The recently released Dota 2 update 7.26a had everyone in the community scratching their heads. The update nerfed Phoenix and reworked the bonuses of all in-game boots.
The 7.26a update was released less than a week after the 7.26 general update rollout. When the general update was released, Valve said that it would take notes on the meta before making drastic changes in subsequent updates.
It would appear that Valve to have finally come up with these changes, and now the entire Dota 2 community is fuming and annoyed. Some took to Twitter to vent their frustrations over the changes. Team Nigma was one of the first to let Valve know how they feel.
7.26a in a nutshell! pic.twitter.com/7DFgLASd2W
— Nigma Galaxy (@NigmaGalaxy) April 21, 2020
Reworked all boots and item movement bonuses
The entire update has a common theme: all items that give movement bonuses were reworked in one way or another. One of the most frustrating changes was made on the Boots of Speed. Instead of giving heroes a 15% movement speed, it was reworked to just give a flat +45 movement speed.
Changes were also made on bonuses of all upgraded boots. Instead of giving out percentage-based bonuses, upgraded boots now only give flat bonuses. Guardian Greaves now gives +50 movement speed instead of +17%, and Boots of Travel now gives +100/130 instead of +38/44%.
Yasha’s bonuses were also changed. The item now gives a percentage-based bonus, instead of the flat bonus on previous updates. Now, Yasha gives a flat +20 movement bonus, instead of +8%. The bonus stays the same with Manta Style. However, Yasha and Kaya, Sange and Yasha, and Trident will get a +10 percent bonus, up from the previous 8%.
Lastly, the Drum of Endurance movement speed bonus was reduced to 12%.
Price changes on early game item recipes
Early game items like Pipe of Insight, Ring of Basilius, Mekansm, Vladimir’s Offering, and Headdress all have their recipe prices changed. The recipe price for these items is now somewhere between 25 and 200 gold.
About late game items, the health regen effect of Silver Edge was removed. The Eye of Skadi is now equipped with an anti-regen effect, which reduces all regeneration, heals, and life steals by 35%.
The Phoenix nerf
Several high-profile pro tournaments have seen the resurgence of Phoenix as one of the most effective support heroes in Dota 2. Evidence of this is the hero’s high pick rate during the ESL One Los Angeles tournament. Valve might have noticed this and decided to rework the hero’s skills.
Among the changes made was the cooldown increase of the Fire Spirits skill for its first three levels. Perhaps the biggest nerf on Phoenix was the removal of its Aganim’s Scepter bonus.
Phoenix can no longer cast Sun Ray with Supernova. Instead, this skill was attached to the hero’s level 20 talent. These changes will hurt the Phoenix’s pick rate within the foreseeable future.
Image courtesy by a.canvas.of.light/Wikimedia Commons