Calling the new update for Dota 2 huge would be an understatement. Titled New Frontiers, it features major changes that every player should know about.
It’s both good and bad news, however, depending on how you look at it. New players would probably welcome it easily since it gives them time to adjust. But, for professional players, especially those competing at the upcoming Berlin Major, it may not be that easy. That’s because the competition is starting April 26, only a few days left to study and practice all these new changes.
It’s Bigger than Ever
There’s actually a lot to unpack in this article but we’ll just give you the highlights. The biggest change is obviously the map, now 40% bigger. That’s right! It’s so big that Roshan now has two homes instead of one, but before you complain about the difficulty of traveling across the map, you should know that portals have been added so you can go from one side to the other.
We Can Be Heroes
Of course, it won’t be an update without hero changes. There are the usual balancing changes yet what makes this one different is the new hero attribute type. In the past, there were only Strength, Agility, and Intelligence heroes; now, Universal heroes join as the fourth kind.
Specific changes have also been made on certain heroes, like Clinkz which can now create skeletons. Arc Warden, meanwhile, not only creates a clone of himself but apparently a better version. Then, there's Ogre Magi who is officially no longer an intelligence hero.
New Items Galore
There are also new items though some players may not like the change for Black King Bar, which no longer has Spell Immunity but instead Debuff Immunity.
Expect new neutral items as well. However, the drops for these have been reworked. Without revealing too much here, let's just say the rework is beneficial to everyone regardless of the role they play in the team.
New Features
Besides gameplay changes, several new features are introduced. Not only do some units now have health bars, but they also have health bar barriers. Matchmaking received tweaks as well to make the experience better.
Overall, the New Frontiers update is indeed an exciting time for Dota 2. If there’s one complaint, it’s probably the update being called as 7.33 instead of 8.0. Then again, that only makes us even more excited about future updates.
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