Okay, so Valve have finally lifted the curtain on a lot of what the New Bloom Festival patch for Dota 2 will include. Other than a new hero (yay) and a load of new patch notes that drastically change a few things around (…yay?), we’re also getting a brand new mode which is kinda similar to one that people may have been playing with unauthorised mods. Cough.
The new hero is Terrorblade, a demon-y chap with four brand-spanking new abilities. Reflection lets him create a double of a foe, which attacks its original and slows their movement. Conjure Image creates an illusion of Terrorblade, which helps him in battle. Metamorphosis grants Terrorblade bonus damage and changes his attack to ranged. Finally, Sunder lets him swap his health with that of another player – enemy or ally. As with Legion Commander, he’ll also be getting an Arcana item that changes his animations, his voice, his skin and model, the death effect of his victims, his spell effects and icons, and comes with a gem that tints him and his abilities. Hurray!
The new game mode, unlocked at level 11, is Random Ability Draft. This assigns each player a random hero and then shoves all of their abilities into a pool, with players taking turns to pick which abilities their hero will get. To quote the page: “Behold the majesty of a Pouncing Pudge, witness Axe fumbling with Psi Blades, and experience the terror of Illusory Orb Magnus.” So… yeah. That’s going to be fantastic.
Then there’s the patch notes, which are going to cause a storm of controversy. Earth Spirit has (thankfully) been nerfed, although I suspect he’ll still be pretty terrifying. Broodmother has been massively nerfed following the ridiculous abilities granted in the previous patch – she can no longer leave map boundaries, Spin Web no longer gives vision, and she loses free pathing if enemies can see her. Drow Ranger’s silence is no longer a targeted AoE, instead firing out of her as a wave and causing knockback. Bottle and Shadow Amulet can now be used on other players. Necrobook creeps are less powerful. Blink Dagger no longer has a manacost.
What else? Ooh, lots of stuff. Lion’s Aghs upgrade now causes Finger of Death to also affect units within a 200 AOE range of the target, which should allow for some horrifying damage when combined with Magnus or Enigma. Speaking of Enigma, Black Hole now has a wider AoE and a longer cast range. Sniper’s range has now been dramatically increased with Take Aim. Tinker now has an Aghs upgrade, which doubles the missile count and the Laser cast range (marking the first time I’m aware of that an Aghs upgrade doesn’t affect the ultimate). Faceless Void now gets 1000 movement speed and phase within his Chronosphere, meaning it’s much harder for him to accidentally fuck himself with it.
Look, there are shitloads of tweaks and changes, and some of them are pretty big. I mean, I don’t think I even mentioned the fact that you lose gold every second if you don’t pick a hero before the All Pick timer runs out, or that Roshan is now bigger and meaner and now continues to get bigger and meaner after 45 minutes. The full patch notes for Dota 2 6.80 are below, but you may also want to check them out on the official page – anything annotated with a [?] mark has more detail, only discoverable on mouseover.
I’m curious as to whether this is everything, or if we’ll maybe see a little more. I suspect it’s the former, but… Terrorblade? Hmm.
GENERAL
- Â Â Â You now lose one gold per second if you haven’t picked a hero after the selection timer runs out in All Pick
- Â Â Â All Pick selection time increased from 60 to 75
- Â Â Â All Pick pre-creep time reduced from 90 to 75
- Â Â Â Roshan no longer stops upgrading his hp/damage/armor at 45 minutes
- Â Â Â Roshan upgrade rate increased by 20%
- Â Â Â Roshan bounty rescaled from 105-600 to 150-400
HEROES
Alchemist
   Night vision reduced from 1400 to 800
   Unstable Concoction maximum shaking duration reduced from 7 to 5.5 [?]
   Unstable Concoction no longer continues to get stronger while it is in the air
Ancient Apparition
   Ice Vortex spell damage amplification increased from 10/15/20/25 to 15/20/25/30
   Ice Vortex duration increased from 12 to 16
   Ice Vortex aura stickiness increased from 0.1 to the standard 0.5 aura value
Anti-Mage
   Mana Void radius increased from 300 to 450
   Added AoE targeting cursor for Mana Void
Axe
   Base HP regen increased from 2 to 3
   Berserker’s Call duration increased from 1.5/2/2.5/3 to 2.0/2.4/2.8/3.2
   Berserker’s Call cooldown rescaled from 10 to 16/14/12/10
Batrider
   Attack animation time improved from 0.5 to 0.3
Beastmaster
   Call of the Wild Hawk duration reduced from 60/70/80/80 to 60
   Call of the Wild Boar duration reduced from 70/80/90 to 60
   Call of the Wild no longer destroys previous summons on cast
Bloodseeker
   Thirst Bonus Speed and damage rescaled from 7/14/21/28 to 5/15/25/35
   Bloodbath now gives the full hero kill benefit (instead of only half) if he is within the 325 AoE when a hero dies
Brewmaster
   Primal Split cooldown reduced from 180/160/140 to 140/120/100
Bristleback
   Base damage reduced by 4
Broodmother
   Can no longer leave the map boundaries [?]
   Spin Web no longer provides 200 vision
   Free pathing is now removed when enemies have vision over you [?]
Centaur Warrunner
   Stampede cooldown reduced from 120/90/60 to 90/75/60
Clockwerk
   Hits required to kill Power Cogs rescaled from 3 to 2/2/2/3
Crystal Maiden
   Base intelligence reduced by 3
Dark Seer
   Ion Shell cooldown reduced from 10 to 9
Dazzle
   Weave duration increased from 20 to 24
Death Prophet
   Exorcism cooldown increased from 100 to 115
   Silence AoE increased from 350 to 425
Dragon Knight
   Dragon Tail cooldown rescaled from 9 to 12/11/10/9
Drow Ranger
   Reworked Silence [?]
Earth Spirit
   Stone Remnant recharge timer increased from 25 to 35
   Geomagnetic Grip now does a 2/3/4/5 second silence instead of a 1/1.5/2/2.5 second stun
   Geomagnetic Grip damage rescaled from 125 to 100/150/200/250
   Boulder Smash damage rescaled from 100/150/200/250 to 125
   Boulder Smash now does a 0.75/1.25/1.75/2.25 second stun instead of a 3.5/4/4.5/5 second silence
   Boulder Smash radius from 225 to 200
   Rolling Boulder now also gets interrupted if disabled during the initial 0.6 rolling charge, instead of only while its moving
   Geomagnetic Grip now kills trees along the path of a dragged allied hero
   Targeting someone directly with Boulder Smash will now be blocked by Linken’s Sphere
   Fixed being able to cast Geomagnetic Grip on magic immune allies
   Fixed Boulder Smash being able to target Magic Immune units
   Fixed Rolling Boulder travel distance going further than intended if you use a Stone Remnant near the end of the roll
Earthshaker
   Base movement speed increased from 300 to 310
   Strength gain increased from 2.5 to 2.9
Enchantress
   Base armor reduced by 1
Enigma
   Black Hole AoE increased from 375 to 400
   Black Hole cast range increased from 250 to 275
Faceless Void
   Chronosphere cooldown reduced from 120/110/100 to 120/100/80
   You now have 1000 movement speed and phase while you are in Chronosphere
   Timewalk manacost reduced from 120 to 90
Huskar
   Burning Spear duration increased from 7 to 8
   Inner Vitality bonus heal below 40% increased from 15/30/45/60% of primary attribute to 30/45/60/75%
   Inner Vitality cast range increased from 450 to 550
Invoker
   Forge Spirits armor reduced from 2/3/4/5/6/7/8 to 0/1/2/3/4/5/6
   Forge Spirits attack range reduced from 300->900 to 300->690
   EMP burn increased from 100->400 to 100->550
   EMP delay from 3.7->2 to 2.6
   Alacrity manacost reduced from 75 to 45
   Ghost Walk movement speed from -30/-25/-20/-15/-10/-5/0 to -30/-20/-10/0/10/20/30
Jakiro
   Ice Path damage rescaled from 25/50/75/100 to 50
   Liquid Fire DPS increased from 10/15/20/25 to 15/20/25/30
   Dual Breath burn and slow duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
   Dual Breath DPS increased from 5/10/15/20 to 16/36/56/76
   Dual Breath damage interval improved from every 1 second to every 0.5 seconds
   Dual Breath Attack Speed slow increased from -20 to -30
   Removed initial impact damage from Dual Breath [?]
Juggernaut
   Blade Fury cooldown reduced from 30/28/26/24 to 30/27/24/21
Keeper of the Light
   Mana Leak stun duration increased from 1.3/1.6/1.9/2.2 to 1.5/2/2.5/3
Legion Commander
   Moment of Courage now only procs one extra lifesteal attack [?]
   Moment of Courage buff grace period increased from 0.5 to 1.0 seconds
   Moment of Courage cooldown reduced from 1.2 to 0.9
Leshrac
   Lightning Storm jumps from 4/6/7/8 to 4/5/6/7
   Lightning Storm damage from 80/145/205/265 to 80/140/200/260
   Lightning Storm cooldown reduced from 5.5 to 4
   Lightning Storm manacost reduced from 100/115/130/145 to 90/100/110/120
Lina
   Dragon Slave Initial/Final AoE increased from 275/150 to 275/200
   Fiery Soul duration increased from 7 to 9
   Fiery Soul movement speed increased from 4/5/6/7% to 5/6/7/8%
Lion
   Aghanim’s Scepter now causes Finger of Death to hit units within a 200 AoE of the primary target
Lone Druid
   Spirit Bear’s Entangle is no longer an Orb Effect
Lycan
   Wolves Fade Time decreased from 3 to 1.7
   Level 3 Lycan Wolves now have Invisibility
   Level 4 Lycan Wolves now have a passive ability that gives them 15 HP regen
Magnus
   Base intelligence increased by 2
Medusa
   Mana Shield damage absorption increased from 0.75/1.25/1.75/2.25 to 1/1.5/2/2.5
Meepo
   Divided We Stand level requirement reduced from 4/11/18 to 3/10/17
   Divided We Stand now passively reduces your revive timer by 10%/20%/30%
Morphling
   You can now cast and attack while in Waveform
Nature’s Prophet
   Wrath of Nature manacost increased from 150/200/250 to 175/225/275
Necrophos
   Death Pulse now hits units in Fog of War
Night Stalker
   Crippling Fear’s night miss chance increased from 40 to 50%
Nyx Assassin
   Cast Range on Impale now matches the travel range [?]
Ogre Magi
   Unrefined Fireblast manacost changed from 400 to 60% of your current mana [?]
Omni Knight
   Degen Aura stickiness increased from 1.0 to 2.0 seconds [?]
Outworld Devourer
   Astral Imprisonment cast range reduced from 550 to 500
Phantom Assassin
   Invisible heroes now trigger Blur
   Blur delay reduced from 1.5 to 0.75
Queen of Pain
   Sonic Wave Scepter cooldown rescaled from 100/70/40 to 40
Riki
   Base HP regen increased from 0.75 to 1.5
Sand King
   Sand Storm radius rescaled from 275/325/375/525 to 525
Shadow Demon
   Shadow Poison max effective stacks increased from 4 to 5
Shadow Shaman
   Shackles duration increased from 2.5/3.25/4/4.75 to 2.75/3.5/4.25/5
   Mass Serpent Wards can no longer trap Roshan
Silencer
   Global Silence cooldown reduced from 140 to 130
Skywrath Mage
   Mystic Flare damage increased from 600/900/1200 to 600/1000/1400
Slardar
   Bash damage increased from 40/50/60/70 to 40/60/80/100
Slark
   Pounce damage reduced from 70/140/210/280 to 60/120/180/240
   Shadow Dance cooldown reduced from 65 to 60
Sniper
   Take Aim range bonus increased from 80/160/240/320 to 100/200/300/400
Spirit Breaker
   You now gain vision over your target while you are casting Netherstrike
Storm Spirit
   Base movement speed reduced from 295 to 290
Sven
   Base armor increased by 3
   Warcry cooldown reduced from 36/30/24/18 to 32/26/20/14
Terrorblade
   Sunder cooldown reduced from 160/110/60 to 120/80/40
   Sunder is no longer partially blocked by Magic Immunity
   Reflection cast range increased from 250 to 275
Tidehunter
   Kraken Shell debuff threshold reduced from 600 damage taken to 600/550/500/450
   Kraken Shell damage block increased from 9/18/27/36 to 10/20/30/40
Timbersaw
   Base strength reduced from 25 to 22
Tinker
   Added Aghanim’s Scepter: Doubles Laser cast range and Heat-Seeking missile count
Treant Protector
   Overgrowth AoE increased from 625 to 675
   Nature’s Guise cast range increased from 300 to 600
Troll Warlord
   Fervor max stacks rescaled from 2/3/4/5 to 4
   Fervor attack speed per stack rescaled from 20 to 16/22/28/34
Tusk
   Secondary units hit by the Snowball now take the same impact as the primary unit [?]
   Removed 50% threshold mechanic from Walrus Punch
   Walrus Punch base crit increased from 3x to 3.5x
Undying
   Soul Rip cooldown reduced from 25/20/15/10 to 24/18/12/6
Vengeful Spirit
   Wave of Terror armor reduction increased from 2/3/4/5 to 3/4/5/6
Venomancer
   Base damage reduced by 5
   Base HP regen reduced from 0.75 to the default 0.25
Visage
   Base movement speed reduced by 5
   Grave Chill manacost rescaled from 70/80/90/100 to 100
   Familiars are now properly magic immune [?]
Warlock
   Upheaval max duration increased from 12 to 16
Windranger
   Focus Fire manacost reduced from 200/300/400 to 150
   Focus Fire no longer has a cast animation
Witch Doctor
   Maledict AoE increased from 150 to 165
   Voodoo Restoration initial manacost reduced from 25/50/75/100 to 20/30/40/50
   Paralyzing Casks can now bounce to units in Fog of War
Wraith King
   Reincarnation slow increased from 50 to 75%
   Reincarnation slow duration increased from 4 to 5
Zeus
   Arc Lightning cast range increased from 700 to 850
ITEMS
Animal Courier
   Ground Courier bounty per player reduced from 175 to 150 [?]
Arcane Boots
   Manacost increased by 10
Battle Fury
   Cleave AoE increased from 225 to 250
Blink Dagger
   Blink no longer has a manacost [?]
Bottle
   Can now be used on your allies by holding down the Control key [?]
Diffusal Blade
   Agility bonus increased from 22/26 to 25/30
Drums of Endurance
   Number of charges increased from 4 to 5
   Recipe cost increased from 800 to 875
Eul’s Scepter of Divinity
   Cyclone cooldown reduced from 25 to 23
Force Staff
   Force travel speed is reduced [?]
Iron Branch
   Gold cost reduced from 53 to 50
Mask of Madness
   Lifesteal increased from 17% to 20%
Mjollnir
   Changed the area type that is used when Static Charge hit units [?]
Necronomicon
   Necronomicon units bounty increased from 100/125/150 to 100/150/200
   Necronomicon units armor reduced from 6/8/10 to 4
   Necronomicon cooldown increased from 80 to 95
Observer Ward
   Can be targeted on allies to transfer one charge
Radiance
   Attack damage bonus increased from 60 to 65
Refresher Orb
   Recipe cost reduced from 1875 to 1800
Ring of Aquila
   Agility bonus increased from 6 to 9
Rod of Atos
   HP bonus increased from 325 to 350
Sange and Yasha
   Sange and Yasha slow duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds
   Sange and Yasha slow increased from 30 to 32%
Sentry Ward
   Can be targeted on allies to transfer one charge
Shadow Amulet
   Fade delay improved from 1.8 to 1.5
   Can now be used on allies [?]
Shiva’s Guard
   Arctic Blast range increased from 719 to 900
   Arctic Blast speed increased from 300 to 350
Smoke of Deceit
   Duration decreased from 40 to 35
Teleport Scrolls
   Stacking delay decreased from 3/5/6/7/8 to 3/5/5.5/6/6.5
   Max targeting range increased from 525 to 575 [?]
Tranquil Boots
   Movement speed increased from 85 to 90
   HP Regen increased from 10 to 12 [?]
Veil of Discord
   Strength/Agility/Damage bonus increased from 3 to 6