The new Dota patch is here and it’s big.
The code notes for Dota 2 Update 7.36 is out and it brings some huge changes to every hero in the game with the addition of native abilities and hero skins.
Two big additions lead the patch notes for 7.36; The addition of innate abilities for each hero and hero aspects, a new system that will give you more strategic options in each fight. These two additions mean every hero inside Dota has changed.
Innate abilities are passive skills that each hero will automatically unlock at the start of a match. Some offer new abilities, for example Dawnbreaker reveals the entire map to allies when the sun rises, while others will grant a fifth level to a skill and automatically do so at level one, such as Kunkka’s Tidebringer.
We’ve seen some native abilities implemented in previous patches, with the likes of Medusa’s Mana Sheild and Alchemist’s Greevil’s Greed previously added, but now every hero in Dota has a.
The other big addition is hero skins, which are a choice between two or more bonuses for your hero at the start of a match. After choosing your hero, you can choose an aspect that will give you some kind of bonus, with the idea being to choose the one that best suits the role you want to play. For example, as an Alchemist, you can choose to get 250 extra starting gold as stated in the unfinished patch notes, or you can choose reduced cooldowns during your ultimate.
Again every hero has at least two options to choose from, with some like Chen and the Witch Doctor having more than two options. At first glance, these seem like reasonably specific roles for many heroes, but some will undoubtedly prove to be more difficult choices than others.
With multiple changes to each hero the full patch notes worth a look to see what happens. In addition to the new additions and hero changes, some items have changed, including Roshan’s Banner, which is getting a much-needed rework. But it’s clear that the main focus of this update was on the heroes and their new games, which will take weeks to fully understand.
The second act of Crownfall’s story has also begun, with The Deserts of Druud world map expanding the cavern crawl metagame with new story options and another fishing minigame.
With such a large patch and the success of Crownfall’s initial release, you can expect to see player numbers rise again in the coming days. We may have waited too long for this update, but once again the time is right to be a Dota player.
