Strategic summary and impact analysis for patch 7.38.
Initially boosted by attribute conversions, Universal heroes have seen a significant damage scaling nerf (0.7 to 0.45 per attribute). This rebalances their power, shifting the meta away from their previous dominance and forcing a re-evaluation of their itemization and strategic roles. While still viable, their raw damage output is diminished, making them less universally strong.
A strong emphasis on early game pressure is evident through buffs to base damage, early abilities, and the introduction of potent early items like Orb of Frost and Orb of Corrosion. These items provide accessible slows, healing reduction, and armor reduction, rewarding aggressive laning, early skirmishes, and heroes with innate sustain or defensive tools. The meta favors securing early advantages and snowballing.
Numerous reworks and additions to Aghanim's Scepter and Shard abilities create distinct and powerful mid-game power spikes. Identifying and leveraging these specific item timings is crucial for dictating game tempo, securing advantages, and enabling heroes to come online earlier with significant impact.
Roshan's new river movement and day/night cycle dependency, Tormentor's repositioning and gold bounty, and the introduction of Wandering Waters for high-speed rotations create a highly dynamic objective game. This emphasizes map awareness, coordinated rotations, and contesting key objectives, rewarding teams that can adapt quickly and control vision.
The complete overhaul of the neutral item system to a Madstone crafting mechanic removes RNG and introduces a new layer of strategic choice and farming optimization. Teams must efficiently clear camps and make informed crafting decisions, making neutral item power spikes predictable but requiring active management and resource allocation.
Significant nerfs to lifesteal and spell lifesteal against non-heroes (40% physical, 80% spell) fundamentally alter farming efficiency and sustain. This reduces the power of traditional jungle farming carries and spell lifesteal builds, pushing the meta towards more direct combat and less reliance on sustained creep healing, favoring heroes with innate sustain or burst.
Supports have received significant reworks to their utility and survivability, including unique ultimate abilities, invulnerability mechanics, and improved mana sustain. This allows them to have a more profound and resilient impact in teamfights, enabling aggressive plays and better sustain throughout the game.