Dota 2 received the Update 7.29b which brings some improvements and balancing changes. Not that surprising considering that we just had a big update. So what did this new update offer? Well, it nerfed both Huskar and Phantom Lancer really hard. On the other hand, Lina gets a good boost along with Kunkka. Hoodwink, who’s now available on Captain’s Mode, got a buff as well.
The Nerfs
When 7.29 went live, Phantom Lancer experienced changes and there were actually more on nerfs than buffs. However, that didn’t stop players from taking advantage of what the hero could offer. If you’re not convinced, then just read what happened in the OG versus Brame match.
In 7.29b, some of his base stats have been lowered. Also, some of the effects of the Shard on his Spirit Lance were reworked. First, the Shard no longer increases the cast range of the skill. Second, Talent: Evasion has been moved up to Level 15, formerly Level 10. These changes don’t really put him down for the count but make him a manageable threat.
Huskar got nerfed as well with the max regen for Berserker’s Blood being reduced. Meanwhile, the cooldown for Life Break has been increased and scaled. The bonuses for Talents have been lowered too.
There is one change that probably many players will notice and it's on Techies. Remember in 7.29, heroes get a TP scroll upon dying. This was an advantage for Techies who could get a scroll with suicide. So, this update no longer grants a TP scroll from death caused by Blast Off! Like we said, a bit of good news.
The Buffs
For buffs, Lina got some good changes. Light Strike Array now has a lower mana cost and larger radius. This makes her a bit more effective in the late game. The stack duration for her Fiery Soul is now 12 seconds.
Players should now take care when facing Kunkka, especially if used by aggressive players. His base armor was increased by one and his movement speed is now 305. The cooldown of X Marks the Spot has been reduced making him a threat in the early game.
Captain’s Mode welcomes Hoodwink who arrives in the game with some buffs of her own. The damage for Acorn Shot is increased to 75% with her Strength gain now at 2.0, previously 1.8.
If you’ve been keeping track of the updates, Broodmother got a huge boost in 7.29. She gets an extra as well in 7.29b, which is the upped Spawn Spiderling count from 3/4/5 to 4/5/6.
Read all the changes here.
What about you? What was your favorite hero change?
