Not another letter patch: Dota 2 players left disappointed by Patch 7.35d’s small changes

Dota 2 fans were expecting a grand unveiling after months of waiting, but Valve has again delivered a minor update, sharing an underwhelming Patch 7.35d release today. While the March 21 update does include some exciting changes, it fails to deliver the highly anticipated Crownfall update and players aren’t happy.

Apart from the itsy-bitsy balance changes in Dota 2 Patch 7.35d, the Valve team also shipped a reworked pre-game hero ban system and an experimental Dota Plus feature. Fans who could look past the Crownfall disappointment were excited about the ban system changes and the ability to inspect match details after finding a match. However, only some were able to show the mental strength to wait one or more months for the Crownfall update, which is expected to deliver a new hero and loads of cosmetics, including Arcanas.

Following The International 2023 in October, Valve promised Dota 2 players a deluge of fresh events and cosmetics. Many expected these to come within the next three months, but here we are in March 2024 with very little to show. The general sentiment among angry fans is that Patch 7.35d feels like another stop-gap measure—a “letter patch,” as some call them—that has failed to address the community’s desire for substantial updates.

Even top-tier esports organizations like Team Secret couldn’t help but show their disappointment for patch 7.35d on X (formerly Twitter) by sharing a Dota-themed image of someone excitedly opening a fridge only to be disappointed by it being relatively empty.

Since many expect Crownfall to have a circus theme, other Dota 2 players used the opportunity to call themselves the “real clowns” for expecting anything big from Valve. Some admitted they were disappointed they bought into the hype again just to get a letter patch.

Valve’s wording in previous blogs made it sound like Crownfall only needed a few touches before release, leading many Dota 2 players to believe it was just around the corner. Though a silent minority appreciates Valve for communicating a release date, a loud majority is afraid due to the developer’s inability to keep up with deadlines.