Valve Releases Dota 2 7.28c Patch to Address Recent Meta Changes
The Mistwood patch had quite an impact on the meta, and Valve is still working to address the consequences. Balancing nerfs and buffs is never easy, but the developers rely on the metagame to gather more data and further improve the game.
In the latest patch, 7.28c, Valve focused on addressing the recent offenders of the meta. Batrider, Lycan, Puck, Nyx Assassin, and Wraith King received nerfs in the previous patch, but their power levels remained high. With the release of 7.28c, these heroes face further adjustments to bring them in line.
Batrider, despite losing the ancient stacking strategy, could still farm quickly and recover from setbacks. However, Sticky Napalm has been nerfed once again, reducing its damage against all creeps by 50 percent. This makes it harder for Batrider to push waves and hurts his laning abilities.
Earthshaker’s Aghanim’s Shard upgrade was one of the more powerful ones in the game, allowing for perma-stunning of the enemy team. With the latest patch, the replication effects of Aftershock through Fissure will now stun for half the duration, giving opponents more opportunities for counterplay.
Lycan’s return to the meta has made life difficult for support players. To reduce his farming speed and chasing potential, the duration of Lycan’s wolves has been reduced by five seconds.
Outworld Destroyer initially fell out of the meta but quickly made a comeback. Valve, however, noticed his high win rate and implemented the heaviest nerfs in this patch.
Other heroes such as Puck, Wraith King, Void Spirit, and Riki have also received adjustments. Puck, Wraith King, and Void Spirit will feel the nerfs in their early game presence, while Riki will need to find ways to remain effective and safe in the late game.
For a full list of changes, you can check out the Dota 2 7.28c patch notes.
Adjustments in Dota 2 7.28c Patch
Batrider
– Sticky Napalm: Deals 50 percent less damage against creeps.
Beastmaster
– Base attack speed reduced from 110 to 100.
– Call of the Wild Boar: Movement speed reduced from 350 to 320/330/340/350.
Earthshaker
– Fissure: Aftershock replication now stuns for half the duration.
Keeper of the Light
– Recall: Delay increased from 3 to 5/4/3.
Lycan
– Summon Wolves: Duration reduced from 55 to 50 seconds.
Morphling
– Morph: Cooldown rescaled from 160/100/40 to 140/100/60.
– Morph Scepter: Bonus cast range reduced from 600 to 300.
– Morph Scepter: Reduces Morph cooldown by 20 seconds.
Nature’s Prophet
– Greater Treants Base Attack Time increased from 1.0 to 1.4.
Nyx Assassin
– Vendetta: No longer applies Break.
– Vendetta: Cooldown increased from 90/70/50 to 90/75/60.
Outworld Destroyer
– Movement Speed reduced from 325 to 320.
– Base armor reduced by 1.
– Arcane Orb: Cooldown increased from 4/3/2/0 to 6/4/2/0.
– Astral Imprisonment: Mana cost increased from 120 to 150.
Puck
– Base damage range reduced from 46-57 to 46-54.
– Waning Rift: Damage reduced from 70/140/210/280 to 70/130/190/250.
– Dream Coil Scepter: Stun duration reduced from 2/3.25/4.5 to 2/3/4.
Riki
– Tricks of the Trade: Scepter no longer increases the duration.
– Level 25 Talent: Reduced Tricks of the Trade Cooldown from -6s to -4s.
Shadow Shaman
– Shackles Shard: Cast range reduced from 150 to 125.
Void Spirit
– Base damage reduced by 2.
Wraith King
– Wraithfire Blast: Cooldown increased from 14/12/10/8 to 17/14/11/8.
– Vampiric Spirit: Skeletons base damage reduced by 3.
Dota 2, patch, meta, adjustments, nerfs, buffs, gameplay, heroes, balance, 7.28c.