7.06: What changes to expect post Kiev Major?

Image courtesy of: Kotaku.com.au /

7.05 was released nearly a month ago, just ahead of Kiev Major. With the Major concluding last Sunday, the new patch 7.06 is soon to roll out. Let’s dive in look at the changes in heroes, items and the general gameplay that the patch can bring.

Heroes:

Abaddon:

Abaddon /

For a long time, the hero has enjoyed the highest win rate in pubs, but has been heavily under valued in the professional scene. Despite his strength gain being reduced in 7.04 and subsequently in 7.05, his versatility and ability to fit in almost all lineups has made him a viable first pick material in the pro scene. Recent changes to Hand of Midas has made the hero a hot pick and very powerful offlaner. Nerfs to early levels of Aphotic Shield and Curse of Avernus is expected.

Legion Commander:

Legion Commander has forever been a strong hero in low skill bracket and very niche in the proscene. With the offlane role being farm oriented lately, Legion has become the go-to hero in many situations where the offlaner has to fill the pseudo carry role. Huge decrease in early levels of Moment of Courage is expected.

Templar Assassin:

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Templar Assassin, a staple mid hero for a long time has once again come into the meta. The hero notorious for dominating the lane against heroes such as Invoker and Shadow Fiend, has enjoyed a very high win rate in the Kiev Major especially in the main event. She has been picked quite a lot recently for punishing greedy lineups and for her ability to end games quickly. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the hero undergoes some serious nerfs.

Treant Protector:

The hero has recently made his return to Captain’s mode just ahead of Kiev Major and is a serious

Treant Protector /

first pick material. The vision advantage and lane annoyance this hero provides is remarkable. His living armor constantly healing towers is a nightmare to deal with considering the currently popular split push lineups. Treant’s Overgrowth into Phoenix’s Supernova is deadly combo as seen in the Major. So, the hero is sure to go under Icefrog’s nerf hammer.

Spectre:

Spectre /

Games in this patch have been quite long thanks to armor buffs to towers and split push meta. As a result, Spectre made her comeback. That coupled with her decent split push potential and ability to catch split pushing cores has made her a viable carry hero. Although the hero offers little to nothing in the laning phase, her level 20 and level 25 talents combined offer 800 additional health making her very tanky. In addition to that, building agility items buffs her armor making her invincible in the extreme late game situations. Nerfs to strength gain and the talent tree is a possibility.

Significant Mentions: Some significant nerfs to Crystal Maiden, Terrorblade and Riki are expected.

Items:

Hand of Midas:

7.05 brought changes to hand of midas increasing the gold gain and reducing the XP gain. Long games in this patch made the item a significant on most heroes. It was the most picked item during the group stage but teams adapted to play around it during the playoffs. The fact that the item was picked on Anti Mage shows how overpowered the item is and hence we can expect a decent nerf to its gold yet gain.

Solar Crest:

solar crest = 12 armor and 25% miss item, with 7 armor and 20% ingredients (no recipe). too much value perhaps needs a recipe cost.
— Damien Chok (@kpiidota) April 30, 2017

The fact that the item gives +75% mana regeneration, +25% evasion and 12 armor and all this for 2625 gold shows a sign of imbalance. This was the item of choice on almost all offlaners and supports in the tournament. Its active when cast on enemies reduces their armor by 12 making them vulnerable to physical damage. It is certain that the item is going to get severely nerfed either by increasing the cost or by decreasing the armor gain.

General Gameplay:

We may witness decrease in base armor to towers promoting fast paced matches and decreasing split push viability.

7.06 is soon going to release bringing some significant changes to the meta promoting “Balance in All Things”.

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