It's that time of year when Dota 2 fans get all worked up. The MDL Paris Major is upon us, the TI9 battle pass is imminent and The International itself is peeking over the horizon.
As if all that wasn't enough to whip the community into a frenzy, the next gameplay update can also be chucked into the mix and the 7.22 patch notes release date is another announcement fans are craving.
Release date set by Valve
As Valve confirmed the release of the TI9 Battle Pass, it also revealed details on the 7.22 patch release date. A blog post on the official Dota 2 site read: "With only one round of Major and Minor tournaments remaining before we turn our eyes to Shanghai, the next gameplay patch will arrive after the conclusion of the final Major and Minor DPC Qualifiers starting soon."
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The most likely source to find out about the 7.22 patch release date is via community leader Wykrhm Reddy or the official Dota 2 Twitter account.
Guesswork, predictions and wishes
Ahead of the 7.22 patch release, fans have filled the vacuum with speculation, predictions and their wishes regarding the changes that Valve will implement.
Legend27JustforOneDay, a Dota 2 fan in the Luckbox Discord server, said: "I would like to see buffs for heroes like Spectre, Luna, Slark, Anti Mage (maybe not Slark) but the other heroes are very known heroes in the pro scene.
"Also there’s like heroes like Bristleback and Sniper that get small buffs but are still not back."
There's a "7.22 waiting room" thread on the Dota 2 subreddit where fans have been chiming in. Some examples:
ANerdWhoLifts: "What changes are expected to happen"? Aside from a Mars nerf."
shotgiy12: "I expect a techies buff, a big one."
TheWbarletta: "I expect yet another Sniper buff."
jonasnee: "I hope for a nerf to Meepo."
rainbow_shadow: "I expect more buffs to support Luna, more Ursa / Viper / Naix nerfs, and no PA buffs even though the hero is now in the dumpster."
Meta-morphosis
Just like with most games, Dota 2 updates are release sporadically to make changes to the game, to fix bugs and make improvements. The patch notes that often grab the attention are most commonly changes to the gameplay, affecting heroes, items and mechanics.
The release of patch 7.20 in November 2018 introduced wide-ranging changes to the Dota 2 meta and sparked a big reaction among the community. Fans and players are obviously keen to learn how the game will change as soon as possible, to give them maximum time to learn ahead of TI9 in Shanghai.
Minor changes to the game are made every few days but new versions tend to be introduced on a monthly basis. The latest patch is version 7.21d, which was released on March 24 2019.
