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Kez nerfed in Latest Dota 2 update
It seems that Valve is struggling to get their new hero right. A day after his release he got buffed, and four days later Kez gets nerfed. Poor bird can't catch a break.
The results of the Kez nerfs are already hitting the hero hard. He's gone from a 49% win rate to a 43% and likely won't be going much higher. But were the nerfs justified?
Kez nerfed before he hits 50% win rate
Kez was released to underwhelming effect. While his design and abilities were praised, his overall gameplay was on the weak side. The hero debuted with a 37% win rate, the lowest of all heroes this patch.
Valve was quick to give the hero some love, with a bit of extra armor and movement speed. The small buffs along with increased player knowledge led to the hero becoming a decent pick in pubs.
Interestingly, despite Kez having a sub 50% success rate, Valve believes that's too much and handed the hero some fairly large nerfs.
Falcon Rush lasts shorter now, starting at 3-seconds while providing less attack speed for his Katana form. Kazurai Katana also deals less damage at all levels. Both ultimate abilities now have a 30-second cooldown, up from 24.
The nerfs have made Kez much weaker in the laning stage. His harassing abilities don't hit as hard and as a melee hero with low durability, all he had in the laning stage was his ability to zone out foes. His laning presence is significantly diminished, and it's already a bad meta for the hero.
Is Kez viable in Dota 2 patch 7.37?
No he isn't.
The current meta in Dota 2 favors ranged carries such as Luna, Shadow Fiend, and Gyrocopter.
Kez has good mobility spells, but he is still a relatively fragile hero who lacks burst damage late-game. His complexity means a miss-click will instantly lead to his demise.
The hero functions best as a tempo mid against other melee laners. Or as a decent-scaling carry. He is still a sub-standard pick in both roles but somewhat viable.
If you like his playstyle, by all means play him and enjoy. But if you're looking to grind MMR, then it might be best to wait for the next big patch.
READ MORE: Nisha ranks the strongest mid heroes in Dota 2
Featured Image Source: Valve
