No more free gold – Good or bad?
Being a support is hard in Dota 2. It’s a selfless role whose aim is to enable other players (cores) to reach their maximum potential. As you do so, you end up missing out on your own potential as a hero. But this selflessness is what makes a team strong and increases the stack’s victory potential. In all of this, the Philosopher’s Stone was an ally, a regular source of income for support players. But with Dota patch 7.37, that source of income has received a significant nerf.
What changed in the Philosopher’s Stone?
Now has 750 charges, and depletes a charge every time it grants gold to the owner. When all charges are depleted, the item is destroyed and the owner receives additional 375 gold.
Unlike previously, the Philosopher’s Stone now has a fixed number of charges. The 750 charge Stone will grant additional gold to the equipped hero, but after the charges run out, it will cease to exist. The item is destroyed after 750 charges and just simply vanishes from the inventory. There is a small bonus at the end, as the wearer receives an additional 375 gold.
How does it impact your game? Previously, support players had to micromanage their neutral inventory. Every time there would not be a fight, it made more sense to optimize your passive income by equipping The Philosopher’s Stone. Similarly, when support dies (and they die a lot), the Philosopher’s Stone equipped can lead to increased gold income. This works, even if you equip it after dying and while watching your teammates commit one mistake after another.
With the Dota 2 7.37 changes, you can simply exhaust the Philosopher’s Stone charges and at the end receive a small bonus. This means, support players will receive the same amount of gold over the course of the game through the Philosopher’s Stone.
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Mixed Community Reactions
The community has had mixed reactions to the changes to the Stone. While some bemoan the fact that they cannot perma-equip the Philosopher’s Stone for more income, there’s a section that believes this is a step in the right direction.
A Reddit post by /u/Statebolekurackosam/ highlights the ‘nerf’ to the supports’ favorite item. The fact that the Stone gets destroyed after 750 charges means, one cannot optimize the gold earned in the late game. However, for many support players, the absence of a need to constantly switch items back and forth makes the game much easier.
"I'm so glad I don't have to micro my backpack so much. I think this is great" - supermopman
Reddit user Fen_ feels the change is a positive one. Players no longer need to hold on to low-tier Neutral items in the late game. The Philosopher’s Stone is a Tier 2 Neutral item.
"It's a great change (as is the Shovel one). You shouldn't be holding onto low-tier neutral items deep into the game. It incentivized unfun micro of minor items." - Fen_
The Stone getting destroyed after 750 charges means players can no longer take advantage of the 200 Mana pool bonus that also comes with the Philosopher’s Stone. Reddit user Legiyon54 raises the point. Very few neutral items provide a 200 mana pool boost to players, and since most Support heroes are Int-based, the additional mana pool was a big bonus.
The Dota 2 7.37 patch update brought changes to almost all heroes in the game. With changes to several Hero facets as well as some basic fundamental features of the game, there’s a lot that has changes in the latest update.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Dota 2 news and updates.