The top 5 biggest losers of Dota 2 patch 7.34b

With every Dota 2 gameplay update, some heroes rise while others fall and the latest update is no different. We've looked at the success stories and now it's time to examine the biggest losers of Dota 2 patch 7.34b.

Most of the changes in the patch were relatively mild, as befitting a letter update. However, a few heroes did receive some substantial nerfs and we're gonna talk about them in this article.

The five biggest losers of Dota 2 patch 7.34b

Witch Doctor

Despite the nerfs, Witch Doctor remains a threat in Dota 2 patch 7.34b. (Credit: Valve)

Changes in Dota 2 patch 7.34b

• Base Damage decreased by 3
• Intelligence gain decreased from 3.3 to 3.1
• Death Ward: Attack Range decreased from 700 to 600
• Death Ward: Cooldown increased from 60s to 100/80/60s
• Level 20 Talent Death Ward Attack Range decreased from +100 to +75
• Level 25 Talent Death Ward Damage decreased from +60 to +45

That's a pretty long list of nerfs for Witch Doctor and it's amazing the hero only lost 1.5% win rate. Despite the lengthy change log, more than half the changes are pretty insubstantial.

Witch Doctor has great attack animation and while losing three damage is unfortunate, it doesn't change too much for the hero's laning stage. The same applies to his intelligence gain nerf, 0.2 less per level results in one less intelligence every five levels, not exactly a huge change.

The Death Ward talents also took a hit but they are still the default choices at levels 20 and 25 respectively.

The biggest nerfs are to Death Ward's attack range and cooldown. An extra 40-second downtime at early levels means Witch Doctor can't throw the spell out at every skirmish and pickoff, significantly reducing his impact on the map.

Witch Doctor is still a dangerous support to play against, but with more downtime on his ultimate, he isn't quite the same oppressive threat as he was before.

Brewmaster

No crits? no problem! (Credit: Valve)

Changes in Dota 2 patch 7.34b

• Drunken Brawler: Fire Stance Critical Damage decreased from 145/160/175/190% to 120/140/160/180%

Brew's nerf barely counts as a nerf if you ask me. Sure his crit is a little weaker, especially at lower levels, but the hero still gained a lot in 7.34 overall. He went from a 48% win rate hero to winning 52% of pubs and now he is back to an even 50%. Perfectly balanced as all things should be.

Not much to add for Brew here, he's the same as ever with slightly weaker crits.

Earth Spirit

It's so much easier to catch Earth Spirit now. (Credit: Valve)

Changes in Dota 2 patch 7.34b

• Rolling Boulder: Delay increased from 0.5s to 0.6s

Now we are getting to the good (or bad, depending on your hero pool) stuff. Earth Spirit only received one line of change but it is a big one.

Rolling Boulder now takes 0.6 seconds to roll up, making the hero slower at chasing and escaping from enemies. It's easier to dodge Rolling Boulder, as well as block Earth Spirit from escaping.

The spell feels noticeably more clunky to use, and the long windup time leaves Earth Spirit open to too many counterplay options. Despite the buffs the hero received in 7.34, his win rate is even lower now than it was in 7.33. The nerf to Rolling Boulder hit Earth Spirit hard, with a 3.4% hit to his success in pubs and earning the hero a spot on our biggest losers of Dota 2 patch 7.34b.

Riki

Riki's nerfs will make him invisible in pub games. (Credit: Valve)

Changes in Dota 2 patch 7.34b

• Base Attack Speed decreased from 100 to 90
• Smoke Screen: Linger Duration decreased from 0.5s to 0s
• Level 15 Talent Tricks of the Trade Agility Increase decreased from +40% to +30%
• Level 20 Talent Backstab Multiplier decreased from +0.4 to +0.3
• Level 25 Talent Tricks of the Trade Cooldown Reduction decreased from 4s to 3s

Valve buffed Riki and wanted him to be a carry then immediately nerfed him afterward, make up your mind already IceFrog.

Reduced attack speed is brutal for cores who rely purely on right clicks to do their damage and Riki is no exception. At least the hero's damage during Tricks of the Trade is unaffected, well mostly unaffected.

Riki's most popular talents all received nerfs and while each nerf by itself isn't a big deal, combined they add up. With less damage from Backstab and Tricks of the Trade, Riki's scaling took a hit and the hero wasn't the best late-game core to begin with.

The hero hits slower and weaker than before and gained nothing in return. Riki's win rate dropped by 3.5%, making him the second biggest loser of Dota 2 patch 7.34b

Sand King

The king is dead! Long live the king! (Credit: Valve)

Changes in Dota 2 patch 7.34b

• Base Damage decreased by 2
• Burrow Strike: Damage decreased from 100/150/220/280 to 80/130/200/260
• Sand Storm: Sandstorm Movement Speed decreased from 100 to 25/50/75/100
• Epicenter: Aghanim's Shard Pulse Interval increased from 2.5s to 3.5s
• Aghanim's Shard Pulse now only slows for 50% of the duration of the regular Epicenter slow
• Level 15 Talent +125 Sand Storm Radius replaced with +25 Sand Storm Move Speed

Oh my poor boy, what did they do to Sand King this patch? The hero was hit in every relevant area.

Let's start with the not-so-terrible news, two less base damage is overall not a big deal for a hero who mostly relies on his spells to do damage. It does make contesting creeps in the lane more difficult but it's hardly a back-breaking nerf.

The changes to the hero's spells are massive on the other hand. Burrow Strike deals 20 less damage per level, Sand Storm moves significantly slower at lower levels, and Aghanim's Shard now deals damage every 3.5 seconds, instead of 2.5.

Those are hefty hits to the hero's spells. A slower Sand Storm makes it harder for Sand King to rely on it to protect himself or keep enemies inside the spell's effects. The level 15 talent is also a lot worse now, losing 125 radii for a faster-moving Sand Storm is the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, perhaps ever.

Sand King got butchered this patch and it shows, his win rate plummeted by over 6% and he went from winning nearly 58% of his games to just over 51%. No King rules forever, but it's sad to see Sand King's reign last less than a week.

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Image source provided by: Valve Software