Valve shook up the Dota 2 world with the April 20 7.33 patch. The New Frontiers update brought significant changes to nearly all heroes in the game, including respectable buffs. As a result, some previously overlooked heroes are now enjoying a surge in popularity and an increase in their win rates.
At the time of writing, Phantom Lancer (PL) is one of the biggest winners of patch 7.33. Before the update, PL averaged a 48 percent win rate which was boosted to over 57 percent after the changes.
On the surface, PL received some modest changes. The hero was given a higher attack range and his Shard upgrade was moved to the more expensive Aghanim’s Scepter. To fill his empty Shard slot, Valve gave PL an ultimate ability upgrade that has made the hero even harder to take down.
Related: Here are the full Dota 2 New Frontiers 7.33 patch notes
A returning feature, PL’s new Shard upgrade allows the hero to go invisible for eight seconds with a 15 percent movement speed bonus. It has a low 15 seconds cooldown too and combined with the army of illusions that surround him, PL has become a nightmare for support players.
Bristleback also returned as one of the most dominating heroes in 7.33, as his signature passive ability was significantly buffed. In 7.33, his passive also gives Bristleback a Warpath stack whenever he’s activated, and the hero can now shoot multiple quills with his passive if he receives excess damage over the threshold.
Combined with the increased number of ancient camp locations on the Dota 2 map, Bristleback has been having a field day when it comes to farming.
Related: All Camp Locations on the Dota 2 Map
Most fans also rejoiced to see Riki lose the Sleeping Dart upgrade via his Aghanim’s Shard, but the hero’s demise is delayed following new buffs to his existing abilities. His new Shard upgrade now applies a heavy seven armor reduction inside the Smoke Screen cloud while making enemies untargetable for their allies, meaning targeted buffs or heals won’t be applicable.
Riki’s ultimate passive Cloak and Dagger was turned into an XP source in the 7.33 update, with the Stealth Assassin now earning an XP bonus per kill or assist on top of his innate invisibility from level six. Thus, Riki is free to roam and engage unsuspecting enemies and get ahead in levels a lot quicker if he’s able to partake in the kill.
We can expect to see more trends develop as players—both casual and professional—spend more time with the latest patch.
