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Dota 2 players worldwide are rejoicing as Valve has finally released the much-anticipated Patch 7.33. As promised by Valve, this patch is indeed a significant one, introducing a plethora of changes to the game. From updates to the map, items, heroes, and mechanics, players can expect an entirely new gameplay experience. One of the most significant changes is the 40% increase in map size, providing new paths and opportunities for players. Another notable addition is the introduction of a new attribute that spells immunity mechanics. With so many changes to explore, Dota 2 players can expect to spend several hours re-learning the game mechanics and exploring the new features.
The Top 6 changes made to the game
The New Frontiers patch 7.33 has brought several new changes to the game, which may require players to almost re-learn the game and mechanics introduced. Here are our Top 6 changes that were made to the game in the update:
The Map is 40% Larger
One of the first changes that are mentioned in The New Frontiers update, the map has been considerably changed with vast new terrain, resources, and objectives included. The map is significantly larger, with new areas that have been added to each corner of the map. The most notable areas that are much larger now are the top and bottom lanes, having significantly more area for players to maneuver around and hide among trees.
2 Roshan Pits
Roshan, the biggest objective to secure in Dota 2 now has two separate dens that he dwells in, each on the opposite side of the map. The old Roshan pit has been removed from the river area. There is still only one Roshan that can be slain, however, he will move from one pit to the other depending on whether it is day or night in the game. He no longer drops Aghanim’s Shards and now drops a Cheese starting from his second death onwards and his third death will drop a Refresher Shard or Aghanims Scepter depending on whether he is in the North or South pit (Refresher Shard on the North Pit and Aghanim’s Scepter on the South Pit). Roshan is stronger overall as well, with more HP and Base Armor.
Several New Buildings/Objectives
The new patch brings many new objectives that players can obtain or play around with, where the double Roshan pit was just one of many. There is a new structure called the Twin Gates located near the safelane of Dire and Radiant respectively, at the ends of the map, similar to the two new Roshan pits. Players will be able to teleport from one gate to the other gate by channeling, similar to using a teleportation scroll.
Lotus Pools are another new addition to the game, which are present near the Safelane of Radiant and Dire sides. These pools will periodically spawn fruit which can be obtained and eaten by any player, instantly granting mana and HP. These fruits can be collected and merged into even larger fruit that gives bigger bonuses.
Tormentors are strong neutral creeps that spawn near each base after 20 minutes, and when killed, provide the player with the lowest net worth of the team that kills it with a free Aghanim’s Shard. This neutral creep does not move or attack back, however, they have a megashield that regenerates extremely quickly and reflect 70% of the damage received evenly among all heroes present within a radius around it, meaning that players will need to take it down together with their team, rather than alone.
There are now small posts throughout the map called Watchers that will provide players and their teams with vision around a small area when activated by clicking on them. Enemies can sabotage your team’s watchers as well, disabling them for a short period of time. Killing Roshan will activate all Watchers to your team’s side, providing a significant vision advantage.
There is also one small ‘gate’ that is present for both Radiant and Dire that enables players of that team to walk through it to enter and leave their base. However, players of the opposing team are unable to go through this gate.
Two new runes in the form of Wisdom and Shield runes have been added to the game. Wisdom runes have their own spawn spots near each base and provide the player who picks them up with experience, while the shield runes provide 50% of the user’s maximum HP as a barrier.
The new map also features two new outposts for each team, which players can teleport to, providing new opportunities for ganking your enemies.
New Hero Type
There is now a fourth hero Type in the game, dubbed the Universal hero, which is a new main stat that provides these heroes with an increase of 0.6 damage from each stat of any attribute. For example, a Universal hero will gain 1.8 damage from an iron branch as it increases Strength, Agility, and Intelligence by 1, each of which provides a damage bonus.
The following heroes are now categorized as Universal heroes:
Abaddon
Bane
Batrider
Beastmaster
Brewmaster
Broodmother
Chen
Clockwerk
Dark Seer
Dark Willow
Dazzle
Enigma
Io
Lone Druid
Lycan
Marci
Magnus
Mirana
Nyx Assassin
Pangolier
Phoenix
Sand King
Snapfire
Techies
Timbersaw
Vengeful Spirit
Venomancer
Visage
Void Spirit
Windranger
Winter Wyvern
Reworked Spell Immunity Mechanics
Spell immunity mechanics have been completely reworked into something called Debuff Immunity. This is then broken down into three major ways: spell application, debuff protection, and damage reduction. This can be complicated to explain due to the lengthy nature of the change, so we would encourage players to go to The New Frontiers blog and check the change for themselves at https://www.dota2.com/newfrontiers?v=2.
Matchmaking Changes
Matchmaking has been overhauled in the new patch as well with the addition of Rank Confidence and a new system for Immortal players. In simple terms, the Rank Confidence number is just Valve’s confidence in the MMR or Rank that an individual is currently at. The Rank Confidence of a player will improve as they play more ranked games, as Valve has more data regarding the player’s skills.
The new patch has changed a significant number of things in Dota, however, the overall principles of the game still remain the same. There are many new things that players will have to get used to and learn after the new patch and it may receive positive and negative feedback from fans and professional players. With over 8 months without a significant gameplay update, Valve has fulfilled its promise of a huge patch that has completely changed the mechanics of the game.
