Patch 7.41e Overview and Summer Scrub

Grandma finally got nerfed.

I have been saying for weeks that Snapfire does WAY too much for a support. Lane damage? Check. Save? Check. Long-range teamfight? Check. Flex potential? Check. Randomly deleting your midlaner from fog? Also check. And Valve clearly had enough, because this patch hits basically every part of the hero that made her disgusting.

Scatterblast no longer gets its initial blast width increased by AoE bonuses; the point-blank damage bonus drops from 30% to 25%, Firesnap Cookie impact damage goes down at every level, and Mortimer Kisses gets a direct damage nerf. On top of that, her talents got hit too: fewer Kisses burn DPS, the old Cookie cooldown talent is gone, and the Level 25 extra Kisses talent drops from +8 to +6.

This is not a “small adjustment.” This is Valve saying, "Stop first-phasing this hero like she is five heroes in one." She’ll still be picked because Snapfire’s kit is fundamentally insane, but the days where she wins lane, saves cores, scales into teamfight damage, and controls the draft by herself should be over. To me, the biggest thing is the flex value. You can’t just casually move her from support to offlane to mid and pretend nothing happened. Teams will still try, but now they actually need a plan.

Drow Ranger

Ranged · Carry, Disabler, Pusher

Drow got hit exactly where it hurts: Multishot.

And I love this nerf. I’m sorry, but I was tired of watching Drow Ranger sit 900 range away from the fight, press one button, clear a full wave, defend high ground, and pretend she’s playing some high-skill artillery simulator. Multishot mana cost is up, the arrow range formula is worse, and the base damage bonus is down from 100/120/140/160% to 80/100/120/140%.

This matters a lot for pro Dota. Drow isn’t just a carry; she’s a draft condition. If you pick her, you are usually saying, "We will hold our triangle and protect our timing, and once she has items, good luck walking uphill.” Now that waveclear and fight damage are both worse, teams can’t rely on her as a free stabilizer.

Also, don’t ignore the item nerfs around her. Hurricane Pike’s buff duration is down from 6s to 5s, Mask of Madness is worse on ranged heroes, and Butterfly lost 5 agility even if it gained 5 damage. That’s a lot of small things adding up against ranged carries. Drow is still playable, but she is no longer that brain-dead “just protect her and win later” option.

Lone Druid

Ranged · Carry, Pusher, Durable

Another nerf after the 1.41d patch. And to me, it still doesn't sound enough.

Lone Druid’s main hero talents got clipped, but the real nerf is Spirit Bear. Base armor is down by 1, and the Demolish bonus building damage drops from 30% to 20%. That is massive. I don’t care what anyone says—this hero was not annoying because of some fancy teamfight mechanic. He was annoying because one lost fight suddenly meant your Tier 2, Tier 3, barracks, and maybe your will to live were gone.

This nerf changes timings. That’s the important part. Lone Druid can still pressure towers, but he can’t erase buildings with the same stupid speed. For TI teams, that means you get slightly more room to breathe against bear lineups. You can lose a skirmish and maybe not instantly lose half the map.

What I think is, Spirit Bear won’t be as much of a menace to buildings after Demolish was cut from 30% to 20%. Exactly. Thank God. I love rat Dota, but there is a difference between strategic map pressure and a bear deleting your base like it has unpaid rent.

Hoodwink

Ranged · Support, Nuker, Escape

Mistwood's Wayfarer redirect chance scaling got worse, Sharpshooter's mana cost increased hard, and Hunter’s Boomerang cooldown went from 18s to 20s. These are not hero-killing nerfs, but they target the exact reason Hoodwink has been so valuable: she does too much while being too hard to punish.

The mana cost nerf on Sharpshooter matters more than people think. Pro supports don’t get infinite mana. If Hoodwink wants to spam spells, fight early, shove lanes, and still have ulti threat, she now needs to care about resources. Finally.

But here’s the funny part: even after the patch, early Dota2ProTracker data still shows Hoodwink as the top pro-side contested hero in its Pub vs Pro snapshot, with Hoodwink listed at 40.6% in pro data. So don’t expect her to disappear. She’s too good conceptually. What changes is that teams may stop treating her as a free lane-winning, fog-breaking, teamfight-opening monster.

Clockwerk

Melee · Initiator, Disabler, Durable

Strength

This one is bigger than it looks. To me, it was the strongest melee support. It is a nef directly impacting Scofield from PlayTime.

Power Cogs got nerfed in four different ways: less mana burn, lower travel distance at early levels, much worse vision, and—most importantly—Cogs no longer block creep camps.

That last part is huge for pro Dota. Camp blocking with abilities is one of those small support details that changes entire lanes. Clock could mess with pulls, control vision, punish supports, and still threaten Hookshot later. Now he loses some of that early “I control this lane because I exist” nonsense.

Clockwerk will still be picked because Hookshot is Hookshot. But if you draft him now, it’s more about initiation and less about quietly ruining the enemy lane economy from minute one. That’s a fair change.

Shadow Fiend

Ranged · Carry, Nuker

Shadow Fiend got a weird but important nerf.

Base intelligence is down from 18 to 16, Shadowraze stack duration is down from 7s to 6s, and the Level 25 talent where Shadowraze applies attack damage no longer applies attack modifiers or procs.

This is Valve cutting the “I scale into some illegal late-game machine” part of SF. The laning nerf matters because less intelligence means less room to spam, but the real thing is the late-game talent. SF already had this problem where if he survived the lane and reached his item timings, he could turn into a hero that did everything: magic burst, physical damage, tower pressure, scaling, and waveclear. Now some of that nonsense is gone.

I’m not saying that he is dead, but it got nerfed in a way that it is hard to fight in late-game scenarios.

Bane

Ranged · Support, Disabler, Nuker

Universal

That's a big change since Bane was really a problem in the late game. At least now, the nerf is more oriented to the early game.

Nightmare duration is down at every level; Ichor of Nyctasha status resistance per Terror is down from 5% to 4%; and Fiend’s Grip Aghanim’s Scepter cooldown reduction is reduced from 45s to 40s.

This is not a funeral. Bane is still Bane. Fiend’s Grip is still one of the best “sit down and shut up” spells in Dota. But his early control is weaker, and his Scepter timing is slightly less absurd. In a TI patch, this matters because supports that guarantee kills become first-phase material. Bane might still be first-phase, but now he’s not as automatic.

Treant Protector

Melee · Support, Initiator, Durable

Strength

Treant got hit in the lane and in the wallet.

Base attack speed is down from 100 to 90, Leech Seed root duration is reduced at early levels, and Living Armor mana cost is now 80. That’s a very direct message: stop winning lanes for free while also saving every tower on the map.

I like this nerf because Treant was becoming one of those supports where you don’t feel the impact on the scoreboard, but you feel it in the game. You try to push; Living Armor says no. You try to trade; Leech Seed says no. You try to play the lane; suddenly this tree punches you like he’s a carry.

He’ll still be good in the right drafts, especially against teams that want slow objective pressure. But the early lane is more punishable now.

Honorable Mentions

Axe also got nerfed with lower base agility and weaker Battle Hunger damage, which hurts his lane pressure and tempo.

Necrophos loses scaling value on Sadist and Death Seeker cast range.

Puck’s Illusory Orb cooldown is up, which is always relevant because Puck players live and die by one second.

Invoker’s Ghost Walk duration is down, and Shard no longer increases radius.

Earth Spirit loses intelligence and a bit of Level 20 Magnetize power. Keeper of the Light gets Chakra Magic and Solar Bind nerfs.

Phantom Lancer’s Shard Juxtapose cooldown is up. Spectre’s late illusion damage took a hit. Tiny loses base regen. Zeus gets his ultimate damage nerfed (finally) and Lightning Hands attack speed reduced.

None of these alone kills the hero. But together? This is Valve trimming a lot of comfort picks. The heroes that were too safe, too slippery, or too annoying got taxed.

The Big Winners — Who Gets Stronger

Ancient Apparition

Ranged · Support, Disabler, Nuker

Intelligence

AA stocks are going up.

Ice Blast cooldown goes from 60/50/40s to 50/45/40s. That early cooldown buff is a big deal. AA already got love in 7.41d, and now Valve is basically targeting "HP regen and lifesteal.”

And look at the item changes around him. Satanic cooldown is up. Eye of Skadi’s attack speed slow is stronger. Orb of Frost and Orb of Corrosion reduce health restoration more. This is not random. Valve clearly wants healing and regen lineups to have real counters again.

If teams start picking Huskar, Necrophos, Alchemist, tanky melee cores, or Satanic carries, AA becomes that annoying fifth-position hero that ruins everything. One good Ice Blast in a late-game fight and suddenly your “unkillable” carry is just a very expensive creep.

Outworld Devourer

Ranged · Carry, Nuker, Disabler

Intelligence

Guess who's back? OD might actually be real now.

Objurgation is now instant cast, no longer cancels movement, has a stronger barrier at early levels, and gets a lower cooldown as it scales. That is exactly the kind of buff that changes how a hero feels. OD’s biggest issue was always clunkiness. He could look insane in theory, and then in-game he feels like he’s casting spells from 2009.

Now? He can move, build barrier, trade, and actually play smoother fights. I don’t think this instantly makes OD first-pick material, but as a counterpick mid? Oh yes. Especially against lineups that need to commit to him.

If you are drafting against greedy mids or melee cores that need to walk in, OD suddenly becomes a real headache.

Morphling

Ranged · Carry, Escape, Durable

Morphling quietly wins.

Morph cooldown is down from 140/100/60s to 125/90/55s, and his Aghanim’s Scepter illusion no longer has the illusion vision penalty. That’s not flashy, but Morph players don’t need flashy. They need windows. This gives him more windows.

If Drow Ranger is weaker, Lone Druid is slower, and ranged carry items are a bit less brain-dead, Morphling becomes more attractive as a high-skill carry that can still take over games when piloted by players like Satanic or Yatoro (I mean the best players on Morph). You know exactly the type of player I’m talking about. The ones who turn a 35-minute fight into a highlight reel and make you ask, "Wait, how did he live?”

The Satanic cooldown nerf hurts him a little, sure. But Morph is still one of the best heroes in Dota when games become about precision. And TI games are always about precision.

Troll Warlord

Ranged · Carry, Pusher, Disabler

Is Troll finally back? Maybe. And I hate that I’m saying this.

Troll gets +1 base agility, +1 damage at level 1, Battle Stance toggling no longer breaks invisibility, and Battle Trance now gives 35% slow resistance.

That slow resistance matters. Troll’s biggest late-game problem is always the same: he presses R, and then everyone kites him like a dog chasing a mailman. Now he is harder to slow down during Battle Trance, and with Abyssal Blade getting more strength, melee manfight carries get a little bit more love too.

Will he be first-pick? No. Don’t be insane. But as a last pick into the right lineup? Absolutely. If the enemy lacks hard disengage and relies on slows, Troll can actually run them down.

Gyrocopter

Ranged · Carry, Nuker, Disabler

Gyro got the kind of buff that pro teams love.

Rocket Barrage mana cost is down, Homing Missile mana cost is normalized to 120, and Homing Missile cooldown is lower at all levels. This helps lane, skirmish, and tempo. Gyro has always been at his best when teams group around him and force fights before the enemy carry is ready.

And here’s the important part: some of the defensive ranged carry options got worse. Drow Ranger weaker. Hurricane Pike is weaker. Mask of Madness is worse for ranged heroes. That means teams may look for carries that actually fight early instead of sitting back and pretending the game starts at 35 minutes.

Gyro fits that perfectly. If TI becomes about early Roshan fights, Smoke of Deceit ganks, and mid-game five-man moves, expect Gyro to appear.

Dragon Knight

Melee · Carry, Pusher, Durable

Strength

Dragon Knight buffs are never exciting, but they are always dangerous.

Wyrm’s Wrath AoE bonus goes from 25/50/75/100 to 30/60/90/120. Sounds boring, right? Yeah, until DK is standing in front of your tower with 2,500 HP, clearing waves, stunning your mid, and refusing to die.

DK is a TI hero. He always has been. Not because he is flashy, but because he gives teams structure. He gives tower pressure, a frontline, a stun, and a stable lane. In a patch where some greedy ranged carries and overpowered supports got nerfed, a boring, reliable hero can suddenly become very valuable.

Phantom Assassin

Melee · Carry, Escape

This is my sleeper.

Blur now cannot be dispelled. That is a big deal. PA is one of those heroes that look terrible until suddenly she has two items and your supports are dead before the fight starts. Making Blur non-dispellable gives her more consistency in chaotic fights.

I’m not saying PA becomes S-tier. But if teams start drafting backline-heavy supports, squishy mids, and low-control lineups, PA can absolutely punish them. This is the kind of hero that looks like a pub pick until one TI team wins with it and suddenly everyone pretends they knew it was good.

Other Buffs Worth a Mention

Queen of Pain gets cheaper Shadow Strike and Sonic Wave damage from two quick casts now stacks, which is spicy for refresher-style late-game chaos. Magnus gets more Horn Toss damage. Mars gets a small intelligence gain buff. Jakiro gets better intelligence gain. Death Prophet gets better agility and damage gain. Omniknight’s Hammer of Purity heal is improved. Venomancer’s Snakebite damage is up. Vengeful Spirit’s Scepter illusion no longer has a vision penalty. Grimstroke’s Dark Portrait illusion no longer has a vision penalty. Chaos Knight’s Chaos Bolt is faster.

Item Changes

Satanic

Upgrade · 5050g · 30s cooldown

This is one of the biggest item nerfs in the patch.

Unholy Rage cooldown goes from 30s to 40s. That means carries can’t just press Satanic in every serious fight and expect the cooldown to be back for the next wave of chaos. Ten seconds is huge in late-game Dota.

This hurts every carry that relies on the “drop to 10%, press Satanic, become immortal” playstyle. Morphling, Gyrocopter, Troll Warlord, Drow, Terrorblade-style heroes—everyone feels this. It doesn’t kill the item, but it makes timing more important. If you waste Satanic now, you might actually get punished. Imagine that.

Eye of Skadi

Upgrade · 5900g

Skadi got better, and this is a big deal.

Cold Attack attack speed slow increased from 20% to 25%. In late-game fights, that matters a lot against ranged carries and right-clickers. Add the stronger health restoration reduction from Orb of Frost and Orb of Corrosion, and you can see what Valve is doing: less free healing, more anti-sustain pressure. I expect Skadi to be even more common at TI. It already fits the meta because it gives stats, control, and anti-heal. Now it’s even better at making carries feel miserable.

Butterfly

Upgrade · 5450g

Butterfly got reshuffled: agility down from +35 to +30 and damage up from +25 to +30.

This is interesting because not every hero values those stats equally. Raw damage is nice, but agility heroes love agility for armor, attack speed, and scaling. Illusion and stat-heavy heroes especially don’t love losing agility. So yes, the item still gives damage, but it’s not a clean buff.

To me, this is a subtle nerf to some of the ultra-comfort agility carry builds. Not devastating, but enough to make item decisions less automatic.

Divine Rapier

Upgrade · 5600g · 6s cooldown