When releasing an update, most MOBA games generally buff certain heroes and nerf others. However, in Dota 2 Update 7.23f, it appears the hammer has been dropped on some heroes. There’s also a significant change with respect to the gold bonus.
Gold Bonus
Let’s start with the gold bonus. In Update 7.23, Dota 2 revealed that the “gold bonus for the team that is behind is no longer considered if the difference is only 1k or less.”
Sometime in the past, Dota 2 implemented a comeback mechanic that took into account the difference in the net worth of the two teams. In effect what it did was give more gold to the losing team each time they earned a kill. While this mechanic did have some advantages, it made it somewhat difficult for the winning team to capitalize on their lead.
With this change, there’s the hope that Dota 2 now has more balance and less rubber banding happening between the winning and losing teams.
Nerfed Heroes
As mentioned, there are multiple heroes that were nerfed in this update. However, we take a closer look at two heroes in particular.
First there’s Puck, who many players have been complaining about since the Outlanders update. As a result of not being picked that much during The International 2019, Puck received a good buff. This was mainly due to the changes in the Waning Rift and the Phase Shift Attacks. With this new update, Puck’s base damage was lowered by 2. In addition, his Talents were changed as well. This doesn’t mean the hero is no longer playable on the mid lane, but it balances Puck to the point that the damage is tolerable.
The second hero we look at is Doom. In previous updates, Doom had his Scorched Earth speed and damage increased. This made him the go-to hero for offlaning and was even strong enough to chase and kill enemy supports. The new update lowers the damage of Scorched Earth while increasing the mana cost. He’s still dangerous, but he’s not as OP anymore.
You can read more of the changes that came with Update 7.23f here.
