Dota 2 Meta Report: The International 12 Qualifiers Edition

Dota 2

1 Sep

Otomo

The Dota 2 meta report is a series that looks at the heroes who shined at major Dota 2 tournaments. We look at the most contested heroes in the game, along with the most popular, the most successful, and the most overrated heroes.

In this article, we will be looking at the International 12 (TI12) regional qualifiers and discuss which heroes dominated the Dota 2 meta, along with why they did so well and which heroes failed to make an impact.

The Dota 2 meta report for The International 12 regional qualifiers

Nature's Prophet is the most popular hero right now

Nobody can beat a guy who speaks for the trees. (Credit: Valve)

Whether it's a pub game or a qualifying match for TI12, Nature's Prophet (NP) is going to be contested. The hero was either picked or banned in 235 games, more than anyone else in Dota 2.

With his global presence, insane stat gain of 9.5 (the highest in the game), and ability to scale well into the late-game, it's no wonder NP got banned in the first phase of the draft, and only appeared in 37 games overall.

While he didn't show up in a lot of games, NP impressed with a 62% win rate, justifying his 90% contestation rate.

Gyrocopter comes in a close second, with a combined 223 picks and bans. Gyrocopter is the gold standard when it comes to carries, thanks to his solid laning phase, good Area of Effect (AoE) damage, and bonkers Aghanim upgrade. Gyro appeared in over twice as many games as NP, with an equally impressive win percentage.

The bronze medal goes to Invoker, with 209 picks and bans. The hero was basically remade in 7.34 and while he did receive some nerfs after that, he remains a powerful and versatile spell caster with multiple disables.

Ember Spirit remains the go-to pick for the mid-lane

Being most picked doesn't mean being the best though. (Credit: Valve)

In every patch, one of the Spirit brothers reigns supreme. When Void Spirit became universal, he immediately became the most contested mid-lane hero due to his mobility and incredible late-game damage. Storm Spirit also shifts in and out of the meta, such as during TI5 and when Null Talismans reduced mana consumption.

For the current Dota 2 meta, Ember Spirit is the most popular among his siblings, with 88 games being played. The hero isn't as strong as he used to be, due to nerfs to Sleight of Fist as well as the slower cast point of his ultimate, resulting in a 45% win rate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AW8dJJba2k

Vengeful Spirit takes second place, with 81 appearances. However, all that popularity hasn't translated to success, as the hero only won 35 of those games. It's hard to tell if the hero needs buffs or if teams are still adjusting to the hero.

For the second time in this article, Gyrocopter makes an appearance, as the hero is among both the most contested and most picked heroes of the patch. IceFrog will likely do something about this dominance soon if he releases a patch before TI12.

Night Stalker is creeping into the competitive Dota 2 meta

Night Stalker Unfettered Malevolence Dota 2 meta

Not the guy you'd wanna meet in a dark alley. (Credit: Valve)

It's important to note that when picking the most successful heroes, we will be avoiding the ones who were picked once or twice and won those games.

In this section, we're going to discuss heroes with at least 10 appearances during the TI12 regional qualifiers.

In first place, we have Night Stalker, with his 11 victories across his 15 games. The hero is more fearsome now than ever, thanks to the buffs he received in 7.34, giving him some AoE damage, along with the ability to refresh his spells, allowing him to hunt down supports with impunity.

Legion Commander was picked 39 times and won 27 of those games. Ever since the hero received changes to Overwhelming Odds and Press the Attack, she has been one of the best offlaners in the game. She can save allies, deal with illusions, and she has infinite scaling, which I have been told is the best scaling out there.

In a recent interview with Artsiom "Fng" Barshak, he mentioned that Earthshaker is nearly impossible to shut down in the laning stage and can one-shot heroes later on. This statement is backed up by numbers, with Earthshaker winning 34 out of 50 games, for an impressive 68% win rate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0J2_22_hew

Spirit Breaker had the worst performance in the TI12 regionals

Has Spirit Breaker been milked for all he's worth? (Credit: Valve)

Similar to the above section, when we look at the most overrated heroes, we will avoid mentioning heroes who made anything less than a handful of appearances.

The biggest loser in the current Dota 2 meta is Spirit Breaker, who lost all six games he showed up in. The hero was gutted in patch 7.34, and his win rate plummeted as a result.

Charge of Darkness feels terrible in early levels, while his late-game scaling also took a hit, as he can no longer take both the extra Charge speed and the bonus Great Bash damage together.

Alchemist takes the silver medal in the "worst performance" category, not one heroes want to be on. Alchemist won two out of his 10 games, which is pretty abysmal.

The pace of the game right now demands carries show up early to team fights while also being able to scale late game. Alchemist prefers farming away from everyone, leaving his team to play 4 vs 5. He also isn't an amazing late-game carry, resulting in a 20% win rate.

Lastly, we have Mars, who was fairly popular, with 28 picks during the regional qualifiers. Unfortunately, that popularity didn't translate into success, as he only won eight of those games.

Unlike Night Stalker who can hunt heroes down with low downtime, or Legion Commander who can scale into late-game, Mars has unremarkable damage, and his ultimate is easy to ignore with magic immunity.

The TI12 regional qualifiers are over and the 20 teams now have to prepare for the biggest tournament of the year. With six weeks remaining until TI12 begins, it will be interesting to see how the meta develops until then, especially if we get a new patch.