7.08 Balance Update Quick Review
IceFrog himself recently tweeted about changelogs being smaller but a lot more frequent. The first part of this statement definitely holds up, as 7.08 is a rather minor gameplay patch with a variety of small changes to only a handful of heroes. However it definitely doesn’t mean the changes are insignificant.
We have recently discussed how a single line of the 7.07 patch notes was as impactful, if not more impactful than some of the bigger hero reworks. There is nothing in 7.08 that stands out to the same degree, but many of these changes will have an impact on both professional and pub metas. And today we will look into them trying to predict what direction the game might go in.
Items
Aeon Disk
- Health threshold reduced from 80% to 70%
Aeon Disk is still in a weird spot — barely anyone builds this item as its usefulness is very limited. The change is definitely a buff, as the wielder is less likely to get the effect proc from a random AoE nuke, but it might not be enough. In general, the item is at its best on utility heroes who don’t deal damage. As such it mostly belong to the support domain and they simply can’t afford it — between having to buy wards and needing actual utility items, there is very little room for Aeon Disk and it doesn’t look like this patch is going to be the patch of Aeon Disk’s breakthrough.
Battle Fury
- Creep Bonus damage reduced from 60% to 50%
- Creep Bonus no longer works with illusions
For an item that is widely considered borderline overpowered this nerf is surpisingly tame. It doesn’t look like IceFrog is ready to say goodbye to a melee meta.
Black King Bar
- Cooldown rescaled from 80/75/70/65/60/55 to 70
A massive change to Black King Bar that makes its timely usage a lot more important. Given a plethora of carry heroes who have cooldown reduction talents the change is understandable and quite welcome. Late into the game, heroes like Drow Ranger or Shadow Fiend could get their BKB cooldowns down to 27 and 33 seconds respectively, making them a little bit too flexible in its usage.
Blink Dagger
- Cooldown increased from 12 to 14
Heroes who already bought Blink Dagger aren’t going to stop building it because of this change, but overall most of them will be a little bit weaker. Blink Dagger still remains a very unique item that is almost a necessity for a variety of heroes.
Enchanted Mango
- Mana restore increased from 150 to 175
Enchanted Mango is a powerful consumable, but it is rare for anyone but a couple of heroes, who buy multiples of them, to ever use its active component. As such, the extra 25 mana is unlikely to result in a Mango-meta of any sorts.
Faerie Fire
- Heal increased from 75 to 85
This annoying item got even more annoying. The HP value of Faerie Fire has been increased from 5 Magic Wand charges to ~5.5 and it is unlikely to significantly change anything. That said, some miscalculations will be made and there will be 10 HP turn-around kills from Faerie Fire. It feels like IceFrog has changed it just to mess with people who got used to it and incorporate FF heal into their time-to-kill calculations.
Force Staff
- Time it takes for the full distance to be traveled increased from 0.4 to 0.5
Hurricane Pike
- Time it takes for the full distance to be traveled increased from 0.4 to 0.5
- Cooldown increased from 18 to 23
The slowdown effect of both Staff and Pike will be mostly negligible, but the cooldown increase on the latter is a rather big deal. Once again, given the amount of cooldown-reducing talents on some ranged core heroes, this change is understandable. No one liked the 10-second cd Hurricane Pikes on SF and Drow.
Meteor Hammer
- Cooldown reduced from 40 to 28
This change, that reduces the Meteor Hammer cooldown by 30% might actually bring the item into the meta. We’ve already seen some cute Naga Sleep+Meteor Hammer plays, but with a lower cooldown the risk of missing it a lot lower and it will probably no longer be a strictly pushing item.
Soul Ring
- Recipe increased from 185 to 200
Soul Ring was getting a little too ubiquitous and the 15 gold price increase is a change in the right direction that doesn’t really matter. At least it is an even number.
Spirit Vessel
- Recipe cost increased from 600 to 750
Spirit Vessel is a very powerful item. In fact, it is built in many professional games, regardless of whether there is a healing or quickly-regenerating hero on the enemy team — the sustain it offers is simply too good and makes Mekansm mostly redundant. The 25% cost increase is interesting and will definitely be a factor for money-starved supports and might even force some reconsiderations from utility cores.
Hero Changes
Alchemist
- Chemical Rage base attack time improved from 1.4/1.2/1.0 to 1.3/1.15/1.0
- Level 10 Talent increased from -5s Unstable Concoction Cooldown to -8s
- Level 15 Talent increased from +350 Health to +400
- Level 20 Talent increased from +360 Unstable Concoction to +400
With the talent changes a more proactive Alchemist might become a thing, since it is tough arguing against a 4-second stun on an 8-second cooldown. Paired with a level 20 talent and an Octarine Core, Alchemist can become a very powerful nuker, which might be a viable option for some very specific games.
Ember Spirit
- Sleight of Fist Hero Damage increased from 20/40/60/80 to 25/50/75/100
Magic Damage Ember Spirit has taken a bit of a hiatus and most games we’ve seen the hero being played have been focused on dealing physical damage. This small boost might be what the hero needed to make a full comeback to the meta, especially given the level 25 talent.
Enchantress
- Base damage reduced by 3
A very minor nerf that is unlikely to completely force the hero out of the meta, but will definitely make her a lot less annoying in lane.
Jakiro
- Reduced attack backswing from 0.5 to 0.3
More of a QoL improvement than a buff, since most backswing animations are cancelled by players. Regardless, it is a welcome change and might make the hero feel a little bit less clunky to play.
Juggernaut
- Blade Dance damage reduced from 200% to 180%
A very minor nerf that will fully come into play only later in the game. We aren’t sure whether it was warranted and why was it necessary, but Juggernaut lost roughly 5.2% of his attack damage.
Leshrac
- Split Earth manacost reduced from 100/125/140/160 to 80/100/120/140
A very welcome and a very necessary buff to a rather forgotten hero. This 20 mana cost decrease might actually allow the players to play the hero in the support role once again, concentrating on utility over damage.
Lina
- Base intelligence increased by 3
- Base damage random variance reduced from 18 min/max damage spread to 12
It is a substantial laning buff to a hero who was majorly outclassed by competition for the past several months. Slightly more mana, slightly more attack damage and more reliability will translate into a slightly easier time mid, and that might be enough for the hero to be viable once again.
Lion
- Mana Drain now slows the target by 14/16/18/20%
We’ve recently discussed how Mana Drain can sometimes take priority over extra points into Hex or even Earth Spike early in the game and there are even more reasons to go this route now. Some extra utility might be what the hero needed to be a better alternative to Shadow Shaman.
Lycan
- Shapeshift cooldown increased from 120/90/60 to 130/105/80
- Base armor reduced by 1
Wolves need no armor. Lycan’t prowess in both pubs and professional scene made him a prime target for a small nerf and these changes might be enough to allow him to remain a part of the meta, while not keeping his borderline overpowered status. A welcome change indeed. And if you are still bothered by the hero, we’ve written a “dealing with..” post about him not long ago and all of it still holds true.
Medusa
- Medusa: Mystic Snake cast range reduced from 800 to 700
- Medusa: Level 10 Talent increased from 12% Evasion to 15%
- Medusa: Level 15 Talent increased from +15% Mystic Snake Mana Steal to +20%
- Medusa: Level 20 Talent reduced from +800 Mana to +700
A mixed bag of buffs and nerfs that is unlikely to change how Medusa is played most of the time. The Attack Speed and Damage on level 10 and 15 respectively will probably still take priority in most normal games, while the 100 mana pool nerf to the talent will be largely unnoticed.
Morphling
- Morph cast range increased from 600 to 1000
- Morph manacost reduced from 75/100/125 to 50
- Morph Replicate cast point removed
These changes will allow for some interesting plays against heroes with long-range spells, but otherwise core Morphling is still in a rather dark place, after the Morph ability changes. Offlane or a support one, however, might actually be worth exploring.
Nature's Prophet
- Wrath of Nature cooldown reduced from 90/75/60 to 70/65/60
NP can now farm faster, outpush more frequently and generally be a much bigger nuisance. Given how the hero was mostly unplayed the last couple of months, a buff was needed and this one definitely solidifies his position as a split-pusher and map-controller.
Omniknight
- Degen Aura range reduced from 300 to 275
- Purification cast range reduced from 450 to 400
Some minor all-around nerfs for a hero that’s been a little bit too prevalent in the pro-scene. Purification cast range continuous decreases actually raise a valid point about potential Aether Lens builds — far too frequently the hero is seen out of position or just a little too far to help his teammate.
Oracle
- Fortune's End manacost reduced from 110 to 75
Fortune’s End now costs less than Purifying Flames, potentially make it a primary ability for the hero, who now has access to two low-cost, low-cooldown nukes. It is interesting how the hero will be played in the professional setup, but he has a lot of potential.
Pangolier
- Rolling Thunder cooldown increased from 50/45/40 to 70/65/60
The “getting ready for the CM” nerf that puts Pangolier close and closer to the professional scene. We’ve seen how capable the hero can be in the right hands and some nerfs are definitely required, before he is unleashed on unsuspecting pro-players. Hopefully he won’t follow the same trend as Earth Spirit, where <10 players in the entire world know how to actually make the hero work.
Pudge
- Rot slow rescaled from 30% to 20/24/28/32%
Early game ganks just got a lot harder for the community favorite hero. Don’t worry though, there are probably going to be some buffs before the Arcana release.
Pugna
- Level 15 Talent increased from +1 Nether Ward Health to +2
- Life Drain damage increased from 150/200/250 to 150/225/300 (Scepter now only removes cooldown)
Scepter might become more of an option rather than core item with this change. And overall Pugna looks a little bit stronger from these changes, but not necessarily as strong as he was two patches ago.
Shadow Fiend
- Necromastry max souls reduced from 18/24/30/36 to 12/20/28/36
This reverts the hero’s changes all the way to patch 6.82 and it is a welcome change indeed. Given how easy it is to get souls in a 2v1, Shadow Fiend felt too strong in lane at times, with his massive damage from both nukes and auto-attacks.
Shadow Shaman
- Ether Shock cooldown increased from 8 to 14/12/10/8
- Shackles total damage reduced from 120/200/280/360 to 60/160/260/360
A massive nerf to Shadow Shaman’s early game. Losing so much damage, both from Shackles as well as potential Aether Shock should make the hero a less scary zoner in the early game, making the lives of offlaners all around the world a lot easier.
Tinker
- Base movement speed reduced from 305 to 290
The hero has never been this susceptible to ganks. If you are playing against Tinker and are not pressuring him constantly, you are playing wrong. His late-game hasn’t changed a single bit, since the hero rarely walks at all, but before he has his Blink Dagger and BoTs, you should aim to tamper with his gameplan as much as possible.
Tiny
- Toss cooldown increased from 8 to 11
Recent LGD vs Liquid game in Group A Starladder|i-League UB match should showcase exactly why this change was necessary. Tiny was a bit too strong in the early game during the laning stage and the Toss cooldown increase will make a big difference.
Tusk
- Snowball can no longer be cast while rooted
A consistency improvement. No escape or mobility spells should be usable while under the effects of root, adding flavor to the status effect. Still, a rather sizeable nerf to Tusk, since his team-saving potential now has a counterplay.
Windranger
- Windrun manacost reduced from 60 to 50
- Level 20 Talent changed from +1 Shackleshot Target to +0.5s Shackleshot Duration
- Level 25 Talent from +30% Ministun Focus Fire to +35%
Windranger will almost definitely make a comeback to the professional meta, since her ability to lane by simply spamming Windrun has been increased even further, making her one of the most annoying heroes to lane against. She can essentially harass or zone her opponent for free, while having a waveclear/nuke and a stun on top of it. The hero will be very much worth exploring in the upcoming patch.
The ui change is pretty nice tho. I think it is for the better and I can also finally show off my 5immortals cm set
gg wp
ez prophet pushing is back!
RAT
Cant spam lycan again coz the cd is too long PepeHands
Like the new features tho
lol most of the heroes i play like enchantress, shadow shaman ,tiny,tinker , shadow fiend got bad side of this patch
i think its time to start play some other heroes than those that got nerfed lul
https://youtu.be/wiMpemTlD_Q here are my thoughts
nice image, i want to use this as my profile background! :)
The best thing for me is to modify items while dead.
Фух не тронули моего инвокере))))
I don't get why in the top picture, the dire creeps are attacking their own tower 🤔
^ They aren't attacking. They're cleaning it. It's a Spring Cleaning update bro :D
XD that is genius. I didn't notice the tape and the broom.
Looking at the trend, very soon nothing will work with illusions. Rip illusions
^illusion was meant to be a confusement originally and only Azwraith (PL) and Soul Keeper (Terrorblade) to use them offensively. But since transition to dota 2 and manta introduction, many illusion hero developed later on.
Windranger? LUL that hero is such a fucking joke
blink dagger nerf? i think is bad for a support hero
I will not return unit I see a nerf for AM.
nothing special tbh
Oh nice. Windranger more buff on windrun...perfect. she was already very strong now even better. I m happy.
Windranger is not yet where she needs to be, but I understand that they don't want to make her back into the thing she was. Still, the manacost reduction is the kind of buff that benefits her early offlane presence, providing what I expect to be a noticeable increase in the amount of farm she gets. Better chances to get in and out as necessary means she can step up to the wave more often.