and our insight on how to utilize each of the Hero and item changes to enhance your gameplay
With the past patches changing up the entire basis of the game Dota 2, each following patch is meticulously revamping, fixing, and balancing the game’s range of Heroes, abilities, and items.
The latest 7.34e gameplay update brings with it plentiful nerfs and buffs to further balance the gameplay. So, here is our article on the biggest winners of 7.34e, with insights on how to utilize this patch to reshape your prowess and gameplay to the next level.
Biggest Winners Of Patch 7.34e – Items And Heroes
Let’s dive into the Heroes and items that were buffed in the gameplay update and how they affect them.
Heroes
Starting off, here are the Heroes who received the biggest buffs in 7.34e –
Drow Ranger
- Multishot cooldown decreased from 26/24/22/20s to 24/22/20/18s
First up on our list is Drow Ranger. Drow’s Multishot cooldown was decreased by 2s at all levels. This will drastically increase the speed at which she farms creeps and she now has a better chance at getting multiple usages out of it in teamfights.
If you take the level 15 talent (-8s Multishot cooldown), it comes down to an insane 10s cooldown, meaning you can easily get 2-3 uses in teamfights. Drow Ranger already dealt an insane amount of physical damage in fights thanks to her being able to pierce through base Armor, and this change is definitely another step in the right direction for her.
Lycan
- Base Agility increased from 16 to 18
- Agility gain increased from 1.4 to 1.8
Next up, we have the wolf man himself. On the surface, not much has changed about Lycan. However, we believe that a number of these small tweaks made the Hero a lot more relevant now.
Lycan got an increase in the Agility department, meaning he has more attack speed and Armor. Vladmir’s Offering (Helm of The Overlord was adjusted to do the same) was also buffed slightly, now providing +4 Armor instead of +3. As a Hero that naturally builds into these items, we believe we will see some more Lycan picks in this patch.
Witch Doctor
- Paralysing Cask creep damage multiplier reduced from 2.0x to 1.5x
- Death Ward now prioritizes Heroes within its attack range over creeps.
Witch Doctor (WD) players will breathe a sigh of relief after reading the second one out loud. However, we feel that this is more of a bug being fixed than an actual buff. Death Ward targeting creeps in the first place was one of the most crippling updates to the Hero and we could not find out why it was even in the game.
Thankfully, this charade will not go on any longer and WD players can use their ult without getting panic attacks. Paralysing Cask creep damage multiplier on creeps was reduced, but that probably won’t change much in the grand scheme of things. Witch Doctor was quite strong in the recent meta, and we still think he is definitely one to watch out for in 7.34e.
Timbersaw
- Whirling Death stat Loss Percentage increased from 10% to 13%
This is perhaps the single most devastating change of the 7.34e update. Timbersaw is notably a detonator for Strength Heroes, and this has certainly hurt them even further. Whirling Death received a huge buff, making it stronger against all Heroes, of course. However, Strength Heroes, in particular, will find it ridiculous when Timbersaw takes a quarter of their chunky health pools out with one click.
If we do the math, Whirling Death will do 508 pure damage to a Strength Hero with 100 Strength (most Heroes will have more Strength after the midgame, meaning the spell will do even more damage)! This is insane to think about given that Whirling Death only has a 6s cooldown and Timber can use it over and over in fights. We will definitely see more Timbersaw picks in the upcoming weeks.
Marci
- Sidekick cast range increased from 700 to 1000
This is quite a handy update for the Hero, especially when played as a support. Previously, Marci had to get really close to his ally if she wanted to give her the sidekick buff. But now she can do it from a mile away, especially if she builds Aether Lens (very common to support Marci).
This makes her much less susceptible to getting picked apart in fights and she can put out multiple rounds of spells. Marci was largely untouched in the recently concluded TI 12, but we believe that the Hero, especially if played as support, is a lot more convenient to play now.
Juggernaut
- Omnislash bonus damage increased from 30/40/50 to 40/45/50
Last but not least among our queue of Heroes is Juggernaut. Juggernaut received a damage buff to his ultimate, which is obviously quite good for him in the early game. Additionally, Hand of Midas got nerfed (cooldown increased from 100s to 110s).
Juggernaut, being one of the few carries that did not like building Midas, will be happy about this change, with other carries taking quite a hit in their farming capacities. We believe that the overall changes affect Juggernaut positively compared to other carries, and we’ll be seeing more of him in this meta.
Items
7.34e did not have many winners when it comes to items, but here are a couple of them that did get buffed in the gameplay update –
Pavise
- Protect Cooldown decreased from 18s to 16s
Pavise is now in a much better spot, being on a 16-second cooldown. This means that the item only has an 8s downtime instead of 10s. Most Heroes can now get two uses out of Pavise in a fight, meaning they can block 600 physical damage in total.
Considering the low health pools of supports (usually have around one thousand Health early on), this is a huge number and will make them very difficult to chew through. Pavise can help them stay alive to get multiple rounds of spells off and/or tank quite a bit of fire from the enemy team, so we believe we will see players picking up the item more often.
Eternal Shroud
- Magic Resistance bonus increased from +30% to +35%
Eternal Shroud now blocks more than a third of incoming magic damage, which is quite a lot. Some of the other durability items such as Heart of Tarrasque, Pipe of Insight and Bloodstone were nerfed in recent patches, meaning Eternal Shroud will come into the context even more.
The item was largely overlooked in the meta during the past few weeks, so we will have to wait and find out if this buff is enough to get players to pick it up in their games.
Final Insights: Our Thoughts On 7.34e
The 7.34e was mostly a balancing update, with many of the busted Heroes receiving nerfs in an attempt to even the playing field for others. Hopefully, we will now see more diversity in drafts and not JUST Spirit Breaker and Bristleback first picked every single game. Stay tuned for more exciting content!
