Since Patch 7.29 was released, Dota 2 experienced notable changes, such that heroes and items were no longer the same; thus, players needed to understand the meta to play more effectively and significantly impact the game’s outcome.
In the process of figuring out the patch, you might be wondering why teams are picking heroes that weren’t popular before in the professional scene. One of the primary reasons is that some previously weak items have been buffed, positively affecting these heroes’ performance and pick rate.
Right now, we’re going to introduce you to five of the most broken items in patch 7.29c to assist you in deciphering the patch. To summarize, these items fundamentally altered the game and hero selections.
5 Diffusal Blade
As you may know, Diffusal Blade burns mana per hit and slows the target for four seconds when cast. This item was not particularly impressive in previous patches, and it was only purchased by a select few heroes, such as Phantom Lancer.
In the most recent patch, Diffusal Blade Agility increased from 20 to 24, and intelligence was raised by two. Riki and Slark crave Agility, particularly in the early to mid-game, in order to attack faster and deal more damage. As a result, it makes more sense to purchase this item on such heroes in most matches rather than in situational games at the moment.
Additionally, even Riki, one of the terrifying heroes equipped with Diffusal Blade, chose to buy other items over Diffusal Blade. Rather than focusing exclusively on mana burn, Valve decided in Patch 7.29 to make this item more stat-based.
4 Manta Style
Manta Style was always a popular item among Agility heroes. It is effective against negative effects such as silences and slow buffs because it applies a basic dispel. When Manta Style is activated, it has a split time of 0.1 seconds, which can be used to avoid some projectile spells, but it requires a great deal of practice.
Depending on your hero, you can farm more efficiently with Manta Style’s illusions, as the illusions deal a decent amount of damage. All you have to do is farm the jungle camp, send your Manta illusion to a nearby lane to farm, and push it from a safe location in the jungle.
Before patch 7.29, Manta Style was not a particularly good item for ranged heroes, as it had a 15-second cooldown compared to melee heroes. As a result, farming with it was not recommended, as you may require it during the next fight. However, in patch 7.29, Valve reduced ranged heroes’ cooldown to the same level as melee heroes, which is a significant buff for Agility ranged heroes like Luna and Drow Ranger.
3 Armlet of Morddigian
Armlet was weak in the previous patch but has been significantly improved. Its health drain has been reduced by 10% (from 50 to 40 per second), allowing you to leave it on for extended periods without fear of taking damage. It’s such an inexpensive item that virtually every Core with a reasonable amount of HP restoration will purchase it.
Armlet’s armor has been increased as well, giving you six instead of five, which is critical for heroes with low armor like Huskar. As you can see, each buff to the Armlet has a direct effect on Huskar, transforming him into a game-changing monster, and that’s why he is getting picked more than before.
Apart from these, Armlet passively adds +15 damage and +25 attack speed, and when toggled on, provides+35 damage and +25 strength, which is extremely valuable in fights. If you want to buy this item, practice Armlet’s toggle before starting the game because it’s necessary to win fights.
2 Solar Crest
The primary reason this item is so broken in patch 7.29c is that it became significantly cheaper. Solar Crest now costs 1,150 gold less compared to the last patch, which is unbelievable. Consider that even Support heroes can purchase it mid-game, and Core heroes can purchase it even sooner.
A Core with +55 attack speed and +6 armor can significantly increase its damage output. Solar Crest enables Core heroes to deal more damage, push lanes faster, and even more easily eliminate Roshan.
Solar Crest is also a fantastic item due to its low cooldown, allowing you to use it on your Core constantly. This item also benefits melee Support heroes such as Abaddon and Ogre Magi, who stay in front of their enemies to tank their spells and damage.
1 Satanic
What makes Satanic superior to previous versions is that it now performs a basic dispel on the holder while it is activated. It’s so powerful that you can now counter one of Satanic’s main counters, namely Spirit Vessel. This item used to be a common counter to any healing ability on the enemy side.
Valve made a significant change to this item in patch 7.29c, and it’s now stronger than ever. The Satanic cooldown has been reduced by ten seconds, allowing the holder to use it more frequently than before, and in long fights, you can benefit from the Unholy Rage twice, which is a significant improvement.
Another notable change to Satanic is the inability of your adversaries to dispel it. This is an important change, as opponents could previously remove the Unholy Rage buff using a cheap item such as Eul’s Scepter of Divinity. However, This does not mean Eul’s is entirely useless against Satanic; you can still use it on the Satanic holder to effectively stop their attack for 2.5 seconds.
