Dota 2’s Patch 7.03 features new Arcana and major changes to the game economy, hero talents

After a large-scale update on Dec. 12, yet another major patch has hit Dota 2. Dubbed “The Bladeform Legacy,” Patch 7.03 will present players with an entirely new Arcana set for Juggernaut, as well as changes to a majority of the heroes in the game, UI changes, and overall gameplay adjustments. One of the biggest changes is the introduction of the last original Dota 2 hero, Monkey King, into captain’s mode. Released along with the 7.00 patch, Monkey King quickly became the plague of public matches, as his mobility and damage output would simply leave players with little options when facing up against the royal primate. Monkey King’s introduction to captain’s mode does, however, come with several nerfs.

Monkey King

• Jingu Mastery buff now has a max duration of 35 seconds
• Tree Dance night vision reduced from 800 to 400
• Wukong’s Command duration rescaled from 13/14/15 to 13

The biggest change to Monkey King is definitely the reduction in night vision acquired by his “Tree Dance” skill. While still offering Monkey King extended vision during night time, Valve has elected to halve the range. But while Dota 2 patches tend to often impact heroes, the biggest changes to them in 7.03 are, however, centered around the talent system which was introduced in 7.00. Talents are unique buffs players unlock upon reaching level ten on any hero. A full list of the changes to hero’s talents can be found here, as they are too numerous to list. Valve also appear to have targeted the economic side of Dota 2 in a major way.

Gameplay

• AoE hero kill Gold and XP bounties reduced by 10% (including comeback gold and XP)
• Tier 1 Team Bounty reduced from 160 to 120
• Passive gold income reduced by 10%
• Reduced lane melee creeps base gold bounties by 2
• Increased lane melee creeps gold bounty per upgrade cycle by 1
• Reduced lane range creeps gold bounty per upgrade cycle by 1

The reduction in gold and xp bounties for killing heroes, the collective bounty teams receive for destroying tier 1 towers, and the 10 percent reduction in passive gold income are substantial changes. They were probably implemented because of the many heroes that now have talents that actively increase player’s passive gold income. Aside from the gameplay updates, Valve has also updated the UI for Captain’s Mode, which now allows players to suggest bans and even swap captains mid-draft. Finally, everyone’s favorite two-headed dragon Jakiro has received an update to his character model. In other words, despite fundamentally changing the game with the 7.00 update on Dec. 11, Dota 2 continues to be in a constant state of change.