Dota 2 update 7.25 brings overpowered and broken features

The DOTA 2 dev team dropped the update version 7.25 for millions of active players at home. The large update was initially scheduled to go live after the Los Angeles major. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak affecting Europe and North America, it was postponed by the organizers, ESL One, for health and safety reasons.

Dota 2 Update breakdown

Several new features are instantly considered game breaking. Content creators and Dota 2 influences stormed to YouTube and social media to throw shade at Valve’s update. Additionally, several features were instantly put on the “abuse” list for people aiming to increase their MMR. Let’s take a look at some of the most notable changes.

Gold and Experience Calculation

Many significant changes were added into the game, but one that affects most players is the change in a core game mechanic. We are of course talking about the gold and experience algorithm. This calculates the amount of gold and experience that should be awarded to a player if they kill an enemy hero that has a long killing spree and perhaps a much higher survival rate. For instance, a carry hero who is 5 levels higher than other heroes in the game, when killed, would award the killer with enough experience to gain as much levels as the victim has.

Players are complaining about the algorithm that is creating higher stakes for well-performing players in the game, as a single death could cause him to lose all the advantage he gained since the start of a good game. On the other hand, that gives a good comeback potential to the team that is falling behind. Below is a clip that shows a Juggernaut hero with godlike spree, dying to an enemy support, awarding him with 4 levels’ worth of experience.

Phoenix gained almost 4 levels taking down my beyond godlike streak
byu/nameless7172 inDotA2

Who needs Blink Dagger?

Besides the broken algorithm, overpowered skills and buffs have been added into the game. The hero Snapfire has a new skill, Gobble Up, activatable after the user purchases the Aghanim’s Scepter. The new skill allows Snapfire to swallow a nearby ally unit and send it 3000 distance units. That is four times the range of Force Staff’s push.

This serves as a reliable initiation tactic that enables an ally to land their massive ultimate on unsuspecting enemies. Several new combo ideas include Enigma’s Blackhole and Earthshaker’s Echo Slam. Honestly the sky’s the limit as far as combo goes. A more defensive strategy for the new skill is to gobble up a dying teammate and launch him off to safety.

Snapfire globs a Black Hole
byu/J0k3r1887 inDotA2

Stonking Statistics

Statistically, it did not take long for the aftermath of the 7.25 update to surface. Certain hero win rates have increased significantly. Ursa is having a win rate of 59.44%, a surge from 51.23%, tipping the balance in drafting. That is a ridiculous 8% change in just a single patch!

However, Snapfire sees an insignificant drop in win rate but a higher pick rate due to the unique skill. Perhaps players aren’t too familiar with the new skill yet and bad plays won’t win games even if you got a broken ability. Therefore, a word of advice to keen DOTA2 players, ban these heroes if you intend to win.

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