Support Players Rejoice: Dota 2 Patch 7.09 Brings Economy Improvements
Support players in Dota 2 have reason to celebrate with the arrival of Patch 7.09. This bi-weekly balance update, following the announcement of a new schedule by lead developer IceFrog, brings changes that benefit supports and aid their economy throughout the game.
One of the major changes is the significant reduction in the cost of the Courier. Previously priced at 200 gold, the Courier now only costs 50 gold, equivalent to the price of a Town Portal Scroll. This change is music to the ears of support players everywhere.
Additionally, the first bounty rune spawns now give 40 gold to all heroes on the side that picks it up, rather than just 100 gold to the individual hero. This change not only encourages fighting for the initial bounty rune, but also helps supports get a faster start in the early minutes of the game.
These changes provide supports with greater flexibility in managing their economy. Saving 150 gold in the early game has a significant impact on their item progression and eases the burden of purchasing wards.
However, there is a slight catch. All heroes now start with 600 gold instead of 625. Nevertheless, the changes still benefit support heroes overall, and the reduction in starting gold shouldn’t be a major concern for them. Core heroes may feel the impact more, but making one extra last hit can help bridge the gap.
The patch also introduces changes to stacking neutral creep camps in the jungle. Stacked camps now give an additional 15 percent gold to the hero who successfully stacks and kills them. However, this only applies to the hero who stacked the camp, and the stacked creeps will have a buff featuring the icon of the stacking hero.
IceFrog’s intention seems clear: cores should now stack camps for themselves if they want to boost their farm. This means that cores may have to leave the lane unattended at times, allowing opponents to clear waves and push towers.
Speaking of towers, both tier 1 mid lane towers have been moved closer to the river. This adjustment increases the difficulty of controlling the opposing high ground for solo midlaners and rotating supports. Diving past the tower is now riskier, especially when heading straight down the lane. Utility support players, such as Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka, a two-time Major champion, will need to reconsider their early game approach due to this change.
For a full list of balance changes and bugfixes, visit the official Dota 2 blog.
Dota 2, patch 7.09, support players, economy improvements, Courier, bounty rune spawns, starting gold, neutral creep camps, stacking, mid lane towers, balance changes, bugfixes