Strategic summary and impact analysis for patch 7.35d.
Patch 7.35d subtly shifts the meta towards heroes and strategies that can secure early lane dominance and translate that into objective control. Minor buffs to early game items and hero kits, coupled with the continued importance of Tormentors and Roshan, reward teams that can apply pressure and snowball. This favors strong laning cores and supports with reliable early disables or damage.
Adjustments to support item costs and effectiveness, alongside slight increases in passive gold generation, empower supports to come online faster and have a more significant impact in the early to mid-game. This encourages more active, playmaking supports who can leverage these early item timings.
With some high-burst damage heroes seeing minor nerfs, and universal heroes still being strong, the value of tanky initiators and heroes capable of absorbing damage and controlling teamfights has increased. This allows carries to farm more safely and provides crucial space for spellcasters.