Dota 2 Patch 7.35b nerfs Solar Crest, attempts to save Phantom Assassin from irrelevance 

‘Twas four nights before Christmas, and while the pub-players were sleeping, Valve unveiled a patch to fix some of the most broken things in Dota 2. In the Dota 2 7.35b patch released late on Dec. 21, Valve released some adjustments to a dozen items and a goodly number of heroes. But the biggest target of nerfs was Solar Crest, an item that had almost entirely made it to meme status

Solar Crest, after some questionable buffs in Patch 7.35 had become a staple item on almost every hero in the game. That’s because of its really nice components (Pavise was a good item, and now people had excuse to build it all the time), its incredible +200 Health and +300 Mana, and new barrier.

The meta (or the meme) had become building as many Solar Crests as possible, and unfortunately it was completely viable. Add to this Solar Crests Shine ability grinding bonus move and attack speed, and you could effectively carry the game with a few of these talismans.

But with the release of 7.35b, Solar Crest has been nerfed significantly. With a mana cost now attributed to the active, a reduction in attributes and armor, and the ability to self cast removed, we don’t think this will completely get rid of the Solar Crest meta, but we do think it’s lost a lot of its appeal. We still expect to see a lot of tankier Heroes building this item.

But it isn’t all nerfs in Dota 2 patch 7.35b, and one suffering Hero has received some much needed life support in the form of a buff of the majority of her abilities. Phantom Assassin, who by some metrics had just a 36% win rate, was given a much needed boost by the patch.

To bolster her strength, her Stifling Dagger, Phantom Strike, Blur, and Fan of Knives were all given increases in numbers, perhaps bringing the character back into relevancy. Still, the Phantom Assassin sufferers from a problem many stealth and deception based heroes do - at higher skill levels, the tricks just won’t work. These changes, however, should give the hero a more viable role in the meta.

(In the highest Elo bracket, Phantom Assassin’s win rate was just 36.9%

One hero curiously absent from the nerf list was Lycan, who similar to Phantom Assassin, was brutally strong in high Elo. With win-rates pushing 70% in some skill brackets, Lycan was likely a big beneficiary of both Solar Crest, and the changes to Helm of the Dominator which make the item invaluable on the hero. Maybe Valve mixed him up with Beastmaster, who was seemingly catching strays in this patch with some nerfs to his Roar and Boar. 

Well, at least we know what we’re asking King Kringle for on Frostivius - Some Lycan nerfs …and perhaps a Nature’s Prophet buff. For full patch notes, check out the official website.

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