As expected, the latest patch was very focused on refining the new facet mechanics. It also improved the overall balance of the game, with many heroes from our wishlist getting some very well deserved buffs. These seemingly small changes had a profound effect on the overall meta and today we would like to highlight the biggest winners of 7.37.
Tinker
Support Tinker is genuinely broken. His Repair Bots facet got buffed by a whopping +50%, making him one of the strongest teamfight supports in the game. Making the most out of hero is also pretty trivial — as long as you are out of sight and spamming March of the Machines into the fight, you are contributing.
Certainly, the hero’s lack of early game mana sustain options is causing some problems, however being able to teleport to and from the base, without the pressure of being a core who needs to farm, more than makes up for it.
Don’t get us wrong — even as a support Tinker loves gold he can use on team items. One of the more popular and efficient purchases is Holy Locket that amps Tinker heal to ~60 per second. It essentially makes it so that the enemy needs to fight your team as if they have level one Chemical Rage. Which is ridiculous, considering it is an effect provided by a level seven support with a ~2300 gold item.
Later on Tinker can still progress into “hex lockdown” playstyle, though it should not be rushed — there isn’t enough mana sustain early on to support it. Instead, focus on getting Guardian Greaves and maybe even a Pavise for maximum team survivability. Shard is also great for when the enemy finally realises you are a priority target.
Omniknight
Another healer who is suddenly making waves in high level pubs. Omniknight finally has an identity — the hero is most definitely a support. Making him work takes slightly more effort, compared to Tinker, but the payoff is comparable. Omniknight makes your carry unkillable, as long as he is alive.
There are two reasons for why the hero is suddenly a better support. One of them is the fact that he can now lane decently well with the “Healing Hammer” aspect, providing him extra sustain during the laning stage. Being a melee support is usually disadvantageous, but Omniknight more than makes up for it with great starting stats. The fact that you no longer charge enemy Magic Wands with your Hammer of Purity is a cherry on top.
The second reason is the hero’s new shard. It essentially gives the hero extra +225 Heal on Purification, as well as some extra pure damage. In our opinion it is an essential purchase that can be rushed.
Otherwise, just play a regular save support. Omniknight shouldn’t really frontline for his team from a support position past the laning stage and, arguably, early midgame. His job is to stay behind, apply heals and wait for an opportune moment to use his Repel and his ultimate.
Also — ban Shadow Demon if you intend to play Omniknight. The usual Nullifier purchase doesn’t counter Omniknight as hard as it used to, as it no longer dispels Guardian Angel through Repel. However Demonic Purge does, and it is a very hard counter to what your hero is trying to achieve.
Lina
Lina might not be the biggest winner in terms of actual win rate gains, but her jump was big enough to qualify her as a meta hero, while many other characters who received buffs simply got into a playable state. The current version of Lina is exceptionally strong and the reason for it is an absolutely ridiculous passive that provides her with a ~45% AoE splash on both attack and abilities. Oh, the splash also deals magical damage, as opposed to physical, which is generally stronger in the later portions of the game.
If you’ve missed it, her innate currently “combusts” enemy targets for 70 magical damage in a 400 AoE, every time Lina deals 150 damage to any target. This effect, as explicitly pointed out, can proc multiple times from a single source of damage, so there are no inefficiencies. Because of this Innate, Lina is now a full on late-game teamfight core, as opposed to mostly single-target one, and this makes all the difference in the later stages of the game.
In our opinion the hero should be played as a mid or carry only, with the latter being preferable. The hero farms very fast, but she is still a glass cannon and while DPS-wise she comes online quite early, she can be killed off easily if out of position. Hence, the hero should really start joining fight after getting at least some stat and survivability items. Be it Gleipnir, Dragon Lance and Black King Bar on a right-clicking Lina, or Aether Lens and Aghanim’s Scepter on a magic damage Lina.
The latter is more of a mid core build, rather than a full on carry, but don’t be afraid to transition into more right-click damage as the game progresses. With the Thermal Runaway aspect, which is a default one for most core players, you will still hit extremely fast after using Laguna Blade. It is +384 Attack Speed for five seconds regardless of the talents you pick, which is more than enough to kill off any target in the later stages of the game.
Closing thoughts
In our opinion this is more of a 7.36d, rather than 7.37. It is getting some heroes up to par, while nerfing and fixing some very annoying interactions. That said, the game definitely freshened up quite nicely — there are many new ideas and heroes to explore.
What are your hidden imbas of the new patch? Do you feel like some heroes are getting overlooked, or maybe Valve overnerfed your favourite MMR-farming machine? Share your grievances and thoughts in the comment section below.
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