Patch 7.41c Overview

Lone druid nerf patch 1.41c

Lone Druid is getting hit, and good riddance. This goddamn bear needed a change because it was OP. I said it every single day during Wallachia: why is nobody banning this hero? Nightfall picked it three times against Xtreme Gaming without a single ban. Teams kept drafting into it and wondering why they lost. The bear was simply uncontrollable in the late game in 7.41b, and now FINALLY Valve has stepped in. If the nerfs land properly, we should see LD fall from that #4 win rate spot on the meta page. The hero was broken, and this is the biggest change from my POV.

Phoenix

Ranged · Support, Nuker, Initiator

Is also getting nerfed. The Dying Light passive was dealing too much sustained pressure in teamfights, and combined with how strong tanky melee carries have been, Phoenix was just picking up free value every single fight without much counterplay. Nerfing this makes sense. Because it is kind of unfair to have a hard support that doesn't need items and is just one of the strongest late-game teamfight heroes.

Monkey King

Melee · Carry, Escape, Disabler

Another hero that had been quietly overperforming, especially in the SEA and Chinese drafts. Xtreme Gaming ran some genuinely weird MK experiments at Wallachia, and it showed that even in chaotic hands the hero had too much upside. The change isn't much, but at least it will not be so strong in early to mid-game.

Queen of Pain

Ranged · Carry, Nuker, Escape

Intelligence

QOP specifically is one I watched DarkMago abuse in basically every single tournament for the past two months. I said it again and again—ban that QOP or you will get ragdolled. Teams didn't listen; Valve did. I like that they touched Aghanims for QoP. Now, you can't really stand back and spam the first spell; you need to be closer, and that means that you can die easily.

Alchemist

Melee · Carry, Support, Durable

is also getting touched. Alchemist nerfs are also welcome; the Aghanim's Scepter carry build that keeps showing up in lower division play genuinely doesn't work, and hopefully these nerfs kill it completely. More than that, people started to abuse the Alch even without the Aghanim's, because you can die 3-4 times in lane and still be the top 1 net worth hero on the map. Which is stupid, to be honest.

Puck

Ranged · Initiator, Disabler, Escape

Intelligence

And one of the biggest nerfs, and maybe the best one, is the Dream Coil from Puck. Now, on level 25, Dream Coil doesn't pierce Black King Bar anymore. And I believe it is a fair change, because if Puck gets to LvL 25, you have one of the most OP spells in the game. You can be 6 slotted and have one dream coil, and you're dead.

The Big Winners — Who Gets Stronger

Timbersaw

Melee · Nuker, Durable, Escape

Already the biggest riser at +3.74% on the meta page before this patch—got modest buffs and is reportedly sitting at 48.50% now, up nearly +5% from where he was. This is a hero I've been watching because he is ruthless against the exact strength carries that have been dominating. If Timbersaw keeps climbing, we might finally see the offlane meta shift away from the Mars/Doom/Beastmaster triangle that's been everywhere. And one more thing, I tried it in pubs; it looks like Timber is getting really strong in the midlane because of the stats.

Broodmother

Melee · Carry, Pusher, Escape

Is apparently back. After nerfs to mobile heroes like Monkey King and Phoenix, playing Brood becomes significantly less painful. The hero was genuinely oppressive whenever teams couldn't punish him, and now with his counters weakened, he becomes a real threat again. Don't be surprised if someone like Satanic or Nightfall pulls out a Broodmother carry in DreamLeague.

Dark Willow

Ranged · Support, Nuker, Disabler

Intelligence

Got a Terrorize buff and is sitting at a 51.73% win rate with a +3.42% swing. I am not really sure if this change will get her picked more in the pro scene. Seems like a really small change.

Chaos Knight

Melee · Carry, Disabler, Durable

Buffs to Chaos Strike pushed him to a 52.96% win rate, up +3.18%. Again, kind of a lazy change. Why would he need a better crit change? I think he needs more armor and better stats.

Drow Ranger

Ranged · Carry, Disabler, Pusher

Also received buffs. She's been out of the meta for a while, but the changes for frost arrow seem interesting. Because the issue with Drow is that you can't really harass someone on the lane, so basically now it grants a small buff for the laning stage.

Changes — Let's Talk About What Actually Matters

This is where 7.41c gets really interesting for the pro scene. There are some significant item adjustments here that will directly affect draft strategies going into DreamLeague.

Bloodstone

Upgrade · 4700g · 30s cooldown

Health bonus increased from +600 to +625, but Bloodpact cooldown increased from 30s to 35s, and the Spell Weakness Aura damage amplification dropped from 12% to 10%. This is a big change. The tankiness goes up slightly, but the active is less spammable, and the aura provides less pressure in long fights. For sustained caster heroes that were running Bloodstone specifically to punish enemies with the aura, this is a meaningful nerf. The item is still good, just not as oppressive in drawn-out teamfights.

Boots of Bearing

Upgrade · 4225g · 30s cooldown

Swiftness Aura's allied movement speed was reduced from 20 to 15. This one hurts. Boots of Bearing has been one of the strongest support items in the current patch because that 20 movement speed aura was basically a permanent Drum of Endurance upgrade for the whole team.

Disperser

Upgrade · 6100g · 15s cooldown

Suppress duration decreased from 5s to 4s. This is a big nerf. Disperser's suppression is one of the most powerful lockdown tools in late game, and losing a full second of duration reduces its value in chase scenarios and pickoff situations. Heroes that relied on Disperser as their primary chase tool — think fast-moving cores going for pick-offs — will feel this.

Essence Distiller

Upgrade · 1775g · 10s cooldown

Soul Release radius when ground-targeted increased from 400 to 450. Small buff that makes the ground-targeted version slightly easier to use in teamfights. Probably doesn't change much at the highest level, but it's a nice improvement.

Harpoon

Upgrade · 4700g · 19s cooldown

Here we go, boys. Draw Forth can no longer move the Harpoon caster when rooted, leashed, or bound. The target is still pulled the full distance. This is a very specific but important change. Previously, you could use Harpoon while rooted to effectively teleport yourself out of the root—a bug more than a feature, but one that skilled players were exploiting. Now if you're rooted, you stay rooted. The pull still works on the target, which maintains Harpoon's value as a catch tool without the unintended escape mechanic.

Heart of Tarrasque

Upgrade · 5100g

Recipe cost increased from 600 to 700; total cost is now 5,200 gold. A 100 gold increase on the most purchased late-game item in pro Dota. A really small change, and I don't think it will impact that much since it is a late-game item.

Mage Slayer

Upgrade · 3100g

Damage per second decreased from 40 to 35. Mage Slayer was doing too much work as a counter to caster heroes while also providing its magic resistance. Reducing the damage-per-second output brings it more in line with other counter-building options. I think it needs even a bigger nerf.

Silver Edge

Upgrade · 5700g · 20s cooldown

Ohohooh, the most broken item in the game. Shadow Walk bonus movement speed decreased from 25% to 22%; cooldown increased from 20s to 22s. Silver Edge has been one of the most picked items in pro Dota for break mechanics against passive-heavy heroes. Both nerfs together make it meaningfully weaker—less burst movement speed out of Shadow Walk means enemies can react faster, and a longer cooldown means fewer frequent break windows in extended fights. I just hate the meta where every core buys a Silver Edge just because it is OP.

Shiva's Guard

Upgrade · 4500g · 27s cooldown

Freezing Aura attack speed reduction decreased from 45 to 40. Shiva's has been the go-to armor/slow item for offlane and mid players all patch. Reducing the attack speed slow makes it slightly less oppressive in long fights where the aura stacks with other slows. Still a core item on many heroes, just slightly less OP. I saw games where all 3 cores built a Shiva, just because it is too strong in the team fight.

Soul Ring

Upgrade · 805g · 25s cooldown

Cooldown increased from 25s to 30s. This is a big deal. Soul Ring is one of the most efficient early-game items for mana-hungry heroes, and that 5-second cooldown increase means fewer mana refills per minute in the early laning stage. I think the Sour Ring nerf is kind of a direct nerf to Alchemist and Tidehunter.

Specialist's Array

Upgrade · 2550g