Dota 2 patch 7.29d: Biggest changes in the new patch

Earlier today, Valve released Dota 2 patch 7.29d. The patch is mostly nerfing for overpowered items and heroes.

The WePlay AniMajor, the last Dota 2 Major before The International, will be played on this patch, which has nerfed many heroes and a few items. These nerfs were necessary since some heroes were borderline broken on the last patch.

The 7.29d Gameplay Update has been released https://t.co/C0kDU66qS5

— DOTA 2 (@DOTA2) May 25, 2021

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The five most significant tweaks of Dota 2 7.29d

Outside of hero and item changes, Valve fixed an exploit where players can trap creeps within trees near the Radiant tier-3 tower. Andrew Jenkins covered this exploit in one of his videos, and Arkosh Gaming used it at the North American Upper Division.

Sange gets nerfed, again

Ever since Valve removed Status Resistance from Satanic, Sange has been the go-to item for players. It was the only item giving status resistance in Dota 2. Moreover, Sange provides a tremendous amount of lifesteal and health regeneration amplification.

The regeneration amplification got reduced for Sange and its upgrades with this patch. As a result, Heaven's Halberd, Sange and Yasha, and Sange and Kaya got nerfed.

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The best off-lane heroes get nerfed

Some of the best off-lane heroes in the last few patches have been Bristleback, Axe, Centaur Warrunner, and Broodmother.

All four got nerfed substantially in patch 7.29d. Bristleback's Aghanim's Scepter upgrade was nerfed, meaning Viscous Nasal Goo's got its AOE reduced and cooldown increased.

Axe had found a new broken build in the last few patches. Aghanim's Shard gave him a chance to proc Counter Helix while attacking and increased the likelihood by 10%. The 10% chance got reduced to 5% in the patch.

Centaur has some small stat nerfs which reduces his viability in the off-lane.

However, the biggest nerf of this patch was for Broodmother, who has terrified enemies from the off-lane. Her shard no longer reduces web charge time, and Insatiable Hunger had its lifesteal reduced a lot. This is the single biggest hero nerf of Dota 2 7.29d.

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Medusa's reign of terror comes to an end

In Dota 2 7.28, Medusa received a new Aghanim's Shard ability, Cold Blooded. This allowed her to passively cast a Mystic Snake whenever she gets targeted by an enemy spell. Combining it with her level 15 talent of +35% mana gain from the above ability made her completely broken.

However, the level 15 talent got shifted to level 20. Her Aghanim's Scepter upgrade was also nerfed, reducing Medusa's viability in the early and mid games as she must reach level 20 to be unkillable.

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Wraith King gets nerfed to the ground

Ever since Dota 2 7.28, Wraith King has been one of the best carries in-game. This was primarily due to changes made to his 3rd ability, Mortal Strike. Instead of having a percentage-based chance to proc, Mortal Strike had a cooldown of 4 seconds.

As a result, Wraith King's damage output became insane. However, the 4-second cooldown increased to 5.5/5/4.5/4 seconds. Wraith Fire Blast also had its mana cost increased by a lot.

The hero is already falling out of the pro scene, and this nerf will undoubtedly end his viability among pros.

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The Toss-Buyback glitch is finally removed

If a player died while being tossed by Tiny and immediately bought back before landing, they would respawn at the location they died at instead of at the usual spawn. This "bug" has been there for years and reached a point where fans saw it more as a feature than a bug.

However, Valve finally removed it in Dota 2 7.29d. A similar bug also happened with Timbersaw's Timberchain ability which was patched out as well.

The community instantly started a meme saying it took EG losing one game to remove a bug that has been in Dota 2 for years.