- The Dota 2 meta has completely changed after the introduction of Patch 7.29
- While it is still early days, Phantom Lancer, Dazzle, Dawnbreaker, Wraith King and Huskar have emerged as one of the strongest Dota 2 heroes in this patch so far.
- The Regional Leagues have also begun and in the days to come, we will certainly be seeing the emergence of other heroes and hero combinations that look completely broken.
The new patch 7.29 has once again changed the Dota 2 meta buffing several heroes and making others weaker. While most heroes were hit only with minor buffs/nerfs, the massive changes to the overall map and economy as well as balance updates to Aghanim’s Shards have certainly changed the Dota 2 meta. Here we take a look at which are the strongest Dota 2 heroes in patch 7.29 up until now. (in no chronological order and all data taken from Dotabuff)
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Top Dota 2 heroes in patch 7.29 so far
Phantom Lancer
While Phantom Lancer was considered to be a decent hero in the previous patch, it was only occasionally picked whenever he had favorable matchups. But now, with the insane buff to this Shard, Phantom Lancer has certainly risen the ranks. When initially incorporated into the hero, the Shard used to “increase Spirit Lance illusion damage dealt by 20% and causes the projectile to bounce to another unit within 900 radius, prioritizing heroes.” With buffs over time, the Shard now increases Spirit Lance illusion damage dealt by 50% and increases the cast range of the spell by 200.
Players now build the initial items of Diffusal Blade and Manta Style and then go on buying the Shard. It allows the hero to keep poking at enemies from a distance without taking any considerable risks. Even so, some top players have started building Octarine Core on the hero as the third item courtesy of this Shard.
In heroes with a more than 10% pick rate, Phantom Lancer has the highest win rate at 53.57% in all pubs. In particularly the Divine/Immortal bracket for this month, the hero boasts of a 52.70% win rate with a 12.98% pick rate.
Dazzle
Dazzle has been one of the most buffed heroes in patch 7.29 as almost all of his abilities and statistics have been improved. His Shard causes Poison Touch to hex affected targets for 1.25 seconds which is being hailed as the ultimate counter to illusion heroes. Level 15 talent now also provides Dazzle with a choice to have +60 Attack Speed which now allows him to scale if he is being played in the mid or the offlane.
Even though the Shard is only available from the 20-minute mark, most Illusion heroes take much more time to get online. Additionally, the buffs to the abilities have also made him potent at any stage of the game. Considering there have been buffs to cheese heroes like Huskar and Broodmother, Dazzle becomes all more relevant.
In all pubs, Dazzle has a 12.25% pick rate with an impressive 53.06% win rate.
Dawnbreaker
Dawnbreaker was widely considered to be a trash hero when initially introduced as it had a meagre win rate of below 40%. Valve then massively buffed the hero which has seemingly helped her found success as she now has jumped to a win rate of over 50%. This graph accurately explains the change in fortunes for the hero after the buffs.
It will be intriguing to see in the days to come if the hero’s win rate continues to be on the up or it takes a fall due to the minor nerfs.
Wraith King
Wraith King continues to be a strong Dota 2 hero as he had no changes to his abilities or statistics in patch 7.29. There were only three trivial changes in his Talent Tree which did not have any impact on the hero’s efficacy. Wraith King has been the go-to choice for many Dota 2 pros as well as the hero has a decent laning phase with his Lifesteal, a strong farming mechanism with Skeletons and Radiance, and the potency to scale into a late-game carry. At times, when pros are still figuring out the best set of carry heroes, it won’t be a surprise if they still go with Wraith King as a safe option.
In heroes with more than a 10% win rate in all pubs, Wraith King has the second-highest win rate at 53.52%. In the Divine/Immortal bracket for this month, the hero has a 14.70% pick rate with a win rate of 50.22%.
Huskar
Huskar is not the most played Dota 2 hero but the recent improvements call for inclusion in this list. Huskar was hardly picked in the pubs and professional games previously but ever since patch 7.29 improved his abilities and the two items that he prioritizes the most - Armlet and Satanic, the hero seems to have become stronger. This is evident from the hero’s recent surge in win rate as Huskar has garnered nearly a 7% win rate increase - from 49% to 56% since the introduction of the patch.
Huskar has the highest win rate in pubs at 55.36% with a decent pick rate of over 9%. The hero may soon start stomping games like the previous times and the professional players will also have to ponder over banning the hero if they feel it is a suitable game for him.
Although these are the five strongest heroes, several others like the Legion Commander and the Beastmaster are also being considered very powerful thanks to the recent changes they received in patch 7.29
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While we are still in the early days of patch 7.29, we have already witnessed the huge potential of some Dota 2 heroes. The Regional Leagues have also begun and in the days to come, we will certainly be seeing the emergence of other heroes and hero combinations that look completely broken.
