Leshrac got massacred in Dota 2 patch 7.35b

Leshrac was the star of Dota 2 patch 7.35. The hero received direct buffs to his toolkit, with more damage on Diabolic Edict and an attack speed slow on Lightning Storm. His item build was also significantly stronger, thanks to a bigger radius from Bloodstone and Shiva's Guard reducing the enemy's magic resistance.

Yeap, it was a good time to grind Leshrac in pubs, but no king can rule forever, or even a week in the Tormented's Soul's case.

Dota 2 patch 7.35b rolls around and our favorite disco pony got hit by the Nerf bat, several times, to his nose and knees. The result is a 10% win rate drop, one of the biggest in the game's history.

But what happened to Leshrac? and is the hero still playable? well, let's talk about that and find out.

How Dota 2 patch 7.35b destroyed Leshrac

Missing you already (Credit: Valve).

Let's start by examining the direct nerfs the hero received in the latest update, starting with Lightning Storm.

The spell used to reduce the enemy's attack speed by 50 at all levels and now that reduction scales from 20 to 50 as the spell is upgraded.

Overall, this is a tiny nerf, as the spell still reduces attack speed, something it didn't do pre-7.35. Lightning Storm tends to be maxed first on Leshrac and overall physical damage isn't a huge factor early in the game, so attack speed reduction is nice but not incredible.

It does make laning against Leshrac a little easier now but this is still a slap on the wrist overall.

The nerf to Split Earth on the other hand is more substantial. The spell has a smaller radius now along with a longer cooldown.

Having a smaller area of effect hurts, but it's more than compensated by the bonus provided in Bloodstone. So compared to before, Split Earth is still better off, at least size-wise.

You're telling me you can't hit someone with that spell? seriously?

The problem comes from the increased cooldown, as previously Leshrac can throw enough Split Earths on the ground that each one explodes just as another one's stun duration wears off, making the hero able to effectively zone out areas of the fight and control enemies effectively.

It's not impossible to do that in patch 7.35b, but with cooldown reduction neutral items removed, an additional two-second cooldown makes it very difficult to perma-stun enemies now.

Every item Leshrac buys got nerfed in patch 7.35b

Imagine having your three best items gutted. (Credit: Valve)

The three most popular big items to buy on Tormented Soul are Bloodstone, Shiva's Guard, and Sange and Kaya. IceFrgo nerfed all three items, what a nice guy.

Let's start with the not so terrible nerf. Sanga and Kaya provide 12% magic amplification, down from 16%. This 4% adds up, as Leshrac is a hero who deals his damage over time and he needs to overcome enemies' magic resistance and regeneration to bring them down.

Shiva's Guard also lost some of its luster. It provides four less armor, that's 20% of its value gone. The reduced durability hurts Leshrac, who is expected to be in the very middle of fights and absorbing a lot of punishment for his team.

Of course, the biggest nerf is to Bloodstone, specifically to the item's active ability Bloodpact. Turning on Pulse Nova and spamming spells in team fights drains the hero's mana extremely quickly.

In the past players could use Bloodpact to sustain their mana pool in battle, but that is no longer an option. Hell, you could use Bloodpact to regenerate mana from farming creeps.

The result is that Leshrac has significant downtime now. He's not limited by cooldowns but by his mana pool, which takes a long time to refill.

Is disco pony still viable?

In lower MMR games, Leshrac still has a positive win rate, albeit just barely. In Crusader, the hero still wins 51% of his matches.

However, at Archon and above pubs, the hero is unsuccessful and his performance gets weaker the higher the average MMR of the match is. In Immortal, Leshrac only wins 47% of the time, not exactly the guy you wanna grind with.

Time will tell if the hero can make an impact in the competitive scene. I believe there are better options in the mid-lane, especially with the introduction of Parasma. Leshrac's reduced damage and significant downtime make him too slow for the current meta.

RIP Leshrac, you were amazing for....five days.

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Featured Image Source: Valve