Dota 2 Patch 7.30 Neutral Item Changes

Dota 2 patch 7.30 is full of surprises. Some of the changes will no doubt bring back many of the dead heroes, while others will end the careers of others. At least until the next big patch. In this article, I will take a close look at the important items that have either been removed, modified, or added to the game and analyze their potential impact.

Removed Items

Patch 7.30 removed 7 items. All of them were neutral, so the impact of this change will be less obvious. Furthermore, all of these items were either too weak to be used or too good to be left in the game.

The items in this category are the following:

• Faded Broach
• Ironwood Tree
• Imp Claw
• Illusionist’s Cape
• Minotaur Horn
• Orb of Destruction
• Ballista

The most notorious of these items was Illusionist’s Cape. The bonuses it gave to a hero’s Agility and Strength, combined with the 30-second duration illusion that it created every 30 seconds, made this item ridiculously strong on heroes like Terrorblade, who already have a bunch of illusions and are very hard to kill during the late game.

Modified Items

Most of the items that were modified were actually nerfed. And in most cases, it’s obvious why the decision was made. Many of these items were ridiculously strong.

• Chipped Vest: HP regen reduced from 5 to 4.
• Fairy’s Trinket: from 100 HP to 75.
• Possessed Mask: from 7% Lifesteal to 7 HP Lifesteal.
• Enchanted Quiver: from +300 bonus damage to +200, but the cooldown was reduced by 1 second (from 5 to 4).
• Flicker: Cooldown increased from 4s to 5s. It now blinks in place if its owner took damage in the last 3s.
• Spider Legs: Movement Speed bonus reduced from 65 to 25
• Fallen Sky: its cast range was reduced from 1600 to 1200

The remaining changes were small and aren’t worth mentioning.

Added Items

There are 8 items that have been added to the game. And 5 of them are guaranteed to affect each of your games, because they are low-level neutrals (tier 1 to tier 3).

Pig Pole

This is a tier 1 item that grants +6 to all stats and an active that turns you into a pig and provides +10% movement speed. For a support hero, this is a dream come true. Anything that provides better survivability through stats and movement speed is of great use in the early game.

Tumbler’s Toy

This is another tier 1 item that gives heroes improved survivability. Not only it provides +200 mana, it also has an active that works like a combination of Force Staff and Blink Dagger. What it does is this: it propels you 300 units forward, but you can’t use it if you took damage from another player in the last 3 seconds.

Brigand’s Blade

This is a tier 2 neutral item that can be extremely useful if your hero has a fast attack speed. The bonuses to damage (+10) and attack speed (+10) and the +7 attack damage per each 10% HP that your enemy is missing greatly enhance your DPS. I can totally imagine Windranger or Slark using this beauty.

Fae Grenade

This item is tier 2 and it grants +20 movement speed. In addition to that, it also has an active. This active can be used against any enemy within a 900 range. The damage is substantial 140 (over 7 seconds) + your attack damage. You also get vision of the unit during this time.

Blast Rig

This item can be obtained only at tier 3. It grants 8 armor and provides a powerful passive. When you get attacked by a hero within 300 range, it generates an explosion that deals 300 AoE damage and applies a 100% blind for 2.5 seconds. Its cooldown is 20s. Imagine what this item will do to heroes like Faceless Void if they don’t have a BKB.

Ascetic’s Cap

For the games that reach the tier 4 neutrals, IceFrog has introduced a powerful new item that provides 300 HP, +10 HP regen, and +50% status resistance for 3 seconds when an enemy places a debuff on you. The cooldown of this passive is 30 seconds.

Witchbane

This is the second tier 4 item introduced in the game by Dota 2 patch 7.30. Its passive ability gives your hero a huge magic damage bonus, equal to 4% of the target’s maximum mana. So if you’re dealing with a Storm Spirit with 2000 mana, you will deal +80 magic damage against him. The item also has an active that dispels all allies and enemies within 300 radius. The cooldown of this ability is 20 seconds.

Arcanist’s Armor

Every 100 games or so, you will reach a point in your game when the tier 5 items become available. For these types of games, you can now find a powerful neutral that provides +5 armor, +20% magic resistance, an aura with +5 armor and +20% magic resistance, and an active ability called Mega Shield. This ability gives all of your allies in a 900 radius +35% damage reflection in the next 5 seconds. The cooldown of this ability is just 20 seconds. Activating this in the heat of the battle is almost guaranteed to win you the team fight and possibly the game.

 

Photo credit: Valve