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The Biggest Losers of Dota 2 patch 7.36c
Dota 2 patch 7.36c is here and it is mostly a nerf patch for the strongest heroes in the meta. While a few heroes received small buffs, the vast majority have taken significant hits.
We're going to list down the biggest losers of the patch and talk about what happened to them and whether or not they remain viable picks.
The five biggest losers of Dota 2 patch 7.36c
Dark Willow
Tied with Witch Doctor as the strongest support in the previous patch, Mireska received a well-deserved nerf to her Bramble Maze and a controversial change to Bedlam.
Brambles lasted way too long in the past, eight brambles on the ground that each rooted for two and a half seconds while lasting 15 was a little ridiculous. Reducing it to 12 seconds is nice but I still believe Brambles lasts too long overall, especially with the Thorny Thicket facet.
The other nerf is a little harder to digest. Bedlam can no longer be sent to allies, forcing Willow to get close to deal damage. This is a heavy hit to the hero, as she could ulti an ally and deal massive damage without taking any risks. It's a big hit and losing 3% of her win rate puts her on our list of biggest losers for Dota 2 patch 7.36c
Our opinion: Dark Willow goes from an S-tier support to a solid B-tier level. She is pickable but not worth banning or picking in the first phase.
Witch Doctor
The most oppressive support is.... not so bad to lane against anymore. Sure Witch Doctor deals the same amount of damage with Voodoo Festeration, but his healing and radius are greatly reduced.
Trading with the Witch Doctor was nearly impossible in the past. Healing yourself while damaging enemies is a powerful mechanic and not one to trifle with. The latest nerf reduces his healing by half, and the decreased radius makes it easier for enemies to escape.
The smaller AoE also means Witch Doctor needs to be closer to enemies in teamfights, putting him in harm's way and making it far more difficult to play the hero.
Our opinion: Another S-tier hero brought low, but still a threat in the laning stage. Whether or not he remains competitively viable is harder to predict but we expect him to remain a staple pick. In pubs, the hero's 3.5% loss qualifies him for our list of biggest losers in Dota 2 patch 7.36c.
Lifestealer
Corpse Eater is the most nerfed facet of the patch, with half of its old effectiveness. Sure it now provides extra health from hero kills but only five?! that's barely anything.
In a typical game, a carry can rack up 500 or more last hits on creeps but maybe 10 hero kills. That is a ton of health lost, making the hero significantly easier to bring down.
Open Wounds took a hit, with weaker slows until maxed out. It's not a big change but since the spell gets maxed out last, the 15% reduced slow means some enemies will live now when they were easy kills before.
Our opinion: No other hero does what Lifestealer can do, but his weaker scaling makes the hero less impressive late-game. Still, we expect Naix to remain a contested pick in the pro scene.
Templar Assassin
Templar Assassin was widely contested in the previous patch, being banned in nearly every game and practically auto-winning the match when picked.
IceFrog looked at the hero and concluded that most of the problems lie with Refraction. It deals too much damage while making the hero far too durable.
Refraction now only blocks 30 damage per instance, a buff at level 1 but an overall reduction of 40% when maxed out.
This reverts Refraction to its old form, as there aren't many attacks in Dota 2 that deal less than 30 damage.
The Refraction talents at levels 10 and 25 are also hit. Losing five damage isn't nice but it is manageable, however two fewer Refraction charges late-game hurts the hero's power spike at 25.
Our opinion: Templar Assassin is undoubtedly one of the biggest losers in Dota 2 patch 7.36c, but is she unplayable? well in Pubs she only wins 45% of her games, down from 49% so she's not a viable pub stomper.
Competitively it's hard to tell, the hero was such a rare sight that we never got an accurate read on her power level. Hopefully these nerfs give her a chance to make it through the ban phase and let us know whether she is worth mastering or not.
Tinker
One of the most polarizing heroes in Dota 2 received several big nerfs and is without a doubt the biggest loser of Dota 2 patch 7.36c.
Tinker is perhaps the hero most affected by the handful of item changes in the latest update. Arcane Blink was a core item for the hero and it just got an additional two seconds added to the cooldown. The hero is far easier to catch late-game now.
Besides the item changes, Defense Matrix now applies a basic dispel, removing silences but keeping stuns and hexes on the hero. Tinker is easier than ever to catch and kill.
Aside from losing multiple defensive mechanisms, Tinker's snowballing potential is weaker now, as his AoE Laser talent is moved to level 20, so he can't mow down groups of heroes at level 15 anymore.
Our opinion: Despite popular opinion, Tinker hasn't dominated pubs for a long time. He had a 45% win rate in the previous patch and it now sits at 41%! Tinker isn't just the biggest loser of Dota 2 patch 7.36c, he's the biggest loser overall, losing nearly 60% of the time.
This nerf is directed a pro players, where Tinker can be last picked to catch them off-guard. The hero was rarely seen before and he'll remain a rare sight in Dota 2 patch 7.36c.
READ MORE: Top Five Facets in Dota 2 Patch 7.36b
Featured Image Source: Valve
