Topson’s slippery hero picks show early meta trends for Dota 2 Patch 7.33

Topson has been having a ball on Dota 2 in the days since Patch 7.33 was released on April 20. The back-to-back TI winner has accrued an impressive 75 percent win rate while trying to figure out what works, and his picks are helping define meta trends.

The Finnish dynamo has played Void Spirit the most—13 matches, to be exact—and he’s won 92 percent of them. His build typically includes Power Treads or Boots of Travel, Aghanim’s Sceptre, Ethereal Blade, Dagon, and Octarine Core. He has, however, switched it up with more right-click from Desolate, Daedalus, Kaya, and Sange, coupled with silences from Bloodthorn and roots from Rod of Atos.

It coincides with a 2.45 percent win rate increase on Void Spirit across the board, suggesting he’s not the only one who has figured out the zippy hero is strong. The reason could be that, since the Dota 2 map is bigger and fights are breaking out everywhere, maneuverable cores like Void Spirit can be devastating in the hands of skilled players.

It’s no surprise that his next best hero at the moment is Storm Spirit, of which he’s currently sitting on a 71.5 percent win rate in seven matches. The bearded hero’s overall win rate has also spiked a little, but not as much as Riki’s, which Topson has played a handful of times this patch. Again, it’s a slippery hero capable of engaging and disengaging with ease, and it’s had a massive 6.72 percent win rate increase this week.

The biggest winner so far, though, is a hero Topson hasn’t played in more than two months—Phantom Lancer.

The illusion-based carry hero’s win rate has shot up by 9.72 percent since the patch dropped, bringing it up to 57.79 percent this week. He’s capable of hopping in and out of battle, adding further evidence that this Dota playstyle is very hot right now.

Bristleback is a close second. He works due to his speed and tankiness.

It’s still early to tell whether these heroes will define the meta. We’ll know more once the Berlin Major kicks off on April 26. Still, it’s fair to say early signs suggest we’ll see them picked or banned quite a bit. They’re popping up a lot in ranked matches, too.