Jakiro’s presence in Dota 2 has been uplifted since patch 7.38, and even with recent nerfs, the Twin-Headed Dragon still flourishes.
When Patch 7.38 was released for Dota 2, several heroes began to climb. Dragon Knight quickly became the talk of the Wandering Waters. But, in the wings, another dragon was quietly making its way to the top. Jakiro, the Twin-Headed Dragon, is getting some major time in the sun.
Jakiro, breaking the ice since Patch 7.38
Following a massive update in Patch 7.38, Jakiro saw his two Facets completely refreshed. With the removal of Liquid Fire and Liquid Frost, a new age for the Twin-Headed Dragon began. Two new Facets appeared, but only one seems to be breaking the ice.
Since the patch, while Jakiro may not be a completely dominating force like Dragon Knight became, he has risen to new heights. With its pick rate and win rate spiking, everyone was looking to have the Ice Breaker Jakiro on their side. This stretched far beyond the domain of simply ranked games – deep into the professional scene, too.
At the recent DreamLeague Season 25, we saw Jakiro becoming the most picked hero while maintaining a solid 50% win rate over the event. However, it was Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov who made the biggest impact with the hero, out-farming the entirety of Tundra Esports in game 5 of the grand finals.
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The ice takes the full impact of the nerf hammer
Suffice to say, Jakiro was nerfed barely a day later with Patch 7.38b, with the Ice Breaker Facet taking the entire weight of Valve’s nerf hammer.
But it seems as though this has not done much to slow the pace of the hero’s dominance. Although there has been a definite dip in both pick and win rates for the hero, it remains a fairly straightforward path for those picking Jakiro.
Not only that, but in the currently ongoing PGL Wallachia Season 3, Jakiro is, by a long way, the most picked hero. With a huge 44 picks over the Group Stage and a near 58% win rate, players still choose to break the ice with the Twin-Headed Dragon. With 4 days of Playoffs ahead of us, Jakiro will likely continue his rampage through the game.
Although Jakiro is not a designated carry, he enables his actual carries to take the fight to their opponents. Ice Breaker has changed how the hero performs, which means it is likely that he will be targeted by another nerf quite soon. However, until then, Jakiro remains a powerful support and a fantastic pick for all your games.
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