5 biggest changes in Patch 7.40c that will impact the Dota 2 pro scene

Dota 2 Patch 7.40c saw several small buffs and nerfs to heroes across the board. Heroes that were rising in the meta got balanced out, while others that were underperforming got buffed. Patch 7.40c also fixed a hero terrorizing pubs across all brackets by removing much of that strength. Additionally, the latest Dota 2 hero makes his debut in the professional scene.

With so many changes to go through in Valve’s latest patch, it can be difficult to know which of these changes will actually impact the professional scene. Fortunately, we have you covered.

When it comes to carry heroes in the current Dota 2 meta, no hero was as difficult to deal with at any level of play as Clinkz. Patch 7.40 gave Clinkz his Searing Arrows back instead of his missing facets, followed by buffs in the 7.40b patch, which was all the hero needed to powerspike out of control.

With his new innate, Infernal Shred, combined with an early Desolator, Clinkz was shredding both heroes and buildings alike. Throw in Burning Army and multishot, and entire lineups would fall to his infernal legion. Patch 7.40c brought major Clinkz nerfs, reducing his skeleton archers’ building damage by 75% and removing the extra skeleton granted by Aghanim’s Scepter, somewhat balancing him.

The hero is still powerful in the right hands, so it remains to be seen how he performs in tournaments going forward. At the very least, there is a way to counterplay the Bone Fletcher, allowing pro teams to draft around him instead of banning him outright.

Broodmother and Abaddon seemed to be the last two holdouts when it came to their passive effects getting triggered by illusions. Abaddon was routinely picked as a carry with Manta Style being his core item. His Curse of Avernus cannot be applied by illusions anymore, so Abaddon has to find a new build if he wants to stay relevant in the Dota 2 meta with these changes.

Broodmother was hit even harder. Her Incapacitating Bite no longer gets triggered by illusions, which means she cannot keep the effect applied to multiple heroes. Additionally, her Necrotic Webs facet’s health restoration reduction was nerfed, along with a reduction to the maximum number of active webs. These changes will affect her place in the Dota 2 meta.

Valve hit a few heroes with changes to ensure they don’t outperform in the coming tournaments. Spectre got her late-game power reduced with a lowered strength gain per level, a reduced health talent at level 20, and reduced illusion damage at level 25. Meepo’s burst damage was decreased with the reduction of Poof’s damage in MegaMeepo form and through his Poof talent at level 10.

Valve hit Huskar’s Cauterize facet with a cooldown nerf, while reducing Ember Spirit’s control and damage through Searing Chains and Chain Gang. These changes were targeted at specific strong heroes in the pro scene, and hopefully, the Patch 7.40c nerfs will be enough to balance them.

While Valve fixed the Infernal Shred damage, which led to additional Clinkz nerfs, other bugs still needed to be addressed. Three in particular were being abused at the highest level:

As expected, these bugs ruined a lot of games in pro-level pubs, prompting Valve to quickly fix them in the Patch 7.40c round of buffs and nerfs.

Quite possibly the biggest change that nobody saw coming was the inclusion of Largo in Captain’s Mode. Most heroes usually take about a year to see the light of day in the professional scene because of how much Valve tests the hero to make sure they’re ready for professional games. However, Largo was the first exception to the rule.

​Largo is the first, and only, new Dota 2 hero who was added to Captain’s Mode within the first month of release. It seems like the round of buffs in Patch 7.40c that followed the buffs in Patch 7.40b was enough to make him competitively viable. Whether that viability translates into success in the professional scene is yet to be seen, but we’re looking forward to it.

Patch 7.40c is most likely the last minor balance patch we will have until the first round of tournaments winds up this quarter. With most of the major issues addressed, including game-breaking exploits and heroes that could solo the game after a certain point, it seems like pro teams have to get more creative going forward.

This should lead to more exciting Dota 2 games. BLAST Slam VI is right around the corner, followed by DreamLeague Season 28, with both tournaments taking place in February. As always, we will keep you updated with all things esports, so stay tuned.