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Dota 2: The five biggest losers of patch 7.31c

These poor Dota 2 souls don't know what hit them (Source: Valve)
These poor Dota 2 souls don't know what hit them (Source: Valve)

The Dota 2 7.31c patch is out now and it is one of the meatier letter patches of the game.

With 22 heroes nerfed, 21 heroes buffed, neutral creeps rebalanced, and multiple item changes, there's a lot to unpack ahead of the upcoming Stockholm Major.

But as with every Dota 2 patch, some heroes were treated better by Icefrog than others. Those heroes made it to our list of the biggest winners of patch 7.31c.

While some heroes rejoice at the buffs their received, others were less fortunate and got hit by the nerf hammer instead.

Let's look at which heroes suffered the biggest win rate loss after the update and might be absent from the upcoming ESL One Stockholm Major.

Huskar

Huskar has been bruised a little in patch 7.31c (Source: Valve)
Huskar has been bruised a little in patch 7.31c (Source: Valve)

7.31c changes:

BERSERKER'S BLOOD

-Strength as max health regeneration bonus decreased from 20%/40%/60%/80% to 16%/34%/52%/70%

Huskar took a significant hit to his survivability due to the nerf to Berserker's Blood, which provides significantly less regen at all levels now.

As highlighted in our Huskar guide, the hero deals most of his damage over time and isn't the best at bursting his foes down.

Huskar makes up for his lack of damage by being one of the hardest heroes to bring down, thriving in long, drawn-out teamfights.

Huskar is still a tanky core, but the hit to his regeneration has led to a 2.9% decrease in win rate.

But despite the nerf, the hero still maintains a 52% win rate in 7.31c.

When last picked and un-countered, Huskar remains one of the most difficult heroes to deal with. Otherwise, you might be in for a bad time.

Tiny

Core Tiny may be dead, but is Support Tiny making a comeback? (Source: Valve)
Core Tiny may be dead, but is Support Tiny making a comeback? (Source: Valve)

7.31c changes:

TREE GRAB

- Bonus Building Damage reduced from 55/70/85/100% to 40/55/70/85%

GROW

-Tree attack damage multiplier reduced from 40/45/50% to 20/30/40%

TREE THROW

-Slow now also applies to Tree Volley damage.

TALENTS

Level 15 Talent +40% Grow Damage with Tree replaced with +10% Status Resistance

Level 20 Talent +15% Status Resistance replaced with +40% Grow Damage with Tree

Core Tiny has taken several nerfs to his right-click abilities. Tree Grab now deals 15% less damage to buildings at each level, while Grow provides half the bonus damage at level six that it did in previous patches.

Tiny's talents are now also less impressive than they used to be. A 40% damage boost at level 15 allowed the hero to farm faster and burst down enemy supports with just a couple of hits.

But with the talent changes in 7.31c, Tiny only gains a 10% status resistance at level 15 and has to wait until level 20 for the extra Grow damage, greatly diminishing his kill potential in the midgame.

Core Tiny has been hit hard by the nerfs and his win rate has dropped by 3.3%.

Similar to Huskar though, Tiny is still a worthwhile carry to pick and wins nearly 53% of his games in the Immortal bracket.

Medusa

Medusa has the lowest win rate among all heroes on this list (Source: Valve)
Medusa has the lowest win rate among all heroes on this list (Source: Valve)

7.31c changes:

SPLIT SHOT

-Damage reduced from 50/60/70/80% to 45/55/65/75%

STONE GAZE

-Mana cost increased from 100 to 150

Medusa has been a staple in the meta for a long time and with good reason.

Medusa is a good laner, farms neutral camps efficiently, provides the team with an area-of-effect disable, and becomes nigh unkillable in the late game.

Thanks to patch 7.31c, Split Shot now deals 5% less damage at each level, which doesn't really hurt the hero all that much. The Gorgon still dishes out insane damage to multiple heroes and the patch's minor nerf won't change that.

The reason why Medusa's win rate dropped by 3.50% is the extra 50 mana cost on Stone Gaze.

It's easier now for enemies to burn Medusa's mana down to a point that she can't use Stone Gaze, making her unable to escape or turn the tide in a fight.

This is more noticeable early game before the Gorgon manages to farm several stat-heavy items such as Manta Style and Eye of Skadi.

A more expensive ultimate and slightly less damage at all stages of the game have brought Medusa down.

Time will tell if Medusa remains the queen of carries at the upcoming Stockholm Major or if she has finally been dethroned.

Omniknight

Omniknight's mana pool has been stretched to it's limits (Source: Valve)
Omniknight's mana pool has been stretched to it's limits (Source: Valve)

7.31c changes:

HEAVENLY GRACE

- Mana Cost increased from 80/90/100/110 to 95/105/115/125

Sometimes it's the simplest nerfs that are the most painful, and that's certainly the case for Omniknight.

The hero has suffered from mana issues since his inception and the latest nerf hits him right where it hurts.

In our guide to Omniknight, we recommended maxing out Heavenly Grace first as it is the hero's best spell. While that is still true, the mana nerf makes it harder for Omniknight to maintain his effectiveness in longer engagements.

Omniknight players will find it more difficult than ever to manage their meager mana pool thanks to the hero's expensive spells.

It's not all doom and gloom for Purist though, despite the 4% decrease in win rate, Omniknight is the fourth most successful hero in high-level pubs.

Primal Beast

The poor fella is more like a Primal Puppy in Dota 2 patch 7.31c. (Source: Valve)
The poor fella is more like a Primal Puppy in Dota 2 patch 7.31c. (Source: Valve)

7.31c changes:

ONSLAUGHT

-Has a sound audible through Fog of War

UPROAR

-Attack damage per stack decreased from 15/25/35/45 to 10/20/30/40

-Move speed slow per stack reduced from 10% to 8%

-Damage threshold increased from 35 to 50

TRAMPLE

-Base damage reduced from 20/35/50/65 to 12/28/44/60

-Attack Damage Percentage reduced from 40% to 35%

ROCK THROW

-Shard damage increased from 275 to 300.

TALENTS

-Level 20 Talent Trample Attack Damage Percentage bonus reduced from +30% to +25%

Primal Beast didn't just get hit by the nerf stick, he got taken out to the back of the house and beaten bloody with it.

The unfortunate hero has had all his basic spells nerfed, and even his Aghanim's Shard that nobody bought took a hit.

One of Primal Beast's strengths was his ability to show up out of nowhere and catch people off-guard. This won't be happening in 7.31c due to Onslaught now providing enemies with an audio cue.

In previous patches, Trample allowed the hero to clear out waves behind the tower and chase down fleeing opponents. The spell was particularly dangerous with movement-enhancing abilities such as Dark Seer's Surge.

Trample deals significantly less damage now, especially at earlier levels. Primal Beast will also have a harder time getting kills and snowballing in the early game thanks to the nerf to Trample.

But it's not only the hero's kill potential that's been hit, as Primal Beast's laning stage has also been gutted.

Reduced damage on Uproar makes it a little harder to control creeps during the laning stage.

Primal Beast has been nerfed in pretty much every way. The hero is weaker in the lane, deals less damage overall, and has a worse scaling in the late game.

With the eight nerfs the hero received, it's no wonder his win rate dropped by 6%, making Primal Beast the biggest loser of Dota 2 patch 7.31c.

Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.

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