5 Ways to Buff Unpicked Heroes In Dota 2

3 May

Eric Oliveira

While the metagame has been slowly evolving since the release of patch 7.38, some heroes remain completely unpicked. While most heroes at least get a chance to shine in the professional scene, others lie forgotten at the bottom of the list.

On that note, GosuGamers recently compiled a list of 10 unpicked heroes. These heroes were completely ignored in the last three major tournaments on the pro Dota 2 circuit. Let’s take a look at this list and explore five ways to make them more appealing before The International.

There are some unpicked heroes that didn't even get a chance to shine.

"Since March 22nd, and across three tournaments, these 10 heroes were absolutely ignored — not picked or banned at all." – Credit: (@GosuGamersOfficial)

Give Them More Mobility

Most unpicked heroes on the list have little to no mobility. Over the past few years, many heroes have gained mobility tools, and this has become a central part of the metagame. A lack of mobility is definitely one of the reasons these heroes have faded into obscurity.

Chaos Knight and Phantom Lancer have some mobility, but it’s mostly limited to hopping over cliffs. The rest either have similar minor tricks or nothing at all to help them reposition. Mobility makes engaging and disengaging during fights more efficient — and without it, these heroes fall behind.

Omniknight has no canonical way of improving his mobility.

Maybe we should give “Jesus Knight” his wings to fly on the battlefield. – Credit: PC Gamer

Rework Outdated Heroes

While some heroes, like Omniknight and Lich, have been reworked recently, others haven’t changed much in over a decade. Juggernaut and Lone Druid, for example, are still fundamentally the same as they were 10 years ago.

Reimagining heroes without destroying their core identity is tough, but it’s necessary. These aging agility cores haven’t kept up with the times, while most of the heroes has evolved significantly.

Lone Druid will definitely prove to be a challenge on that front.

Grandpa Bear fans want him to shine again like he did during TI3. – Credit: cyberscore

Keep Updating Facets

Facets were a fantastic and welcome addition to Dota 2, but some heroes didn’t get great options. Juggernaut and Chaos Knight, for instance, have incredibly generic facets that don’t meaningfully synergize with their abilities.

Valve seems to be aware of this, as some adjustments have already been made — Arc Warden and Phantom Lancer received new facets in patch 7.38. Unfortunately, this didn’t noticeably impact their tournament presence.

Phantom Lancer has been in the list of unpicked heroes for a while.

I don’t miss Phantom Lancer, to be honest. When he’s strong, he’s also unbearable. – Credit: TheGamer

Rework or Add Items That Suit Them

Phantom Lancer and especially Axe were quite popular when the old Khanda was introduced. Since it was nerfed, both heroes fell off dramatically. Sometimes the solution isn’t reworking heroes — it’s designing new items that better support them.

Most of the unpicked heroes are teamfight-oriented cores. A new item that provides mobility or utility — without also boosting heroes already dominating the meta — could shift the balance without overhauling everyone else.

Khanda was the most impactful item in a long time.

Rest in peace, old Khanda. You will be missed. – Credit: buymeacoffee (slashstrike)

IceFrog’s PsyOps

Finally, there's always the classic approach: small buffs spread across patches. IceFrog always seems to find a way to shape the meta, and one community rule still stands — if a hero gets buffed three patches in a row, they’ll usually become broken.

None of the unpicked heroes have received three consecutive buffs so far — but we’ve only seen three letter patches since 7.38 dropped. It’s still unclear whether this will be the patch for The International, but if it is, expect a series of smaller patches until September that might finally bring them back into the spotlight.