Top 4 Heroes to Spam for MMR in Dota 2 Patch 7.31

When a large Dota 2 patch like 7.31 strikes, it brings with it the task of experimenting with different heroes and strategies before settling on the best. Despite 7.31 being only a few days old, some heroes have already emerged as part of this effort, as various professional teams and players in pubs uncover the strongest heroes in the patch. There are several reasons why these heroes are becoming popular, including direct buffs to them or to the items that suit them.

On the other hand, some heroes from the previous patch continue to be strong picks after patch 7.31. It seems that the few nerfs that they received have not been sufficient to dissuade players from picking them. Whether it be a new hero or an old hero, most Dota 2 players just yearn for MMR (Matchmaking Rating), so here is a list of four heroes that you should spam in your pubs in patch 7.31.

Top 4 heroes in patch 7.31 so far

Tiny

Tiny, who once ruled the period around The International 10 (TI10), is once again making a name for himself. Tiny used to be a feared combo partner with the Lycan Aghanim's Scepter during that time period, but he stopped getting picked after the nerfs to both Tiny and Aghanim's Scepter after TI10.

But in patch 7.31, the hero was reworked in a way that has apparently made a positive impact. Several changes have been made to Tiny's skills in the patch, which may even look confusing on paper, but the way you play Tiny will remain the same as it was around the time of TI10. Thus, Tiny will continue to have insane burst damage when he throws an enemy into the air with a tree and Echo Sabre in his hand.

As seen in the patch notes, "Tree Grab" has been nerfed in its own right, but now the bonus damage Tiny would get from using this ability is based on a percentage of his Ultimate. This seems to not only have balanced out the direct nerf to Tree Grab but also buffed Tiny to some extent.

The update to Tiny's level 15 talent, which now reads "Level 15 Talent +20% Tree Grab Unit damage bonus replaced with +50% Tree Grow bonus damage", has also led to a big rise in Tiny's demand. Aghanim's Shard is now available at the 15 minute mark, which means that the limit on Tree Grab charges can be unlocked quite earlier now. The hero's Shard is one of the best in the game as it greatly increases his farming speed and effectiveness in teamfights.

In all brackets, Dotabuff reports that the hero's pick rate has changed from 4.81% one day before the patch to 12.6% nearly a week later. The hero is not only being picked more and more, but players are also winning with it since his win rate has risen from 45% to 55% in one week.

Keeper of the Light

Keeper of the Light has been absent from pubs as well as competitive play for a long time. However, patch 7.31 has given the hero a considerable number of buffs that will likely bring him back to the fray.

Illuminate's radius and cast range have both been improved, and the vision has also been enhanced, while Spirit Form and Blinding Light have seen respectable buffs, all in all making this hero more appealing than before.

In addition, the availability of Aghanim's Shard at 15 minutes instead of the 20 minute mark has helped the hero greatly. The Shard enables the hero to recall allies after a short delay, and this earlier timing helps him to set up important ganks and rescue his teammates.

While Keeper of the Light may not be the most game-changing hero on his own, when used in tandem with his teammates, he can cause a lot of mayhem for his enemies. As teams and players choose heroes going forward in patch 7.31, they will keep an eye out for the advantage of overwhelming enemies with the pressure that Keeper of the Light can provide. As a support hero, Keeper of the Light appears to be the go-to hero in patch 7.31 for teams looking to play at a rapid pace.

Based on Dotabuff, the pick rate indicates that the hero is still not getting picked enough (3%) but his win rate has increased from 46% to 51% after the patch.

Rubick

Rubick was being occasionally picked in the past few months whenever teams and players felt that there were some great spells to steal but he was never a favorite support hero.

However, patch 7.31 grants the hero a significant buff by allowing him to steal two spells from the enemies after purchasing the Aghanim's Scepter. Rubick can pull off some great combos with this as the game progresses, which allows him to flip the game on its head.

While this ability to turn games around comes after Aghanim's Scepter, which might take some time, Rubick's early game skills have also grown. His lift duration on Telekinesis, which was considered to be a fairly underwhelming spell in the early levels, has been increased. Additionally, Spell Steal's cooldown has been lowered from 20/15/10 to 20/12/4.

It will be crucial for players to have great positioning in games where Rubick can steal game-changing spells such as Fiend's Grip, Ravage, Rolling Thunder, and more because the enemies will likely target him first.

According to Dotabuff, Rubick's pick rate has increased from 13 to 19% following the patch, but his win rate has remained at around 46%.

Templar Assassin

Patch 7.31 was supposed to bring nerfs for Templar Assassin, which would drastically reduce its popularity since it had been in the meta for months already. Nevertheless, as the past few days after patch 7.31 indicate, the change to her most powerful spell - Psi Blades - has not discouraged players from picking her.

Templar Assassin's Psi Blades spill range has been rescaled from 1.5x of her attack range to 550/600/650/700. As a result, the hero is even more powerful at the beginning when she does not have a Dragon Lance and is still a long way from the level 15 talent when she gets the enhancement to the attack range on Psi Blades.

As the Spill Range is now based on attack range, it seems as if the hero will not receive a very massive power spike when she picks up a Dragon Lance, the level 15 talent that gives her 120 bonus attack range on Psi Blades, and maybe a lucky Grove Bow. But Valve seems to love the hero as it has accommodated this attack range change by providing not only 120 attack range on Psi Blades on the level 15 talent but also an extra 120 spill range.

This means that the hero is relatively strong in the first phases of the game, and it has only received a very small nerf in its spill range as time in the game goes on. It's more of a rescaling rather than an outright increase or decrease in the hero's ability.

In view of how the hero grows out of control in a very short period of time, this change does not suffice as a deterrent for players to choose it in patch 7.31. With her ability to push waves rapidly, take Ancient Stacks with incredible ease, achieve some fantastic timings with the farm and the Roshan, Templar Assassin continues to rank as one of the most viable heroes in patch 7.31.

According to Dotabuff, Templar Assassin's pick rate and win rate have remained stable at about 7% and 49% respectively since the release of the patch.

There are some heroes such as Lone Druid, Axe, and Undying that have recently been buffed in patch 7.31 as well. These heroes have also seen an increase in their win rates in recent days. Meanwhile, heroes like Monkey King and Mars continue to hold their own in the new patch. After the patch is more thoroughly evaluated and a meta develops, it will become much clearer who the real winners of patch 7.31 are.