Dota 2’s 7.35 mega patch meta shift has players riding one wild hero to glory

Dota 2’s Patch 7.35, complete with new items, a fresh HUD, and a smorgasbord of hero changes is only a day old—but a former dominant force is threatening to guide the meta once more.

Everyone’s favorite Disco Pony Leshrac is back in business after dwelling at the bottom of the tier list for what seems like an age, rising nearly 10 percent in win rate in just hours according to Dota stats site Dotabuff. This sees the spellcasting mid laner stampede his way to second behind Dark Seer who currently tops the charts—but it’s not looking like he can keep Leshrac at bay for much longer.

It’s a stark difference from October’s The International, with the pinnacle pro Dota 2 event seeing practically no Leshrac—the hero was picked just once across the entire event according to Spectral—but his rise has more to do with the item changes than his buffs. Sure, his hero buffs were substantial compared to his peers with a boost to Diabloic Edict damage and the additional attack speed slow with Lightning Storm, but this patch is proving to be all about Shiva’s Guard and magic damage.

Shiva’s, which has been a solid Dota item for over a decade, has received a huge buff in 7.35—the active Arctic Blast applies a debuff to enemy units causing them to take 15 percent more magic damage. This change more than makes up for the Intelligence loss it suffered, which itself was mostly canceled out thanks to Veil of Discord becoming a component of the item.

Now, Shiva’s grants a decent amount of armor and regeneration, as well as HP and mana—and even costs less to purchase. It’s seen magic damage dealers rapidly rise already in 7.35, but none more so than Leshrac who thrives with AoE magic damage abilities centered around the hero itself.

Speaking of AoE magic, Bloodstone—already a core item for Leshrac—now grants increased AoE on spells cast, meaning the Split Earth stun and Pulse Nova ultimate hit targets from further away. All in all, Leshrac is feeling right at home on the Dota 2 map right now.

We’ll see just how far Valve lets Leshrac rise, but after testing a bit of the Disco Pony in a few normal matches and Turbo, as soon as he completes the Bloodstone and Shiva’s double, he’s unstoppable. Throw on the Agh’s Shard and Scepter for the repeated Split Earth (also AoE-boosted) and Nihilism, and you’ll be cantering down mid lane and winning in no time.