It’s a very exciting time for competitive Dota 2. We’ll get to see some of the best teams in the world compete against one another at ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 — one of the biggest esports events in the world. We’ll finally get to enjoy the excitement and energy of a large crowd that will no doubt be made up of passionate fans. And we’ll be able to watch it all on the new patch 7.31c.

Patch 7.31c makes some very necessary updates that will make both casual and competitive gameplay more engaging. Several key changes have been made to heroes, neutral creeps, and items. Because of this, the major meta should become more fresh and exciting. Here is a look at the updates, and how they will change things.

Hero Updates

Arc Warden

Base damage increased from 47-57 to 51-57

Axe

Base Health regeneration reduced from 2.75 to 2.5

Berserker’s Call: Bonus Armor reduced from 30 to 25

Bane

Fiend’s Grip: Max Channel time reduced from six to 5/5.⅚ seconds

Bloodseeker

Blood Mist: Shard self damage is now magical instead of Pure

Blood Mist: Shard damage to enemies increased from five percent to seven percent

Blood Mist: Shard cooldown reduced from four seconds to three seconds

Broodmother

Spin Web: Mana Cost reduced from 50 to 40

Chaos Knight

Chaos Bolt: Shard bonus range decreased from 300 to 150

Chaos Strike: No longer applies Bonus damage to Creep Heroes and Roshan

Chen

Base Movement Speed increased from 300 to 305

Hand of God: Cooldown decreased from 160/140/120 to 150/130/110

Crystal Maiden

Freezing Field: Explosion damage radius increased from 300 to 320

Freezing Field: Move Speed slow increased from 30 percent to 40 percent

Freezing Field: Cooldown reduced from 110/100/90 to 90

Death Prophet

Spirit Siphon: Shard fear duration decreased from two seconds to 1.5 seconds

Spirit Siphon: Base health drain per second reduced from 16 to 10/12/14/16

Exorcism: Now does 50 percent damage to buildings

Disruptor

Thunderstrike: Mana cost decreased from 130/140/150/160 to 125/130/135/140

Dragon Knight

Fireball: Shard Damage Per Second decreased from 80 to 75

Earthshaker

Fissure: Mana Cost reduced from 125/140/155/170 to 120/130/140/150

Ember Spirit

Sleight of Fist: Damage reduced from 60/90/120/150 to 45/80/115/150

Enchantress

Enchant: Can now only dominate creeps up to level 4/5/6/6

Enigma

Eidolon magic resistance increased from 50 percent to 60 percent

Eidolon bounty decreased from 20-26 to 18-24

Eidolon Experienced reduced from 12 to 10

Huskar

Berserker’s Blood: Strength as max health regeneration bonus decreased from 20 percent/40 percent/60 percent/80 percent to 16 percent/34 percent/52 percent/70 percent

Keeper of the Light

Base movement speed reduced from 330 to 320

Chakra Magic: Mana restored reduced from 100/180/260/340 to 80/160/240/320

Blinding Light: Knockback duration reduced from 0.8 seconds to 0.6 seconds

Lycan

Base Attack Speed increased from 100 to 110

Summon Wolves Shard Lane Wolf increased Attack Damage from 35-38 to 38-40

Summon Wolves: Increased attack damage from 17-20/23-26/29-32/35-38 to 20-23/26-29/32-34/38-40

Medusa

Split Shot: Damage reduced from 50/60/70/80 percent to 45/55/65/75 percent

Stone Gaze: Mana cost increased from 100 to 150

Necrophos

Reaper’s Scythe: Permanent heath regeneration decreased from three/six/nine to two/four/six

Death Seeker: Cooldown increased from 14 to 16

Death Seeker: Manacost increased from 100 to 125

Death Pulse: Heal reduced from 60/85/110/135 to 55/80/105/130

Nyx Assassin

Impale: Mana Cost reduced from 105/120/135/150 to 100/110/120/130

Impale: Spike radius increased from 125 to 140

Omniknight

Heavenly Grace: Mana Cost increased from 80/90/100/110 to 95/105/115/125

Phoenix

Icarus Dive: Damage per second increased from 10/30/50/70 to 15/35/55/75

Primal Beast

Onslaught: Has a sound audible through Fog of War

Uproar: Attack damage per stack decreased from 15/25/35/45 to 10/20/30/40

Uproar: Move speed slow per stack reduced from 10 percent to 8 percent

Uproar: Damage threshold increased from 35 to 50

Trample: Base damage reduced from 20/35/50/65 to 12/28/44/60

Trample: Attack Damage Percentage reduced from 40 percent to 35 percent

Rock Throw: Shard damage increased from 275 to 300

Talent: Level 20 talent Trample Attack Damage Percentage bonus reduced from +30 percent to +25 percent

Pudge

Dismember: Damage per second rescaled from 60/90/120 to 80/100/120

Pugna

Level 20 Decrepify Duration talent reduced from 1.5 seconds to a seconds

Decrepify: Cast range reduced from 400/500/600/700 to 400/475/550/625

Decrepify: Cooldown increased from 15/12/9/6 to 16/13/10/7

Nether Ward: Radius reduced from 1600 to 1400

Sand King

Sand Storm: DPS from 20/45/70/95 to 25/45/65/85

Sand Storm: Mana cost from 70/75/80/85 to 85

Epicenter: Shard Epicenter Bonus Damage Per Pulse reduced from 20 to 10

Level 10 Talent +20 Sandstorm Damage per Second reduced to +15

Level 15 Talent +150 Sand Storm Radius reduced to +125

Level 25 Talent +40 percent bonus Sandstorm Blind/Slow reduced to 35 percent

Slark

Dark Pact: Mana Cost reduced from 75 to 65

Dark Pact: Outgoing Damage rescaled from 75/150/225/300 to 90/160/230/300

Spectre

Base HP regen increased from 1.5 to 2.0

Base Agility increased from 23 to 25

Dispersion: Radius thresholds increased from 300-700 to 400-800

Storm Spirit

Base armor reduced by one

Level 10 mana regeneration talent reduced from +1.75 to +1.5

Overload: Damage decreased from 40/60/80/100 to 30/50/70/90

Sven

Warcry: Movement Speed bonus increased from 8 percent/12 percent/16 percent/20 percent to 10 percent/14 percent/18 percent/22 percent

Warcry: Shard Passive Armor increased from five to seven

Storm Hammer: Stun duration rescaled from 1.25/1.5/1.75/two seconds to 1.4/1.6/1.8/ two seconds

Storm Hammer: Manacost decreased from 110/120/130/140 to 110/115/120/125

Templar Assassin

Refraction: Bonus damage reduced from 25/50/75/100 to 25/45/65/85

Timbersaw

Whirling Death: Stat loss percentage decreased from 12 percent to 10 percent

Whirling Death: Stat loss duration decreased from 13/14/15/16 to 12/13/14/15

Tinker

Base Strength increased from 18 to 19

Laser: Mana Cost reduced from 110/130/150/170 to 105/120/135/150

Tiny

Tree Grab: Building reduced from 55 percent/70 percent/85 percent/100 percent to 40 percent/55 percent/70 percent/85 percent

Grow: Tree attack damage multiplier reduced from 40/45/50 percent to 20/30/40 percent

Tree Throw: Slow now also applies to Tree Volley damage

Level 15 talent from +40% Grow Damage with Tree to +10% Status Resistance

Level 20 talent from +15% Status Resistance to +40% Grow Damage with Tree

Troll Warlord

Berserker’s Rage: Melee Form Base Attack Time improved from 1.45 to 1.4

Battle Trance: Fixed Troll sometimes not properly getting sight of its target in Fog of War

Undying

Tombstone: Cast Range reduced from 600 to 500

Tombstone: Zombie spawn interval increased from four/3.5/3/2.5 to four/3.6/3.2/2.8 seconds

Warlock

Chaotic Offering: Golem Health increases from 1200/2100/3000 to 1400/2300/3200, Golem Aghanim Health increased from 800/1600/2400 to 900/1700/2600

Winter Wyvern

Arctic Burn: Duration increased from eight seconds to 10 seconds

Splinter Burn: Secondary projectile speed increased from 650 to 800

Witch Doctor

Maledict: Damage per Second increased from 7/14/21/28 to 12/18/24/30

Zeus

Heavenly Jump: Distance increased from 450 to 500

Arc Lightning: Damage increased from 80/110/140/170 to 90/120/150/180

Lightning Bolt: Cast Point reduced from 0.4 seconds to 0.3 seconds

What to note: Like every patch, the Dota 2 developers did their best to update the game as much as possible. The most notable changes were the instances where some heroes were given buffs — something that will potentially increase the tournament viability of several heroes. There is a good chance we will see more of Lycan, Slark, and Spectre in competitive play. Additionally, it is likely we will see a drop of use in Tiny, Pugna, Death Prophet, and Primal Beast.

Item Updates

Desolator

Soul Stealer max stacks reduced from 25 to 20

Eye of Skadi

Movement/Attack Speed slow against melee heroes rescaled from 25 percent/25 to 20 percent/30

Movement/Attack Speed slow against ranged heroes rescaled from 50 percent/50 to 40 percent/60

Spirit Vessel

Recipe cost increased from 1000 to 1100

Satanic

Reduced attack damage bonus from 45 to 38

Urn of Shadows

Recipe cost increased from 335 to 375

Vladmir’s Offering

Recipe cost reduced from 400 to 250

Helm of the Overlord

Bonus lifesteal increased from 15 percent to 18 percent

Mana regen increased from 1.75 to two

Wraith Pact

Vladmirs Aura radius from 900 to 1200

Wraith Reprisal Damage Reduction increased from 25 percent to 30 percent

Wraith Reprisal DPS increased from 25 to 30

Casting a Wraith Reprisal deletes any previous totems spawned by the ability previously

Bonus lifesteal increased from 15 percent to 18 percent

Mana regen increased from 1.75 to two

What to note: Of all the changes, it’s apparent that the item updates are the least noticeable in the pack. Perhaps the biggest update were the changes made to Wraith Pact — a huge overhaul that may make the item that barely any players purchase more attractive.

Neutral Creep Updates

Harpy Scout

Take Off max mana cost per second from 2.5 percent to four percent

Vision reduced from 1800/1800 to 1200/800

Dark Troll Summoner

Raise Dead cooldown increased from 18 to 20

Raise Dead duration decreased from 40 to 35

Skeleton Warrior

Armor reduced from 1 to 0

What to note: The changes to Harpy Scout and Dark Troll Summoner are especially significant, and will very much change the neutral creep market. Considering the fact that these were the two priorities for heroes that can control neutral creeps, this will definitely be a big adjustment in future competitive events.

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