Dota 2 meta: BetBoom Dacha Edition patch 7.35b

Dota 2 meta: BetBoom Dacha Edition patch 7.35b

Otomo

17 Jan, 2024, 05:03

|

Last updated: 10 Apr, 2025, 12:30

BetBoom Dacha Dubai is over and the Dota 2 meta for patch 7.35b has fully stabilized. Heroes that can buy Mage Slayer and Shiva's Guard are running rampant, leaving the rest behind.

In this article, we will be looking at the most contested heroes of the tournament, along with the most successful and worst performing.

Doom is the most popular hero in the Dota 2 meta

Doom Eternal Fire set
Can't deny me now! (Credit: Valve).

We have to talk about Doom when discussing patch 7.35b, because he was contested in 99% of the games, nearly always banned in the first phase.

Doom only showed up in five games, winning two of them. It's a small sample size so not much to read there.

Doom's strengths are that he can completely negate an enemy's healing, firstly by using his ultimate and secondly by rushing Shiva's Guard.

Chen was the second most contested hero, again mainly being banned and only showing up five times in total.

While he only showed up a handful of times, Chen won every single game. The hero crushes the laning phase by catching a Harpy Stormcrafter. With aura items and creeps, Chen makes his team impossible to fight against.

Timbersaw is third on our list, with 86 picks and bans. We attribute this mostly to Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf. Falcon's offlaner loves Timbersaw and forces teams to ban it against them or pick it themselves.

Dragon Knight was the fourth most popular hero at the tournament and he is the perfect core right now. He can be picked in any lane, always gets his farm thanks to Dragons' Blood, and the combination of Mage Slayer, Manta Style, and Aghanim's Scepter allows him to demolish foes and buildings alike.

Vengeful Spirit was the fifth most popular hero and she is a lot like Dragon Knight, being a versatile support who fits any draft. She also counters the burst meta nicely, saving allies when they are caught out of position.

Naga Siren is the strongest carry right now

Niga Siren sound of the depth.
Naga Siren's ultimate gives her team a second wind. (Credits: Valve)

When looking at the most successful heroes in patch 7.35b, we will be examining heroes who were picked at least five, ten, and twenty times.

At five picks, Chen had the best record and we discussed that earlier. A strong laning phase into an incredible push with amazing healing capabilities is hard to beat.

At over 10 picks, Naga Siren is the ruling queen of the Dota 2 meta. She farms fast and can leave the lane if it's too punishing. Naga also allows her team to reset with song and her ability to push out all lanes is unparalleled.

It looks like Puck is a great pick for the mid-lane right now, winning 16 of his 24 games. Puck is as elusive as ever but now Puck has the right click damage to back up their late game, thanks to Parasma and Aghanim's Scepter.

The sun has set on Phoenix's time in the Dota 2 meta

Dota 2 support items
It's a hard life for Phoenix right now (Credit: Valve)

Not every hero had a good time at BetBoom Dacha Dubai. Some previous meta picks failed to make an impact and often ended up looking rather weak.

Let's start with Keeper of the Light, who showed up six times with only one win to his name. Often seen as a strong mid who can make space around the map, Kotl falls off late and his magic damage is a joke when hit by Mage Slayer or against anyone carrying an Eternal Shroud.

Another victim of the current Dota 2 meta is Phoenix, who also deals only magic damage. The Sun Ray heal is also unimpressive when enemies carry a Shiva's Guard.

I am surprised to see Phoenix win only two of his ten games, that seems very low for a support with one of the best ultimates in the game in patch 7.35b.

While we did praise Timbersaw for his popularity, his win rate was pretty low at 37.5%, or nine wins in 24 games.

The low win rate is less indicative of the hero's strengths and more of a testament to Falcons' impact on the tournament, with teams picking him against the MENA team despite not being comfortable with Timber.

Overall Dota 2 patch 7.35b is fun but feels figured out at this point and we hope that the next update comes soon and gives us a more inclusive Dota 2 meta.

READ MORE: Ranking all Dota 2 support items part two

Featured Image Source: Valve

 

Latest news

PGL Issues Life Time Ban  For TaiLung

PGL Issues Life Time Ban For TaiLung

LGD has just announced on Weibo that their Dota 2 midlaner, Santiago "TaiLung" Agüero Gustavo, has been banned from competing at The International this year and issued a lifetime ban by PGL.
20h
Otomo

Strafe's International 2026 Fantasy Guide

The International 2026 will award prizes to the best performing predictions on the compendium and our Fantasy Guide will try to explain in a simple manner how to get the best out of your rolls to breach the highest percentiles.
8 Aug
Eric Oliveira

How To Quickly Gain MMR In Dota 2

With so many players brought down to similar levels, we thought it would be a good time to give players a few simple tips to help climb the MMR ladder in this turbulent time.
8 Aug
Otomo

PlayTime are the Games of the Future 2026 Champions

After a catastrophic event during the Esports World Cup 2026, PlayTime managed to turn things around, win the Games of the Future 2026 with a couple of new players on the roster, and take a big payout home before the new season begins.
6 Aug
Eric Oliveira

Team Liquid Are the 1win Essence II Champions

Team Liquid finally did it again and defeated the defenders of the Aegis of Champions on the last chance they had before The International 2026 begins and teams go all in for a shot at eternal glory.
6 Aug
Eric Oliveira

The International 2026: Predictions and Rewards

The International 2026 is just a couple of weeks away and, along with Patch 7.41e, Valve also released the tournament's menu, where you can make your predictions for the Group Stage and check this year's rewards.
2 Aug
Eric Oliveira

Summer Scrub: Dota Plus and Quality of Life Updates

On top of getting the balancing just right for The International 2026, the Summer scrub also made a couple small big important updates. Dota Plus subscribers got a new post-game breakdown screen and all players can now bind non-hero unit hotkeys separately.
1 Aug
Eric Oliveira

Comments (0)

Log in to comment on this match