Valve pushed out the 7.27b update for Dota 2 last week. It was followed by 7.27c to fix some of the issues surrounding the metagame that were introduced with Patch 7.27.
The changes that arrived with version 7.27 didn’t cause the second coming of the infamous death ball meta, but the game was in a slightly awkward spot. The meta favored hyper aggression and fighting during the early game. Simultaneously, the importance of the second tier towers suddenly slowed the game down, forcing players to go back to farming.
Carries who could fight during the early game, like Wraith King, became the stars of the patch, alongside other heroes that preferred building a Radiance as one of their core items. Patches 7.27b and 7.27c brought enough changes to shake up the meta a bit but may have introduced new villains in the process.
Here are the most impactful buffs and nerfs of Dota 2 Patches 7.27b and 7.27c.
Wraith King
Wraith King has been one of the stable picks in the meta for a while. The hero’s durability, reliability, and massive damage output potential made him one of the first picks in most games. His reign was interrupted with 7.27b, however, due to the following nerfs.
7.27b changes of Wraith King
- Base damage increased by three.
Vampiric Aura
- Vampiric Aura no longer provides attack damage or self bonus mechanics.
- Vampiric Aura lifesteal increased from 5/10/15/20 percent to 8/16/24/32 percent.
- Vampiric Aura now has half effect on ranged heroes.
Mortal Strike
- Mortal Strike Skeleton attack damage increased from 30-35 to 35-40.
These nerfs caused Wraith King to lose his passive damage from his lifesteal and his base damage increase by three is nowhere enough to make up for its absence. His Mortal Strike was buffed, in exchange, which indicates that IceFrog might be trying to change the way Wraith King is played.
The above changes lowered the hero’s win rate by three percent, according to Dotabuff. And that trend may continue since players will be figuring out the patch even further in the following days.
Ursa
Ursa was one of the few heroes that was profoundly affected by the changes they received. Before receiving the following alterations, Ursa was almost too easy to play in public matches and felt like he was broken in terms of balance.
His easy itemization process and attributes that make him almost impossible to play against turned him into a nightmare to handle. He didn’t receive that much love from the competitive scene, however, since drafting a kiting lineup against him almost rendered his potential useless.
7.27b changes of Ursa
Earthshock
- Earthshock slow reduced from 10/25/40/55 percent to 10/20/30/40 percent.
- Earthshock cooldown increased from 9/8/7/6 to 11/10/9/8.
Enrage
- Enrage cooldown increased from 50/40/30 to 70/50/30.
Talents
- Level 20 Talent changed from +1.2s Enrage Duration to -3s Earthshock Cooldown.
These nerfs impacted Ursa’s effectiveness in fights and his farming speed was taken down a notch as well. The latest iteration of Earthshock also leaves more room for counterplay since anyone that Ursa chases will have a four-second window in which they won’t be slowed.
Clinkz
Clinkz is potentially both the biggest winner and loser of these two patches. The hero had a short dominant period until IceFrog realized he may have been too generous with him and took back everything he said with Patch 7.27c.
We’ll go over the adjustments from both patches in a chronological order to understand the process.
7.27b changes of Clinkz
- Intelligence gain increased from 1.7 to 2.2.
- Attack point improved from 0.7 to 0.4.
Searing Arrows
- Searing Arrows damage increased from 25/35/45/55 to 30/40/50/60.
- Searing Arrows mana cost increased from 9/10/11/12 to 12.
Strafe
- Strafe is a basic ability again. Grants 110/140/170/200 attack speed and 100 percent evasion against ranged attackers. Lasts 3/4/5/6 seconds. Cooldown 34/30/26/22. Manacost 40/50/60/70.
Skeleton Walk
- Skeleton Walk now provides invisibility and 15/30/45/60 percent movement speed. Does not end invisibility when casting his spells. Lasts 25/30/35/40 seconds. Cooldown 20/19/18/17 seconds.
Burning Army
- Burning Army is now a scepter ability. Summons five skeletons in a 1,300 line. Skeletons have 1,000 health but die in two hits and deal 30 percent of your damage. Cooldown 90, Manacost 150.
Death Pact
- Death Pact has been reworked and is now his ultimate. Consumes a target friendly or enemy creep, gaining a percentage of its hit points as max health and damage. Gains 6/10/14 percent of the target’s current health as damage, and gains 60/80/100 percent as health. Lasts 65. Cooldown 80/70/60. Manacost 100. Cast Range 900.
The above buffs basically brought back the good old Clinkz that hit like a truck. Almost all of his talents were also adjusted to compliment his new powers, which made his win rate skyrocket from 50 percent to 56 percent, according to Dotabuff.
The following nerfs were issued only a couple of days after Clinkz became a top-tier hero again and adjusted his win rate as a result.
7.27c changes of Clinkz
Searing Arrows
- Searing Arrows damage from 30/40/50/60 to 24/36/48/60.
Strafe
- Strafe attack speed reduced from 110/140/170/200 to 90/120/150/180.
Death Pact
- Death Pact health gain reduced from 60/80/100 percent to 40/70/100 percent.
- Death Pact damage gain reduced from 6/10/14 percent to 4/9/14 percent.
These changes didn’t affect Clinkz’s kit in any way but made him easier to play around. Despite losing the majority of his hammers to the second coming of the nerf bat, Clinkz is still a powerful hero and now rocks a win rate of 53 percent at time of writing.
Rubick
By looking at the changes alone, it may be hard to understand what’s so different about the new Rubick. But the changes that the hero received with 7.27b essentially opened up an alternative way of playing him.
7.27b changes of Rubick
- Base attack speed increased from 100 to 110.
- Attack damage spread reduced from 47-57 to 49-55.
Fade Bolt
- Fade Bolt damage reduction changed from a fixed value for heroes and creeps to 10/18/26/34 percent base damage.
- Fade Bolt damage increased from 80/160/240/320 to 100/175/250/325.
- Fade Bolt mana cost reduced from 135/140/145/150 to 120/130/140/150.
Talents
- Level 10 Talent changed from +50 Damage to +50 Base Damage.
- Level 15 Talent changed from -80 Fade Bolt Hero Attack to Fade Bolt Steals Hero Damage.
With Rubick able to steal damage with the level 15 talent, this hero can become a carry in the right hands. These changes can’t be considered either buffs or nerfs, though. Players will simply need to wait for him to get picked in professional matches to see his true potential. Even before the adjustments, we’ve seen some examples of mid lane Rubicks building Desolator, which has become an even more deadly strategy.
These changes had a minimal effect on the hero’s win rate, upping it only by one percent. But he might be the current sleeper of the current patch.
Underlord
Before 7.27b, Underlord had a reasonably mediocre place in the meta. He was strong in the right hands, but he didn’t have his old mojo that made him a considerable threat.
The following buffs suddenly turned him into a top-tier pick. Underlord was back in the spotlight once again with a win rate jumping from 51 percent to 59 percent.
7.27b changes of Underlord
- Attack range increased from 150 to 175.
Atrophy Aura
- Atrophy Aura no longer provides permanent bonus damage.
- Atrophy Aura creep death damage rescaled from 5 to 4/5/6/7.
- Atrophy Aura damage duration increased from 30/40/50/60 to 30/45/60/75.
Firestorm
- Firestorm cast point reduced from 0.6 to 0.5
- Firestorm AoE increased from 400 to 400/430/460/490
- Firestorm debuff no longer ignores Ancients (still ignores Roshan)
Pit of Malice
- Pit of Malice cooldown reduced from 22/20/18/16 to 18/17/16/15.
These changes directly improved Underlord’s kit. He also received early-game talent changes that made him even tankier. With a more robust kit and tankier stats, Underlord became almost impossible to deal with for fragile supports. But he received the short end of the stick with 7.27c.
7.27c changes of Underlord
Atrophy Aura
- Atrophy Aura radius reduced from 1,200 to 900.
Pit of Malice
- Pit of Malice cast range reduced from 750 to 675.
Firestorm
- Firestorm cast range reduced from 750 to 675.
Talents
- Level 15 Talent reduced from +100 Pit of Malice AoE to +75.
- Level 25 Talent reduced from +20 percent Firestorm Building Damage to +15 percent.
The second reconsideration of his kit decreased its overall power but still allowed Underlord to keep his new level of tankiness. Patch 7.27c was only able to bring Underlord’s win rate down by 2.5 percent. He’s now sitting with a 56.60 percent win rate at time of writing.
While other heroes like Bloodseeker also received some impactful changes, it looks like they’ll still need some time to find their places in the meta. As more heroes get nerfed, others will thrive. Competitive Dota 2 players will always be on the lookout to pick what gives them the best odds of winning.
