Late June brings a new patch, but it’s not the one the community expected. While we still await Act III of the Crownfall campaign and the Ringmaster's entrance, Valve deployed numerous nerfs targeting the favored heroes from The International 2024 regional qualifiers meta.
Two days after the qualifiers ended, several popular heroes received significant nerfs. Some items also saw reductions in power, including Phylactery, Khanda, Radiance, and Arcane Blink.
Dark Willow
Dark Willow, the most picked hero across all six regions in the TI13 qualifiers, had Bramble Maze nerfed on both the facet and the spell itself, while Bedlam was reverted to its initial utility.
Facet - Thorny Thicket
- Additional brambles duration decreased from 6s to 4s;
Abilities
- Bramble Maze duration decreased from 15s to 12s;
- Bedlam no longer castable on allies;
Weaver
Weaver, the second most picked hero in the regional qualifiers, mainly played as a carry, saw his Germinate Attack significantly weakened. At level one, it now does zero damage.
Facet - Skitterstep
- Shukuchi slow duration decreased from 0.3s to 0.2s;
Abilities
- Germinate Attack damage decreased from 5/25/40/55/70 to 0/20/35/50/65;
- Shukuchi mana cost increased from 60 to 65;
Talents
- Level 10 Talent Strength decreased from +8 to +7;
- Level 20 Talent Geminate Attack Damage decreased from +90 to +80;
Lifestealer
Lifestealer dominated drafts not only in the TI13 qualifiers, where he was one of the top three heroes with the highest win rate, but also in public matchmaking due to his Corpse Eater facet. The 7.36c update specifically nerfed this facet.
Facet - Corpse Eater
- Max Health Bonus per kill decreased from +2 to +1;
- No longer increases max health when killing other unit types (wards, cogs, etc.);
- Now receives +5 max health from killing heroes;
Abilities
- Open Wounds max slow decreased from 50% to 35/40/45/50%;
Templar Assassin
Templar Assassin was the most contested hero in all regions, with 16 picks, 212 bans, and an overall 62.50% win rate. She is also a very popular hero in pubs. The 7.36c gameplay update aims to curb her dominance.
Abilities
- Refraction: Barrier per instance rescaled from 20/30/40/50 to 30
- Psionic Trap: Min movement slow decreased from 30% to 20%, Max movement slow decreased from 60% to 50%
Despite the numerous nerfs, there are very few buffs, mainly targeting heroes that were neglected during the qualifier battles.