Some of Dota’s most powerful heroes have copped nerfs.
We're a week on from the release of the epic Dota 2 7.38 update, and as things have settled, it became clear a few heroes flew above the pack. As a result, Valve has lined up the nerfhammer and knocked a few of the stronger heroes back with patch 7.38b, arriving on March 4.
Here's a look at every change in Dota 2 patch 7.38b, available now in the client to download.
Table of contents
Dota 2 Patch 7.38b overview
Dragon Knight, Abaddon hit hard by Valve's nerfhammer
It simply had to happen. Nerfs for some of Dota's supreme picks arrived with patch 7.38b, with Dragon Knight one of several chief recipients.
For the Fire Dragon facet (the most popular picked), Dragon Tail's AoE has been cut almost in half while bonus magic damage from dragon attacks has been reduced by 40% at all levels. It's a strong nerf for Dragon Knight who has been dominating the meta leading into and shortly after 7.38's release last week.
Also on the chopping block was Abaddon whose entire kit was hit; Aphotic Shield lasts for a shorter time and has a higher mana cost, Mist Coil does less damage and at a shorter range, and Borrowed Time's Aghanim's Scepter upgrade won't cover the entire screen anymore.
Jakiro, Lifestealer, Tidehunter, and Tiny also copped blows, with over two dozen heroes ultimately brought back in line with their peers.
Neutral items refreshed following new system rollout in 7.38
Twenty neutral artifacts have had their values tweaked slightly in patch 7.38b after the neutral item system received a refresh in last week's Wandering Waters update.
The most popular among them was the tier one artifact Mana Draught, which will restore half the amount of mana as it did previously.
Not all neutral artifacts were nerfed with several given a helping hand as they had been left by the wayside. Pig Pole doesn't last as long but can be used more often, Iron Talon's cooldown was slashed by 25%, and the Pollywog Charm's duration has been boosted by four seconds.
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Patch 7.38b biggest buffs and nerfs
Here's a look at the main hero buffs and nerfs for Dota 2 patch 7.38b. We haven't included every hero here, just the ones we can sort into the categories below.
Adjustments | Major | Minor |
|---|---|---|
| Buffs | - | Brewmaster, Keeper of the Light, Kez, Primal Beast |
| Nerfs | Abaddon, Dragon Knight, Jakiro, Lifestealer, Tidehunter, Tiny | Beastmaster, Invoker, Leshrac, Magnus, Nature's Prophet, Venomancer, Zeus |
The full patch notes can be found on the Valve site here, but we've broken them down for you below!
Dota 2 Patch 7.38b full patch notes
General
- Item grace period for swapping into the main inventory without a cooldown increased from three to five seconds.
- Tormentor: Gold to each team member on death decreased from 250 to 175.
- Tormentor: Unyielding Shield: Base Damage absorb increased from 1,900 to 2,100.
- Tormentor: Unyielding Shield: Base Barrier regeneration increased from 30 to 40.
- Lotuses can no longer be picked up by Meepo clones, Arc Warden's Tempest Double or Dazzle's Nothl Projection.
- Moved the spawn box of the Radiant Safelane tier 1 hard pull camp a little bit down, removing an inaccessible camp block spot that could be created by chopping down a tree.
- Removed several trees around camps, making it easier for additional paths to be cut through.
Items
Item | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Eye of Skadi | - Cold Attack Melee Movement Slow increased from 20% to 25%. - Cold Attack no longer has a separate attack speed slow value against melee targets. |
| Glimmer Cape | - Glimmer Bonus Movement Speed decreased from 40 to 20. - Glimmer Mana Cost increased from 90 to 125. |
| Heaven's Halberd | - No longer requires a Ring of Regen. - Recipe cost increased from 275 to 450. Total cost unchanged. |
| Khanda | - Empower Spell Debuff Duration increased from three to four seconds. - Empower Spell Cooldown decreased from 12 to 10 seconds. |
| Orb of Corrosion | - Agility bonus decreased from eight to seven. - Corrosion Melee Movement Slow increased from 6% to 8%. |
| Orb of Frost | - Frost Melee Movement Slow increased from 5% to 6%. |
| Orchid Malevolence | - Mana Regen bonus decreased from +3.25 to +3. - Attack Speed bonus decreased from +40 to +35. |
| Bloodthorn | - Mana Regen bonus decreased from +3.5 to +3.25. - Attack Speed bonus decreased from +100 to +95. |
Neutral Items
Artifacts
Item | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Mana Draught | Bottoms Up mana restored rescaled from 60 + 2% of Caster's Max Mana to 30 + 4% of Caster's Max Mana. |
| Orb of Destruction | Impeding Corruption duration decreased from five to three seconds. |
| Pig Pole | Pig, Out! bonus movement speed increased from 15% to 20%. Pig, Out! cooldown decreased from 25 to 20 seconds. Pig, Out! duration decreased from four to three seconds. |
| Pollywog Charm | Ribbit duration increased from 10 to 14 seconds. |
| Ripper's Lash | Flay cooldown decreased from 30 to 25 seconds. |
| Trusty Shovel | Dig cooldown increased from 60 to 70 seconds. |
| Brigand's Blade | Dark Mercy enemy HP increment increased from 5% to 7%. |
| Essence Ring | Life Essence duration decreased from 15 to 10 seconds. Life Essence mana cost increased from 150 to 160. |
| Iron Talon | Chop cooldown decreased from 20 to 15 seconds. |
| Searing Signet | Burn Through damage threshold increased from 40 to 55. |
| Gale Guard | Cyclonic Shield damage Barrier decreased from 400 to 250. |
| Gunpowder Gauntlet | Beat the Crowd now also deals 50% of the bonus magical damage to enemies in the splash radius. Beat the Crowd splash damage now bypasses physical damage block. |
| Ninja Gear | Solitary Disguise mana cost increased from 0 to 100. |
| Serrated Shiv | Gut 'Em current health as physical damage decreased from 10% to 8%. |
| Crippling Crossbow | Hobble cast range increased from 600 to 800. |
| Mind Breaker | Silence Strike silence duration decreased from two to 1.5 seconds. |
| Pyrrhic Cloak | Retribution damage reflection increased from 60% to 75%. |
| Fallen Sky | Fallen Sky cooldown increased from 15 to 25 seconds. |
| Pirate Hat | Plunder bonus gold for being the killer of a hero increased from 150 to 400. |
| Unrelenting Eye | Relentless now also provides +10% status resistance per enemy within 300 units. |
Enchantments
Enchantment | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Brawny | Health bonus decreased from +125/175/225/275 to +125/165/205/245. |
| Mystical | Magic Resistance bonus decreased from +0/10/16/22% to +0/10/14/18%. |
| Vampiric | Lifesteal bonus decreased from +12/16/20% to +12/14/16%. Spell Lifesteal bonus decreased from +8/12/16% to +8/10/12%. |
Heroes
Hero | Change(s) |
|---|---|
| Abaddon | Mephitic Shroud (Facet) Aphotic Shield - Duration decreased from 17 to 14 seconds. Mist Coil - Damage/Heal decreased from 100/175/250/325 to 80/150/220/290. - Cast Range rescaled from 600/625/650/675 to 625. Aphotic Shield - Duration decreased from 15 to 12 seconds. - Mana Cost increased from 95/110/125/140 to 110/120/130/140. Borrowed Time Aghanim's Scepter radius changed from 900 to Mist Coil's Cast Range. |
| Alchemist | Greevil's Greed - Gifting Aghanim's Scepters no longer provides Spell Amplification. |
| Ancient Apparition | Agility gain decreased from 2.2 to 2.0. |
| Arc Warden | Ruined Replica (Facet) Tempest Double - Rune Duration increased from 10 to 12 seconds. |
| Beastmaster | Base Damage decreased by three. |
| Brewmaster | Belligerent (Innate) Duration on respawn increased from 30 to 45 seconds. Talents - Level 10 Talent +200 Thunder Clap AoE replaced with +1.5s Thunder Clap Duration. |
| Broodmother | Base Damage decreased by two. Necrotic Webs (Facet) Spin Web - Health regen reduction does not affect enemies in fountain. |
| Chen | Summon Convert (Innate) Convert's abilities now also level up with Holy Persuasion. |
| Dark Seer | Base Armor decreased by one. Aggrandize (Innate) Restore percentage per hero level decreased from 2% to 1.5%. |
| Dazzle | Nothl Boon (Facet) Weave - Allies now receive 5% extra healing from Dazzle per stack. Poison Touch - Duration decreased from 5/6/7/8 to 3.5/5/6.5/8 seconds. Nothl Projection - Shadow Wave Cooldown Reduction decreased from 30/45/60% to 30/40/50%. |
| Dragon Knight | Fire Dragon (Facet) Dragon Tail - AoE while in Dragon Form decreased from 175 to 100. Wyrm's Wrath - Magic Damage on Attacks decreased from 10/20/30/40 to 6/12/18/24. |
| Ember Spirit | Strength gain decreased from 2.6 to 2.3. |
| Hoodwink | Bushwack - Cooldown rescaled from 14 to 15/14/13/12 seconds. |
| Huskar | Inner Fire - Damage decreased from 120/180/240/300 to 105/170/235/300. |
| Invoker | Scholar of Koryx (Facet) Cold Snap - When Cold Snap triggers, Invoker now also restores five mana in addition to existing healing based on Quas. Ghost Walk - Aghanim's Scepter ally duration increased from 20 to 30 seconds. Mind of Tornarus (Facet) Alacrity - Attack range bonus increased from 50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120/130/140 to 60/70/80/90/100/110/120/130/140/150. Agent of Gallaron (Facet) Sun Strike - Aghanim's Scepter Cataclysm cooldown increased from 60 to 75 seconds. Forge Spirit - Attack range rescaled from 300/365/430/495/560/625/690/755/820/885 to 305/360/415/470/525/580/635/690/745/800. |
| Jakiro | Ice Breaker (Facet) Ice Path - Path Duration decreased from six to five seconds. Ice Path - Cooldown increased from 18/15/12/9 to 20/17/14/11 seconds. Talents - Level 15 Talent -1.5s Ice Path Cooldown replaced with +60 Ice Path Base Damage. |
| Keeper of the Light | Spirit Form - Cooldown decreased from 85 to 85/80/75 seconds. - Duration increased from 40 to 40/45/50 seconds. - Illuminate Heal increased from 50/60/70% to 70%. Talents - Level 20 Talent +15s Spirit Form Duration replaced with +10% Spirit Form Movement Speed. |
| Kez | Base Intelligence increased from 18 to 20. Strength gain increased from 2.6 to 2.8. Shadowhawk (Facet) Now scales with ultimate abilities instead of Shodo Sai. Shodo Sai - Invis Bonus Crit rescaled from 50% to 40/60/80/100%. Grappling Claw - Lifesteal increased from 50/75/100/125% to 65/85/105/125%. Shodo Sai - Can now block all physical attack sources (still can't Mark non-hero units) Raptor Dance - Invulnerability period increased from 0.1 to 0.2 seconds. |
| Leshrac | Chronoptic Nourishment (Facet) Damage as mana restore increased from 10/18/26/34% to 14/21/28/35%. Diabolic Edict - Mana Cost increased from 90/110/130/150 to 90/120/150/180. Lightning Storm - No longer slows attack speed. |
| Lifestealer | Base Agility decreased by four. Fleshfeast (Facet) Feast - Max HP per hero kill decreased from 25/35/45/55 to 20/25/30/35. Feast - Max HP per hero kill decreased from 15 to 10. Infest - Aghanim's Scepter no longer disarms targeted enemy hero. - Aghanim's Scepter attack rate improved from 1.25s to one scond. |
| Lina | Laguna Blade - Aghanim's Shard damage converted increased from 75% to 100%. |
| Lycan | Spirit Wolves (Facet) Summon Wolves - Bonus health per wolf increased from 50/100/150/200 to 60/115/170/225. |
| Magnus | Eternal Empowerment (Innate) Empower - Max self bonus decreased from 10/15/20/25% to 8/12/16/20%. Skewer - Distance decreased from 900/975/1,050/1,125 to 800/900/1,000/1,100. - Aghanim's Shard Distance decreased from 1,175/1,250/1,325/1,400 to 1,075/1,175/1,275/1,375. |
| Marci | Rebound - Impact Damage decreased from 80/160/240/320 to 75/150/225/300. - Aghanim's Shard Impact Damage decreased from 96/192/288/384 to 90/180/270/360. |
| Medusa | Venomous Volley (Facet) Attacks required to apply poison increased from five to six. |
| Meepo | Codependent (Facet) Attack speed bonus decreased from 7% to 5%. |
| Mirana | Starstruck (Facet) Starstorm - Blind Duration decreased from 3.5/4/4.5/5 to three seconds. |
| Monkey King | Wukong's Command - Soldiers no longer receive a copy of Monkey King's neutral item. |
| Muerta | The Calling - No longer slows attack speed. |
| Nature's Prophet | Wrath of Nature - Aghanim's Scepter no longer reduces cooldown by 25 seconds. Talents - Level 10 Talent Wrath of Nature Base Damage bonus decreased from +30 to +25. - Level 20 Talent Sprout Leashes replaced with -15s Wrath of Nature cooldown. |
| Night Stalker | Night Reign (Facet) Hunter in the Night - Move Speed decreased from 16/22/28/34/40% to 10/22/28/34/40%. Voidbringer (Facet) Void - AoE on level five increased from 300 to 350. Talents - Level 10 Talent Dark Ascension Duration decreased from +6 to +5 seconds. |
| Phantom Lancer | Juxtapose - Illusion Trigger Chance increased from 8% to 9%. |
| Primal Beast | Provoke the Beast (Facet) Uproar - Stacks gained per debuff increased from two to three. Ferocity (Facet) Pulverize - Stack duration decreased from 20 to 15 seconds. |
| Spectre | Forsaken (Facet) Desolate - Damage Multiplier increased from 1.75x to 2x. |
| Storm Spirit | Intelligence gain decreased from 3.9 to 3.7. |
| Tidehunter | Anchor Smash - Damage Reduction decreased from 30/40/50/60% to 25/30/35/40%. Dead In The Water - Damage decreased from 200 to 100. - Mana Cost increased from 80 to 110. |
| Tiny | Grow - Bonus Armor decreased from 10/17/24 to 5/10/15. |
| Troll Warlord | Fervor - Aghanim's Shard no longer procs additional attacks when attacking a building or ward-type unit. |
| Tusk | Drinking Buddies (Facet) Drinking Buddies - Bonus damage increased from 20/45/70/95 to 20/50/80/110. |
| Venomancer | Venomous Gale - Slow decreased from 50% to 35/40/45/50%. |
| Visage | Grave Chill - Duration decreased from six to five seconds. - Move Speed Drain decreased from 15/20/25/30% to 12/16/20/24%. |
| Warlock | Black Grimoire (Facet) XP per kill/assist decreased from 250 to 200. |
| Weaver | The Swarm - Attack Interval increased from 1.15/1.0/0.85/0.7 to 1.2/1.05/0.9/0.75 seconds. |
| Windranger | Agility gain increased from 1.7 to 1.9. Shackleshot - Shackle Duration increased from 1.6/2.1/2.6/3.1 to 1.75/2.25/2.75/3.25 seconds. |
| Winter Wyvern | Recursive (Facet) Winter's Curse - No longer amplifies physical, magical, and pure damage taken from Winter Wyvern. Winter's Curse - Cursed target is no longer immune to physical damage from Winter Wyvern and her controlled units - Cooldown increased from 85/80/75 to 100/90/80 seconds. |
| Zeus | Base damage decreased by four. Lightning Bolt - Sight Radius decreased from 750 to 500. |
That's all for now! Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and guides.
