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With another patch comes another set of changes: 39 heroes, 4 items, and one creep camp for a total of 59 changes. That’s a lot to keep up with in an update that isn’t a “primary” patch.
For those of you wondering what you should keep in mind in your next set of pub matches, we’ve pulled a few important changes.
Alchemist: Base Agility increased from 11 to 16; Greevil's Greed Bounty Rune multiplier increased from 2x to 2.5x
He’s back. The increase in Agility gives a nice bump to his attack speed and armor, and the Bounty Rune gives players motivation to roam for it a bit more. This will affect how his farm and roam works early- and mid-game, meaning he’ll be a more dire threat throughout the entire game, too. Keep an eye out for any emboldened scientist duos in your pubs.
Naga Siren: Base health regen increased from 0.5 to 1.5
That’s a big bump for the hero’s health regeneration. In fact, that’s literally tripling her health regen. Practically, Naga will do much better in lanes with that newfound survivability, needing to hang back for a little less time before returning to the fray. It won’t make her invincible, obviously, but it means harassing her won’t necessarily put her out of the game.
Clockwerk: Battery Assault manacost increased from 75 to 100; base damage reduced by 3
One of these alone is painful, but the two combined will be painful for Clockwerk mains. This will make creep-killing hard for the hero in what’s famously a mechanics-centric patch favoring last hits. Plus, it’ll make ganks a bit more difficult. It’s unfortunately fitting, though, as Clockwerk was the fourth most-picked hero during the TI7 Main Qualifiers with a 55% winrate.
Nightstalker: Base Intelligence reduced from 16 to 13; Hunter In The Night cooldown increased from 26/22/18/14 to 30/26/22/18
These are essentially hits on the same ability, Hunter In The Night, which became an active ability in the original 7.06. While Night Stalker was already a strong stunner and slower in the early games, his newfound ability to chase at all hours, plus the new flying active, gave him a solid boost in professional games. With less mana available to Nightstalker, plus increased cooldown on the ability, he’ll be less of a threat in early phases.
Sniper: Agility gain increased from 2.5 to 2.7
Actually, it’s not much, but it’s one more Agility every five levels, which also means one more damage and attack speed every five levels. Even if he didn’t get buffed significantly, the point is that your pubs will think otherwise. So be prepared for an influx of Sniper pickers until the trench realizes the truth. (They won’t.)